The ownership of all characters related to and involving the novels of The Vampire Academy and Bloodlines Series remain the sole property of Richelle Mead, the Penguin Group and any affiliates.

No copyrights have been infringed on maliciously.

A/n: This FF is based on Rose's Blood Promise recount of caring for Dimitri when he's slightly injured during the field-testing but told from his POV. I still don't know if this is an actual memory or some pain-induced delirium from her attack just before she's delivered to Olena Belikova, but it seemed like a perfect opportunity for some Romitri romangst.

I've split the one-shot into two parts, because as normal, I can't write anything short.

P.S. I'm exercising my right of Poetic Licence here to the fullest extent.

P.P.S. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews for Bathtub Blackmail…it was a really fun chapter to write.

~ The Temptation of Touch ~

~ Part Two ~

Taking a single step forward with a speed that I had not anticipated; Rose stared worriedly at something on my face. Still bent towards her, our faces were an inch apart at most and I immediately jerked upright and away from her, my heart suddenly pounding with a jolting, disjointed rhythm.

Not taking any notice of my hasty withdrawal, Rose pointed to my left cheek, almost blurting out in startled surprise. "Do you realize you're bleeding to death?"

Frowning at her statement, I yanked my hand out my pocket and reaching up, brushed my fingers along my cheek. Moving upward over my cheekbone until I found her focus of concern, I was surprised when I found the dried blood flaking against the high point of the bone.

I had been sympathizing with Emil earlier, but really, I was none the better. Neither of us had escaped unscathed from the earlier assault it seemed. The wound was a shallow cut; I could now feel as I prodded it. It was minor; merely the splitting of skin from Eddie's blow, but judging from Rose's stricken expression, she considered it to be far more severe than I did.

"I wouldn't quite go that far. It's nothing."

Dismissing it almost as quickly as I had been made aware of it, I kept my expression nonchalant, not wanting her to be concerned about something that would be fully healed by morning and would leave no proof behind that there had ever been a cut in the first place.

I also didn't want to risk her touching me for any reason, even if it was only to care for me. This situation was flammable enough already, I could feel that.

"It's nothing until you get an infection!" Rose retorted fervently, dismissing my dismissal just as quickly as I had made it. When she was this determined, it was hard to argue against her, but argue I would.

This couldn't happen now…not when I already felt myself teetering so close to the brink. It was always like this after thinking about her; Emil's comments and the sentiments they had aroused, could quite easily now be my downfall.

"You know that's not likely." My voice was firm and with most, would have brooked no arguments, but this was no normal person I was dealing with. Rose was over-reacting to this and she knew it.

Having inherited the best of both species: human endurance and stamina as well as the heightened senses and accelerated healing abilities from the Moroi, there were very few cases of dhampirs becoming ill or even dying from anything as common as germs.

Apparently resigned to not listen to my protests, the swirling depths of her brown eyes hardened stubbornly and if possible, her mulish expression became even more difficult to argue against.

She, for just a moment, reminded me on my grandmother.

Yeva was difficult to argue against and even more difficult to outmanoeuvre. She and Rose had that in common really. They both became incredibly fierce when they believed in something…and incredibly stubborn.

Aiming a slender finger at the bathroom attached at the far end of the gym, Rose again insisted in a voice that was far sterner than my own had been. "Come on!"

Feeling as though I was on the verge of a very slippery slope that I would have no control over once I was actually on it, I scowled blackly down at her, but knew that it wouldn't deter her.

Nodding once with a stiffness that should have eloquently conveyed just what I thought of this idea, I turned towards the bathroom with her close on my heels as I flipped the switch and watched the small space flood with bright light.

Modestly equipped with a single toilet; the hand-basin with mirror was attached above it sat to the side. The white on white tiles should have given it the impression of space, but it was so small that the walls felt as though they were closing in.

Having another person in here under normal circumstances would have been challenging enough…having that other person be Rose was going to be torture.

Grabbing a clean face-towel from the small cupboard beneath the basin, Rose ran the tap and placed it under the stream of cold water as I made way for her.

