When I woke up the next morning, it was because I was burning up. I opened my eyes to realize Gabriel's bare body was wrapped around mine, our legs intertwined, and his arms around my waist. It was then that last night's events came crashing back to me. Gabriel and I… We'd had sex. I laid there for a few moments before Gabriel's voice made me jump.

"You awake?" He murmured into my hair.

"Yeah." I croaked, my voice still thick was sleep. I was afraid to move, afraid that if I sat up I'd become all self conscious and what not.

"Are you okay?" He pulled his arms from around my waist, allowing me to move.

"I'm fine." I murmured. I rolled over, making sure the blankets stayed around me. I ran a hand through my hair, and took a deep breath. I knew one way or another; I was going to have to get out of this bed naked. I sat up, keeping the blankets pulled around my torso. I turned and looked at him, as he sat up as well. I swear to God, he looked like he was glowing. I couldn't do anything other than stare at him. He finally sighed, and threw the blankets back, climbing out of bed, and walking over to his wardrobe. I watched but said nothing. He grabbed a change of clothes, as went into the bathroom slamming the door behind him. Shit, what did I do? I quickly clambered out of bed, and changed before he exited. When he came back out, his expression was impassive. He was giving nothing away. "Gabriel…" I whispered. He stopped, and turned to me.

"What?" He almost snapped. Definitely mad.

"What did I do?" I asked. He turned to me, and shook his head.

"You haven't done anything, Rosalind. Just forget it. I'm going to go to the donors. I'll be back."

"Gabriel… don't do this. Talk to me, please." I begged him. I didn't understand what I'd done. He looked down and when he looked back up, his mask was gone and the only emotion on his face was pain. I stepped closer to him. "What? Gabriel, please."

"You regret it." He whispered.

"What? I-." At first, I didn't understand but it only took a moment before I knew. "God, Gabriel… no, I don't. I don't regret it. I wanted it… I wanted you too. Hell, I might have wanted it more than you did. Don't think for-." He shook his head.

"The look on your face when you woke up… when you realized what we'd done… There was so much regret in your eyes, and I just-." I walked over to him and took his face in my hands. I gave him my best smile, and met his gaze.

"Last night… wasn't something I'm ever going to regret if I live to be a hundred. Gabriel… last night meant a lot to me. If I knew I'd regret it, I would have said no." I whispered. I reached up on my tip toes and kissed his nose. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his arms, holding me tight. He buried his face into my hair.

"Thank you for last night." He murmured.

"You're more than welcome." He released me, and stepped back. I met his gaze to see his eyes were dark. He was hungry.

"I need to go. I'll be back." He said. I was going to offer, but for some reason I couldn't get the words out. I think the fear of what happened last time he'd bit me was what caused me to hold my tongue.

"I'll be here when you get back." I said, as he started for the door.

"God, I hope so." He whispered, before he walked out and closed the door behind him. I went into the bathroom, and showered, allowing the hot water to get all the knots out of my back from last night. I wasn't ashamed of what I'd done, and I honestly didn't regret it, but I also didn't want to dwell on it too much, in fear of how my thought process would change. After I got out of the shower, I curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around me. My body ached in places no girl should ever have pain. I tried not to move much. Gabriel was gone for about an hour, and when he came back, he looked angry again. I was on my feet this time, not caring about the ache in my lower abdomen.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…. It's nothing." He probably noticed that I winced when I stood up. "Are you alright?" He asked, some of the anger leaving his eyes and being replaced with concern.

"I'm fine… I'm just… uhm… Sore." I admitted, honestly. The smile that spread over his face was nothing short of beautiful. I rolled my eyes at him, causing him to quirk an eyebrow at me. Before he could even say it, I bit my lower lip. "Oops, sorry." He walked over to me, and pulled me into his arms.

"How is it, I can come home mad as hell, and you can completely change that in a matter of two minutes?" He asked. I shrugged and laid my head on his chest. I felt his lips as he pressed them to the top of my head.

"Why were you mad?"

"I ran into my father on the way back. The council is back tomorrow so we can pick out my potential queen." He muttered. My body went stiff.

"Do I get a say in the woman you're potentially going to be marrying?" I asked. I pulled away, and watched as something that looked like pain flashed through his eyes.

"Of course you do." He told me. I just nodded.

"Good." I mumbled. I stepped out of arms reach and walked into the bedroom, throwing the blanket I'd had wrapped around me onto the bed. He followed, leaning up against the door frame.

"We should really talk about last night." He finally murmured. My face went red, and he smirked.

"What about it? We fucked… simple." He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I don't like that word, and I wouldn't exactly call what happened last night 'fucking'." He informed me. I wouldn't have considered it that either, but… I didn't know how he felt about it. I was taking a stab in the dark when I said that. I sighed.

"I know."

"You don't regret it?" He asked me. I shook my head.

"I already told you no."

