Dimka and Rose. Set after Frostbite but before Shadow Kiss. I don't own the rights to Vampire Academy. Obviously.
"Rose, no." Dimitri said warningly. "You don't want to do this." His dark hair hung in his eyes; the same eyes that were looking intensely into mine. He took another step backwards.
"Oh, I think I do." For every step he took backwards, I took one forward. He could stop me if he wanted to; they didn't call him a god for nothing. But he and I both knew that if he made a move to touch me, his will to resist would be lost.
"Rose. This is wrong. You know it." He reminded me. As if he hadn't told me the same thing a thousand times before. It was frowned upon for a guardian to be with another guardian. Not only because they couldn't reproduce, but also because it would distract them from their Moroi. It was even worse for me and Dimitri because we were both going to guard the same Moroi.
"Just because it's forbidden," I replied temptingly, "Doesn't mean it's wrong."
His jaw tightened. I knew he didn't think along the same lines that I did, but I also knew him well enough to know what was going through his head right now. My Dimitri. My amazing, invincible, sometimes scary Dimitri had a weak spot. And I knew exactly what his weak spot was. Because it was me.
"Come on, Comrade." I coaxed. "You know you want to." If I pushed hard enough, he would cave. He always did. He could pretend that he didn't feel it too. He could hang on to his control by a thread, but the outcome was always the same.
"Don't call me that." He snapped. He stopped moving backwards and glared at me, another defense mechanism. He could glare at me all he wanted to, but I was determined to get a reaction. To get the reaction I was after. "Rose…"
I took the last step forward. Our faces were now inches apart. I could feel the heat of his body through my clothes. Dimitri made one last attempt for control, and I watched his face as he lost. "Roza." My name left his lips like a prayer and then he was kissing me.
He pressed closer to me until there was no space left between us. One arm snaked behind my head and slid into my hair. The other cupped my face and pulled me closer to him. My arms both went instinctively around his waist to hold me up; because I was sure my knees were going to give out from the sensations caused by the feel of Dimitri's mouth on mine.
This wasn't like it had been with Victor's lust charm, compulsive and hungry. But it wasn't like it had been in the practice room either. That time when I made Dimitri's control break, it was passionate but angry. It wasn't even like the sweet kiss he had given me after telling me he wasn't going to be Tasha Ozera's guardian. This kiss was different. It was a little bit of each and a little bit of something else entirely.
"Why do you do it, Roza?" He asked between kisses. "Why are you so determined to-"
I cut him off with another kiss, but this time he wouldn't be distracted. He set me gently away from him, and I frowned. His control was back. The whole thing with Tasha had shown how much Dimitri really cared about me. He gave up his only chance to have children so he could be with me, but even now, he pulled away.
"No, Rose." He took a step back as if the distance would lessen our connection. I knew from experience that it wouldn't. "I want to know why you're so determined to make me lose control."
I sighed heavily. First, we would talk. Then, Dimitri would go back into teacher mode and I would never get to kiss him senseless until the next time I broke down the student/mentor boundary that he kept putting up. There was no way to avoid his question. "Because you are insanely hot and I am a hot-blooded female. Isn't that a good enough reason?"
Dimitri blinked. That obviously was not the answer he was expecting.
I started to turn away. "Tell me the real reason, Rose." He interrupted before I could.
"What, you don't believe me?" I asked innocently.
" You are definitely hot-blooded." He said with a half-smile. "I'll agree with that, but I know you Rose. Sometimes better than you know yourself. There's something else going on here."
I started to object, but I couldn't deny the fact that he was right. It was part of our connection. "Fine." I sighed, positive that whatever came out of my mouth next was going to make me seem petty or juvenile. "I care about you, all right? And I know you care about me too. As more than a student." He couldn't deny either of these statements because both were obviously true. "Sometimes I just need a reminder."
"So you push and push until I give in?" He asked. I expected him to be mad, but he only looked amused.
"Pretty much." I agreed. "It works almost every time." Unless he was extremely grumpy and called me childish. Then I would hang out with Adrian Ivashkov in front of him. Dimitri didn't like the fact that Lissa and I associated with Adrian. He thought Adrian was a bad influence, but what he didn't seem to realize was that I could handle Adrian easily. It was the man standing in front of me I was worried about.
"You shouldn't." He said shortly. Dimitri's brown hair still hung in his face, and his expression was deadly serious. Some emotion I couldn't name showed clearly on his features.
"I know I shouldn't do this!" I almost shouted. Unlike Dimitri I never claimed to have control over myself. "Don't you think I know that?"
"That's not what I meant, Rose." He corrected gently.
"Oh." A rare smile showed on Dimitri's normally serious face as my voice came out soft and feminine and totally un-Roselike. "Well, what did you mean?"
"I meant," he took a step forward, bringing our bodies in close contact again, "that you shouldn't need a reminder that I care for you." He kissed me softly, chastely as he held me close. "You know that I care for you, Rose. You also know that we can't be together right now, but maybe…" he kissed me on the nose. "One day, we'll be together, Rose. One day, I won't have to fight for control to keep from kissing you. I'll be able to kiss you out in the open, for the entire world to see."
I leaned my head against his strong, steady chest and closed my eyes, lulled into a feeling of security by the tone of his voice. I smiled into his shoulder and allowed myself to relax, dreaming of that time when we could be together.
"One day…"