Maintaining my façade of absolute disinterest with all-consuming intensity, I reasoned with myself that I was fine. That this was nothing to panic about and that I could simply brush aside her attempts and walk away, but I knew that it was never as easily said as done. Not with Rose.

Wringing the cloth until the excess water had been squeezed from it; Rose folded it in half as she reached up to clean the cut. That would have been acceptable and I could have born it, but with her free hand, she made to reach up to grasp my chin and panic set in. Cloth between our bare skin was one thing…skin on skin was quite another.

"Rose, really. It's nothing to be concerned about," I almost barked at her; my voice hoarse and rough as I tried to pull away. "Let me clean it, please? You need to get back to Christian."

The excuse wasn't exactly a lie, but she would see straight through it.

Snorting under her breath as my pitiful evasions failed to deter her; Rose dropped the hand that had been steadily inching its way to my face as she regarded me with amusement. "Christian is a big boy, Dimitri. He'll be fine on his own for a few minutes."

"I know that he can take care of himself, Rose," I argued again, feeling desperation set in. "But we've already had this discussion and you know how important this is. You need to go now and find him. There are instructors walking around all the time. They might not be springing attacks, but they will be observing and marking. If they find you away from Christian, you know how it will look after your...objections at being assigned to him."

Knowing she would find the next remark inflammatory, I pressed my advantage. "They'll think that you're deliberately abandoning him as some sort of protest." I probably shouldn't have told her that we were not only attacking but observing, but I was frantic for any chance of making her leave, even if I made her angry.

Seeming unconcerned by this, Rose cocked her head to the side and if anything, regarded me with a complete lack of sympathy for my panic.

"For goodness sake, Dimitri. All I'm doing is cleaning a cut on your face. I'm not planning on taking a nap and I think they all know me all well enough by now to know that if I'm going to make a show of protesting it's not going to be subtle. Now stop arguing with me, please!"

Feeling my lips twitch at the commanding tone of her voice, I tried to oppress my amusement, but failed despite the direness of the situation I now found myself in. "Arguing with you is how we normally communicate, Rose. What would we have to say to each other if we didn't?"

"We don't usually say much either way, Dimitri," Rose countered wryly, twisting her lips up at the corner to make her opinion of my comments known. "You give a new definition to the expression silent as the grave."

Crossing my legs at the ankles and folding my arms across my chest, I rolled my eyes and sighed as I leant back against the edge of the porcelain basin. "Not all communication has to be at full volume for maximum effect, Rose."

"Jesus," she muttered, rolling her own eyes. "Can you imagine how boring that would be? Now are you going to continue to argue with me or can I be left in peace to clean your face without harassment?"

"I'm harassing you?"

"Yes. Now behave yourself. Isn't that what you're always telling me I have to do?" Waggling her brows at me, she taunted once more. "Suck it up, comrade."

Steeling myself to what I could no longer avoid; no matter how vehemently I protested or tried to misdirect, I eventually resigned myself, still foolishly believing that I could simply walk away at any moment.

Smirking at my compliance, as if she had just won some great victory over my own obstinacy, I clenched my fingers into fists and pressed them tightly to my upper ribcage.

Reaching up once more, Rose hesitated for a second, as if testing to see if I would again stop her, but I behaved and remained still. Very gently running the soft cloth over the affected area in long, sweeping motions, the care and restraint in the movements caught me off guard.

I had been arrogantly certain that as long as her bare fingers did not touch my bare cheek I would be fine, but the heat that transferred through the cloth proved me wrong.

Watching her very carefully for any outward change in her physiology as I struggled to keep my own under wraps, there was nothing to suggest on Rose's part that she was doing anything other than doctoring a wound; I could have been anyone.

Schooling my own features into the inscrutable mask again, I controlled my every breath, determined to keep to the rules I had already broken on more occasions than I could in good conscious count.

Turning my head slightly so that my chin dipped as I gave her easier access, hoping that the torment of her touch would end that much sooner if she finished quickly; wayward strands of my hair once again fell over the affected area.

Scowling as the interference, Rose transferred the washcloth to between her thumb and forefinger as she used the rest of her fingers to capture the hair and tuck it behind my ear, but what she had not taken into account was the jolt of desire-riddled awareness; surging and inescapable, that caught at both of us and sucked us into a maelstrom of longing so powerful that it felt as though it had altered me on a molecular level.

