When nightfall came, I had already convinced Darius to place a few lit candles around the living room. The white rays of the moon were blocked by the thick forestry, hindering any chance of light.

We were still lying on the couch, and hadn't moved the entire hour. We were enjoying the quiet and calm of the atmosphere around us.

"How is Anna by the way? I bet she hates my guts" I spoke, breaking the silence that was not as awkward as I had been expecting

"She's good, much happier, and she doesn't hate you Rosalie, in a way she's glad it's all over and done with. She's glad Duke has moved on as she has" He seemed to confirm my previous thoughts. He knew something was going on, along with Anna.

"As long as she is happy. Are you both officially together again?" I asked

"No, it's always frowned upon when a human and Vampire are together, I don't want Anna to have to deal with the pressure after all she's been through" He sighed, obviously frustrated.

I remembered when Riley had told me about the anger Duke and Anna's relationship had caused.

"Have you ever discussed turning her?" I asked edging dangerously close into his personal life

"We have, but it's difficult because Duke wanted to do so too at one point, she adamantly refused, but slowly she's adjusting to the idea. It's the only choice we have after all" He explained, letting me in

"Would your father welcome her if she were turned?"

"I think so, he just doesn't want to see me lose her in the end, he knows it would destroy me" He continued

"Well, hopefully she'll come around to the idea and you can both live happily ever after" I smiled

"It'd be nice" He agreed sighing further into the comfort of the lounge when there was a knock on the door.

Darius was up instantly, pulling the door open to reveal a casual Duke leaning against the frame. I didn't move, only lifting my head backwards to watch them exchange shifts.

"See you tomorrow Rosalie" Darius nodded in my direction as he smiled warmly.

I watched upside down as Darius left and Duke stepped towards me, placing himself on the same couch Darius had been sitting on

"Afternoon" He greeted looking at me as he sat

"Morning" I replied jokingly as I kept my eyes trained on his face

"I see Darius is talking to you. Make friends did we?" He asked, his eyes diverting from me.

I had a feeling it made him uncomfortable that I was slowly befriending his brother.

I just nodded and watched his expression

"You okay?" I asked, breaking the heavy tension

"Yeah, fine" He lied as he looked towards the candles above the fireplace "Is it you or Darius that's scared of the dark?" He asked, nodding towards the light

"That would be me" I answered honestly as I returned my gaze to the fireplace

"How's everyone at home?" I asked, once again breaking the silence

"Home?" He repeated, surprised at my choice of wording

"You know what I mean" I narrowed my eyes

"They're fine, actually somewhat depressed that you're gone"

"I'll take that as a good thing" I smiled as we stared at each other through the flickering light of candles and fire

"Are you tired or hungry..?" He trailed off, breaking our gaze and looking elsewhere

"Not really" I followed his gaze and watched the flames sizzle and engulf the logs inside.

The threat of silence began again, and I was about to break it when Duke beat me to it

"What did you and Darius talk about?" He questioned

"Lots of things" I shrugged "This house, and when and how it was built, other stuff you wouldn't be interested in" I continued, dangling subtly to see if he'd bite

"Other stuff like what?"

He took the bait.

"Just him and his friends and family, personal stuff" I shrugged again, not wanting to say Anna's name directly

"And by that you mean Anna? My father?" He guessed

"Yeah" I nodded as casual as I could

"Are they all happy and dandy now?" He asked, sour and rude

I turned my head to look at him, narrowing my eyes "Don't be so bitter"

"Sure" He huffed sarcastically again

I sighed and turned back to the fire, laying my head back, closing my eyes.

"You know, sometimes you just have to forgive people, even if they hurt you, otherwise you'll never be able to really move on" I mumbled

"I have forgiven them, but that doesn't mean I have to forget" His words were soft, yet dark

"It's a start I guess" I whispered "But just so you know, they have forgiven and forgotten" I continued, hoping to end the uncomfortable battle

"Darius told you that?"

