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Disclaimer: RM owns everything but the storyline.

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Chapter 2: An Irresistible Plea


Rose's P.O.V

Flo Rida's "Club Can't Handle Me" blared through my phone, my alarm alerting me that it was 5.30 in the morning and time for a jog before heading to the Thrown Room where I'd stand guard for Lissa. I jerked at the noise before glaring at the mobile on Dimitri's side of the bed, very tempted to treat it like my pile of broken alarm clocks and throw it at the chipped wall on the opposite side of my bed. After my latest victim had chimed, bringing me to consciousness yesterday, I threw it, broke it and cussed for damaging yet another one for the month before deciding I would use the phone knowing I'd promised myself that I'd make this one last.

With a sigh, I let the song play, too tired to reach over and switch it off. Least it beats the beep, beep, beep of the fucking clock! I thought, resting my hands on my stomach.

"… rounds can I get a Kato
Paparazzi trying to make me pose
Came to party to I came no more
Celebrate coz that's all I know
Tip the groupies takin off their clothes
Grand finale' like superbowl
Go hard run the show
That's right wild out got money to blow
More light more ice when I walk in the door
No hype I do it big all over the globe
Yeah!"

With another sigh, I finally reached over to the chest of drawers, not bothering to look as my fingers tried to find the right button. The smell of ink filled my nose and I flinched away from it before realising my face had landed on a piece of paper, Dimitri's bunched up writing becoming identifiable.

Morning Roza,

I had a Graveyard shift at the Main Gates. I don't finish until lunch so you'll see me strapped to the bed naked… since you won the bet!

Xoxo

"Thanks babe." I whisper at the paper, a smile curving my lips as I pushed the sheets off my naked body. Moving to my closet, I pull on a sports bra, undies, tights and a tank top before securing my stake in the hand made belt and tying my shoes. I loved beating Dimitri when we raced or sparred, whoever won had the loser as their sex slave for a whole night… don't know why we agreed to that, we did it at least three times a day.

Making my way down to the tracks, I bathed in the warmth of the fading sun, the feel of it sending tingles throughout my body but making my eyes hurt as they adjusted to the different light. Living on the Moroi schedule definitely had its disadvantages.

As soon as my shoe clad feet hit the rubbery material of the tracks, I dropped my water bottle and towel before stretching. I could see a couple of other dhampirs on the other side of the track, one a girl and another I recognised as on of my close friends' Eddie. His long legs pounded at the track before they quickened into a sprint; must be coming to the end of his training. The girl dhampir was jogging at a slower pace, her long length of dark brown hair swishing in the air and muscular legs and arms flexing with every movement.

Adrian immediately came to mind. I didn't know how to feel about his girlfriend when he returned two weeks ago because she looked so much like me, down to the very length of said hair. She was older then I by a year but her face had a maturity that mine could never hold (though she didn't act it), even when I turned 40. She's the same height, taste in clothes, music, fighting style, same attitude and recklessness that it freaked me out after I got over the shock of nearly seeing a mirror image of me. Adrian's obsession with me was unhealthy and nearly landed him in hospital when Dimitri put the pieces together.

But Tamara wasn't as good as me. Regardless of the lack of experience she'd had with Strigoi, she had deemed herself top dog in the first week of her arrival only to be knocked down a few notches when she started on me. Then she did it again… and again… and again. I hated her more then when I hated Mia last year.

"Sup Rose?" Eddie pulled me from my thoughts, his voice strained slightly due to need of air as he slowed to an on the spot jog.

"Not much man." I grin as I finish a leg stretch and turn to the track ahead. "Finishing up?"

He nods before moving ahead of me. "I'll jog with you around once for my warm down."

I nod in return before I take off, the sun's rays cooling slightly as it takes cover by a thick gray cloud. "Working today?"

Eddie's breathing lets me know he's not about to talk so he just nods.

"What did you do last night Castile? You're never usually this exhausted…" I tease, his relationship with Mia always reeling him in for tormenting… that and my sex life has him blushing for a good hour after we've spoken.

Eddie rolls his eyes, giving me a gentle shove as me pass Tamara. "I'm pushing myself a bit harder," he says with pride. "I only usually do 17 laps before heading to the weights but figured I can squeeze in another two or three each week."