Latching onto her hand, I pulled it away from my face with a movement that was just short of defensively protective, but the brand of her ownership still remained as it singed through the flesh of my cheek and into my bloodstream.

"Enough," I almost begged; my voice guttural and strained as I tried to assert control, but found that I was unable…unwilling, to release her hand even as it scorched against my own. "I'm fine."

I was anything but fine really, but what else could I say? There was nothing that would make this right and nothing that would change what had already happened. I just had to put an end to it now before anything else happened.

Seeming to find no reassurance in my words, Rose asked dubiously, as though somehow blaming herself for my reaction; her cheeks flushed slightly as her breathing increased. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I rushed to reassure her, my voice now deliberately very low and gentle. None of this was her fault…well, not technically speaking, at any rate. She shouldn't feel as though she was somehow entirely to blame for the way we felt about each other.

Squeezing her hand gently, I searched for the words that would make this right, but there weren't many that would, I just needed her away from me even as I could feel myself begin to pull her closer. "Thank you, Roza."

Staring intently, neither of us willing to part as our yearning was communicated through the touch, I groaned very softly and lowered my head slowly until our foreheads rested against each other as I felt myself begin to cave.

We could agree to stay away from each other. We could agree that it was for the best interests of everyone involved, but they were only words.

"Dimitri…"

"I know, Roza, I know," I murmured as I heard the breathless longing in her voice as it matched my own. "I want it too, but what we want…we can't ever have. We've talked about this."

Exhaling shakily, Rose nodded against me, but it didn't feel like a gesture of resolve, merely regret. "I'm sorry. You were right…I should have let you do this yourself. I shouldn't have touched you."

Pulling away from me so abruptly that I felt the loss on a cellular level, Rose rinsed the cloth with fingers that trembled.

Hanging it over the rim of the basin and quickly scrubbing the palms of her hands over her denim-clad thighs to dry them, she pivoted quickly on her heel as she made for the bathroom door, almost running to escape me now.

The irony of this situation was not lost as I watched her leaving me. Seconds earlier, I had wanted nothing more than to escape her and now seeing her practically bolt from me made me aware of just how badly I wanted her to stay.

Let her go, Dimitri…don't stop her from leaving. She's making the right choice…one that you are incapable of making right now.

"All fixed up, comrade." She threw over her shoulder, refusing to look at me as I silently commanded myself to stop from doing what I could already feel I was about to do. "I've got to get back to Christian. See you later."

Surging forward as her hand reached for the door handle, I pressed the flat of my right palm high against the door, keeping it in place as it thudded closed. Trapped between it and my chest, I felt Rose shiver as I slide the palm of my left hand over her hip, wrapping it and my arm around her waist as I pulled her backwards into full contact with my body.

"Roza," I breathed at her ear, feeling her shiver as I kissed the rim of soft cartilage.

Shuddering at the feel of her, I exhaled warily, resting heavily against her as I battled with myself…and lost. I knew that I should never have stopped her, that I should never have touched her, but the draw was impossible to deny as the lust that so ably scrambled the higher functions of my brain took control of everything else.

I knew it was trying to remind me of the age difference, the fact that she was still underage, that I was meant to protect and instruct her, not take advantage of her, but none of that seemed to matter as my ears became deaf and my heart took command of my actions.

Turning her gently around so that her back was forced to the door, I cupped her hot face and tilted it upwards. Running the pads of my thumbs over her full bottom lip, I felt the hot, moist vapour of her breathe bath the pads in warmth as her eyelids slide slowly downwards, fanning her cheeks with long, inky-dark lashes.

"This is a very, very…very bad idea," Rose whispered as her breathing became choppy.

This I already knew, but the temptation she presented was too compelling to resist as I felt our attraction swell around us. "I know that, Rose," I agreed raggedly, fighting against myself with every breath I took. "But things that used to be bad, now only seem inevitable."

"That doesn't sound like a very flattering assessment to me, Dimitri."

"It wasn't meant to be, Rose."

Lowering my head, I argued with myself all the way, but still gently pressed my lips to hers.