"Sure did" I half lied as I folded my hands on my stomach, careful of my wrist

"Does it still hurt?" He asked, the sudden proximity of his voice snapping my eyes open to reveal his face hovering over mine.

Our eyes instantly connected and held strong in the dim light, creating an even more nerve wracking intensity

"Not really" I whispered, my finger twitching

He quickly returned back to the sofa across from me, causing me to roll my eyes

"What was that for?" He asked, instantly noticing my daring reaction

"What was what for?" I sighed, playing innocent

"You know exactly what" His voice held a flirty tone, but I couldn't be sure

"It's a natural reaction" I lied, staring at the ceiling

"I don't think that's the reason at all" I could hear the smirk in his voice. I didn't look at him, I couldn't fall for the temptation.

"Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter, the timing is all wrong" I smiled, using the same sentence he had used on me

"Trust me Rosie, it's hard not to do to you what I want to do, but now would most definitely not be the time" He mumbled, causing my heart to speed up, intensely drumming against my ribcage.

I was silent for a good thirty seconds, reeling over what he had said. It felt like a dream. What exactly did he want to do to me?

I blinked furiously a few times, testing out reality, realising it had actually happened.

"I tell you what you've been dying to hear and you're silent?" He teased

I remained frozen, rambling my brain for something coherent to form from my mouth in response.

"What did I want to hear exactly?" I managed out, needing to hear the words in a more exact sense

"Use your imagination, I know how creative it is" He sighed.

I mentally slapped myself for falling for another one of his teasing traps.

The room was silent again for a good few minutes until I could no longer handle it.

I jumped up from the sofa, and headed for bed

"Night" I spoke simply, not wanting to reveal the utter unsatisfactory state he had left me in

He turned his head upside down to look at me, like I had when he'd shown up. I gave him a quick innocent smile before walking down the hallway, into my small room.

I pulled my suitcase off the bed, realising I was in the pitch black dark, it dropped and fell on my foot. I groaned and silently winced, not wanting Duke to come in and see I'd made a fool of myself after my abrupt confident flee.

"What did you do now?" His voice was behind me in the dark within a second.

I wanted to punch myself in the nose

"Nothing, I'm fine" I told him casually, my toes curled up. I hoped he couldn't see in the dark.

"You dropped it on your foot, didn't you?" He guessed easily

"Nope, all good" I lied as I pushed the suitcase aside throwing myself on the bed.

I sunk my face into the blankets, soaking in the pine scent.

"Do you want some candles in here or not?" The sound of his voice edging closer

"I'll be fine" My voice was muffled heavily as I talked through the blanket.

"Okay" He replied.

I listened to his feet walk off out of the room.

I was sure this was another little part of his game. He was expecting me to follow and beg for candles and light like a vulnerable little child.

I lifted myself from the bed once I was sure he was gone, and sat up. It was awfully dark and I felt uncomfortable being alone in a room I'd never slept in before in the middle of the woods. But I had to keep strong, I had to push it away, I couldn't let Duke win this one.

I didn't bother changing when I snuck under the blanket, my eyes wide open in the darkness.

I felt uneasy and I had to admit, I did feel a little frightened.

Being in the dark somehow reminded me of when Ryde attacked me, his razor sharp teeth sinking into me.

I felt myself wince and shutter at the images passing through my mind.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to concentrate on something else besides Ryde's venomous face. It was hard.

"Are you sure you're okay? I can almost smell the fear" Duke's voice made me jump, it sounded close

"I apologise if I scared you" He quickly defended, softly this time. His voice sounded incredibly close behind my head as if he was leaning down beside me.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people in the dark" I growled, debating whether or not to turn around

"Probably not, but you were a lot more fearful when I wasn't in the room" He was smiling, I could hear it.

Once again he was wining.

I should have blocked him out so he couldn't feel what I was feeling, but I could not for the life of me force myself into shutting him out.

