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DAY 2
The next day, Rose got up early. Tonight they would have to switch to Moroi schedule again and then it would be hard for her, to do the fun things she always liked to do: climbing, hiking and skiing. So she hurried to get the morning toilet done and down to the kitchen, to set up breakfast for everyone. It had become a routine in their daily life for Rose to be the one to make breakfast, Christian often makes the lunch and Lissa was responsible for fixing a dinner.
When Rose looked through the big windows in the basement she saw the sun just rising above the mountains and sending her warmth directly into the big cabin. It always made Rose happy to see the sun and it was something she would miss badly when being back at Moroi schedule. Being disturbed by a deep grumble of her stomach, Rose hurried into the kitchen and started putting the buns into the oven, heating water for the eggs, roasting the ham and making some coffee.
She was so caught up in her daily routine that she didn't hear another person entering the kitchen. As smile spread over Dimitri's face when seeing Rose acting so comfortable in the kitchen. She was a really good Guardian and it was hard, picturing her in the kitchen. She only seemed to fit in a fight, but certainly not in a house and absolutely not as a family person. 'But since Rose had always missed having a family, it's just natural she was building one up to surround her.' Dimitri thought, quietly pulling out a stool at the bar and watching her for some more moments.
When he thought it was safe to let her notice his presence, he said:
"May I get a cup of coffee?"
Rose jumped up, hearing his voice so close behind her in the silence of the house. When she turned around, her breath was caught in her throat, seeing Dimitri sitting at the bar comfortably, being surrounded by the warm red light of the uprising sun. It illuminated him just right and made her heart jump.
"You did scare me, you know?" she said, mischief shown in her eyes. "So I really should think hard about giving you some of my absolutely awesome coffee, you know?"
Dimitri felt that it was easier for Rose to open up to him when they would joke around a little bit and to make it easier for her, he conducted to her humor, knowing exactly that the chance of having the important talk with her would come up eventually. He had tried once to tell the important news and sure he would try it again.
"I'm begging for forgiveness, Mylady. It wasn't in my intentions to scare you!" he said, also smiling and bowing his head in fake remorse.
"Hm, I'm having my generous day today, so you're forgiven. But never do it again!" she said, in her best mentor voice, sounding absolutely the way Dimitri did when he had still been her mentor. His smile only deepened at that and he thanked her when she handed over the cup with freshly made coffee.
"Do you want milk or sugar?" Rose asked, having a close look on the buns and ham.
"No, thank you. Black is okay!" Dimitri said, taking a careful sip of the hot content. "Hm, it's really good!"
"Thank you!" Rose said, turning around and beamed at him.
After a few more minutes of silence and Rose making the breakfast, she turned around again and asked:
"Could you please wake up the others? Breakfast is almost ready."
With a short nod Dimitri stood up and left the kitchen, leaving Rose staring at the spot which he had just filled. This was a perfect image of how her heart felt, after he had left her – something just was missing. Rose also was well aware of the fact, that it would be too easy returning to their old way of treating each other easily. But did she want this? Was her heart ready to take another blow the next time she would see Tasha and Dimitri acting the way couples usually do? 'Surely not!', Rose answered that question for herself, but pushed away those questions nonetheless. 'Now was not the right time to think about it!' she thought and concentrated on making breakfast.
Soon everyone arrived and when everybody was seated, Rose brought everything to the table and so everybody enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and pleasant conversation. Luckily it was nothing about Tasha and Dimitri but more to catch up what happened after Lissa, Christian, Eddie and I had graduated and also about the future.
When everybody was finished they started to make plans for today. Luckily the cabin and its surrounding where secured by strong wards which were controlled and strengthened frequently and so everybody was free to do what they wanted.
Eddie and Rose decided to go skiing while Lissa, Christian and Tasha stayed inside to chat a little. And to not stay aside, Jack and Dimitri decided to follow Rose and Eddie, but not to go skiing just to also catch up a little concerning Guardian business. Soon everybody was on their way either sitting in the living room or putting on the ski clothes and walking uphill to the big ski area.
Due to their Dhampir skills and strict Guardian training, Rose and Eddie headed towards the more difficult routes not hesitating once. Dimitri and Jack went to the small restaurant to have a tea and to sit outside, enjoying the sun.
After several hours, the four guardians met back up at the restaurant. Rose and Eddie hat rosy cheeks because of the sun and cold wind, while Dimitri and Jack hat a light tan in their faces. All four made happy faces because of the possibility to do what they wanted and not having to be on guard all the time. It didn't happen very often that Guardians did have the time to loosen up.
"Hey comrade! I didn't know you were one for tanning!" Rose greeted, putting her ski aside and pulling off her jacket. Then she plopped down on the bench next to Dimitri and gladly took the cup of tea he held to her smiling. After taking a few sips she returned it, stretched out her legs and started to doze off.
"Hey Rose, wake up!" Eddie suddenly called loudly. But which made Rose startled was a deep voice close to her ear, whispering "Wake up, Roza!". She could almost feel his soft and warm lips on her cheek, brushing over her skin and sending shivers down her spine.
"What?" she said, jumping up and trying to ignore the tingling sensation in the spit of her stomach and Dimitri watching her closely. She felt the burning in her cheeks.
"I'm hungry! What do you want?" Eddie asked, also watching Rose closely. Nowadays everybody was watching her and it made her feel uneasy.