Intending to keep the contact light and short, I knew that I was fooling myself…ignorant of my need and the lust that controlled it as it carried me to the verge of losing control and tipped me right over.

There were no further words between us now…there was no need. Our desire was communicated silently, it always had been.

Deepening the kiss, I groaned as Rose whimpered against my lips; her slender fingers wrapping around my wrists. Flirting with the tip of my tongue against the slightly parted seam of her lips, I licked at the upper curve in a plea for her to open as Rose pushed closer to me, instinctively seeking the heated contact between us.

Thrusting inside as the pure, vital taste of her sizzled onto my tongue and intoxicated my senses, I shifted my pelvis, pushing against the cradle of her hips as I made the hardened, throbbing proof of my desire for her known. Releasing my hold on her face, I slide my hands down over her neck and her shoulder blades, cradling her closer to me as her arms wrapped around my neck.

Grasping her hips, my hands slide to her buttocks; squeezing and cupping as I rocked hungrily against her, gliding them ever downwards as I grasped at the backs of her thighs and lifted her, curling her legs around my hips until her ankles locked in the small of my back as I lifted her above me and kept her pinned against the door.

Cradling my face, Rose nipped excitedly at my lips as the kisses that had started out as a response to our need turned into ravaging domination.

Tearing myself away from her, I struggled to focus my lust-fogged gaze as Rose moaned in protest and tried to pull my lips back to her own. Resisting, as I knew the taste of her would completely unravel my control, I instead pressed them to her jaw, nibbling lightly along it until I had reached her chin.

Tipping her head back against the door, Rose's mouth fell open as a wordless, breathless moan passed through her lips. Licking down the slender column of her arched throat, the pulse that beat against my tongue thundered through her blood and into mine, electrifying both of us to boiling point.

It was enough, I told myself, even as I could feel the need for greater intimacy, greater contact control my fingers, but I knew that it wasn't…it never would be.

Sliding the buttons from the loops on her shirt, I spread apart the fabric and groaned at the sight. Her breasts – generous and heaving – were encased in the sinful black satin of her bra…a bra that certainly wouldn't meet dress code and did nothing to hide the excitement of her hardened nipples.

Ravenous for the flesh I had tasted only once, but had continued to haunt my dreams and my thoughts, I nuzzled into the valley between them, pressing a single kiss to her sternum.

Threading her fingers through my hair and pulling the mass from the tie, I felt Rose rake the short edge of her nails against my scalp as she pulled my lips to where she wanted them, shuddering at the pleasure that almost undid me.

Unhooking the front clasp of her bra with fingers that were usually dexterous but now trembled, Rose's full breasts spilled out into my hands. Cupping them greedily, I rotated the calloused palms over her nipples, feeling them hardened further and stab against them as Rose moaned in delight.

Shifting her higher against the door, I thumbed her right nipple as my tongue darted out and circled the nipple of her left. Tracing over the dusky circle of her areola, I curled my tongue around it and suckled her strongly, thrusting sharply between her thighs as I heard her cry out in pleasure.

Groaning against the intensity of my own, I continued to grind my aching need against her jean-covered mound, desperate for the friction it would provide as I stimulated her with bruising force, devouring the flesh in my mouth with rough, urgent suckling.

"Dimitri…oh, Dimitri. Please."

Hearing her moan my name as she all but begged for release was unbearably erotic. Increasing my suction, I plucked roughly at the nipple I had imprisoned between my fingers as I drove with increasing urgency, wanting to at least give her a sense of physical pleasure when I was unable to offer her anything else.

Gasping out my name, Rose convulsed in my arms as her pleasure caught her off guard and she slumped against me. Kissing each of her nipples gently once more, I reluctantly pulled away from them as I grasped the cups of her bra and re-hooked the clasp, still gently thrusting as I groaned painfully at my own lack of fulfilment.

"Shhhh," I husked, gently kissing her lips as I re-buttoned her shirt.

Feeling her tremble against me as the intensity of her orgasm sapped the strength from her legs, I kept her cradled tightly to me, ignoring the discomfort of my own body. Lowering her to her feet, I kept a tight hold on her as she clung to me, her breathe continuing to hitch in her throat as she pressed her face to my chest and shook in my arms.