I nod in understanding, the pressure of recent Strigoi sightings near Court putting all dhampirs a little on edge.

"So it hasn't got to do with Mia giving you any?" I try to lighten the mood once I see his eyes taking on a steely appearance.

No matter that his face has already taken on a red flush from his exercising, a blush deepens it as he gushes out with a nervous laugh. "Only you would go from laps to talking about my sex life."

I grin as we finish my first lap in silence before he breaks away with a bye.

After my 11th lap, I've caught up to Tamara again so I get ready to breeze past her, not wanting to be in her presence longer then necessary but she knows I'm coming. In Hathaway style, she throws a smirk over her shoulder before sidestepping causing me to jerk to a stop at the very last moment.

I glare at her. "What the fuck Harrison?" I breathe heavily. I hated stopping when it wasn't my time to, my lack of air throughout the exercise always caught up to me so it took that extra bit of effort to push myself to get started again. Stupid, I know but I wasn't a morning person and took pleasure in my morning jogs; hell, this was my real wake up call.

"You fucking ran into me bitch! Learn to control your balance." She hisses in a winded voice before taking off again.

I glare at her retreating form, my brain forming the perfect final say I'd have for her; running up behind her, spinning her around before reacquainting her with my fist. Bitch!

"Hathaway!" I turned my attention to the unmistakable voice of Christian Ozera. I hated that subconsciously I thought he looked good in a pair of dark washed jeans and a black fitted shirt, the dark colour matching his hair and making his icy blue eyes pop.

"Sparky. What's up?" I sighed in annoyance, my earlier encounter with Tamara killing what little good mood I had as I made my way to the Thrown room.

Christian glared at me, the many nicknames I had for him always fuelling the hate we have for each other. As much as I wanted Lissa to be happy and knowing Christian made her happy, I couldn't understand why I didn't want them to be together again.

"Please don't start shit or mock me but I was wondering if… if…" he hesitated before sucking in a deep breath, "you could help me with my combat training?" The only reason I didn't laugh in his face or let the cockiness that swelled inside me show on my face or play dumb and make him repeat it was only because he stuttered. Christian never stutters.

I did however grin because lets face it; Christian Ozera is an arrogant bastard and prided himself for not asking help. "Why are you asking me Pyro?"

Any doubt or nervousness he felt washed away and twisted into a glare. "Because."

"That doesn't answer anything Ozera." I smirked before continuing on to the Thrown Room, the fact that the ball was very firmly in my court letting my cockiness ease through.

"Can't you just help me? I've got the basics and have been exercising to increase my endurance." He sounded very casual but his eyes shimmered in slight desperation.

I was that much of a judgemental bitch to Christian that I didn't know how to feel about that fact that he was asking for help and in a polite, decent manner. "Why me Christian? Have you asked your Guardian?" Why didn't I just say Dimitri's name?

"No I haven't asked Dimitri." He sighed and I could tell he could only take so much of my attitude; the walls he always held up around me were slipping back into place, his carefree, sadistic view on life rebuilding itself. "Will you do it or not?"

"It depends on your reason Christian." I responded seriously, halting my walk and facing him. "You know I'm all for Moroi fighting against Strigoi, blah, blah, blah but you're different to other Moroi." I can't believe I was about to say this. "I know you, like, I know you personally. If it was some random Moroi, I would probably be a bit more lenient in giving a helping hand but you ain't just some Moroi. You're my best friend's boyfriend Christian."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Christian said in suspicion.

"It has a lot to do with it." I sighed in defence. Christian wasn't just an anybody and even though I hated to admit it, he held a spot in my heart ever since that day in Spokane. Training him meant preparing him for a fight, a battle that he could very possibly never walk away from. Could I put Lissa through that pain? Could I put myself through that pain? Teaching him to fight made Moroi fighting alongside Guardians real, too real and something that just didn't settle well inside me; they came first had been drilled into my head to hard.

"Will you train me or not Rose? I want to be prepared for anything when it comes to Strigoi." He was impatient now but I could see the plea in his eyes, that desperation sinking in even though his wall was back up.

"The answer is going to remain 'no' until you give me your reasons for asking me." I said sternly, inside though, I didn't like him begging me one bit.

