Our shared breaths brought me to the reality that our lips were only centimeters away from each other. His mouth parted as if he was going to say something, but no words came out. I felt as if I were to move ever so slightly, our lips would brush. The smell of fresh pine and a hint of peppermint engulfed my senses as his gaze bounced between my eyes and my lips. He lightly exhaled, fanning my face, and his aqua eyes bore into mine as if to challenge me; he was daring me to kiss him.

A raging war commenced between my mind and heart, but ultimately my heart came out the winner as my head subliminally inched closer to his. The electric sensation became unbearable, and when our lips almost touched, there was a knock at the door, shattering the magnetic pull.

Tristan was instantly across the room. "Yes?" Tristan stated in an irritated tone.

An older man in a suit came in and bowed. "Prince Tristan, your father has requested your presence in his office. He says it's of important matters."

If looks could kill, the butler would be dead. "I'll be there in a few, Henry. Thank you," he spoke in an even tone, though his eyes were icy.

Henry left us alone in the room, and the awkward silence told me that it was my cue to leave. As I stood up and began walking to the door, Tristan grabbed my wrist and faced me towards him.

"Where are you going?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"I was going back to my room." His intense stare made me flustered.

Tristan gave me a leering grin. "No you aren't. You're staying in my room tonight."

I felt my cheeks heat up.

"I am?" My voice came out shrill, but I quickly composed myself. "Uh, I mean why?"

He spoke softer in a suggestive tone, "Because I don't like how Collin was eyeing you earlier, and there's a bunch of vampires downstairs that aren't happy about you being here. So, you are staying here tonight." When I just stood there, wide-eyed, he spoke again, "Don't worry, I don't bite."

Yeah, because I was worried about .

I was surprised that he would want me to spend the night in his room after how he's been to me since I arrived.

My heart fluttered at the thought of being in the same bed as him. I silently thanked the universe that he couldn't read minds like Julian, but then fear suddenly overcame my body as I realized that I didn't know that for sure. I didn't even know what he was capable of. My eyes snapped up to his face after I noticed he was waiting for a response, but my many thoughts kept me from answering.

His voice cut through the silence again. "Hard."

Oh my.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and I held my breath as Tristan whispered into my ear, "I'll be back soon." He then shut the door behind him, leaving me dumbfounded and alone in his room.

Was he flirting with me?

I wouldn't know because I've been locked up since I hit puberty. Being in a state hospital doesn't really give you the experience you need for social interactions, and I wasn't good with them to begin with. I mentally face-palmed myself for probably looking like an idiot.

He probably thinks there's something wrong with me.

Why do I care?

I don't care...

"Ugh!"

I couldn't stop over-thinking everything. Being in that place for a majority of my teen years, I never had to think about or deal with boys. I was just focused on getting through the day without seeing a syringe. The concept was so new...and terrifying.

I made my way to the bathroom to take a shower; it was even bigger than mine. Initially, I took a shower to wash my hair and the make-up off my face, but I ended up standing underneath the water and thinking about Tristan.

His aqua eyes.

His lips.

I turned the shower on cold.

It's just the effect of drinking his blood...right?

I scrubbed my whole body with soap, but I could still smell the scent of pine and peppermint. I let out a groan.

Why?!

I looked at the label on the soap and realized that his smell came from the bottle.

Great, now I'm going to smell like him.

I eventually got out of the shower, and discovered that I didn't have extra clothes. Wrapping the towel around my body, I ran to his closet, hoping that he wasn't back yet. After rummaging through his clothes, I found a plain, black shirt and green boxers. Now dressed and more comfortable, I decided to be nosey, so I looked around the room. There were no pictures anywhere or anything to make the room more personable. It reminded me of a hotel room. The only thing that caught my eye was the big painting of flowers—my favorite flower.

After snooping for awhile, I decided to climb in his bed to go sleep. I contemplated whether that was a good idea or not, but I then decided that he would just have to be a gentleman and sleep on the couch. The bed was a good idea because I quickly fell asleep.

A few hours later, I awoke to the feeling that I wasn't alone. The bed behind me dipped down as a presence hovered over my body. I jumped up and turned on the lamp, almost falling off of the bed in the process. I heard a laugh—that amazing laugh.

"Don't do that!"

"Jumpy," he commented as he made himself comfortable on the bed.

"Who wouldn't be jumpy when they see someone creepily watching them sleep," I retorted.

Tristan's lips quirked up. It took me a moment to realize he was looking at what I was wearing. My face heated up, and I went under the covers, trying to push him over. It didn't work because the covers were pulled off of me, and Tristan was suddenly on his side looking down at me.

"That's not a bad look on you," his voice seemed deeper than before.

"Shut up. I had nothing to wear since you insisted I stayed in here tonight." I felt uncomfortable under his gaze.

The corner of his mouth lifted, and he went back to laying on his back. When I looked over, I found that he was just in blue boxer briefs. My eyes wandered down his sculpted chest and abs. Tristan caught me, and I quickly looked away, embarrassed.

Why me?

I could practically feel Tristan's smugness from behind me, so I threw a pillow at him. It was a bad move because I was suddenly pinned down on the bed.

"Say sorry," Tristan teased as his eyes bore into mine.

Me being the stubborn person I am, I replied, "No."

I tried to squirm out of his hands, but it was no use. He was a vampire with super-human strength, and I was a small human.

He laughed, "Just say sorry."

"Fine! Sorry my small, fluffy pillow hurt your old, vampire body."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise before he gave me a satisfactory grin. He probably knew that apology would be as good as it gets. "Alright, I'll let you go."

It's strange seeing Tristan so...playful.

Tristan went back to laying on his back and turned in my direction. "What were you doing in the woods when Julian found you?" He asked suddenly.

I took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling, worried he was going to judge me or think I'm really a crazy person. I wasn't prepared for that question. "I was running." My voice sounded small.

"From?"

I continued to look at the ceiling. "From Winterville Mental Hospital. I was sent there not too long after my family died because of the dreams and visions I have—the ones that cause physical wounds like you saw."

He was quiet, and I finally mustered up the courage to look his way. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he looked like he was thinking. The quiet was killing me, so I sat up and tried to get off the bed. Tristan grabbed my wrist and brought me back down, where my eyes met his.

He finally spoke, "Why'd you run?"

"They would..um... They weren't really there to help people. They had bad intentions, and I finally escaped when they tried a lobotomy."

Tristan's eyes turned black, then aqua again.

"Julian didn't tell you anything?"

Tristan answered, "No. He didn't. He just said that when he touched you he saw me and...and other things."

I nodded. "He saw that my visions were of you, this place, and a girl—mostly you though."

"Wait, you had visions of me...of here? Since your family was in the car accident?" He asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"Uh, no," I replied. "Since I could remember. The visions only started to physically harm me after the accident, like you saw that night you healed me. It first started with just you, then a girl with black hair and the brightest, blue eyes I've ever seen started to pop up in my dreams too."

"Eretria."