"Rosie, you realize you kissed him on the cheek, right? Did you kiss him anywhere else that is making you blush like a schoolgirl?" Maria asked bluntly and I covered my face with a pillow. We were lying on my new bed in my temporary room. Maria said they would get my new room set up, but for now I would be staying here.

At first, I put up a fight, I really did. These people were being too generous, but I didn't want them to dictate my decisions.

And I didn't know if I trusted the reasons why I would be needed as Maria's "assistant". Maria was someone who wanted to do things on her own, striving for independence. I thought she would balk at having someone do things for her.

I am a grown woman who's been to hell and back. I've made it this far and heck if I was going to just agree to this.

Just when I opened my mouth to tell Maria I was declining her offer, she looked at me with a beaming smile, her expression full of joy. My confidence crumbled instantly and I internally smacked myself.

She seemed really excited and I couldn't let her down if she wanted me around.

But I could also get her in danger if the Men in Black came. While she lived in a place armed like Fort Knox, I didn't want to cause any danger or stress to her or the baby. A small voice in my head reminded me who Maria was married to and that a CEO with one of the best security organizations in the world wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

I vaguely remember starting to reject when she opened the door to a beautiful bedroom.

Now here we were, on my bed as Maria pried details from my moment with Damon. And here I was, still a coward for not expressing my feelings. My shoulders slumped in defeat as I spilled my guts out. Xavier and Damon had been gone for over an hour and I've been trapped with Maria's prodding.

I knew she meant well, but her questions were only making me more flustered. I was a bit concerned that I would accidentally set myself on fire from how hot my cheeks were burning.

The only peace I had was when the doctor came to check up on Maria. The doctor told her to relax and said he would be back for an ultrasound with the baby.

"I've never really...touched anyone intimately before. I guess the stimulation overwhelmed me..." I said lamely as Maria rolled her eyes playfully.

"It's called chemistry, Rosie. Hot, passionate, sexy, mind-blowing passion! It just means that once you have sex, the–"

"Lalalalala!" I chanted as I covered my poor ears.

Maria giggled and uncovered my ears, winking. "You're too cute for your own good, Rosie."

A knock on the door interrupted whatever else she was going to say.

"Come in!" Maria called and the door opened to reveal two men.

I could tell that they were brothers from their similar facial features. They seemed to be around my age, dirty blonde hair and tan skin. I made a guess that they were either twins or very close in age. They were almost identical, but one man had a pair of brown eyes and the other bright blue.

"Josh. Julian. What are you two doing here?" Maria asked with a motherly smile. The brothers beamed at Maria.

"Xavier told us we are Rosaline's official bodyguards!" the brother with blue eyes announced.

Both brothers spotted me and their jaws dropped. I tilted my head as they stared at me. I touched my face in discomfort. Was my face still all red?

One of them murmured something in the other brother's ear, who nodded in agreement. Their staring was beginning to be uncomfortable. I played with my hair nervously.

To my relief, Maria snapped her fingers and the two brought their attention back to her.

"Keep your eyes to yourself boys, Rosaline is off-limits unless you want Damon to kick you to next week," Maria warned and both of them pouted.

"But what if she likes my knife collection? I can't let her go after that!" The blue-eyed one sighed and Maria glared at him.

"Hands off, Julian. Now twins, introduce yourselves like gentlemen." Maria emphasized. The pair nodded slowly before meeting me at the bed. They both bowed dramatically and I eyed them cautiously.

"Good evening, my lady, my name is Julian," The blue-eyed man said.

"Good evening, Your Grace, my name is Josh," The brown-eyed man murmured. "It will be a pleasure to guard your body."

"Josh!" Maria chastised him.

"I-it's nice to meet you. My name is Rosaline," I introduced myself.

I pulled my hair nervously. I'd never been around more men than I had the past few days. I was used to little old men that came to the bookstore I worked at, none of them my age. All this attention was overwhelming.

Julian and Josh gave me goofy smiles that relaxed me. They acted like little boys waiting for approval.

"Guys, why don't you wait behind the door? I'm sure Tom and Marco will love your company," Maria said with a glint in her eye as the twins nodded vigorously.

"I need to tell them about our latest mission! They will be excited about the knife I used!" Julian rambled excitedly as both men scampered out of the room.

