Reason

His eyebrow lifted and his eyes narrowed down at her when she stayed silent. "Is your silence an admission of guilt?"

Her eyes widened. "No! I'm not admitting to anything!" She frowned as she looked up at him. "Not that it's any of your business, but no I never did anything. Why do you care so much? It's not like I'm asking you about your past sex life. Which I'm sure has been VERY active," she said as she glared up at him.

"Oh, what makes you think that Rose?" he asked, lips turning into a mischievous smile at her tone. He lowered his head until he was a breath away from her. "Is it because I'm so handsome?"

She swallowed hard, trying not to let his presence affect her. "All vampires are attractive. It would be easy for you to have lovers. Especially being the king. I'm sure many women have thrown themselves at you," she said as she tried not to back down, meeting his eyes, even though the air around them became thicker and hotter.

He chuckled. "You're right. I have women left and right begging me to let them spend at least one night in my bed."

Her cheeks turned red at his shameless words. What kind of person bragged about something like this?

He smiled. "Are you jealous?"

She scoffed and looked away. "No. I don't care who you were with."

He turned her to face him, forcing her to meet his gaze. "But, I do. I care about who the woman I love has been with."

She swallowed hard. Damn vampires and their old fashioned ways! "So if I'm not a virgin, will you break off the engagement?"

His eyebrow lifted, amused. "Why does it feel like you keep trying t to run away from me every opportunity you get?"

She chuckled dryly as his words hit home. Why was it so easy for him to read her? It was as if he'd known her for years. It was irritating!

"But, to answer your question, no. I will keep you by my side, no matter what." He wrapped his hand around her face, forcing her to keep looking at him. "Even if I end up in hell for wanting you, I'll never let you go. If anyone interferes between us, I'll make sure to drag them down to hell with me."

Her heart pounded in her chest. Why did those words sound familiar? She swallowed hard, trying to find words in her muddled brain. So, he was going to take Jack to hell with him… Fear ran through her as she suddenly thought about the consequences of their plans. What if they did get caught? What would Caleb do to Jack?

"What's the matter?" he asked as he noticed the way her eyes suddenly lost their glimmer, her shoulders becoming tense once again.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Are you worried I'll take you to hell with me?"

She bit her bottom lip. What did that even mean? "I don't know what you mean," she said honestly.

Caleb chuckled. "Let's hope you never do sweetheart," he said as he leaned forward to press his lips against hers lightly.

Rose jerked back, eyes wide, heart pounding. "What are you doing?!"

He smiled innocently as if he'd done nothing wrong. "I'm just showering my fiancée with some love."

She cleared her throat. "I don't need it."

"But I do." He leaned forward again, but she dodged the kiss.

"Caleb you can't just kiss me whenever you want. If someone caught us, they would get the wrong idea." She quickly turned around and walked towards the door.

His eyebrows lifted, amused. "I didn't know you cared so much about the public's opinion." He walked up to her and reached his hand out to grab her, pulling her back against him. He wrapped his arms around her before she had a chance to pull away, his chest pressed tightly against her back.

"Please let me go," she said, turning her head to glare up at him, trying to ignore the heat that was suddenly starting to envelope her. She swallowed hard as their eyes met and she quickly looked away, cheeks burning with shame.

"No," he said, voice stern. "Relax, I'm not going to do anything to you until you're ready."

She visibly relaxed, assured by his words. So, it would never happen, she thought to herself.

"I mean, not that I don't want to," he said, feeling her body stiffen once again against him. He chuckled at her reaction, but his smile slowly faded. "There have been more threats against your life, and I want to make sure to keep an eye on you 24/7."

Her eyes widened as she looked back up at him. "Threats to kill me?" she asked, cautiously.

His eyebrow lifted. "Is there another type of threat against you?" he asked with a chuckle. "Yes, death threats."

She swallowed hard. "They don't want you to marry me."

"It would seem some are against the idea of their future queen being a human." He looked into her eyes, staying silent as he studied her emotions. "Don't worry, I've already sent my men to take care of the ones who are responsible. No one threatens my wife and gets away with it."

She frowned worried about his words. If the vampires didn't want her as his wife, they would try to kill her every chance they got.

"Apparently it's never been heard of; a vampire taking a human woman for a wife. It's ridiculous. I know many vampires who have human mistresses. They're fucking hypocrites."

She bit her bottom lip and frowned. "Please let me go," she said again and he finally released her, but he turned her around to face him.

"I don't want you to worry Rose. As long as I'm around you, I will keep you safe. I won't let anyone who tries to hurt you get away unpunished. I'll kill the whole fucking world if I have to," he said through clenched teeth.

Rose shivered as a killing aura radiated off of him. She believed him. He really would kill anyone who tried to hurt her. It was a relief to know she would be safe by his side, but the thought of having people out there who wanted her dead was disturbing. It was terrifying. She wouldn't be able to take a single step outside without having to watch her back.

"Hey," Caleb said as he noticed her mind wander. He reached out and gently wrapped his hand around her cheek. He forced her to look up at him until their eyes met. "Trust me Rose. I will keep you safe. I will guard you with my life."

His eyes glowed with emotions she wasn't aware of, but his words made her heart throb. He really wasn't that bad. If she had met him before Jack, maybe… no! She shook her head and cleared her throat. "Thank you Caleb. That makes me feel relieved."

He smiled warmly down at her. "I will always be here for you Rose. Whatever you need, I will do it."

She nodded as he kept forcing her to look into his mesmerizing eyes. She gulped. "Thank you. But, I think I'll be okay as long as I stay inside. Right?"

He nodded. "You will always be safe at home. Every person here knows they have to guard you with their life."

That made her feel bad. "I don't want anyone to die for me," she said as she looked up at him worriedly.

He smiled. She was so kind. If it was any other woman, he was sure they wouldn't think twice about sacrificing others to stay alive, but Rose wasn't like them. Rose was beautiful, inside and out, and it was one of the reasons why he loved her so much.

She bit her bottom lip as he continued to watch her. "Please tell them not to die because of me."

He chuckled. "Then what should they die for sweetheart? Dying to protect you is an honor for them. It's not a luxury many vampires have since most have nothing they care about."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Once you become immortal, the ones you love tend to die. When you lose everyone you care about, you have nothing. Life becomes dull and pointless. After a while, you've done anything and everything you can in this world. If you don't have someone by your side to make life worth living, you start wishing for death."

She gulped. If she wasn't around, would he be like that too? "What do you care about?" she asked.

He smiled. "You."

Shit. "But, there must be something else that you care about. Otherwise you wouldn't have made it this far."

"All I care about is making the world a better place for the ones I love."

Well, that was noble. "I'm sure you care about the ones who work for you, right?"

He nodded. "Of course. But, they don't really need me. Most of them are with me because they need some kind of purpose in life."

She frowned. "I'm sure they're here for other reasons. They must love you to be so loyal to you."

"They love and fear me. If I weren't this powerful, I would have no one by my side. They're all scared of what I can do to them."

She gulped. Yeah, that sounded just about right.

He frowned. "Since no one can touch me, they're going after what matters to me, which is you."

She felt her heart pound heavily in her chest as his words ran through her.

"I need you to be careful until our wedding."

She frowned. "Why until our wedding? Wouldn't they be able to kill me even after?"

He smiled. "It won't matter. Once you become my wife, I will turn you into one of us."

Her breath caught and her eyes widened with his words. One of them? A vampire? He was planning on turning her into a vampire?