Deva woke up with heavy arms cocooned around her. Opening her eyes, she was greeted with a beautifully handsome face that could only belong to the prince of any girl's dream. The last time she woke up in Darius' arms she left immediately. She couldn't handle being around him, and rushed to get some air. Not this time. Staring at his smiling peaceful face, Deva felt her breath get caught. How could someone so beautiful be real?

She traced the flawless skin of his face taking in his dark brows, perfect sharp nose, and saving the best for last his very inviting pink lips.

He began to stir underneath her touch, and a smile spread across his face. "Were you checking me out while I was sleeping?"

"Possibly." She regretted not checking out the rest of his body that was still under the covers.

"Creeper," he joked.

"Yet you still find me attractive. I bet that quality even turns you on."

He chuckled before rolling over; so he was on top of her now. Her sweet face was only an inch from his. "You know me too well."

"I might be psychic."

Their lips met and the whole world disappeared. He wasn't sure how she did it, but every time they kissed, he found himself wanting more. Breaking the kiss, Deva turned to get up making Darius groan.

"You really shouldn't pull away from a vampire like that." He said sternly.

"What? Should I bow down and submit to your every whim?"

"It would be in your best interest to do so."

She rolled her eyes, getting up from his extremely comfortable bed. "Sorry. Not my style."

"Figures. The one girl I fall for doesn't even go for any of my charms."

"Charms? What charms? Muffin, life's just not fair." She started walking towards the door when he quickly pulled her back against his massive broad chest.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To my room to wash and change."

He started pulling her towards his own bathroom. It was a bit bigger than hers and much manlier looking. "I have a spare toothbrush you can use. I don't want to let you out of my sight."

"I'm not going to disappear Dar."

"You never know. Considering who you are, I'm taking all the precaution I can get."

"Whatever." He kissed her neck before letting her go.

Deva quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth while Darius did the same at the sink beside hers. They were playfully staring at each other every once in a while till they finished.

"I still need to change muffin."

He led her into his big enormous closet. It was filled with all sorts of expensive looking clothes. She was sure not even Calvin Klein had as many clothes in his closet. Darius pulled out a navy blue t-shirt and sweat pants handing it to her.

"Wear this."

She found it ridiculous that he wouldn't let her go get clothes from her own room, but humored him anyway by putting the shirt on. The soft smirk on his face proved how much he enjoyed seeing her in his own clothes.

"Happy princey?"

"Yes."

He took her hand and entwined their fingers while he led her down the stairs to the kitchen. It was a little after breakfast so he knew chef wouldn't be in at that time.

"Sit," he ordered her.

She crossed her arms over her chest at his demanding tone. "Excuse you."

He rushed to her side. "I mean will you please sit sweetheart so I can make you something delicious to eat." He tried making his voice as soft and polite as possible.

"That came out better." She took a seat, and he sighed with relief. "You know how to cook?"

"I've lived a very long time and picked up a few things over the years."

"What are you making me?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes with raspberries and maple syrup."

Her eyes glistened at the words coming out of his mouth. "That sounds delicious."

Darius got to work pulling out ingredients and a pan to cook with. Deva just sat back and watched as he scattered around the kitchen. She had to admit a guy like Darius working in the kitchen trying to whip her something up to eat was really attractive and a total turn on. He was quick too, and in no time he was finished and placing the wonderful prepared food in front of her.

She instantly grabbed a fork because her mouth was already watering from the sight, but he stopped her. Taking the fork in his own hand, Deva pouted.

"What the heck muffin?" Her puppy eyes were so adorable he had to hold in his laughter.

"I'm feeding you."

Her forehead creased. "I have hands you know."

"I know, but I like feeding you."

She rolled her eyes adding, "And you think I'm the creeper. You sure take rocking the cradle to a new extreme."