"Bodyguards? Why do I need bodyguards?" I asked uneasily. I thought about Julian's apparent love for knives and my anxiety skyrocketed. My body tensed, ready to flee.

Seeing me ready to bolt, Maria quickly tried to calm my fears.

"Xavier is a very wealthy man and his job makes him paranoid about safety precautions. Since you will be my caretaker, you also need someone to protect you." Maria said as she rubbed my back soothingly.

"Xavier is worried about the enemies he makes from Monroe Protective Services," Maria said vaguely. "But he helps a lot of people and runs a lot of different charities. Damon is also the Vice President. I bet he was the one that convinced Xavier to get you, bodyguards."

Maria wiggled her eyebrows. I knew she was changing the subject, but I went along with it. Her small explanation calmed my frazzled nerves and went back to lying on the bed.

"Why would Damon want bodyguards around me?" I asked in disbelief.

"Don't make me spell it out for you, Rosie!" Maria exclaimed as she threw her hands up. "Damon likes you!"

My mind froze at those three words.

No. Way.

No man that perfect would want me. I was a cowardly girl that ran away from a bunch of crazy dudes in black. I don't think that's something a guy wanted to pursue romantically.

I considered telling Maria about my situation. My original nightmare had come true and now I'm too close to them. But Maria seemed to have the firepower to keep herself safe. And I would have people keeping me safe all of the time. Shouldn't Josh and Julian know who they were risking their lives for? I knew how relieved I would feel if I finally told someone–

"I bet you and Damon are going to have cute little babies! But I think in particular the sex–"

Hold up!

I forgot all former thoughts as my mind does a complete one-eighty.

"Why do you always mention...that? Besides, you don't know if he like likes me! I mean, Damon doesn't really talk– he does a lot of grunting and scowling. He's either ordering me around or making fun of me!" I argued.

"That's his way of flirting, Rosie! I hate to break it to you, but you chose a guy who has terrible social skills. Honestly, I'm surprised how much he has been talking recently. He is a scowler."

"Then he must like a lot of people. He scowls at everyone."

"He likes you! I see the way he gets all dominant...which is totally hot by the way. If I wasn't married or pregnant, I would be all over him," Maria said as an afterthought.

I furrowed my face at the thought that Damon liked me. Nah. This wasn't some sort of romance novel.

I thought about all the literary romance characters I have read at the bookstore and my years of college. Every new romance book that came into the store, I read it regardless of the genre. Out of all of the romantic characters I had read, Mr. Darcy was my favorite. A cliché of opposites attract. I sighed dreamily. In my imaginary world – if I couldn't have Damon–

"Darcy will always be my go-to person. If I had to choose," I said to myself with a soft smile.

Maria looked at me in confusion.

"Huh? Who the heck is that?" Maria asked.

I gave her a secret smile. Maybe she was also into romances.

Before I could answer, the door slammed open with a heaving Damon. My eyes widened as he made his way toward me, with an annoyed Xavier trailing behind him.

Maria rushed to give Xavier a hug. My attention then focused on a brooding Damon who stood next to me. I fidgeted at the glare he gave me, then frowned as he looked away.

Did I do something wrong?

Xavier seemed to be annoyed with Maria as well because he crossed his arms. Maria mirrored his pose and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why are you sulking?" Maria asked as Xavier pouted.

"You think Damon is hot? I'm glad I knocked you up, then, so you couldn't make any moves," Xavier snapped as Maria's jaw dropped.

Imagine my surprise when Maria smacked the back of her husband's head.

"You were eavesdropping! You jealous, nosey man! You promised to stop doing that! And I'll have you know I was joking," Maria said in outrage.

I saw a glimpse of fear on Xavier's face.

"Well then, I guess you don't want to come with me for the ultrasound– since all you did was 'knock me up' as you say," Maria snapped as she stormed away, and Xavier paled.

"Wait! Sugar, you know I love you!" Xavier shouted as he ran after his wife.

I couldn't help the smile that escaped from the interaction.

Hearing a grunt, I turned to see Damon still glaring at me. I barely blinked when he grabbed my hips and threw me on the bed. I landed with a squeak as Damon covered my body with his own.

I let out an "oomph" from his weight. One of my worst fears was coming to life! He was squishing me like a grape! I tried to push his large chest off of me with no luck.

