A/N:

Forgive me readers for I have sinned. It has been 3 weeks since my last update…

Anyway, I tried to make up for the lack of lemony goodness in previous chapter. I know, it was a missed opportunity. What can I say, I wasn't inspired to write smut… I hope this chapter fixed that a little, even though the lemon is super short. Also, I did go a little longer on this chapter…Especially since it has again a while since my last update.

If you're still with me, leave a review. Tell me if you like the chapter.

XOXO

Gossip Girl.

oooops, I mean,

XOXO

K

Chapter 10 - Testing and Training

Rose hissed as she woke up. She was wrapped around Dimitri and loving every minute of it. Well, she wasn't so fond of the rug burns on her ass or her knees. But she sure did have a wonderful time getting them.

Dimitri was kissing her neck roughly. His teeth grazed her skin deliciously. Rose felt as if he had ignited every cell in her body. She hissed and moaned with every ministration of his mouth on her body.

She tugged at his clothes, wanting any layer of fabric that separated them gone. Dimitri obliged enthusiastically, discarding his shirt quickly. She didn't pause before she bit his nipple, extracting a hiss of pleasure from him.

They didn't bother moving to the bed. Rose wanted him right then and there, where they were, on the floor. Or ,o,re accurately, on the carpet.

Rose was sure the speed with which Dimitri removed her clothes was far more than dhampir-speed. And that only turned her on more. She wanted him wholly and completely, without holding back.

In the throes of passion Rose wondered if Dimitri noticed that when he'd entered her, he didn't plunge into her. Instead he pulled her up to him while he supported all of her weight with one arm. Rose wrapped her legs around him as her nails dug into his back.

Dimitri laid on her for a moment, looking down into her eyes. Both his arms were holding Rose tightly to his body. One of his forearms was between Rose's shoulder, his palm supporting her head. Dimitri's other arm held her pelvis firmly in place against his own. Rose's body wasn't touching the floor beneath her and for those few moments she felt like she was floating. The feeling was exquisite.

Seconds later Dimitri was plowing into her, utterly unabashed. That feeling may have been even more exquisite. It was certainly her undoing.

After that, everything got a little hazy. Climaxing that hard will do that to you. She vaguely remembered Dimitri sitting up with her in his lap; He pressed her down on him with both hands wrapped under her arms and up over her shoulders (which would explain the rug burn on her knees). Rose made a mental note to definitely try that again when she was in a state that she could actually remember the pleasure (and maybe not on the carpet next time). But she very clearly remembered the carpet and she had the burns to prove it. She had no recollection how they ended up in bed, though.

Rose attempted to move again yet let out another hiss.

"Roza, what's wrong?" Dimitri asked groggily, still half asleep.

"Nothing. Just some rug burn".

Rose felt Dimitri's form rumble beneath her. "Let me guess, knees and ass?" He asked.

"You too?"

"Yep", he chuckled, "and my forearems".

Rose, are you alright? Lissa asked through the bond.

Rose groaned. "I need to talk to Lissa. She's anxious. She's gonna come looking for me if I don't answer her. She's worried enough as it is".

Dimitri quirked his eyebrow at her. "How do you know?"

Rose pointed to her temple. "Bonded. Remember?".

Rose started rummaging around for her phone. She squirmed towards her nightstand, where she usually kept her phone. Obviously it wasn't there. Reluctantly and with a groan, she got out of bed and started scrummaging her discarded clothing to find her jeans and check the pockets. Not finding it and figuring it must have fallen out the previous night, she started picking up clothes in search of her damn phone.

"Looking for this?" Dimitri held up her phone between his forefinger and his thumb, dangling it in front of him, smirking like an imp.

"You jerk!" Rose threw the jeans she held in her hand at him.

He chortled. "If I was a jerk I would have enjoyed the view for a little longer before giving you back your phone".

Rose very much wanted to hold back the giggle that escaped her mouth.

Dimitri got out of bed, sauntered over to Rose and placed a firm kiss on her lips. "I love it when you do that", he said.

