Chapter One:

Normally if someone woke me up super early in the morning, I would punch them square in the face for bothering me. But when it was your best friend waking you up, the only thing you could do was roll over and toss your blankets over your face.

"Rose, you need to wake up. We need to check-out." My best friend, Lissa, was shaking me. I didn't budge. "If you don't wake up now, I'm going to go get Dimitri or Spiridon and have them carry you out of this hotel, and you know that wouldn't look good." She was right – the sight of one of those two giant men carrying a small girl out of a hotel wouldn't look good. She knew she was right, too, and I could almost picture the smile lighting up her beautiful face.

Sitting up, I rub the sleep from my eyes. "Happy?" She nods and tosses her golden blonde hair over her shoulder. "Give me five minutes." She got up and headed into the attached living room in our suite.

We had taken a weekend vacation to Las Vegas and, albeit her constant warnings last night, I had a little too much to drink and stayed out a little too late. I knew we'd have to get up early to leave and head back to Montana. But did I care? Hell no. The only thing getting me out of this bed was the thought of one of Lissa's security team members carrying me out.

Lissa was the daughter of a very powerful government official who has unfortunately made a lot of enemies who have to problems with targeting his family. Because of that, Lissa's father, Eric Dragomir, had hired the best security team possible to protect his family. Unfortunately, the best security couldn't stop Lissa's parents and her brother, Andre, from being killed by a drunk driver. There was still debate about whether or not the driver had been aiming for the Dragomir family, but he was convicted anyways since he was blacked out drunk. The accident had left Lissa an only child and the heir to a large sum of money – and unfortunately, a lot of enemies who still wanted to hurt her even with her father gone.

She had and I had been best friends since preschool and I was there for her after the accident. We shared an apartment together since we finished high school and we had even graduated from the same college. Going to college with bodyguards was strange and annoying.

Eric Dragomir had apparently left an order for the team members that if anything should happen to him, the team remain on his family's service – and since I was always with Lissa, I was automatically signed a bodyguard. Not that I minded when I found out who my guard was – Dimitri Belikov, a stoic yet hot guy, who was about twenty-eight years old, about six-foot-seven with brown hair that touched his shoulder (which he usually had pulled into a pony tail) and a Russian accent made him that much more perfect.

Lissa came back into the room, checking to make sure I wasn't asleep again. This time, I was actually up and packing – already dressed and ready to go.

There was a knock at the door and Spiridon appeared in the doorway. "Ready to go?" Spiridon was slightly shorter than Dimitri, not as attractive, and had either an Irish or Scottish accent. I couldn't pin exactly which it was.

We headed out of the suite and into the lobby. Dimitri disappeared to grab our car while Spiridon waited with Lissa and I, stealthily scanning the surrounding area – probably waiting for someone to jump out and attack.

A black SUV pulled up – tinted windows and unmarked – and Lissa and I tossed our meager luggage into the back of it and then climbed into the car. Dimitri was in the driver's seat and Spiridon sat in the passenger's seat. We were headed to a small airport where we would board a private plane to another small, secure airport in Montana.

"So," Lissa started as soon as we pulled away from the hotel. "I was thinking that maybe we could go to the lake house for a few days. Christian and Mason could join us. Maybe Mia and Jill, though she'll probably want Eddie to come along." That lot was the group of friends we had managed to stay in touch with after graduating high school and college. Christian was Lissa's high school sweetheart and they were so in love it was sickening. While Lissa was bright and cheerful, Christian Ozera was dark and had a twisted sense of humor – apparently Lissa thought we were alike, which might explain why we tend to butt heads. "Maybe Adrian and Sydney will join us."

Glancing towards the front, I nod towards the two men. "Will Lucky Charms and Comrade be joining us?" It was a rhetorical question, one I didn't try and ask quietly. Lissa fixed me an annoyed look and Spiridon made a sound that sounded like a laugh.

"Hey, that's offensive…" Spiridon said. "Lucky charms are Irish. I'm Scottish." Lissa laughed and I saw Dimitri break into a small smile. It was a rare feat for him.

The plane ride would take about two hours and I was hoping maybe I'd get to sleep, but I couldn't. Somehow Lissa had managed to pass out as soon as we took off. Spiridon was sitting in the back of the plane, a magazine in his hands. Dimitri was seated in the aisle next to me, reading some kind of western novel.

I turned to look out my window and then I heard movement and Dimitri was seating himself next to me. "You don't like myself or Spiridon very much, do you?"

It wasn't a question I was prepared for and he knew it'd take me off guard. I looked at him, afraid that maybe I'd offended him. No, of course I didn't. He's probably dealt with worse than an indifferent twenty-one-year-old. "It's not that I don't like you guys, it's just…I'm never going to get used to having someone who is paid to watch over me. That's not something I ever thought I'd need."