"Fuck Rose!" he growled out, hands thrown in the air in frustration. "I only want the best training! You're the best!" he glared at me again, his steely gaze sending an icy shiver down my spine. "There! You happy? Is that what you want to hear? I'm fucking begging you Rose. Please teach me." His voiced turned pleading again.

Whoa! Back up Ozera! More pleading? I didn't know what was wrong with me but I couldn't deny Christian if he was begging, the thought of it was outrageous and something that didn't go with him. At all.

Masking my shock and desperate need to apologise for making him suffer, I threw my man eating smile at him before turning back to the path. "Damn straight I'm the best Ozera. Meet me in the gym at 3. I want to see what you've got."

What the fuck Rose!


Walking into the gym, I was glad it was fairly deserted; only 4 other dhampirs spread out in the area either sparing or doing weights. I walked into the Woman's Locker Room and stripped myself of my uniform, replacing them with a black tank top and basketball shorts before grabbing the duffel bag and heading out a small area of the gym that had floor to ceiling mirrors were I began stretching.

"Have any of you seen Rose Hathaway?" I barely heard Christian's request, his voice carried down the corridor to this room was muffled.

I rolled my eyes before I quickly stood and headed for the door only to walk right into him. With an 'oomph', I stumbled back slightly before getting my balance and glaring at him.

"Right back at ya Rose." He scowled before putting a water bottle down and walking past me. Again, I didn't like that I enjoyed seeing what I saw; his black shirt had been replaced with a white tank top and gray sweats, his ass looking pretty tight against the material.

Why was I doing this again? I sighed before turning around and finishing my stretches.

Warm up completed, I stood and waited impatiently for Christian to finish his. Why had I only just started noticing little, insignificant things about Christian? Why did I feel a pang of anger and guilt when Christian came to the Thrown Room and kissed Lissa affectionately on the forehead? Why did I feel jealous when Christian laughed at something Lissa had quietly said to him? Why did I suddenly notice when I was pissed at Christian that he had four different smiles (all of which looked completely normal, like he was happy to someone that wasn't overanalysing him like I did) when he was with Lissa; a nervous smile that always followed his pretend laugh, a genuine smile that made his eyes dance happily, a bored smile that usually occurred when he shook his head slightly only to brush it off his face like he needed something to do, and his tender smile, one that seemed to make him have a tinge of a glow.

"Ok, so how do you want to begin this?" Christian spoke with minimal confidence, something that caught me off guard.

"Like I said Pyro, I wanna see what ya got." I taunted, ignoring the need to dive into my head fuck and sort out this shit about the man standing in front of me. "Give me your best shot."

He didn't need much encouragement, he quickly threw himself into a fighting stance before springing into action, throwing a fist at my upper body only to be blocked. I let him go at me in attack, correcting his movements as we went before I'd throw in a random move to try and catch him off guard and back into defence. It was an uncoordinated dance and I could tell that every time I corrected him or suggested a different angle, he'd get pissed off and his adrenaline would rocket then go at me harder, using the moves I'd suggested.

"Focus Christian!" I ordered after he failed to block a fist to his ribs that I snagged on him for the sixth time. "You're leaving yourself open!"

"Don't yell at me Rose! I'm doing exactly as you say!" he barked back in frustration, his hand going to his rib that I'm sure must be aching.

"No you're not Fireboy!" I growled back before moving to stand behind him. His back to my chest, two thin layers of material separating our sweaty skin with our body heat meshing together. I ignored the part of my brain that picked up the buzz of electric current, instead focused in pretending that we were two sides of the same magnet, forcing to coexist put pushing each other away whenever the strength was built. I shook my head before reaching for his wrist, clutching it firmly and holding it through the air. I once again ignored the feel of a shock jolting my body where our skin touched, I ignored the mental sigh of happiness that part of my brain released and I brushed off the overwhelming sensation that went straight to my fucking pussy.

"Hold your hand this high so when I come at you, it won't take as long for you to drop your arm and these muscles to take the blow." I moved his arm in sync with mine before dragging my fingers to put out his triceps and biceps. "The triceps are the outer muscle, it'll hurt like a bitch but a bruised muscle is less painful then a cracked rib." I tried to regain my breathing that had become shallow but I think he picked up on it, his lip twitching in the slightest so I knew he was holding back a smirk, holding in a smartass comment. I was extremely grateful.