"Do what?" she giggle again.

"That".

All words were lost when Dimitri pulled Rose to him with both hands on her ass. But when Rose felt her ass vibrate she pulled back a bit puzzled. She didn't think even Dimitri could have powers like that.

"Oh, it's your phone", Dimitri handed Rose her phone, but didn't leg go of her other cheek.

"Nice", she said, playfully disgusted.

"Hi Liss", Rose answered her phone and gently pushed Dimitri back with her hand on his chest. Dimitri took a step back but held Rose's hand on his chest where she'd placed it.

"Are you okay?" Dimitri could hear Lissa's side of the conversation as well. He wondered if the phone was just that loud or if he was becoming more aware of his strengths.

"I'm fine, Lissa. I promise".

"Good. Did you sleep at all? Did Dimitri take good care of you?".

"I slept very well and Dimitri took excellent care of me".

"Good. Listen, Rose, we need to talk, you're aura looked really bad yesterday", Lissa said worriedly.

Dimitri gave Rose a puzzled look.

"Yeah, sure, we'll talk. But I gotta go right now, Liss". Rose was blowing her off. Lissa knew it. Dimitri knew it. Even Christian, Sydney and Adrian who were listening in on Lissa's side of the call knew it.

"Okay, Oh, before you go, Alberta has called a meeting at 1AM. Don't be late".

"Sure thing. Bye!" Rose hung up.

"What was that about your aura?" Dimitri asked as soon as Rose hung up.

Rose shrugged. "No idea. Hey, how about a shower?"

Now Rose was blowing Dimitri off. But what a way to blow.

And that's how Rose found herself on her knees in her shower, with Dimitri's dick in her mouth. He had a fistful of her hair held tightly as if that was the only thing anchoring him in place. Unconsciously, he thrusted into her mouth. Which, for reasons beyond him, Rose actually seemed to enjoy and hollowed out her cheeks even more.

For a perverted second, Dimitri wondered if one of Rose's dhampir super powers was being able to fit so much of him down her throat. The thought left his brain just as quickly as it entered when Rose's teeth grazed his shaft.

"Roza, You need to stop now before I-"

Rose cut off Dimitri words when she brazenly fondled his balls. With that, anything semi-coherent was expelled from his thoughts. One final squeeze of his sack and a thrust later, Dimitri came with a glorious roar.

Rose got to her feet with a look of victory on her face. Before she had a chance to wash her mouth, Dimitri kissed her deeply. He could taste himself on her tongue and lips. The thought alone was arousing.

"Bozhe moy", he said barely above a whisper. "That was incredible".

Rose hummed in agreement.

"I'd like to return the favor".

Rose's cheeks flushed, heat rushed to her core, more so than before. "Fuck", she muttered. "We don't have time". They both knew they had to be in a meeting soon.

"Rain check?" Dimitri asked, his voice husky just thinking about it.

Rose nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes".

"WHAT?!" Rose exclaimed.

"You heard me, Rose", Alberta replied flatly. "You're on lock down for now. No leaving the compound, no hunting. You are to remain here at all times until we know it's safe". She paused at the ridiculousness of what she said. "You know what I mean. Until this Jeanine threat it taken care of, I don't want you out there".

"Then what am I supposed to do all night, Bertie?!" Rose was fuming.

"Train Dimitri. It's about damn time he started".

"What about my team, huh?"

"Lissa and Sydney will split their time between hunting and helping you train Dimitri as well as testing his abilities".

"And who exactly is going to be the slayer on this team?!" Rose hollered more than asked.

Olena Belikova cleared her throat and answered. "Me".

And now all the attendants at the meeting knew why Abe and Olena were present.

"That is ridiculous", Rose scoffed. "What about Abe?"

"Don't worry, little girl. It seems I have been grounded as well".

Sydney spoke up, "Since Jeanine clearly threatened Abe as well, Alberta is insisting that Abe stay here under the protection of the sisterhood. And I agree".

"Jeanine is a threat to everyone. Not just Abe and myself", Rose argued. "And she also threatened Olena, for fucks sake".