"I'll take French fries and a hamburger. And some cookies, please?" Rose tried her best puppy dog eyes on Eddie, which worked out just as usual. When Eddie went on his way to retrieve the food, Rose leaned back and closed her eyes again. Soon Eddie came back with the food and everybody was satisfied with eating. When everybody was ready, Rose grabbed the four cookies and stuffed them in her mouth also. When she looked back up, everybody was staring at her with unbelievable looks. So she swallowed and asked:
"What? A girl needs to eat something!" This loosened up the situation and everybody started to laugh at her. Rose only shrugged and put her jacket back on. Then she nudged Eddie in the side and told him to hurry up and to go with her back on the tracks. So they split up again, Jack and Dimitri staying at the restaurant and Eddie and Rose going skiing again.
In the late afternoon they met up again, heading towards the cabin. Dimitri and Jack where already waiting for Rose and Eddie and to have a little fun, Rose directly skied towards Dimitri, pushing him down with full force and her weight.
Cracking up like a maniac she made herself comfortable on his stomach, crossing her arms and looking down on him smugly.
"Hey comrade! What are you doing down there? Didn't we want to go back and have some dinner?"
After he had recovered from the sudden blow, Dimitri smiled up to her and answered:
"Well, I was actually waiting for you but the wind caught me off guard, I must have lost balance." And with that said, he pushed up and jostled a widely grinning Rose off of him. Pulling hr up with him both laughed their heads off.
"Come on guys, I'm hungry!" Eddie chimed in, starting to walk back to the cabin. Since everybody was hungry after a day on the fresh and crispy air, the others followed suit.
To their great luck, a wonderful smell of food and a blazing fire in the oven welcomed them back when entering the cabin. So after a quick shower everybody met at the big table in the living room and Lissa served beef with potatoes and asparagus, completed with a glass of red wine for everyone.
When everybody was sated, Lissa and Tasha cleaned off the table, while Rose and Dimitri washed the dishes. There was nothing to say after such a happy day, and quickly both had finished their tasks and returned to the group who was gathered around the oven. When Rose took her seat next to Lissa, she was handed a glass of hot wine punch and silent chatter flowed around the room.
Soon the first where heading for bed and bidding their good nights and after a while Rose and Dimitri where the only ones left. Rose meanwhile was seated on the plush carpet on the floor with her back against the couch, while Dimitri was sprawled out on the couch, his head near Rose's.
"Rose?" Dimitri asked after minutes of silence, only the crackling of the fire making noise from time to time.
"Hm?" she answered, staring into the flames deeply in thought. She was very aware of the closeness of him and the flames helped her to get distracted from the thought of the feeling of his warm and hard body against hers.
"What are you thinking about?" Dimitri questioned further, having seen a happy smile spread across her face.
"I'm thinking about the time back at the Academy. When Mase was still alive and what stupid things we did and how much fun we had." Rose answered, a hint of sadness in her voice. It was still difficult for her to cope with the loss of her best friend and the things that had happened back in Spokane one year ago.
"You are still having problems to cope with what had happened, right?" Dimitri said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"Yeah, especially now. It happened only one year ago but sometimes I have the feeling that I have left Spokane just yesterday." Rose pulled up her knee to her body and wrapped her legs around them. Her head, she rested on the couch and stared up the ceiling. She knew that Dimitri had experienced something similar and probably knew very well the feelings that remained after such a tragic loss: pain, hurt, anger and a lot of 'What if….' questions.
"It will get better after some time but that still doesn't bring back Mason." Dimitri said, softly pulling his fingers through Rose's long hair now. He had always loved this feature the most, next to her temper and her willingness to never give up. Not to forget her sarcastic remarks in order to save herself from pain and betrayal.
But the worst type of betrayal was solely on Dimitri's shoulders and he was fully aware of that. It would make his fight for her the more complicated but Dimitri also knew that Rose needed some more days to get used to his presence again. And to lose the thought of Tasha and him being together.
Slowly Rose turned her head towards him, only inches away. When she looked into his eyes, he could see the pain reflecting there and suddenly it became his only wish to wipe of this emotion off her beautiful face.
Without hesitation Dimitri moved his head a little bit towards Rose's and before his lips touched hers, he saw a feeling he was hoping to see again: love, the deepest and purest love only his Rose would be able to feel. It was her way to commit to somebody. Either not at all or at a hundred percent.
When their lips touched it felt like firework starting off. Her soft lips were hesitant at first, but soon Rose gave up her resolve and answered his movements equally. This is what she had always wanted and dreamed about. Kissing Dimitri again and if it would only be for one more time. But the feeling of his soft lips, caressing hers was just pure bliss.
Now that Rose's need for his touch was seated, she felt the urge to get more growing. She felt the passion and lust rising in her abdomen, only from kissing Dimitri and his hand caressing her scalp softly. She felt her hand moving towards Dimitri's face on her own accord.
A soft moan escaped her when Dimitri's tongue followed the line of her lips and begging for entry. She granted it gratefully and soon their tongues where starting their own battle of love and dominance.
Dimitri's hand had cupped her cheek and was pulling her closer, so that Rose was now practically lying on him. The other hand had left the silky strands of her hair and soothingly caressed her back, which send shivers down her spine. Meanwhile the kiss got more heated and soon they had to come up for some air.
When Rose looked down at Dimitri, realization hit her and she jumped up utterly shocked.
"Rose, …" Dimitri tried to say, but was interrupted by Rose:
"No! I can't do that! No! I'm sorry! I've… I've got to go! Good night!" Without a second glace she turned around and practically ran from the living room.
"Rose, wait!" Dimitri jumped up and tried to call her back, but when he heard her stomping feet on the stairs, Dimitri knew she wouldn't be listening to him at all. With a sigh he sat back down on the couch, running his hands through his hair depressed. What could he do to make her understand?
Thank you for reading this chapter!
Lilian85