Chapter Seven

Nephilim Lineage

"Is this a joke?" Karou asked, looking between Cambria and Warren.

"Definitely not," Cambria said with unswayable certainty. "My child, from the moment you were born, our court psychics sensed that you weren't just another nephilim born of our bloodline. Considering how far removed you are from divinity, the innate power you possess is barely diluted; it's miraculous and let me tell you, that is not a word I am swift to use. In fact, if I weren't self-assured that what you harbour is raw and has enormous potential, I would have completely disregarded this prophecy. After all, it's a prophecy! Utterly ridiculous. Yet, you are you, my child, and I am as certain of you as I am myself. Your gifts can be homed. They can open more doors for you than you ever could have dreamed up when you thought you were an insignificant mortal girl."

"Wait, what? Nephilim, what's a-..."

Cambria interrupted the mundane question with a straightforward answer; "What you get when angels, or fallen angels in your case, breed with mortals. You're nephilim."

"Okay, but you're saying that some "psychic person" imagined some "prophecy", and you think I'm it? Are you saying that I'm... special?" Karou asked incredulously, trying to wrap her head around the information dumped on her.

Warren was astounded - Karou's presence in his life had caused his schedule to be cast into a whirlwind; barely any event in his life went to plan anymore. If he'd thought that Ellis' melodramas were the peak of theatrics, he had another thing coming... Apparently, this woman and whoever Enoch was meant to be, meant to whisk Karou off to God only knew where to become sort of Monarch. It all seemed so laughable. Out of sheer nerves, he chuckled incredulously, shaking his head too. He poured himself, not a double, not even a triple but a quadrupled measurement of whiskey; the glass brimmed and threatened to spill, but he necked it down regardless.

"Let's not get bogged down in all the details... Things will become clearer once we're back in Enoch."

The look on Karou's face alone showed that she was struggling to comprehend all that was occurring, but Warren quickly came to his senses at the mention of Cambria whisking Karou away again. Soon, despite being told that she, Karou Irena Morgan, from Concord MA, was the possessor of some tremendous celestial power passed down by the prestigious Morningstar lineage, she felt small and caught in the crossfire between the two egotistical personalities battling over her possession.

"She isn't going anywhere," Warren muttered.

"Have you ever heard of Enoch?" Cambria rolled her green serpentine eyes; the vampire was already starting to get on her nerves.

"Everyone's heard of Enoch, "The Shinning City of Angels." but no one believes it's real." He shrugged at a loss and rubbed his hand back through his hair. "This is all so ridiculous."

"No, her ending up here, that is ridiculous. Why wouldn't she want to leave this place?"

"At least she's safe here and not dead out there. Where were you when her parents tried to kill her?"

"That wasn't part of the plan-"

"So, you've got her whole life planned out, have you?" Warren's folded his arms over his chest.

"- neither was her meeting you," Cambria muttered though, of course, Warren heard. "It's truly none of your concern but... I'm a very busy woman; keeping an eye on unruly teenage progeny isn't my day job. She has choices to make, but when the right one is so glaringly obvious... I didn't think I'd have to deal with such an inconvenience."

"You think I'm inconvenient? If it weren't for me, she would be dead already."

"Death isn't so much of an obstacle for people like me. I have connections Hell-side." Cambria said boastfully. "But you are fortunate that I'm open-minded. It's a great disappointment that in meeting you, she's become tainted by vampirism, but after all, Karou's still a Morningstar."

"You can trash talk vampires all you want. I didn't think it was the best of ideas either, but as you said, she's free to make her own choices, and that was one of them..."

"Pity you didn't try harder to talk her out of it." The Morningstar sneered.

All that left Warren's lips was a low growl. You've no idea what lengths I went to.

Their voices were barely raised, yet neither would give up the fight. Warren wanted Karou to remain at the Compound indefinitely but changed the subject when his reason was questioned. Cambria had come to take Karou with her, and that was that. He said, she said, back and forth. The tension was building, and all their words had started to blur together. She found herself sitting on the couch with her head between her hands, with a numbing headache forming behind her eyes.

Her Sire made his argument fervently, but Cambria won Karou over in one fail swoop when amidst the fray, she rebutted, "Enoch is her rightful home. It's where she belongs, with people like her."