For long moments we stood together, clinging to each other, but the intimacy of the moment couldn't last, no matter how much we wanted it to – we both knew that.

Feeling the cool, detached logic that had always been so easily called on before meeting Rose – but was now easily lost when touching her – once again surface, I sighed in regret against her hair, but kept her tightly in my arms regardless.

I was the one to blame for this. She had been almost out of my reach, having realised that the situation was precarious enough already, and I had been the one to stop her…the one to give in when I had known I shouldn't have.

"Are you going to avoid me now like you did before?"

The small question, muffled by my chest, caught me by surprise; she knew the sound of that sigh and knew what it meant. It was just further proof that our perfect synchronisation was present no matter what the situation.

Squeezing her tightly to me, I thought about how to answer even as I heard the fear in the question. I knew what she was talking about…what other occasion she was referring to. After the consequences of the lust charm had been felt by both of us, I had done my best to disassociate myself from her in every way other than direct training.

I had known it had hurt her, but I had felt that it was for the best, even whilst hating myself for it. It had also been a way of protecting myself from the emotions I had been unable to deal with or recognize.

I couldn't do that again. I couldn't risk alienating her again. It had been hard enough over Christmas knowing that we were at odds with each other and I didn't want that again. She needed me know, and I needed to be there for her.

Closing my eyes in regret of a different kind, I ran my hands soothingly up and down Rose's back as I continued hold her. "No, Roza. I won't. I promise you. I'm sorry that I acted the way I did then. I just couldn't find any other coping mechanism and that wasn't fair to you. It was why I was trying so hard to stay away from you when you wanted to help clean the cut, because now I know that I can't stay away."

Turning her head, she rested her ear against my thumping heart – the heart she owned. "So what do we do now?"

"What we've always done…what we don't have any other choice to do. I want nothing more than to be with you. To spend every spare moment I have with you in my arms, but that's a fantasy that we can't give in to, no matter what happens in the future…no matter what just happened. I think we're only fooling ourselves in thinking that we get away with acting as though there's nothing between us, but it doesn't mean we can give in to it."

Smoothing over the hair pinned tightly to her scalp, I pressed a kiss to her left temple. "I meant what I said when I told you the reasons for turning Tasha's offer down, but right now, that's not what we have to concentrate on. You need to focus on Christian and getting through the next six weeks. Maybe it's a good thing that I have to be away for a week to testify at the Trial. Distance might give us perspective."

Stiffening slightly against my chest, Rose asked very quietly. "Do you want distance?"

"No…but I think at this stage, it's necessary. I don't think you understand just how much of a distraction to me you are, Roza. That's not your fault. I don't want you to blame yourself for it, but it is what it is."

"It is what it is?" The mockery was back. "That's not one of your usual pearls of wisdom, Dimitri."

Chuckling against her, I conceded to both of us that it wasn't. "I don't have any of my usual pearls of wisdom to offer you right now, Roza, aside from one. You need to go, moye serdtse. I mean it this time. Go find Christian."

"Hey, I was on my way out, remember?" she grumbled as she pulled away from my chest to look up into my eyes with a gaze that was becoming more disgruntled as the remnants of her pleasure dissipated and the slight vulnerability I had heard and felt faded.

"You're the one that stopped me."

Pressing my lips gently down her forehead and the blade of her nose, I smiled at her grouchy tone. "I know – that lapse in judgement was mine, not yours." Kissing her one last time, I made sure the contact this time was light. "Not that I didn't enjoy it, you understand?"

Turning her towards the door, I gave her a gentle push, but she turned back to me. "Are you okay? I mean you didn't…."

Trailing off as obvious embarrassment chocked her words and heated her cheeks slightly, I laughed loudly at her discomfort even whilst loving her for the concern; the sound echoed off the walls. So much for the worldly Miss Hathaway.

"I'll survive, Roza. Go."

Watching her walk away from me, I felt our relationship once again shift; only this time, it was not subtle.

Despite the truth of my words and the intentions that we both had to keep to, I had a feeling that neither of us was going to be able to ignore what had just happened…and instead of terrifying me, I suddenly found myself looking forward to what the future held.