"Rose!", Lissa chastised. She hated when Rose swore like a sailor.

"She's right though", Dimitri added his input, "Jeanine specifically asked about Abe and Olena. That's not a threat that should be taken lightly". Dimitri was more than happy for Rose to sit out the next few rounds. But sending out Olena in her stead made no sense.

"How is she even going to hunt out here?" Rose was still outraged. "We have a game plan that works for us. We know the hunting ground, the lay of the land. What's she going to do? No offense Olena".

"Olena has a slightly different tactic which is just as effective", Alberta defended.

Rose was shaking her head. "This is not happening. I go out there every night and I hunt strigoi. That's what I do! It is not a safe job, boys and girls. It's dangerous! Knowing that Jeanine is out there doesn't make it more dangerous".

"Yes it does!", Alberta slammed her hands on the desk, effectively quieting the room and any more protests on Rose's tongue. "Yes it does. She already got into your head once. If you hesitate, you're dead. Or worse".

Rose was about to rebut when Dimitri grabbed her forearm under the table. Any further arguments she had died on her lips.

"What about Lissa and Sydney?" Rose asked, defeated.

"Olena will keep them safe", Alberta insisted.

Rose crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't trust anyone to protect her sisters as well as she could.

Olena cleared her throat, "If I may", she said hesitantly. "It might put your mind at ease if we spar, get acquainted with my fighting style and skills. I'm up for a round. If you feel up to it".

Rose nodded. "Alright, let's go".

With each step towards the gym, Rose was liking this idea more and more. She'd spar with Olena and either put her mind to rest or prove to Alberta that she shouldn't be grounded and separated from her team.

The gym was cleared of all trainees on the mats. Rose and Olena had changed into something more befitting a sparring match. Getting to the mats, it seemed Rose and Olena had amassed an audience. Other than all participants of the adjourned meeting and the trainees in the gym, more and more students piled in to see the epic battle. And it was epic. Epic of Morphious-is-fighting-Neo proportions. Moroi and dhampir, students and faculty alike, dropped everything and rushed to catch the spectacle.

"Alright", Alberta got everyone's attention. "Rules of engagement are standard. No hitting the face with closed fists, if your opponent taps out or goes limp the fight is over. If you have staked your opponent, mocked with both hand pressed over the heart, the fight is over". Dimitri got the distinct feeling Alberta was going over the rules for his benefit. Alberta continued, "Match is 15 minutes. Rose if you take down Olena in less than 15 minutes, you will remain with your team and Olena will train Dimitri. If not, you're on lock down and will be handling all of Dimitri's training".

Olena will train Dimitri. That never occurred to Rose. Or to Dimitri. Rose gave him the slightest glance. He nodded slightly, letting her know that whatever the outcome, he was okay with it. Even if he wasn't totally okay with Olena training him, and no matter how much he wanted Rose to be the one to train him, he wouldn't deny Rose the opportunity to stay with her team.

The younger girls were giddy with excitement. They filled with OMGs, did-you-see-thats, and that-was-amazings. Sure the members of the sisterhood were used to seeing slayers spar. But they never saw a match quite like this. It was old school vs. new age. Father America vs. Mother Russia.

Rose and Olena's fighting styles were so different that no one knew what to expect.

Fifteen minutes and one grueling grunge match later, Alberta blew her whistle. That was that. Olena held her own against Rose. And quite well at that. There were time where she almost had Rose beat. While Rose did expect Olena to be badass, she also had this prejudice that guardians became complacent at a certain age and didn't keep up their training or put effort into staying in combat ready shape. Rose was both surprised and pleased the Olena gave her a real run for her money.

In very sportswoman like attitude, Rose and Olena hugged it out once the match was over. "Take good care of my team, Olena".

Olena nodded. "Take good care of my son".

Rose nodded.

The gym cleared out pretty quickly and Dimitri approached Rose. He smiled at her. "Don't look so happy about this", Rose warned.

His smile only grew. "Is it so wrong that I'd rather have my girlfriend beat me up on a daily basis than my estranged mother do it?"