He began feeding her, and she savored every bite. He was a wonderful cook well at least when it came to pancakes. Every bite seemed better than the last. He just watched her eat and found joy at what little happiness he could bring her. He had to remember to cook for her more often. On her last bite to eat, Darius couldn't help but lean in and kiss her warm lips. They still had syrup on them.

"Mmmm sweet," he whispered.

"I agree."

"Did you like it?" He took the empty plate and placed it in the sink.

She twisted her face slightly. "It was okay."

"You were practically moaning after every bite. It had to be better than okay."

"Nah it was just okay. I typically eat like that with everything." She lied through her teeth, and she was very good at it. He thought she would honestly be a perfect actress or lawyer with the sneaky talent she had.

"You're lying."

"Why would I lie to you?" She had an irresistible sexy grin on her face. He pulled her body up in one swift move and placed her on the counter so her face was even with his.

"So you could infuriate me."

"Is it working?"

He shook his head. "Not in the slightest sweetheart." Darius leaned in ready to kiss her longing lips when they heard a throat clear.

They turned and found Lucian staring at them with a sad and disappointed look on his face. He seemed a little surprised, but quickly replaced it.

"What's going on in here?"

"What does it look like brother?" Darius said in an annoyed voice. "We were just having breakfast together."

Deva was a little surprised Darius didn't mention anything about them being officially together but figured he probably didn't want to hurt his brother just yet.

"It looked like you were having a little more than just breakfast a minute ago."

Deva noticed Lucian's still and tense posture and felt guilt quickly settling inside her. She was dreading this moment, but knew it had to be done.

"I guess you can say that," Darius spoke casually, in a way working around the situation.

Lucian took a step closer while narrowing his eyes at his brother. "What do you mean by that?"

Darius took a deep breath before replying, "Deva and I are together."

Lucian tried to mask his hurt, but Deva could see it anyway. His dark eyes searched hers before he questioned, "Is that true?"

"Loosh..." No words would form at that time.

"Deva you are making a mistake." Lucian snapped with coldness radiating from his words.

"Like hell she is." Darius threw back while walking in front of his brother. They stood tall sizing each other up. Their dark furious faces looked like there were about to lunge towards each other any minute.
"Deva is capable of making her own decisions brother. Do not condemn her for choosing me instead of you." Darius' voice sounded like venom.

"Then she is blind, and as soon as she finds out what kind of person you are, she will leave you in a split second." Lucian said through his teeth like a menacing animal.

Deva quickly stood between both the men she cared about before they ripped each other's throats out. She placed her hands on their chests hoping to calm them down.

Then she turned to stare into Darius' clouded eyes. He was still angry and nowhere near calming down. "Darius I need to talk to Loosh."

He didn't move, and his eyes stared her down. She smiled hoping it would soften him up, and to her relief it did. "I need to talk to him alone."

"No."

"Darius," she said with such a firm tone it made him back down a little.

He gave in and leaned in to softly kiss her lips. He lingered, and she knew it was only to prove to Lucian that she was his.

"I won't be far." He threw his brother a warning glare before stalking out of the kitchen.

"Deva," she heard Lucian whisper ever so softly and tender. It only made the guilt in her heart greater. "Look at me Deva."

She forced herself to look into his torn blue eyes. "I'm sorry," but the words barely coming out of her mouth.

"Why are you doing this? Why him Deva?" His voice was on the edge of rage, frustration, and confusion.

"Sometimes we can't help who we fall for. Loosh you are so important to me, and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you." She was trying to make him see and understand.

"I know."

"I care about him Loosh. I know you don't think he's good for me, but I can't just stop the way I feel about him without giving it a chance."

He nodded knowingly. "Deva you don't know my brother the way I do. He is going to hurt you just like he does to all the women he is with."

She knew he was only looking after her, but somehow his words were disappointing her. "It's a risk I'm willing to take Loosh."

"Deva you are making a mistake," he sighed, "but I won't stop you even knowing the damage he will cause."

