Chapter Forty

Reagan's POV

I was so damn nervous. Really, you wouldn't believe it.

Heck! Any sane person could tell right of the bat I was a train wreck waiting to happen.

My palms were drenched with sweat, my heart was palpating as though someone was playing bongo drums on it, and my legs were trembling so much.

'Calm down, Reagan,' I thought to myself, trying to calm my bundled nerves.. 'It's just a date, you've done this kind of stuff before.'

Pfft!

Calm down? Just a date?

No, it wasn't just that...

This was Derek we were talking about. When it came to him, it wasn't anything simple.

Right after Derek told me we were going on a date, I booked it like I was chased after a horde of zombies to my room, and looked for a perfect dress. It was chaos out there, and it was ridiculous how I threw dress after dress out of my closet like a maniac high on Red Bull. I was about to give up, and make a desperate move to go shopping (which I totally abhor with all my might), but a certain black number that was embedded so deep into my closet saved me from the horrors of going to the mall.

It was perfect, in my eyes anyway.

It was a strapless black cocktail dress that fell just above my knees. It was elegant without being openly glamorous and provocative, just the way I liked it. The skirt area had a soft fabric layer, so when you walk, it flowed like a waterfall. I made sure that my make-up would concentrate more on my eyes, so I went for the smokey eye effect. To finish off the look, I paired it up with black stiletto pumps.

As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, that sense of uncertainty encompassed me.

What if I looked overdone? What if I looked like I was trying to hard?

Oh, god... What if I looked like a hooker on a red light district?

A sudden knock brought me out my stupid internal turmoil. I shook my head to clear my uncertainty, and I made a last sweep of my reflection, and breathe out a sigh after that.

“Ma cherie?” Derek asked from the other side of the door. “Are you ready?”

I took deep, calming breaths and replied with as much sturdiness in my voice.“Yeah, I'm ready,” I told him. I took my color matching clutch bag from my vanity into my hand, stood up, and walked towards the door, my hand clutching the doorknob tightly.

Here we go.

I opened the door and started to say,“Hey..." but my next words die down. I couldn't seem to continue on with my sentence. I was brought up short with the sight of the man before me, I would have pegged myself to have gone mute.

I could finally say... Derek and I were worlds apart.

He looked so handsome , I don't even know if he was real. He was wearing a black dinner jacket, with black slacks to go with it. Underneath his jacket was a gray dress shirt with three buttons undone, showing a slight hint of his toned, muscled chest. To complete the look, he paired it up with black dress shoes. The best part of it all was his brown hair left unkempt, just the way I liked it.

Derek was indeed a sight for GQ magazine sore eyes right now.

"Ma cherie," Derek breathed out, and I was brought out of my gawking. Well, that was embarrassing."You look so beautiful, my love."

As I looked upon Derek, he wasn't appreciating me with provocative lust in his eyes. He was regarding me like a flower with pure admiration, and delicacy. It made me feel special, and I liked how it made me feel.

I liked how Derek made me feel. I really do.

I cleared my throat, and appraised him back. "You clean up nice, Dee," I told him with honesty. "You look really good."

He chuckled. "Thank you," he said, and hand out something he was hiding behind his back. "This is for you," he said, presentint to me my favorite flower.

He gave me a single stemmed Carnation.

Trying not to die from a heart attack from how sweet he was, I took the Carnation from his hand and said, "Thank you. It's beautiful."

For living with him for two years, I didn't realize how attentive he was, down to my favorite flower. I didn't know he was just being polite, or was just being himself, the sweet, and generous Derek, who I have came to love, not because of his looks, or status in this supernatural hierarchy. I asked myself every single day why this man loved me, what I had done to have this man own my heart in every possible way imaginable.

But...

When it came to love, you didn't need to have a reason.

You couldn't really help it.

He shrugged. "A beautiful flower for a beautiful lady," he said, and held out out his arm. "Ready?"

I smiled, and slipped my arm around it. "As I'll ever be," I told him, but deep, down inside, my nervousness didn't went away no matter how much I try to calm myself.