"You don't need to make up moves just to cop a feel Hathaway." Scratch that, grateful my ass.

"You wish Pyro!" I seethed, letting go of him as if he were on fire. "If you are not going to take this seriously then you're just wasting my time!" the wasting my time comment was only half true because I was getting a work out from this. I wasn't about to him but whoever had taught him to fight had trained him well; he knew what to do and how to block more then half my blows I'd thrown at him.

Christian didn't say anything but let his smirk spring forward, turning to face me then throw his hands up into his fighting stance. "Again!" he snapped.

My eyebrow twitched at the demand and I glared at him, not liking one bit that Christian was trying to order me around. I could handle authority, I could voice the respected titles for anyone above, below or on the same level of me but I couldn't handle any type of order from Christian, especially when I was training his ass.

Due to my 'hesitation', he dropped his fists and glared at me. I internally smirked before landing a punch to his nose, the sound of cracking bones would once have been music to my ears but I instantly regretted my action. As Christian stumbled back, I followed his every move and caught him before he fell on his ass.

"I didn't mean to break –" Christian brushed me off forcibly, clinging to his nose and a string of profanities filling the air.

I quickly ran to my bag and pulled a towel from it before giving it to Christian. "Hold your head back slightly and gently pinch the bridge of your nose." I instructed, trying to be calm. Unexplainable anger and self hatred bounced within me at the sight of a few stray tears mixing in with the flow of his blood because I was the reason he was like this, I had broken his nose and giving him a pair of black eyes that always went with it.

I watched with frantic eyes as Christian tilted his head slightly, the white towel becoming soaked with blood quickly. "I'm so sorry." I whispered, not sure were to put my hands.

His only response was to growl at me before sitting down on the mats and sighing.

"I'll go grab an icepack." I said remembering the freezer that was settled in the main area of the gym. I didn't wait for his response, just jumped up and out the door.

I had wanted to hit Christian so many times in the past but now that I'd managed to do it, I didn't feel so great. The arguments we'd had ever since Lissa and him first got together didn't seek revenge like they used to, the need to slam his head into a wall wasn't heavy and neither was the desperation to drive my foot up his ass. He'd grown on me and had taken the roll of the big brother I never wanted…

"Jeez chica, who got a good one on you?" I had reached the freezer and wrenched the door open a bit too forcefully causing anything that was in the doors to rattle. I turned my attention to a dhampir by the name of Juan Perez, the top of my head just brushing his chin with an olive complexion that Mexicans possessed. With a solid upper body and muscular legs shaped by God himself, the man was to die for. He was a very sexy Guardian that I would definitely sink my teeth into if Dimitri hadn't occupied them, that and he was a fellow Guardian for Lissa.

I looked down at my hands, only now noticing the few drops of smeared blood on my hand, wrists and now the ice pack.

"Perez, what the fuck do you take me for?" I smirk back, forgetting all about how the blood got there.

He chuckles at me. "What are you doing later? Wanna grab some dinner with me?" his dark forest green eyes made him look that much hotter but he knew Dimitri was my man; what was he playing at?

"I won a bet with Dimitri." I dropped my voice to a husky seduction and winked so that he knew what I meant, my mind conjuring up how I'm going to have my way with him.

I slight grimace masked his flirting and he nodded. "I saw that, you totally wiped the floor clean there chica. So rematch tomorrow?"

I watched as his finger flitted between the two of us whilst I mentally checked what I had going for me tomorrow. I grinned when I realised I had the whole morning free before glancing around him, checking the vinyl. "Sure babe, the floor could use another clean."

I winked and walked back in the direction I came from, ice pack numbing my hand and reminding me that Christian was in need of it and Juan's laughter in my wake. "Tease." He yelled behind me.

"10 am Perez. Don't miss it." I threw over my shoulder before walking through the small distance of the hall to Christian.

"Took your time!" he hissed as he reached out for the ice pack. I gladly gave it to him before shaking my hand, waiting for it to come back alive. I watched as he wrapped a corner of the towel around the icepack then raised it to his clean face; smears of his blood saturated the remaining of the towel and droplets of the red liquid on his white, sweaty shirt.