They both kind of just let the 'girlfriend' comment slide without really discussing it. It felt right, so Rose just left it at that.

Sydney called to them, "Rose, Dimitri. We need to do some test on Dimitri and work out a training program based on the results".

"Of course we do", Rose rolled her eyes and let her head drop.

"Hey, my through planning has saved your ass more than once", Syd defended.

"You're right", Rose conceded. "I apologize".

"Who are you and what have you done with Rose?" Sydney questioned. The look on her face caused Dimitri to burst out laughing.

Rose shook her head indulgently. "What do you have in mind, Syd?"

"I would like to start off with some assessments of Dimitri's abilities. We need to ascertain Dimitri's speed and strength. I've remodeled one of the storage rooms to a lab of sorts. I set it up with a treadmill and multi trainer, along with machines to monitor your heart rate, breathing and metabolism".

Dimitri nodded. "Thorough".

"Let's go!" Sydney practically squealed.

"I need a change of clothes", Dimitri said. He was not dressed for a workout.

"And I need a shower", Rose added. "We'll meet you there". Sydney gave the two the room number and they parted ways.

Dimitri changed quickly and ran ahead of Rose to meet Syd, anxious to get started with testing and training. Sydney started by taking Dimitri's blood to run all the standard test and then some.

By the time Rose joined them, Sydney already had Dimitri shirtless and hooked up to a heart monitor, blood pressure monitor and a mask that would monitor his breathing.

"So we're going to start with cardio", Sydney gestured to the treadmill. "You're going to start at walking pace and gradually build up to your maximum speed". She showed him the controls for increasing and decreasing the speed.

Dimitri did as he was told. He started off nice and slow. But after a few minutes he was running at full speed. Which wasn't as fast as Sydney thought it would be.

Syd shook her head slightly in disapproval. "He's holding back", she muttered to Rose.

Rose was surprised by Syd's reaction. Dimitri was running as fast as she usually ran. The difference was, he wasn't even breaking a sweat. He was sprinting non stop, yet he looked like it wasn't even enough of an effort for him to be winded. Where Syd was disappointed, Rose was awed. He's like a machine, she thought.

Sydney stepped up to the treadmill. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine".

"What was your favorite breakfast as a child?" Sydney asked.

"What?" Dimitri looked at her confused.

"I've learned it's best not to argue with her", Rose remarked dryly. "Just answer her".

Dimitri rolled his eyes and answered truthfully. "Every Sunday morning, my dad would make me and Ivan french toast while my mom squeezed fresh orange juice", Dimitri smiled sadly at the memory. "I don't think I've had french toast since they passed away".

"Dimitri", Syd interrupted his trip down memory lane. "This is not your maximum speed. Far from it! You can still talk normally and keep pace. You're not trying hard enough!"

"He's running almost as fast as a cheetah!" Rose exclaimed.

"Don't be absurd!" Sydney retorted. "Cheetahs can run 70 miles per hour. Dimitri's barely running 40 miles per hour. That's more like, ostrich fast". She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Stop arguing!" Dimitri intervened. "What do you suggest I do, Sydney?"

"Run faster!"

"Uh, Syd", Rose for once was being the voice of reason. "This treadmill only goes up to 40 mph. And that's only because you modified it to meet dhampir standards of speed. If you really want to test him, you're gonna have to revamp this thing again to match strigoi speed". Rose said smugly.

"Well, shit", Sydney huffed. "Rose is right". It physically hurt her to admit some else was right.

Rose made another suggestion. "We can test his speed in the gym. But he won't be connected to any monitors so it's just to get a ball park estimate until you upgrade the treadmill".

Syd nodded. "Right. Let's move on to weights in the meanwhile. Hopefully, we can assess your full potential in that area".

Six hours later and Dimitri was done. Rose was exhausted just from watching him. Sydney declare the day as semi successful. Dimitri could lift, press, pull and crunch at almost the maximum weight on the multi trainer. Later Sydney had him get back on the treadmill to see how long he could hold his pace. After an hour, they called it quits and decided to go with Rose's idea.