I just hoped that despite the chaos around us, we could still have a romantic evening ahead of us before everything goes downhill. We both needed this, to be happy, for just a moment in time, because my gut feeling was telling me that soon, things would turn for the worst.

For me, and Derek.

* * *

Derek's POV

Judging from my beloved's thumping heart, she was downright nervous. With my sensitive hearing, each beat got louder, and louder, I thought someone was beating her heart like it was a drum set.

'Good,' I thought to myself, laughing on the inside.

Oh, the irony of it all.

She wasn't the only one who was nervous, that I could tell. I wasn't that confident with what I had in mind for this date. I wasn't sure if she would be impress. I was used to aiming for perfection, and right now, I was not sure if this night would turn out what I hoped to be a success.

Sadly, I had ulterior motives for this date. With all the turmoil surrounding us, with the council, and the prophecy, I wasn't sure about our future anymore. I still had no answers to break the prophecy, and I was at the brink of losing hope. Believe me, I wanted to be confident that we would find a way around this chaos, but each day, the hope that I had desperately tried to cling on, it was slowly dwindling, and I was scared beyond belief.

I was so scared for both Reagan, and I. Astounding, isn't it? That a powerful pure blood, an Elder, would feel fear?

Supernatural or not, I am just a man.

So, tonight... I would try my best to make this night for the both of us a moment to remember before everything falls apart.

Tonight, it was all about Reagan and I.

When I gazed upon her, she was just so breathtakingly beautiful with her elegant black dress. I find it hard to believe that she was mine, that she loved me, a man who had done unthinkable things as far he could remember. At the back of my mind, it did crossed my mind that I didn't deserve her. Was it so wrong to think that I wanted her, needed her all to myself?

If it was wrong, then I would gladly take fault, and wouldn't feel any regret or remorse.

"Dee?" She asked me, bringing me out of my stupor. "You okay?"

I hadn't realized we were now outside of the mansion, the cool breeze of the night gliding like a sweet caress on my skin. It was a full moon, and we were blessed with a sea of sparkling stars on the night sky.

It was perfect.

I nodded. "Yeah, " I told her, and led her to the car. I opened the passenger door, and made hand flourishing movements and said,"My lady."

Reagan giggled. "Thank you, my good sir," she said, and slid inside the car. Closing the door, I went around to the driver side, opened the door, and got in.

"So, where are we going?" she asked as I dug for my keys in my pocket.

Fishing out my keys, I grinned at her mischievously. "It's a secret," I told her as I jammed the keys to the ignition, and my car roar to life.

"Oh, come on!" she whined, scrunching up her nose. "I hate surprises."

I chuckled. "Not telling you, or it wouldn't be a surprise," I replied as I started driving. There wasn't much distance since I planned on having the date here, on the mansion. On the backyard to precise. Using my car was just adding touch to the whole dating experience really.

All I did was just drive around the courtyard, and we were back to where my car was parked, and killed the ignition.

"Uh, Dee," Reagan questioned, the confusion evident in her voice. "Why are we back home?"

I gave her side way glance, and smiled. "You'll see," I told her, and got out of the car. I went around to her side, and opened the door, holding my hand out. She took it with a smile, went out, and I closed it for her.

She rolled her eyes. "Such a gentleman."

I shrugged. "Can't help it. It's ingrained in my system."

With a smile, I led us back to the front door, got in the house, and led her to the backyard. Each step nearing to the destination, my nervousness would spike up a notch, I wasn't sure if she would like my idea for this date. I didn't want this night to be overrated. I wanted this moment for us to be special, worth engraving to the very depths of our hearts...

Picture perfect.

"Stop," I said, gripping her hand tight to hold her in place. "Close your eyes first."

She contorted her face into a mock up expression of fear. "Is this the part where you'll kill me?" she asked me, trying to sound scared. "Maybe I should start running..."

Smiling in amusement, I softly kissed her, and said, "I trust me," I whispered into her sinful lips.