"Sorry Christian, I have a lot of rematch requests." I replied, my previous self loathing swelling in me once more. If someone told me three days ago that I'd be feeling bad about something that I'd done to Christian, I would've laughed in their face before recommending them to see a doctor in the psycho ward; now, it took everything in me not to break down and cry over hurting him. "I'm so sorry Christian."

"Don't worry about it Hathaway!" He growled again before wincing.

"Do want to see if Lissa can come down and fix it?" I whispered guiltily.

"She can't just drop everything and come running to tend to a broken nose Rose!" He barked causing me to flinch away from him. "She's the Queen; there are more important things then this." I didn't know how to take the way he gestured to his whole body instead of just his nose. Where the pair going through a hard time? No, because I'd seen their happiness in the Thrown Room a few hours ago. If that was the case then why did he sound so bitter? Must be the pain he's going through.

"Right… maybe I should take you to see a doctor?"

"Hell no! I hate doctors just as much as I fucking hate you!"

Ouch! I resisted the aggressive side of me, urging me to give him a busted lip to go with his newly colourful face. "Well what the fuck do you want me to do?" I yelled back becoming offended by his words and actions. "This sort of shit happens all the time in training! Do you know how many cracked ribs I've had? Broken noses, black eyes? Do you know how many sprained ankles and wrists I've had? Split lips and cuts? Hell, what about the times I've had bruised or broken knuckles? Cracked skin, blistered hands –"

"God, cry me a river!" he hissed under my breath, interrupting my toxic ramblings. "I get it, the list goes on! Poor, poor Rose Hathaway." He dropped his voice to sound like a whiney child.

My eyebrow twitched again and my fist clenched, my own snare fixing my face as my defence continued to grow. "Listen here Pyro; it doesn't matter what the fuck you're hurting from, Strigoi are not going to care! It doesn't matter if they've broken both my legs; I'm still going to fight until my last breath!" My voice was rising, "You want me to train you, I suggest you throw that rag aside, get off your ass and fucking come at me without a drop of fear or pain showing."

Christian threw the towel aside and stood, his face fierce and hands clenched, just like mine. "I'm not as strong as you Hathaway!"

"Then maybe you should hit the weights." I snap, his insults bouncing my head replaying themselves.

He glared at me hard; his icy blue eyes seemed to dance with blue fire as his breathing became short and heavy. Aside from our deep breathing, his steps towards me were the only sound. He wasn't going to attack me, that was for sure but he did barge into my shoulder, his tense body knocking me back a step before he stepped to the door, closing it with a thud.

I couldn't stop the trickle of fear within me because even though I didn't turn around or use the wall mirrors, I knew he was still there behind me, silent and unpredictable. The tension that filled the room wasn't one for war so I knew he wasn't going to burn me with his element. The tension between us was loathing, so fucking thick that a knife would be bent if it tried to stab it.

"Rose…" he whispered right behind me, his hot breath fanning the back of my neck and his body heat again interlocking with mine. He gripped my shoulder and spun me around and even though I could stop him without so much as using my hands, I let him. The skin he cupped with his hand tingled before spreading fire within me, going straight to my abdomen and making my panties wet. The only thing I was supposed to feel when he touched me was disgust or anger. Lust and need weren't supposed to be ignited within me.

"Christian," I say barely above a whisper but I knew he heard me. Jeez, don't sound needy or seductive Rose! His eyes still seemed to hold that icy blue fire, one I'd only just realised he'd had when he was with Lissa, both completely naked and using a condom to separate their skins from touching where necessary.

"I hate you with everything I am but I need you just as much." His voice was venomous but nothing else was said as he pushed me into the wall, his lips pressed to mine that any resistance I had at preventing the flood of passion within me was diminished. Christian was kissing me and I wasn't pushing him away, I was encouraging him by responding, moving my lips to match his. His hands were pulling me to him, gripping hard at my clad covered skin whilst his body was pushing me to the wall. The desperate need to feel him controlled my hands so before I knew it, I had my once numb hand under his shirt and digging into his back, pulling him closer whilst the other made its' way to his head, twisting into his hair and also pulling him closer.