"You've been around Vasilisa your whole life, yes?" I ignored him using Lissa's full name and instead just nodded. "She's had security members her whole life."

I nod again, picking at the strings on my sweater. "Yeah, but they were there for her. I was just another person they had to protect, I was never their actual watch. If I left the house without Lissa, I didn't have someone following me. Now I do. I'm the person someone is ordered to watch."

"Is it weird?" I'm surprised by his sudden interest. We've known each other for the past two years – since the accident – and he's never really tried to know how I thought.

"My mom raised me to take care of myself so I never thought I'd have to leave my safety in someone else's hands."

Dimitri nods. "It is a difficult thing to accept sometimes. But doesn't it make your life easier?"

It did make my life easier, but who said I wanted my life easier? Who said that I didn't want to make life hard for myself? To have to fight for what I want? I know Lissa's dad was thinking of my safety – I was like another daughter to the family – but this wasn't how I pictured my life at all. I wasn't anything special – I didn't get special protection.

Turning back to look at him, I see that he's already calculated my next train of thoughts. Fantastic. "What made you want to be a bodyguard? Protect your sister's teddy bears as a kid?" I joked, cracking a smile.

He laughed (and actual, real laugh!) and shook his head. "No, I uh, after high school I had wanted to join the special forces. I thought it wouldn't be easy for me, but I fit right in. I did two tours and then retired. After that, Eric Dragomir had hired me for his personal security team."

"Wait, why do you have a Russian accent if you've lived here long enough for high school?"

"Because I'm Russian. My family moved to America when I was about six. My grandmother still lives in Russia and I go to visit her a lot. She only speaks Russian and believes I should keep my culture even if I do live in America. My mother and sisters live together in Pennsylvania and they visit my grandmother more than I do."

I can tell he doesn't want to really discuss his family, so I flip back to something he said earlier. "So you're special forces, huh? Did you ever kill anyone?"

All earlier signs of friendliness disappear and he's stoic once again. "That's not something I want to discuss."

My normal Rose Hathaway retorts were lost once I saw his face. I knew he was serious and his face gave everything away. I stayed silent for the rest of the flight and Dimitri had moved back to his original seat.

When we landed, Dimitri was the first one off the flight and Spiridon was the last. There was a car waiting for us with another security team member driving. Once we were back at the apartment, the security members left us for their own set-up, which was on the first floor while Lissa and I were on the third floor. Security wasn't too worried, seeing as someone had to be buzzed into the building, there was a doorman and a front desk security officer along with our high-tech security system, we weren't likely to have problems in our apartment.

Lissa shut the front door and I flopped backwards onto the couch. "I'm hungry. We should order some Chinese food."

She grabbed the Chinese menu and sat down next to me. "So, I saw you and Dimitri talking on the plane. I didn't realize he actually spoke more than five words." She joked and I gave her a small smile, pretending to be interested in the lunch specials.

"Nothing, he just wanted to know why I didn't like the ninja squad."

Lissa laughs and shakes her head. "You should start copyrighting your nicknames. You'd make a killing from the amount of times you've nicknamed our entire security team." There was a mix of humor and slight annoyance in her comment. I ignored it. "But whatever you do, I am going out tonight. Christian and I are going on a date."

The two of them have been together for almost nine years and the look she gets on her face whenever she thinks about him is the same look she got when she first met him.

"You should come out with us. A double date. Maybe with Mason?" She looked more hopeful than she should have.

Mason and I had tried dating back in college after years of flirting in high school and it didn't work out too well. I just couldn't get into it. Flirting with him was one thing, but trying to commit to him and have strong enough feelings for a relationship? It just never happened.

I shake my head. "I'm just going to stay in. I'm exhausted, especially after somebody woke me up at the ass crack of dawn."

After we order the food, we lounge on the couch while flicking through the TV channels trying to find something to watch. The routine continues, including eating the food we ordered, until around five when Lissa gets up to go shower and get ready for her date.

I had to admit, I was a little jealous of her. I would love to be able to go out on a date and have an actual reason to get dressed up. It wasn't like I hadn't tried to date. The Mason thing was freshmen year of college and I went on a couple dates with some other guys after that. Junior year I had a semi-serious relationship with a guy named Jesse, but he didn't like taking things slow so I ended things. Since then, there really hasn't been anything serious aside from the occasional flirting at a bar to get free drinks.

I just didn't see the appeal in having a relationship with someone you weren't actually interested in.

After about an hour and a half later, Lissa came out of her bedroom with her hair freshly curled and wearing a baby blue floral dress with tiny white flowers dotted all over it. As usual, she looked stunning.

"So which 'ninja' are you taking with you?" I joked, flashing her a goofy smile.