"You're squishing me," I said with a slight shrill. Rolling his eyes, Damon took some of his weight off me, making me sigh in relief. I blushed at our intimate position, our bodies almost pressed against each other.

"What are you doing?!"

"Who's Darcy?" Damon said calmly, his face a mask of stone. My face twisted in confusion.

"What?" I asked as Damon leaned his face closer.

"Who. Is. Darcy?" Damon said slowly, his breath caressing my face. My mind went a bit fuzzy as I understood his question. Realization dawned on me.

"You were snooping too!" I accused as I tried to push him away angrily. I groaned as he didn't budge. "You're not supposed to listen to other people's conversations. That's rude," I scolded as Damon didn't seem to care.

"You're not answering my question, Flower."

I sighed. He wasn't going to let me out until I did, but I was confused by the jealousy in his tone. Did he think that I was seeing somebody? He had been practically glued to me the last couple of days, I think he would notice that if I was.

"Have you ever read Pride and Prejudice?" I asked him and Damon narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"You mean the book?" Damon questioned and I nodded.

"Darcy is one of the romantic interests. He symbolized that we shouldn't judge people at first glance. He was so charming in the books..." I sighed. "I'm just a hopeless romantic at heart. There's your answer...now can I get up?"

Damon pulled me up and onto his lap. He arranged me so I faced him, practically straddling him. My eyes widened in shock at the position.

"I don't like the thought of you thinking about other men, Flower," Damon said as he rested his forehead against mine. "Whether they're fictional or not. I'm too greedy for you to think of anyone else but me."

I stared into his green eyes. I was secretly envious of them. The vibrant green reminded me of a peaceful meadow. My eyes were just a muddy brown color. Unconsciously, I raised my right hand to lightly trace his face. His eyes fluttered closed at my touch. One of his hands reached up to grab my wrist, his fingers brushing against my rose bracelet. Seeing Damon touching the little charms brought a fluttering sensation in my stomach.

"You realize it's impossible to do that, right? My mind is always running a mile a minute and I tend to doze off. What you are asking doesn't make sense," I murmured and pulled back my hand. Damon opened his eyes again as he looked directly into mine.

"That seems like a challenge, Flower, and I'm more than willing to accept," Damon murmured into my ear. "Especially since you're mine."

I snapped away from him at those words. My heart pounded in confusion and excitement.

"W-what?"

Damon seemed unaffected by the words he just uttered.

"You're mine and I'm yours. Simple." Damon shrugged as my jaw fell to the floor.

I shook my head rapidly as I tried to get up, only for him to trap me in his arms.

It is not that simple!

"Y-you mean like boyfriend and girlfriend?" I gaped as Damon shrugged again.

"I guess those are the technical terms. Although it makes me feel like we're still in high school. You can call it whatever you want as long as we are in agreement."

I was stumped. No one has ever told me I was in a relationship before. Heck, I've never been in a relationship at all.

"Nuh-uh," I crossed my arms stubbornly. "Pretty sure we were missing a few steps. Besides, you never asked me! What if I said no?"

"You wouldn't," Damon said confidently as he rubbed my sides soothingly. His hands moved to my hair and my eyes almost rolled into the back of my head when he started playing with the strands. I was a puddle of goo in his hands and he knew it.

I would agree to just about anything at this point as long as he continued massaging my scalp.

"Y-you still haven't asked!" I protested weakly as he rubbed a delicate spot on my scalp.

Damon pulled me closer so we were chest to chest. Damon cupped my face delicately as if I was made of glass. His touch was light and I was internally begging for more.

This man was good. I could give him credit where it was due.

"Fuck it. I know it's only been a few days, but Flower, will you be mine?" Damon asked softly.

Well now that he said it so sweetly...

I looked into his eyes again as my thoughts ran wild. I already knew what my decision was, but my mind tried to convince me to say no.

I remembered how I cowered away from Maria. Though the Men in Black weren't knocking at my door, I was still paranoid.

I'd heard and read enough stories to know that this could all go down the drain if I didn't tell Damon my past.

I took a deep breath as Damon looked at me expectantly.

I had to tell him the truth, my story. Damon gave me a sense of security and I hoped Damon could help me fight my demons.

The situation I had landed myself in was wrong, but it felt so right.

"Yes," I whispered softly, but I knew he heard me.

My heart warmed as Damon beamed and hugged me to his chest.

I can only hope this ends well.