"Fine, you win. I hate the dark and I feel better when you're here because I know no one can kill me" I confessed, giving up while turning around.

I couldn't see him anyway, I couldn't see anything. I could however now feel his breath close on my face, brushing against my nose and lips

"Can you see in the dark?" I asked curiously

"Every inch" He whispered, his words brushing over my face again, causing my heart to jump

"Well, that's not fair" I groaned as I kept my eyes wide open, just in case

"Life's not fair" He teased back

There was a minute silence, and all I could hear and feel was the mixture of his breathing on my face and the drumming of my own erratic heart.

"Maybe I should have had Jaymi stay with you" He broke the silence "Because I'm not sure you're going to be able to sleep if you're alone, or with me here either" He had me in the palm of his hand, wrapped into his little game

"Maybe you should have" I agreed, waiting for whatever move he was next to make

"Would you like me to bring you some candles or to stay with you for the night?" He offered

"Like you said, either way I probably won't be able to sleep" I shrugged

"If it's any consolation, I'll keep my distance" His breathing was tickling along my nose

"It is, I know you're good at that" I spat back

"You're pushing it, trust me"

"Somehow I don't think that bothers you the way you say it does" I retorted

I heard him lightly laugh before the pressure of his body was directly beside me.

I remained frozen for a moment before speaking

"Got enough room?" I commented shifting myself over so I wouldn't be tempted

"Just, go to sleep Rosie" He sighed as I turned my body around to face away from him.

The best way of reassuring myself, and him that I wouldn't cross that line, was to face away, although it didn't seem to ease my heart rate until a good five minutes later.

I was aware that the side of his body was lightly leaned against my back.

Of course I was under the covers, and he was not, which helped, but I could still feel the coldness of his skin radiate through the blanket.

"Its taking an unusually long time for you to fall asleep tonight" Duke's voice spoke, soft and quiet.

I kept my eyes closed and my body still.

It was true, we'd been lying awake for a good half hour, and I still felt no hint of sleep approaching.

I guessed that it was a mixture of Duke lying directly beside me, and the fact I was in a completely new environment.

"I guess I've got a lot on my mind" I put simply

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, soft

"It's just general thoughts" I shrugged

"What are you thinking about Rosie?" He whispered as his body shifted ever so slightly

"My mother, my friends, my life, the vampires that are trying to kill me, the vampires that are trying to save me.." I began nonchalant "The one that already took a taste of me, the sensation of being held by my throat.." I continued as I cringed at the painful memories "I've been close to dying so many times already-" I was rambling now, being quickly cut off by Duke's finger lightly pressed against my lips to hush me, his body closer than ever

Bravely, I twisted my body around under the blankets to lie on my back, never towards him directly. He shifted as I did, never moving his finger from my lips

"I get it" He replied softly "I don't want to hear anymore"

Slowly his finger moved from my lips and returned to his side

"It's a harsh reality isn't it? Watching me die while Ryde did what he did, or when Bruce had his hands around my neck-" I was cut off again by Duke's finger hushing me, this time he held his face close to mine, hovering above me as I felt his cool breath against my nose

"Rosie, I don't want to hear it, it was torture enough having to watch it" He whispered

I sighed and he slowly moved his finger again.

"Just don't think about it, you need to relax" He soothed

"It's hard not to think about.." I replied

It felt as if I were lying beside a best friend. Someone I'd known for years and could trust and talk to about anything and everything. Something inside me told me I could trust him, talk to him, and be my complete honest self around him. I felt safe, warm, like I belonged right there beside him.

"I'm sure you have good memories inside that human brain of yours" He sighed "Think about rainbows, and, I don't know, unicorns" He pathetically tried

"Rainbows and unicorns, seriously?" I suppressed a laugh

"I'm improvising"

"You suck at it"

"Thanks"

"You're welcome. Thank you though, for trying, it's helping" I spoke, my face turning serious

"Happy to help" His voice had also turned serious and then the silence settled back in.