Deva shook her head trying to protest to his comment, but he quickly brought his fingers to her lips to silence her.

"I know my brother. He will hurt you whether intended to or not, and I will be there to pick up the pieces of your broken heart. Like I promised, I will catch you when you fall. I will be there for you as a friend and anything else you need."

Her soft smile was to reassure him. "Thank you Loosh, for understanding."

"Take care of yourself."

She shut her eyes for the slightest second, and then he was gone. There was no easy way in telling him she had feelings for another man, but she knew she had to. He needed to let her go and move on so he could be happy with someone else. She didn't want to string him along.

Darius came back and quickly made her forget about the misery she inflicted on Lucian. They spent the rest of the day lounging around and enjoying the company of each other. When it came close to dinner, Darius was sent away by his father. They had a new lead on the lycan, and they needed all the princes present.

He apologized for his absence and promised to make it up to her. She gladly accepted his offer and went to sleep that night with a huge smile on her face. For the first time since she had arrived, Deva let her guard down and didn't care if it would lead her to a broken path.

"I'm bored," Izzy said entering Deva's room.

Deva smiled. She hadn't spoken to Izzy since the ball. "What's new?"

"We should paint the town red today." Izzy said throwing herself next to Deva on the couch.

"Nah not today." Deva just couldn't find it in her. Ever since she and Darius have been talking she just didn't need to start any commotion. She was happy and Darius was the cause of it.

"What happened to the Deva I fell in love with?"

Deva laughed. "She got tangled with your brother."

"More like brothers. You and Darius have been together for two days and already he has you losing your spunk."

"Hey, I still have spunk."

"Right. Well Darius seems to have calmed down a bit, and Lucian just seems a little more glum than usual." Izzy explained while playing with her hair.

"I didn't mean to do that to Lucian." Deva tried to defend herself.

"I know Dev. You don't have to explain. My brothers both tried to seduce you and get you to like them, and they ended up falling for you."

"I fell for them too, but I fell harder for one more than the other."

"Things happen for a reason right? So what? You liked both my brothers then chose one. It's not a sin." Izzy turned to stare blankly towards the wall. "I don't blame you. They're both incredible."

Deva believed every word. She felt incredibly lucky to have Darius all to herself, and every time she thought about it, it put a smile on her face.

"Come on Izzy. Let's get out of here."

They walked towards the corridor and spotted Julia and Evie sitting in a room. "What's crackin?"

Julia looked up. "Nothing much."

Deva turned to Evie and noticed her simple posture and gentle humble features; something she didn't notice before. Evie was a quiet person and always kept her personal life to herself. Deva could never remember a moment where she would talk about her dates with the princes. It struck Deva odd how the princes never brought her up in conversation. Thinking back, Deva couldn't recall any moment with Evie and the princes but then again she was so consumed with other things that she didn't pay attention. Was she here on Lucian's accord?

"Where are Deana and Red?" It was a bit too quiet.

"Eliminated."

"So then there were three," Deva spoke devilishly. So happy she wouldn't have to see or hear Red ever again. "So you guys want to bake a cake?"

Izzy sighed. "Bake, Deva, really?"

"Yes. I usually bake when I'm bored, and I'm kinda on a sugar low anyway."

"I want chocolate cake with strawberries on top," Julia stated.

"Vanilla with fudge icing," Evie called.

"Red velvet," Deva claimed while looking at Izzy.

Izzy shook her head and stood mumbling something about humans being impossible. "I want banana cake."

"You're weird." Deva blurted out. "Who's ever heard of a vampire liking banana cake?"

The girls laughed as they made their way to the kitchen. Chef Antonio was already there preparing something that smelled amazing. He greeted the girls with his handsome Italian smile.

"How can I help you ladies?"

"We want to bake some cakes my Italian papa." Deva walked over to the side cupboard and pulled on an apron; then she handed the other girls ones as well.