For the first time in almost an hour, Karou met Cambria's eyes and could have sworn that she saw the woman almost smile; it seemed such an unlikely, warm expression on the face of Lucifer's daughter. All her life, all Karou had wanted was to belong somewhere. It was something Warren knew too, and without her having to say it, the same thought resounded through his mind; it knocked the wind out of his sails.

It was at that moment he decided to leave the unit. A walk around the Compound would clear his head, and his absence would give Karou and Cambria talked over the finer details of her inevitable move to Enoch.

Perched on the tumbled-down wall, halfway to the Tavern, Warren let several cigarettes burn away in his fingers while he sat in lonely thought. Soon that's precisely what he would be. Alone. Again. And although he didn't hate his own company, he'd become accustomed to Karou's presence around the unit. It had taken a long time, but gradually, the things that used to annoy him often had started to dull in their effect. Mostly he found them endearing now. Just as she accepted his flaws, he'd begin to appreciate her quirks. Perhaps it was because now they shared some headspace; he knew how apologetic she felt whenever she'd touched a nerve and nothing she ever came from a place of malice.

Warren made it back to the unit a little after dinner time, and when he entered, Cambria and Karou were sat on the couch engrossed in conversation. The demoness shot him a cool look, to which he merely nodded amicably. It wasn't until he walked to his corner of the couch and spotted the packed duffle bag at Karou's feet that his feelings about her leaving crippled him. He was pleased that Karou now had a sense of belonging, a bigger picture, a lineage, and a legacy that she fit in. The news that she had family, however distant, was to be celebrated; at least she was not alone. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that it threatened whatever sense of belonging he had given her when he sired her... She had other options now; she didn't have the stay at the Compound indefinitely.

"Should I leave you two to say your farewells? We should get going soon. We've got a long flight ahead." When Cambria announced that she intended to take Karou to Enoch to be with other celestial's, the threat suddenly became more real, and his possessive nature was ignited.

"You can't take her tonight." That was all he had to say to ignite another passive-aggressive discussion between Warren and Cambria.

"Oh? And why is that?" Cambria crossed her arms over her chest when she challenged him.

"I promised myself I'd take responsibility for Karou when I sired her, and letting her leave on a whim would be irresponsible."

"Her leaving is no mere whim; her future has always been in Enoch. It just wasn't a plan that was supposed to involve you."

"You've already made that clear, but-"

Always but something. What fucking hypocrite! Make my own choices, my ass! Karou thought and stood up in a huff. She fled the lounge to go to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her with no explanation.

Cambria reiterated Karou's point when she retaliated. "You're all about her making her own decisions, yet you won't let her this time. I'm not one to judge; I never do things that don't suit me but don't you find your behaviour rather hypocritical."

"I'm not without my reasons."

After some hard negotiation, in Karou's absence, eventually, a deal regarding her future was struck.

Not long after that that The Morningstar took her leave. Warren saw her off at the unit's front door, although Cambria didn't leave without whispering a word of warning into the vampire's ear.

"Be careful not to forget that you were never meant to be part of her story Mr Howard, no matter how fateful you're meeting might've appeared; it was nothing more than an unfortunate mistake."

Moreover, she promised to return when the time was right, seeing as it was agreed that she could have Karou once she had fledged. Taking a fledgeling vampire to a faraway city full of celestial's was not safe to Warren's mind, and Cambria ultimately agreed with that logic. Warren struggled to keep his fangs out of Karou, and he was a seasoned vampire; his restraint was well trained by the Davikov, no less... He couldn't imagine that Karou wouldn't wreck chaos in Enoch if she were let loose amongst the sweet-smelling celestial populous.

When he closed the front door behind Cambria and turned back toward the lounge, Karou lay in wait. Her bewildered silence had ended, and while she cried in her room, it had turned into anger. Now she had a greater understanding of who she was than ever before; it was empowering. She'd been trying to leave the Compound for so long, and Warren's relentless disapproval of that idea and willingness to do whatever he could to stop her had fired the fury inside her that she didn't even attempt to contain. She moved so abruptly to get in Warren's face that he'd had to lean back so that the pointed finger she extended in his direction didn't poke him in the chest.

"I can't believe you're trying to take this away from me! Sire or not, you don't have the right to make choices for me. What if I want to go?" Warren opened his lips to speak, but Karou held up her palm. "No, shut up! I don't want to hear your lame excuses. You're not going to talk your way around me this time, Mr Lawyer; that won't work. You haven't ever wanted me here, and now the moment I'm given the opportunity to leave, a genuine one, you won't let me! I've dreamed about belonging somewhere since I was a little girl Warren, and you're depriving me of that... You don't want me, but no one else can have me, is that it?"