Rolling her eyes, she grabs her apartment keys off the middle of the coffee table. "Spiridon, since he's assigned to me. We can't pick and choose our guard." Her eyes flash with something that looks eerily similar to when she thinks she has a good idea. "Besides, maybe Belikov will have to check on you. I'll leave the eye candy with you."

I scoff, shaking my head and watch her leave.

Sitting on the couch for a few moments, I decide to get up and change into something more comfortable than my jeans and t-shirt from the plane. I switch into an oversized t-shirt and a pair of black shorts.

I'm in the kitchen grabbing a beer when I hear a knock on the front door. I stand on my tip-toes to peek through the peephole.

Standing a bit back from the door is Dimitri, his hands behind his back and I can see him glancing up and down the hallway out of the corner of his eyes. I unlock the door and he steps closer. I'm strangely surprised to see him out of his everyday all-black suit. Never once in the two years I've known him, have I seen him look…normal.

He's wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black sweater that accentuates his muscles. I'm speechless and, for once, embarrassed to be caught gawking at him. "Lissa told me that you might need company while she's gone."

"Well, she didn't need to send you. I have friends I could invite over." It was harsh but I still wasn't completely enjoying his constant company. My apartment was the one place I didn't have someone watching me every single second.

Dimitri nods, looking slightly uncertain. "I figured. But I still don't think you're the type of person who enjoys being alone a lot."

He was not wrong. Stepping aside, I gesture for him to enter and he does. I grab my beer off the kitchen counter and then take a seat on the couch while Dimitri stands in the middle of the living room. "Make yourself at home, beer's in the fridge."

Taking a seat on the opposite end of the couch, he leans back and shakes his head. "No beer for me. I don't drink?"

I choke on the drink and some of the beer drips down my chin. "Really? A Russian who doesn't drink? Did you really just get exiled from there?"

A tiny smile appears on his face and he shrugs. "Not all Russians drink. That's a stereotype – like how in America, everyone likes burgers and apple pie and carries a gun."

"Okay, but who doesn't like burgers and apple pie? And," I nod towards his hip where there's a slight bulge on the right side. "A lot of Americans do conceal carry."

He looks genuinely surprised. "You could tell I was carrying?"

Shrugging, I fold my legs under me and take a sip of the beer. "It's not that hard to notice if you're actually paying attention. Also, I noticed you were right handed so I figured it'd be on your right hip – dominant hand and all." He still looks surprised. "My mom taught me how to shoot a gun. She was very adamant on me knowing how to protect myself to the full extent."

"What does your mother do that she needs to use a gun?"

"FBI. Which is one of the reasons why I have always been with Lissa. My Mom was busy a lot and she was a single parent. I scared off a lot of nannies and she got upset so Lissa's parents helped out since her and I were already best friends. They practically adopted me."

Dimitri nods, looking lost in thought. "You probably could have done worse." He comments, gesturing around us to the large apartment. It was the type of apartment that two recent college graduates could only hope to one day afford.

Nodding, I pull a fluffy white pillow into my lap after setting my beer on the coffee table. "Yeah, well, I've always wanted to repay Eric and Rhea for everything they've done for me. But it all added up over the years."

"Well, you could start repaying them by being nice to his employees."

It takes a second for me to understand the double meaning and once I do, I just shake my head at him. "I'm not mean to you!"

He looks at me like he doesn't believe me. Rude. "You always call me "Comrade" and Spiridon "Lucky Charms"."

"Okay, those are nicknames and I give everyone a nickname. It's normal for me."

And for once, I get to see a full-fledged grin! Not a smirk, not a tiny thing that disappears in two seconds, but a real smile. My stomach flutters when I see him smile and I wouldn't mind seeing him smile a lot more often. It made him even more attractive.

"So besides learning to handle a gun, did your mother ever teach you anything else?" He asked, the smile still on his face.

Shrugging, I reach for my beer and down the rest of it. "She never really taught me anything else. She believed that as long as I knew how to handle a gun, I had all the self-defense skills I needed." I looked up at him, suddenly worried. "Should I learn more?"

He shrugs. "I personally think you should. I mean, I'm using what I learned in the military along with what I learned as a bodyguard. Hand-to-hand combat is always something that I think everybody should know. Knowing how to handle a gun properly is great if it ever comes to needing to use a gun – which for you it won't – but for someone your age, I think it is important to know the basics of hand-to-hand."

"Can you teach me?" I quickly ask, suddenly thrilled by the idea.

Dimitri looks slightly conflicted. He knows he set himself up for that question and there's a part of him that wants to teach me, but there's the part of him that knows that if he does his job right he shouldn't need to teach me. He takes a deep breath and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Fine. But just the basics."