"As long as you don't burn down my kitchen." He said with narrowed eyes.

"We would never." The girls said in sync before flashing him their Colgate smiles.

They all got to work making their own cakes of their choosing. Chef hovered over them giving them directions and pointers on how to make the cakes. Deva was finished first and threw her pan in the oven. The other girls followed quickly and two hours later the cakes were ready to be iced with frosting.

"It's getting quiet and boring in here." Izzy complained.

"You know what they say: laugh, dance, Ellen." Deva commented.

"What?"

"You heard me," she turned to chef. "Hit it Tony." She gestured towards the radio that was set behind him.

He raised his brow. "My name is Antonio."

"Wow someone obviously doesn't watch The Ellen Show." Deva walked over to the radio and turned it on. "You should be ashamed."

Chef didn't reply, and Deva danced back to her cake to the beat of the song. A Justin Timberlake song was playing, and so all four girls were dancing and icing their cakes. Deva's cake was looking better and more yummy to eat by the second and so was Julia's cake. Deva danced over to Julia's side when she finished her own cake and swiped a piece of fudge icing on her finger. Licking it off slowly, and she practically melted with it.

"That's good."

"I wasn't finished." Julia complained, annoyed.

"I know."

Deva began dancing again throwing her arms in the air and singing along, but the song ended. The melody to Nelly Furtados' Promiscuous came on, and all the girls looked at each other with glee. They practically knew every word. Julia started the song off singing the girl part to Deva, and Deva sang back the guy verses.

"How you doin' young lady..." Deva sang in tune moving closer to Julia.

Julia entered with her line, "If you looking for a girl that'll treat you right..."

Evie and Izzy laughed and happily joined in, dramatically singing the lyrics and dancing to the beat. The kitchen was going crazy with dancing girls and soon enough Antonio was joining in as well. It was just too much fun.

Then Deva felt warm inviting arms wrap around her swaying waist. She turned around and found Darius smirking and moving along with her. Deva raised her hand to his fine chest and pushed him back as she sang some more, "You expect me to just let you hit it, but will you still respect me if you get it..."

Surprising her, Darius sang the rest of the part. "All I can do is try, gimme one chance. What's the problem I don't see no ring on your hand..."

Deva laughed even harder. She turned to her left, and noticed Marcus dancing with Julia. They continued swaying back and forth throughout the song and singing the lyrics to each other.

 Towards the final verses Deva grabbed Julia's hand and pulled her close to whisper in her ear in Romanian making sure the brothers didn't understand. They pulled away smirking and walking to the counter. The princes followed close behind.

"Don't be mad, don't get mean." And with that line the girls took the cakes and planted them on the princes' shocked faces.

Not waiting for their reactions the girls bolted for the outside doors. Deva ran down the garden paths but didn't get far before being grabbed. Darius pulled her close and she turned to face his icing covered face.

"You find this funny?"

She nodded with giggles. "Extremely." She managed to wiggle out of his grip and started running again only to be tackled by his big frame. He didn't put any pressure on her body; he balanced his own weight above her.

"This is not funny sweetheart."

She pulled his face closer and licked the side of his face were most of the icing covered. "Mmmm tastes good too."

"Oh yeah." He leaned his head in and started wiping his face across hers. The sticky icing was smudging all over her face and neck.

"Darius," she got out between laughs. "Stop."

He did, but only to lick off the icing that was now on her face. "Yup you were right, does taste good."

"I can think of something that probably tastes sweeter."

He raised his brow with curiosity. "What?"

"You," she moved up and covered his lips with her own. He grinned while happily kissing her back. He got up and pulled her up with him, carrying her in his arms as she instinctively wrapped her legs around his torso. She was so engrossed in his intoxicating kiss that she didn't realize they were moving.

Deva felt wind whish around her before opening her eyes to her bathroom. She closed her eyes again, not caring about Darius' intentions, or why he brought her there.