In the gym, Dimitri moved fast. Still not cheetah fast, though. But fast enough to feel out of breath. "That's never happened to me before", he said bemused.

Lucky for him, Rose had had enough. She didn't want Dimitri over exhorting himself before his training commenced.

"I think we're done for the day, Sydney".

"But we still need to test his reflexes!", Syd whined.

"Tomorrow", Rose said firmly.

"Fine!" Sydney still had to run Dimitri's blood tests and come up with a solution for the treadmill. With that in mind she dismissed them.

Now that Rose had an idea of what Dimitri could do, she was thinking up a training plan that was appropriate for his physical condition and state of mind. Usually, young girls started out with endurance training before maturing and moving on to combat and weapons. Plus that had to be factored in with the rest of their curriculum.

None of that applied to Dimitri, though. Sure, there was a need for building up endurance, it was just on a whole other level. He was most lacking in hand to hand combat and staking. And he wasn't restricted by other engagements. He could dedicate 8 hours a day to training.

"What's on your mind, Roza?" Dimitri asked when he walked out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. "You look a million miles away".

"Just thinking about your training", Rose answered truthfully.

Dimitri nodded. "What do you have in mind?" He dropped his towel and crawled into bed beside Rose.

Rose laid her head on Dimitri's chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "Well, hand to hand combat for sure. We'll start with the basics. You've got natural skill and raw talent, so hopefully, you'll be able to advance quickly and…" Rose cut her sentence short when she realize Dimitri's breath had evened and he was fast asleep.

Rose and Dimitri woke bright and early the following day to begin training. They had commandeered one of the training room, lined it with mats from wall to wall. This particular training room had a mirror wall, like a dance studio would have. It helped teach the would-be slayers how to move their bodies while they could actually see how their bodies moved.

Rose and Dimitri spent hours on basic punches, kicks, and blocks, followed by combos.

"When you're up against one of them, you don't think, you act. We rely a lot on muscle memory. We let instinct take over in battle".

Dimitri listened to every word Rose uttered as if his life depended on it, because in all likelihood, it did. He did as she instructed without question. He followed orders without hesitation. He trusted Rose to prepare him. He trusted Rose to give him the tools he needed to save lives, including his own.

Almost everything Rose was teaching Dimitri was new to him. Yes, he'd boxed in the past and did some martial arts as a kid. Dimitri knew how to handle himself in an altercation. But his was completely different. The fighting style he was learning now, the way he was making his body move, ached in places he didn't realize could hurt.

"We're almost done for the day, babe", Rose smiled at Dimitri. They were both sweaty and huffing. Rose sat cross legged in front of Dimitri with her back leaned against the mirror. "I want you to show me all the moves we've been going over today".

Dimitri did as he was told.

"Good. Very good". Rose nodded. "Now I want you to do that faster".

Dimitri repeated the punched and kicks.

Rose nodded again. "Faster".

Once again Dimitri complied.

"Again", Rose commanded.

Dimitri was getting frustrated. He didn't know what this tactic was supposed to accomplish, but he did as he was told anyway.

"You're faster than this, Dimitri. Stop thinking, and just own it".

Dimitri's arms fell to his side. His fighting stance all forgotten. He looked defeated. "How the fuck am I supposed to do that Rose?!". Dimitri immediately regretted his behavior. "I'm sorry. It's just frustrating and I didn't mean to take it out on you".

Rose took a deep breath. She knew she was pushing him, but right now, he needed to be pushed. "Close your eyes, comrade".

With that one word, Dimitri knew he was forgiven. He closed his eyes.

"Fighting stance", Rose instructed. "Don't open your eyes. Now try again". Without him knowing it, Rose was filming Dimitri. When he advanced in his training they'd be able to monitor his progression. "Excellent", Rose said pleased.

"Was I any faster?"

"A little". Rose got up off the mats. "Come on, let's shower and get some lunch".