I closed my eyes and thought of nothing but Duke's body beside me. This was Duke. This was who he really was and what he was really like.

With those thoughts running in my mind, I soon fell into a deep sleep, feeling completely relaxed and safe beside the one person I really needed.

-

When morning came, I found myself just as comfortable as I'd been when I'd woken up in Duke's satin bed. I peeled my eyes open at the new light that beamed in from the hallway. It would have been early, maybe eight in the morning as the light still had its orange tinge from the horizon peek.

As I shifted my hands and feet, stretching the small muscles, I was aware that I'd grown abnormally cold. My fingertips lightly stung with numbness as my eyes adjusted to find Duke still beside me.

I suddenly froze, and it wasn't from the cold.

Somehow during the night, I'd managed to move close to him, lying on my side as my head rest against his chest, his chin lightly placed on the top of my head.

I didn't move, noticing his right arm was around my body that rest on him. His hand lightly on my back.

Was he asleep? Was he aware of the position we were in? Surely he was.

With as much slowness and cautious I could muster up, I began moving from his body, hoping he hadn't noticed.

Just as I did, both his hands moved to his eyes as he rubbed them, only causing me to fall back down half on top of him, his arm constricting me from getting up.

Quickly, his arms returned to their normal position, and I waited for him to jump away and begin his usual crusade of 'timing'. Instead to my surprise, he was less than horrified, remaining still and relaxed.

"Good morning" He groaned, his voice thick and rough

"Hi" I replied awkwardly

I tried to get up again, moving my head from his chest as well as my body, but he made no attempt to move, he just watched me carefully

"You were making moves on me while you were sleeping, I wanted to wake you and tell you you were moving too fast, but I figured you needed the sleep" He broke the silence

I couldn't believe he was making jokes, innuendo fuelled jokes

"Funny" I screwed my face up as I sat up on my elbows "Where's arrogant, uptight Duke? He's been gone an awfully long time" I sighed

"If you want him back, I could always go and get him back?" He offered, continuing the little charade

I shook my head and rubbed my face with a hand, not wanting him to return to his stone hard persona.

"I should have moved, but the warmth.." He signalled between us "It's something I haven't felt in a long time, and believe me, a long time to me, is a long, long -"

"I get it" I cut him off, understanding

I turned my head around to face him, he was extremely relaxed and calm as he watched me.

There was something about his features that were different. His eyes were the lightest I'd ever seen them, a light honey gold. They watched me watching him. His mouth turned slowly into a smirk, the corners of his lips drifting upwards as I stared. The mere look in his eyes were something deep and mesmerising that captured me intensely. It made me nervous.

We held the stare for what seemed like forever. I couldn't take my eyes away from him, they were spellbound, locked heavily onto his.

Seconds later, in reality his gaze pulled from mine, leaving me breathless and wanting more.

"Darius will be here soon" He spoke, moving his arm from around me and jumping up from the bed in one swift movement.

I did the same, throwing off my blanket, throwing my legs over the side of the bed.

As Duke stood, he ran his hands carelessly through his hair. I felt myself staring once again as his back was turned away from me.

The muscles on his arms, as well as his veins that lightly protruded from the pale skin above stole my attention.

It was only when he turned around and gave me a smile that I snapped my eyes away, returning the smile innocently.

"I'll make you breakfast while you get up" He told me as he walked out the bedroom door and down the hallway.

I didn't say anything, but walked towards my suitcase, still half reeling in disbelief as I unzipped it and shuffled around.

Luckily Jaymi had found my washed clothes and shoved them neatly into the bag. I pulled out my work uniform shirt and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans before walking to the bathroom. I intrusively explored its decorative inside before taking a shower, washing my hair and drying it as best as I could with a towel.

I tugged on my clothes and ran a look over my appearance, when I was satisfied I left and headed back out to the kitchen. Duke was there, cooking bacon and eggs, the usual.