Her gentle fingers tugged at his hair, pulling his body closer to her. Their bodies molded as one, and Deva felt heat circulating throbbing shockwaves throughout her body. The feeling of want and need was so great Deva wasn't sure how anyone could stand it.

Darius broke the kiss to give her time to take in some air while he trailed lingering kisses down her jawline. Her shallow breaths came out as pants.

"I was right. You're much sweeter."

So quickly Darius pressed her back into the cool tiles of the shower before claiming her lips in a savage hunger. His teeth nipped at her bottom lip asking her to open up, but Deva didn't.

"Do you ever play nice?" Darius' lips brushed against hers.

"Dirty is the only way I play." She tilted her head taking in his bottom lip between her lips and biting down hard. His winded chuckle sent shivers of pleasure down to her core.

Darius somehow managed to reach over and turn the shower on. It startled her at first, but the refreshing water was exactly want she needed to cool down the fire radiating off her skin from his touch. Darius' hand rubbed small circles around her cheeks as the water washed away the remaining cake stains.

"I can see that."

Deva slowly grazed her lips over the top of his left ear sending chills down his back in the process.

"Are you trying to tell me you only like the nice girls?" Deva began to suck a small area of skin below his ear where she thought a hickey would be best placed.

Darius moaned and with a husky voice responded, "Actually I go crazy for the disobedient ones."

She laughed, "Then you are definitely in luck."

"Tell me about it," his hands traced her body as he lowered his head down the planes of her curves. Her heart dropped, and her breathing was caught in the moment. He slowly lifted her shirt bearing the smooth skin of her stomach. He growled in pleasure before leaning in to trail his lips and tongue against the sensitive spot on her skin. Deva moaned and wanted to indulge in the feeling, but knew she had to stop it.

"Dar," she cursed her shallow breathing. "Darius we can't."

He reluctantly pulled away with hunger  still burning in his eyes. She felt a little guilty for putting the hunger in him and forcing him to control it after she was tempting him.

"I know," his forced tone didn't reassure her. He got up anyway pulling her with him and turned the shower off. She was still wrapped around him so he gripped her thighs and placed her on the counter. They both used the towel set on the sink to wipe their faces clean.

"I promised myself I wouldn't be intimate with a guy till I had a ring on my finger, and I called that guy my husband." She whispered, hoping her explanation would ease him up.

His eyes flashed with excitement. "That could happen."

"Oh no; don't you dare." She lightly pushed him away.

"You don't want me to propose?" He challenged her.

"Not after I just mentioned it, no. You wouldn't even be thinking it if I didn't say anything."

He frowned. "You don't know that. So you're saying if I proposed now, you'd say no."

"Exactly."

"Sweetheart." He sweetly said.

"Don't sweetheart me. I won't say it so don't even try to propose. You don't look like you can take rejection well." She joked that last part.

His blue eyes grew serious. "Not from you, I can't."

"Then don't ask."

"Someday my sweet Deva. Someday."

She jumped off the counter and thought of that someday. Would she be ready for that day? Would she be able to say yes without hurting anyone she loved or cared about?

She barely made it out the door before Darius picked her up like a bride. 

"I have legs you know, and they work perfectly fine."

He kissed her cheek and sat down on the couch. "I know." Deva leaned on his body for support as they watched the sun setting through the open window.

"So Red's gone?"

"Yup."

"Why did you even keep her this long?"

"Because it was seriously like a soap opera with you two around. The only reason we kept her was because we wanted to see what you'd do next."

She turned and smacked him as hard as she could across his chest. He just laughed at her weak attempt. "Seriously am I your only entertainment?"

"Lately, yes, but I promise you will never have to see Red again." Darius rested his head on her right shoulder.

Deva huffed, "That's very good to know."

He kissed her forehead. "From now on, I promise to do everything I can to make you happy."

She twisted in his arms and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I am happy. You make me happy Dar."

_______________________________

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