"I'm glad. I was scared you would." He whispered. I shook my head. I sat down on the edge of the bed, and he walked over and sat down beside me. He placed his hand on my leg, and turned to look at me.

"Even though you might not believe me, I should probably tell you how special last night was for me… Rose, I've honestly been waiting to do that for a… while now."

"Really?" I asked. He nodded. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because I knew you would have said no. I knew I had to wait on the right time… and I had to wait for you to be ready, for you to trust me enough to give yourself to me in that way." He said. That was probably the most considerate thing he'd ever said to me. I laid my hand over his on my leg, and smiled up at him. I met his eyes, before a dark realization spread through me.

"It's going to be hard…" I whispered.

"What is?" He asked. I took a deep breath and swallowed.

"Having to let you go." I murmured. I watched as the color drained from his face, and pain filled his eyes.

"What? What do you mean? Why would you have to-." He cut himself off when I looked away. He grabbed my face, and forced me to look at him. "You promised me you'd never leave."

"I don't think I have a choice anymore." I whispered.

"Rose… No. I don't want you to go."

"Gabriel… you're getting married. Do you honestly think whatever woman ends up being your wife is going to be fine with me around? She's not." I murmured.

"And I have more respect for her than that… I mean, I probably won't want her around you anymore than she'll want me around you." He shook his head violently.

"I don't give a fuck what she wants, Rose. I told you… she's nothing but a business partner to me. You… you are-." He stopped. I stared at him, and could tell he knew what he was going to say, he was just nervous to say it.

"I'm what?" I murmured. He stared at me for a second, before finishing.

"You're everything to me, Rose… and I'm not giving you up because of some stupid decision the council made. You are mine… If they don't like it, or if she doesn't like it, they can fuck off. I'm not going to let you go that easily." He told me. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Please, don't walk away from me. I need you… now more than ever."

"Gabriel… this isn't going to-."

"Rose… please." He begged. I turned to him to see his eyes had filled with fear. He was afraid to lose me. I would have never thought he'd be afraid to lose anything. Everything in his life could be replaced with a snap of his fingers, and I knew the same applied to me, but he was terrified to lose me, and I could see it. It was then something hit me.

"I see this ending one of two ways, and it's dead or dismissed from my duties as consort, Gabriel. I want you to do whatever you have to too be a good king to Alabama. If this is it, then-." I stopped, not knowing how to continue.

"You promised. You promised you wouldn't leave me. You said you'd help me."

"I know what I said, but that was before all of this was thrown on us. Tell me how this could possibly work now?" I demanded, pacing the floor of our bedroom.

"We have to make it work, Rose. You're giving up to easily." He snapped at me. The fear was turning into anger now.

"Why can't you see there is no way to make this work? YOUR GETTING MARRIED, GABRIEL. Neither woman is going to be okay with the other. Why keep this up? It'll only make it harder to let go." I informed him. My eyes were starting to water as we had this conversation.

"Don't cry, Rose." He stood up, and started towards me, but I put my hands up and backed away.

"Don't… please."

"You're going to let them tear us apart." He murmured. He turned his back to me, and lowered his head. "As if my father and this place haven't taken enough from me already." Remorse, and so many other things flooded through me, it took everything I had not to breakdown sobbing. I took a couple hesitant steps forward, and reached for his hand.

"I wish I knew what to do, Gabriel… but I don't."

"You told me I have to prove them wrong. I have to show them why I'll be a good king against all odds. Let me prove you wrong too. Let me show you that we can do this, regardless of what my father and the council throw at us. We can do this." He said. He took a step towards me, and placed a hand on the side of my face, his fingers feather light on my skin. "Let me prove you wrong, please." He begged. I was willing to wager he didn't beg for anything ever, but right now… he was.

"And what happens if you can't prove me wrong, Gabriel? What do I do then?" I demanded. "This will only end badly for one of us."

"Do you honestly think that if you walked out those front gates right now, it wouldn't hurt me just as much as it would hurt you?" He asked.

"But you're a vampire. You can turn all that off if you wanted too, and even if you didn't. You've got so much going on, I'd barely be an afterthought. If I left here, I'd have nothing. I'd have nowhere to go. I've told you before… There isn't anything out there for me anymore." I said, my eyes now on the floor.

"Then why are you so vehement on going?"

"I'm protecting my heart… and yours." I told him. He shook his head.

"Give me a chance… I've never said I needed anyone, Rosalind but I need you."

"You were doing just fine without me." I said, placing my hand over his on my face and removing it. I watched as his eyes filled up with tears and he shook his head.

"You're all I've got, Rose."

"Gabriel, please… don't." I started, but I was too late. One lone tear escaped down his face, and I knew in that moment I was going anywhere.

"Alright…I'll stay. Prove me wrong… please." I took his face in my hands and met his blue eyed gaze. "I'm trusting you again… don't make me regret it." He pressed his lips to my forehead and smiled.

"I won't. I swear it."