"Have you finished?" Warren asked; he looked unimpressed by her outburst. "Good. I didn't say you could never go. I just said that now isn't the best time for you."

"And how would you know 'what is the best time for me' or not?"

"Because I sired you barely a month ago, Karou." Stepping past her, Warren pulled his tie from his neck and began to unbutton his shirt. It was late, and he was planning on getting ready for bed. He honestly didn't have the energy to argue with her tonight, but apparently, Karou wasn't going to let up on the issue so easily.

"You think that moving to a city full of celestial's is a good idea for a fledgeling vampire? Did she tell you that all nephilim smell like you - sweet, delicious, and irresistible? Did she tell you that you can't be a vampire in Enoch - it will have to be a secret? Did she even tell you where Enoch is?"

"I don't care as long as I'm not held prisoner here," Karou explained and followed him into his bedroom; in her angry state, she didn't stop to ogle him.

"You're not held prisoner here, Karou. You genuinely have nowhere else safe to go." Warren had pulled on pyjama pants, but the t-shirt he'd planned to put on hung in his hand, between his knees. In his exasperation, he'd sat down on his piano stool with a huff. "Enoch is in Arabia; it's on the other side of the planet, Karou. You can't just flit back to the US when you've had enough."

"If this isn't a prison, then why am I not allowed out of the gates still?" Karou folded her arms over her chest while she propositioned him.

"No one goes outside the wall, Karou, but if it would really mean that much to you, then go. See if I care? As you said, I can't stop you." Warren stood, pulled his shirt over his head, and pushed past her to leave the room.

When he stepped backwards out of his path, Karou accidentally banged into the door jamb. The sudden contact was jarring, but because she still wasn't spacially aware of her new wings, the collision had been especially painful. For now, she brushed it off and rolled her eyes at Warren's outburst.

Following him again, she continued to march the fight in his direction. "See, you don't care that I'm here, but you care if I'm not here, you talk two ways. Like everything else, you blow hot and cold all goddamn the time!"

"I've tried to do everything you've asked of me, Karou. I've made your life as easy as I possibly can. Facilitating you in ways that you haven't even noticed, yet you're still unsatisfied!" Warren turned and pointed a finger in her direction; she was really starting to push his buttons.

"Oh sure, you've made my life so fucking wonderful! You pretend I don't exist every day other than Sunday. You locked me in an actual prison cell. Showed me how you'd drain me in your blood factory. Planned my 'suicide'... Actually, convinced me you were going to kill me... You fucked me and made me feel… things, and then made me feel like nothing. I'm insignificant to you, even after you've sired me. I've tried everything I can to be closer to you, but it's completely hopeless." Karou's eyes welled up as she listed all the bad things he'd done.

By now, Warren had made it to his liquor tray and was pouring himself a drink; again, but this time it was because about the usual time he started drinking. In response to what Karou said, he slammed down the decanter, and suddenly she found him squared up to her. "Your life is so awful here, is it? You're alive. You have food to eat, blood to drink, clothes to wear, books to read, a bed to sleep in; the list goes on and on... God, you're such an ungrateful brat like every one of your generation..." Warren's fangs bared in anger. "You think you've had it so hard? Try living through two world wars and the depression! Yes, I might've gone too far by putting you in that cell, but I had to stop you from leaving; it was the middle of fucking winter, Karou! You would've died out there. I put you in that cell to teach you some manners; God knows your parents didn't." He could've made so many other points, but his temper was getting the better of him. She just stood there telling him how inadequate he was as if he didn't already know. "Oh, and believe what you want, but I didn't show you the basement to scare you. And I've never wanted to kill you. And for fucks sake, stop acting like I don't have feelings! I have them, alright? Like everyone else. I'm just not good at expressing them!"

"Oh, here we go with the age thing again... and my parents - you're bringing them up now!? No, of course, they didn't teach me manners, Warren, because they neglected me just like you do! At least they only attempted to kill me; they didn't actually do it."

