Summary

Rose is a " blood whore" to Jesse Zeklos, who has Dimitri as his new guardian. Dimitri is drawn towards this enigmatic beauty harbouring secrets of her past life and all her charm; yet her profession prevents him from coming close to her. Will he finally be able to get past these barriers and embrace what he always knew he felt for her? Will he ever be able to completely love her?

Disclaimer : I do not own Vampire Academy , Richelle Mead does .

" ….. I could think of a lot of things that we could do …. " she trailed off suggestively while she fingered the rim of his glass , slowly licking her lips .

" Oh , could you ? Care to name some ? " he asked , in his inebriated slur . He was clearly picturing the dhampir in his bed , watching a lot more than just her golden hair flowing down her back . Something in the way she lazily smiled back at him irked the towering Russian who was silently watching this encounter nearby .

" Why don't I give you the details …. " she paused , dramatically looking at the crowd , " Somewhere more private ? "

He was only too eager to take her up on her proposal , and let her tug his arm gently towards the exit of the bar . Amidst all the sweet – talking and flirting that the blond dhampir was performing , one could notice , on keener observation , the glances she threw at an old man sitting across the crowded bar and the pointed nod that he returned as she was about to pass through the gates with the intoxicated moroi man by her side.

Close by , Guardian Dimitri Belikov stood watching this encounter with the shadows of a grimace playing on his face . He was not the judgmental kind , but his recently – acquired assignment to Lord Jesse Zeklos would probably lead him to interact with " blood whores " more often than he was comfortable with . It had only been a few days since he had arrived here and had taken an almost instant dislike to Jesse , not that he would ever let it cloud his sense of duty toward him .

In his periphery he noticed Guardian Mikhail Tanner talking animatedly to a woman at the bar and Dimitri made his way towards his colleague and friend . Having been a guardian for quite some time now, Dimitri knew not to expect the best of behaviours from his charges , but Jesse Zeklos was beyond that line too . Not only did he think too much of himself and too little of everyone else around him , he also made it a point to let his guardians know that fact . Therefore , apart from the self – control Dimitri had taught himself over the years , Mikhail Tanner was probably the only reason Dimitri would not be requesting a change in assignments any time soon . After all , who would want to come to a foreign land to just stay quiet and protect someone who held absolutely no respect for you ?

Just as the man hiding Mikhail from his view moved , he finally caught a glimpse of the woman he was talking to . Her dark brown eyes , the same colour as her hair , seemed to shine in the dim light as she laughed at something she had just said . Her russet tresses flowed down her shoulders where they curled slightly as they came to an end . She was wearing an off – shoulder dress in midnight blue that came to a halt a few inches above her knees. And she held a glass containing a clear liquid that did not seem very innocent.

Dimitri stopped a few feet away from them, regarding the woman Mikhail was speaking to. She seemed enthusiastic in her demeanour and Mikhail looked like he had known her for ages. But, her beauty was what had taken Dimitri aback. To him, she seemed to be glowing in the dimness of the bar and her laugh was intoxicating. She was so very different from every other woman in the room, yet she was so similar to some of them. Dimitri's astute eyes noticed the same old man throw glances at her. She was the same as the woman Dimitri had just been observing.

" You can stop scowling at me now. Maybe you want to come over too? I don't bite, you know." Dimitri suddenly realised that the woman was chuckling and beckoning him over. Then, Mikhail turned around in his seat and said, "Come on Dimitri, what are you waiting for?"

" This is the Guardian Belikov I was telling you about." Mikhail told the woman. " He was just assigned to Zeklos and as usual Zeklos has been a jerk to all of us. Dimitri was off duty tonight so I thought a night out might cheer him up a bit."

" Well, I don't really think it is working though." She said tentatively through her smile. Dimitri felt foolish at that moment and he forced himself out of the trappings of his own mind.

" I am terribly sorry. I see that Mikhail has taken the pains to tell you about me, but he has unfortunately failed to make any mention of your name." Dimitri said, reaching his hand out to take hers.

She smirked and took his hand in a strong shake. Dimitri was surprised. From her demeanour, he had been expecting a soft, polite handshake; but, apparently he was mistaken. " Oh how rude of you, Mikhail." She said. " Let me apologise on his behalf Guardian Belikov. I am Rose Hathaway. Rosemarie to be precise. Although I am not very fond of being called the latter."

" Both are beautiful names, Ms . Hathaway; and deservingly so."

" Call me Rose, Guardian Belikov."

" Only if you extend the same courtesy to me."

She smirked. " OK then Dimitri. Zeklos getting to you already?" She said finishing her drink and ordering a new one. Her question seemed condescending to Dimitri and made him uncomfortable; he curtly replied.

" I am doing fine. We should know better than to expect the best of behaviours from our charges. Lord Zeklos is not doing anything wrong."

" Very by the book, are you? Well, let me tell you something Dimi – " She began but was interrupted by a man who had quietly come up to her. His face was hard and Mikhail seemed to be uncomfortable with his arrival. Dimitri too felt uneasy as the man moved to whisper into Rose's ears. She brushed him off as soon as he had begun and said in a lazy, world – weary tone .

" I am not drunk enough for it yet, Johnny. Go tell him to wait."

The man, who was apparently called Johnny, scowled at her and said. "You know Lord Zeklos doesn't like being kept waiting."

Rose downed her drink and ordered for a shot of a clear liquid. " Yeah. Yeah. I'll be there, you know that."

" You too, Tanner. You are on duty tonight." He said addressing Mikhail.

The man finally went away with a final glare in her direction; and with that Mikhail immediately stood up and spoke to her in a hushed voice; but Dimitri could barely make out the words .

" I hate to see this night after night, Rose. Just don't go. You have friends who will help; you know you have me. Just get away from it, please. At least try."

Rose took her time in taking her final shot, wore the languid smile of one who had seen far more than her share and said , " It is not a matter of trying. You know I can't go, Mikhail. We all have a price to pay, and this is mine."

Then she lavishly turned to face Dimitri and said, " It was nice meeting you, Dimitri. I have a feeling we will be meeting again soon."

With that she walked away in the direction Johnny had gone. Dimitri saw her mockingly salute the same old man he had noticed earlier and then shake her head to herself as she pushed through the crowd and made her way to the exit.

" I guess, I have to go on duty now. See you in the morning man. Good you finally met Rose." Mikhail said hurriedly, running his fingers through his hair and dashing off almost immediately to get Zeklos. Dimitri had so many questions to ask him, most of which revolved around the woman he had just met, but he decided to hold them off for a later time, and finished drinking his water before he made his way back to his room.

Did you like it? Please let me know what you think about it. Some of the people may seem to be acting out of character, but the reason they are doing so will be revealed in later chapters. Also, tell me if you think I should continue writing this story and how you think it might go .

Anyways, thank you for reading the chapter and I really hope you liked it. So, until next time, keep reading and enjoy. :D :D . .