More electricity buzzed between us as his tongue slid across my lips and fireworks seemed to explode as I met his with mine. I moaned into his mouth as they twisted together and once again we were desperate to pull ourselves closer to each other. My hand on his back reached higher, fingers digging in as his hands slide under my shirt, lifting it slightly before tingles broke out within me where our skin met. He moaned into my mouth before pulling away from my stomach, his hand sliding down to my leg before lifting it up.

Through the haze Christian had given me, I realised what he was doing and lifted it up and wrapped it around his waist before bringing my other up and linking it with my foot as his hand slid to my butt. He pressed me closer to him but used the wall to keep his balance, squeezing my ass and causing me to moan. I could feel his penis brushing my core, his height causing it to just stand below my ass whilst my crotch was against me abdomen. It didn't matter, my pussy was so wet and I was so horny that I began to grind against his abs.

Breathing, the stupid necessity that it was, became more short and needy, especially when I'd moan into his mouth. I pulled away finally, breathing in as much air as I could as I continued to grind against him, clinging to him as tight as he held me. My lips found his neck as he lowered me slightly on the wall so I quickly began to kiss, suck and lick at his sweaty skin as he met my thrusts. With the new position, his erection now pounded against my clit and I moaned in happiness, finally getting the friction I so badly needed.

"Rose…" He groaned above me, his grip tightening as he rubbed his cock against me clad covered clit. The sensation was fucking awesome and my orgasm was building, something that usually took Dimitri minutes to produce. And with that thought, all things must come to an end.

My lips froze against his neck and I quickly withdrew my hands from under his shirt and out of hair. "We can't do this Christian!" I said with such pathetic regret that I didn't know I could do such a thing. I pushed him away once my feet were on the ground, whimpering to add to my pitiful behaviour.

What the fuck was that? What the hell is wrong with me? I couldn't stop the tears springing to my eyes, Dimitri's face looming before me with such betrayal end heartache that I did nothing to stop them from exiting my eyes and sliding down my cheeks. I had cheated on Adrian with Dimitri, lost Adrian and got Dimitri back and now I was making out with Christian? I'm nothing more then a slut. And what made it worse? Christian was Dimitri's Moroi.

"I'm sorry Rose… I don't know what…" he trailed off, his own tears watering his eyes. The fire in them was gone and I hated that I was longing to see them again.

I shook my head before wiping the tears from my eyes. I had cheated on Dimitri, the love of my life with Christian, my worst enemy.

A choked sob later, I picked up my bag and flung open the door, racing to the woman's locker room, praying that the Gym would be deserted. Once again, I wished that I hadn't dug myself a notorious life because if someone knew I was in the building, I could guarantee that they would stop their movements just to watch me. I didn't bother to look up to see if anyone was in the room, just walked hastily to the locker room and to the sink with the mirror reflecting a teary eyed slut. Turning the cold water on too far, the water gushed out with such high pressure that when I cupped my hands under it, the water splashed up, up my wrists and over the porcelain sink.

With a deep breath I turned the tap pressure down and cupped the water in my hands and when I thought it had pooled enough, I splashed it with my face before repeating it another 3 times. Dimitri and Lissa… Oh God! Lissa! Another wave of tears flooded my eyes as I threw her into the equation; she was going to be so broken hearted too!

My two best friends, my lover and a person I considered a sister, my Moroi were going to be so crushed. Waves of guilt near crippled me so I hung onto the basin for dear life, silent tears leaking down my face and I held in all audible cries. They would never forgive me. Both so kind hearted, I wouldn't be surprised if it shattered their beautiful souls.

As I sucked in numerous deep breaths, trying to ease my tears and suffocate my sobs, my phone chimed from my bag alerting me off a message. With a final deep breath and another splash of water to my face, I spun around to the where I'd dropped my duffle bag uncaringly on the floor and pulled the phone from its pocket.

I squeezed my eyes shut in disbelief before scolding myself for the mischievous emotions bouncing around me; Christian had texted me. Though I was unexplainably excited by his text, my thumb shook as it hovered over the 'OPEN' option.

R,

Don't stress. It's my fault and it won't happen again. It's our little secret just as long as you pretend it never happened. I still hate you.

C.

"Yeah, easier said then done!" I whispered with an eye roll, his declaration of hatred making my knees wobble.


Hope you enjoyed guys. Please let me know if you did :)