"You're full of shit! Your argument changes depending on what mood you're in, and you say I blow hot and cold. Yes, you're age again; you're an annoying angsty teenager! You wanted to be sired, Karou... I sired you. Wasn't part of your argument to get me to do it "that being a vampire wasn't like dying", funny how you've changed your mind as soon as it doesn't suit your situation anymore. You regret it now only because it's stopping you from going off to Enoch to sit in your princess palace!" Warren shouted directly in her face; he wasn't backing down. His fangs were bare, his eyes dark and thirsty looking, and his words rumbled from his chest in a growl.

"What's the point in being a vampire? You won't even let me follow my new instincts. You keep harping on about control - you won't even let me bite you anymore! And, my age? Really? It only seems bothers you when I'm 'angsty'; it doesn't seem to have the same effect when I take my clothes off." There - Karou thought she had him. She smirked up at Warren and stood confidently squared up to his chest.

Got him' she may have had, but she'd gone too far and tipped him over the edge. The heat from his anger disappeared as the air grew cool around him. Slowly Warren leaned down and stopped an inch from her face. His smouldering black eyes met hers. "And that's exactly why I won't let you bite me; how much I enjoyed that body of yours makes me want to do things to you that you couldn't imagine. You've said it yourself; I'm doing you so much harm already. Just be thankful I'm not taking what I desire by force. Things could get a whole lot worse for you, Karou... So, Don't Tempt Me."

Karou saw how instantaneous the change in him had been and that he was completely serious about what he said. She realized at that moment that if he wanted, he could put her in a cell again, and this time only let her out when he wanted to 'play' with her... Before she'd put her head into gear, her body acted all on its own; she slapped him hard across his face.

Warren's fists clenched at his sides, but he wouldn't return the gesture - hitting her back was utterly out of the question no matter what. Regardless of his threat, he didn't genuinely want to harm her. Despite simmering, he just rubbed over his chin and cheek where she had hit him and lowered his tone to say, "You're not going to Enoch, and that's final. You really don't want to find out what the alternative is if you keep pushing your luck, do you?"

"I'm not scared of you, Warren," Karou said despite the quiver in her voice.

"That's a mistake you've been making right from the start. Fortunately, I've been compassionate, but think on this; if this is me showing kindness, think about how terrible my cruelty could be?"

"I could persuade you, but I'm tired of stooping that low for you."

"If you think you're such a master of manipulation, why don't you try it." Calling her bluff, Warren knew exactly what she would try, and if he were honest, he would've let her.

Warren's move had checkmated her, but she wouldn't undress for him on command; she still had her dignity even if she was furious and upset with him.

"You don't want me, but you won't let me leave you to find someone who might."

Back at the side table that held his liquor tray, Warren picked up the glass of scotch he'd poured himself and downed it, staring hard at Karou over the rim and sternly said, "No."

You're such an asshole... When I do go, the farther away from you, the better. She thought and didn't care if he heard her thoughts as she stomped off to her room again. Where she shed a million angry tears and beat the hell out of her mattress. Warren retreated to his office, where he'd flung his empty scotch glass at the wall. Over her own screams, Karou heard the primal growl that had ripped from his chest from two rooms away.

Once she'd calmed down, Karou showered and got ready for bed. Meanwhile, Warren sat having a long phone conversation with Magnus. How shocking the news about Karou's true nature and lineage was aside, his mentor ultimately agreed that it wasn't safe for Karou to leave the Compound yet, but didn't shy away when it came to bending his ear about how he'd dealt with the situation. Warren hung up, feeling embarrassed by how tactless he'd been.

After his cool-down period, he found Karou in the lounge when he exited his office. The couch was the obvious place to end up, each in their respective corners. Leaning back into the cushions with her new wings was a lot comfier than expected. They still ached, but the bony structures weren't awkward to lean against; her soft feathers were like an extra blanket, and the way they guarded her shoulders made her feel snug and safe in her own body, which was admittedly an unfamiliar but welcome feeling. With her blanket wrapped around her front, they sat in darkness save for the light from the TV.

"Not going to bed yet?" Warren asked sleepily.

"No, I'm wide awake now; it must be all the adrenalin from fighting with you..."

"We're making quite the habit of it." Warren wasn't quite as awake and chose to lay down. With his forearm rested over his eyes to shield them from the TV's light, he snoozed, sprawled down his side of the couch.

Despite how angry she'd been earlier, for once it was Karou distracted from the movie; she kept looking over at Warren and wondering if he was really asleep. Part of her still wondered; what would Warren have done if she'd tried to persuade him with her body? Even if he was a jerk, she still found herself drawn to him physically. The lines between anger and passion were so easily blurred, as she was finding out. The more she remembered about how angry he'd gotten, the more attractive she found him. When he'd looked at her with that cold, predatory glare and growled at her, she couldn't deny it'd excited her.