At lunch with her sisters, Sydney suddenly exclaimed, "Lissa had a great idea this morning to test Dimitri's reflexes".

"You know how my greatest guilty pleasure is watching tennis on espn?" Lissa asked rhetorically. "Well. I thought we could get one of those training machines that throw balls at the tennis players. Sydney can probably MacGyver it to even greater speed and throwing harder". Lissa continued proudly, "We can start by turning it on aimed at you Rose. Get an idea how a regular dhampir handles the machine's output. Then test it on Dimitri. Even if he gets hit more than he actually catches or deflects balls, then at least he'll have been trained in how to take a hit".

Sydney clapped happily as Lissa stood and took a bow.

"I can't believe you called me a regular dhampir", Rose grumbled. While Lissa and Sydney hi-fived, Rose asked, "Where are you even going to get one of those?"

That's when the table suspiciously quieted down.

"We may have asked Abe to procure one", Sydney mumbled.

"And he agreed to this?"

"He actually thought it was a really good idea", Lissa answered. "He said that if it works well, we should bring more in, to do target practice with weapons and magic", she beamed.

"Yeah", Sydney added. "Abe said we'll have one here the day after tomorrow".

"I gotta say", Rose said, "I am thoroughly impressed".

"So Sydney", Dimitri asked, "Any news on my bloodwork?"

"Everything I tested so far looks ordinary. But there are still test results I'm waiting on".

As promised, the following day, the ball machine from hell arrived and Sydney put it to use, attacking Rose. As good as Rose's instincts and reflexes were, and as fast and strong as she was, she still took a few good hit from those 'stupid yellow furry balls'.

When it was Dimitri's turn, Sydney started the ball machine slow and worked up the speed gradually. It seemed that Dimitri was doing pretty well. He dodged and deflected. But as soon as he took one hard hit, he lost focus. More and more balls hit him until Sydney finally took pity on him and shut the machine off.

"That was actually pretty good", Sydney said.

"That was horrific", Dimitri corrected.

"No", Rose, Sydney and Lissa said, far from wholeheartedly.

"Look", Lissa said, "you just started training, you're still getting used to accessing your full potential. This is a lot to take in and a lot to learn how to use. But you'll get there. I have faith in you". Her big green eyes conveyed nothing but confidence. "Besides, now you know what to expect next time the ball hits you", she smiled.

"Thanks for giving me something to look forward to", Dimitri answered sarcastically.

"Shall we try again?" Sydney asked.

Dimitri nodded. As it turns out, Lissa was right. He was much better prepared this time and when the balls started hitting him, it hurt, but he didn't lose his cool. He still didn't do as well as Rose, but that was to be expected.

"Alright, that's it for now", Rose called it. "We promised the munchkin we'd have lunch with her", she reminded Dimitri they made plans to spend lunch with Mia.

"I feel like I haven't seen her in ages", Lissa said.

Sydney skipped on lunch. "I have some stuff to check on in the lab. I'll see you guys later. Oh!", she chirped, "I think I have an idea how to make you faster tomorrow when we train with balls of fury".

"Alright, fine, munchkin", Rose said exasperated, "You can have one last scoop of ice-cream. I swear you had more ice cream than lunch", she muttered the last part.

As Mia was eating her dessert in glee, Sydney rushed towards their table, surprising everyone. The group knew well that Sydney wasn't much of a lunch person, she was more a hearty breakfast and an early dinner type of person.

"Rose, I need to talk to you", she said, a bit breathless. "Now". There was no room for argument.

"Sure", Rose answered. Then turned to Dimitri, "I'll come find you later and we can continue endurance training".

Sydney practically dragged Rose off. Rose had no problem keeping up with a human, but Sydney's urgency and secrecy where working her.

"Syd, you're freaking me out", Rose said when they were safely in Sydney's lab.

Sydney took a few calming breaths. "When is your period due?"

Rose stared blankly at her sister. "What?" she murmured.

"I just got some very interesting results regarding Dimitri's genetics and fertility. So", Syd asked impatiently, "When was your last period Rose?!"

A/N: Don't forget to review!