Almost a whole hour passed; it was enough time for him to have been fast asleep, Karou gauged. Seeing as Warren hadn't moved, Karou decided to make her move. Abandoning her blanket and comfy spot, she tip-toed over the hardwood to where he lay. It was a risky decision she'd made, but equally, she'd had enough of unspoken rules and awkward moments of tension. Being 'just friends' wasn't working, 'lovers' wasn't on the cards, but still, her body pined for his touch. She couldn't unknow how it felt to be that close to him, just as he'd warned her. She couldn't unfeel how it felt to feel so much pleasure; her whole body ached. The fight earlier had been the straw that broke the camel's back; it hurt when he scolded her, but now all she wanted was comfort, and despite knowing how warped it was, she only wanted that comfort to come from Warren. So, knowing that as soon as she was close to him, all of her hurting and anguish would cease, she leaned down near his sleeping face and pressed her lips to his.

Thankfully Warren didn't wake up immediately; he just moaned against her lips. Because he still seemed to be sleeping, Karou dared to take another chance and moved in for another kiss. Just a peck, but she lingered this time and felt his lips move to meet hers, almost kissing her back. When she splayed her hand over one side of his face, she flinched, feeling she'd gone too far. But when she backed away, Warren grabbed her wrist, which startled her.

That was sneaky. Warren thought, knowing she could hear him. He was still coming around from his nap and hadn't removed his arm from over his eyes yet.

"I know. I don't have an excuse." Karou whispered in defeat.

Warren thought she sounded so meek. He felt a sting of guilt for upsetting her earlier; he needed to make it better, even if it meant breaking the rules. The moment he let go of her wrist, she retreated, but before she could get back to her seat, he was on her tail. When he grabbed her arm and spun her around on the spot. Karou hadn't been facing him a second when his hands cupped her face, and gently, his lips met hers again.

Karou felt all her pent-up anger and tension melt away, just like she knew it would. There was no other place she would've rather been when she leant submissively into his broad, muscular chest.

Warren opened her lips to kiss her deeply, and she whimpered that sweet, pleasing sound he loved so much. It only made him want her more. Automatically his hands began to wander down her neck and lightly over her chest. He wanted her entirely to himself. He wanted to trap her in his arms so that she couldn't leave him, but he knew that the toxicity of his personality would ultimately break her. Still, he needed to give her a compelling reason to stay, and he had some tough competition. Desperately, his fingers grabbed into the slimmest part of her body with eager pressure, but even that didn't feel close enough. He coiled his arms around her to bind them together, and this time Karou reciprocated and splayed her hands over the nape of his neck. On her tip-toes, she pressed into him with all her weight. She was just as desperate for the kiss never to end.

The TV had been left to play to itself, and Karou and Warren's lips hadn't parted when he carried her to bed, to his bed. Laid down in the sheets, Karou spread her new wings out behind her, completing her. Warren wondered if she could look more exquisite.

Are you still angry with me? Warren raised a brow in her direction as he posed his question telepathically. Do you still want to leave?

Something about how you kissed me made me want to stay... and do this... Karou bit down onto her lower lip as she replied.

Warren was glad to hear she would stay and undressed her slowly. His kisses were tender and grateful; they meandered over her skin. Karou was entranced, watching Warren lay more affection onto her than she'd thought he was capable of. Every move was slower this time but just as deliberate and intense, if not more so.

Given their 'come to Jesus' moment about his emotional shortcomings and his admission that he would never fall for her, she was nonplussed by the way he touched her. It made it difficult to fathom that he didn't feel anything for her; his acting was so convincing. Now they were naked and enjoying just kissing and touching each other; Karou closed her eyes and surrendered to the intimacy of each sensation.

Warren's alarm beeped, interrupting him from lavishing her with kisses between her thighs. He'd been enjoying experimenting to see what kind of noises he could make her make. Karou had found his teasing to be quite an eye-opening and euphoric experience. Warren didn't hesitate to reach over and turn off the alarm even if in doing so, while distracted meant he pushed the clock from his nightstand altogether so that it clattered to the floor.

What's that? Karou thought, startled. She was out of it too and caught in a daze of pleasure.

Just my alarm. Relax. Warren reassured and continued what he'd been doing before.

How long do we have 'til you have to get to work? This thought was whiny in tone and disappointed that it would have to be over soon.

Warren stopped his kisses Until the boss says otherwise. Bared down onto his elbows over her, he stared into her eyes.

I thought you were your own boss?

Exactly. Warren replied, and he started to kiss her neck again. Hmm, you smell so good.

Aren't you going to bite me?

Not right now... Today has been traumatizing enough. Warren reached out and stroked his fingers over her feathers; a few had shed onto his sheets as they'd rolled about in them.

Will you ever bite me again? With her thought, Karou conveyed a sense that she really wanted him to.

Maybe, Karou heard Warren think. His breathing was steady, calming even against her neck as he kissed behind her ear. It was all so confusing.

What are you going to do right now?

Whatever you want me to... Although he wasn't good at feelings, Karou was, and their telepathic connection was strong. He knew she wanted him to stop and look at her right then. So, he did. He withdrew his lips and opened his eyes into hers. "Karou, what's wrong?"

"I- I don't think I can do this." She reached out and traced her fingertips over the edges of his face. Her lips quivered, and her eyes threatened to spill the tears they were harbouring. "It's wonderful, but it's confusing. It feels real to me."

"This was your idea; you kissed me first... and of course, it feels real, it is real." Warren's brows arranged over his eyes; he was also confused. What she meant dawned on him a moment later, and his expression changed again. A mixture of emotions that Karou recognized as regret, sadness, and perhaps even disappointment. "Just because it's 'just sex' doesn't mean it has to be rough or robotic when I touch you."

"But the way you touch me... Because I have nothing else to compare it to, it makes me feel like..." She paused and brought her hands up to span over his chest. "It just doesn't feel casual," Karou admitted. Warren rolled away and pulled the sheets over their waists; Karou clutched her section further up her chest to hide. She saw him staring blankly up toward the ceiling in glancing at Warren. It was a few minutes before she would dare speak again, but when she did, she asked, "Are you angry at me?"

"I'm not angry. I'm just tired. Tired of being frustrated." Although Warren kept his eyes trained on the ceiling, he could feel Karou's boring into the side of his face. A second later, Karou rolled onto her side to get a better look at him. Eventually, he gave in, and his head lulled left so he could look at her too. Her eyes were so sorrowful, and her pillow caught a stray tear. "I understand all the reasons why you want to go to Enoch, Karou. But it just wouldn't be responsible for me to let you go right now, knowing that you could get yourself into trouble because of what I've made you. I told you, you would regret being sired. If you'd just held out a little longer, you could have come out of dormancy, and you would've been out of here already - you could've gone with Cambria the moment she arrived..."

"And you'd have just let me go, just like that?"

"It's a romantic notion to say that the devil couldn't pull you away from me, but I don't think anything I could've said or done would've stopped her or you choosing to go."

"Sometimes, when you're having a good day, and you're nice to me, I can't imagine being anywhere else."

"Mmm, I've gotten used to you being here too, but the situation here... The Compound as a whole was only ever meant to be temporary. Everyone will leave here once the War is over."

"Where will you go?"

"I'll most likely end up over the pond. I have an apartment in Paris. If it's still there, that is. If this War devastates Europe like it is the US, then I'll stay in Blue Ash until I can arrange an alternative."

"I had wondered why you don't live with Magnus and Ellis."

"Living with Magnus isn't so bad, but I'd rather be buried alive than live with Ellis again. She brings out the worst in me. I've tried to forget all the things we did when we nested with the Davikov Coven. They were my darkest days."

"I won't ask then, so you don't have to talk about it." Karou smiled over at him. "Uh, do you want me to go back to my own bed?"

"No, but it's probably for the best unless you want to pick up where we left off?" Warren smiled at her feebly.

"I should probably find my clothes and leave you in peace then..." Karou shuffled to the edge of the bed with the sheet still wrapped around her. The sheets were a tangled mess, so there was little hope of finding her clothes. Warren came to her rescue and handed her his t-shirt. "Oh, thanks." Once she had pulled it over her head and stood from the bed, she giggled when she saw that his t-shirt looked more like a dress on her and hung down her thighs.

"It suits you, but you should go before I wrestle it off of you," Warren grumbled as he pulled a pillow over his face to stop himself from staring at her. He was no longer trying to hide how much he wanted her, even if it hurt.