Taken and Misused.

The room I was in was dim when my eyes opened.

“You know, fainting kills brain cells” it was Vaughn’s sarcastic voice that made me sit up and glare at him.

“That’s just a myth,” I replied curtly.

“If you say so Princess,” Vaughn replied, I leaned against the head board of the bed I was sitting on and sighed. I reached a hand up to massage my aching head, instead Vaughn tugged my hand from my head and replaced it with a cold rag. I tried to take it from him and hold it to my forehead myself but he shook his head. “Just relax,” he murmured. So I closed my eyes and leaned my head back and relaxed.

“What’s going on?” I asked, opening my eyes slightly to look at Vaughn. He was focused on holding the rag to my forehead when he answered.

“Semyon found us and he was going to... he was going to kill you” the words seemed to be hard for Vaughn to say, his eyebrows were pulled together and his hand was suddenly still on my forehead.

“So, where are we now?” I asked, the news of Semyon trying to kill me not so frightening with Vaughn’s one hand on my forehead and the other brushing through my hair.

“We stopped here so Stephen could go find a different car, he also thought it would be a good idea to get us some fake paper work” Vaughn said, gently brushing a piece of hair out of my face, “He said to not expect him to be back until tomorrow night, so you’re stuck with me,” he finished, grinning at me.

A small laugh slipped from my lips and it turned his small grin into a full blown smile, “I had almost forgotten you could laugh” he said, putting on an expression of mock surprise.

“Oh hush, I’m still mad at you,” I lied, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I thought that once Prince Charming rescued the Princess he won her heart?” his words were full of meaning and the weight of them made my eyes meet his to see if that meaning was not just in my imagination. It wasn’t, his eyes held mine with an intensity that didn’t match his usual behavior. His hand stilled in my hair and he moved his other hand from my forehead, setting the rag on the night stand beside the table as he did.

“Maybe the Princess was too scared to admit that she loved the Prince as well, also the Prince was quite reckless,” I replied, raising an eyebrow with my final words.

Vaughn chuckled, “I’m sure the Princess found his recklessness very attractive,” he said, his voice quiet and intimate.

I scoffed but my smile didn’t leave my lips, “I do not find your recklessness attractive Vaughn,” I said before I could catch myself.

“I thought we were having a hypothetical conversation here,” he said in that smug voice of his. He got up from the chair he had been sitting on and sat down next to me on the bed. “Are you claiming to be the Princess who is in love with the reckless Prince?” he questioned, and although his tone was joking, his eyes were not.

I felt frozen in his stare, I knew I could tell him that I loved him and he would said it back, I knew I loved him so much, I knew I wanted to tell him that. So I did. “Only if the reckless Prince is you,” I said, my voice soft as I leaned forward slightly, moving ever so closer to him.

“He just so happens to be me,” he murmured, leaning forward to fill the space between us that was getting smaller and smaller. He brushed my hair away from my face and seemed to search my eyes for a moment. A moment too long in my opinion.

“Vaughn?” I questioned.

“Yes?”

“Are you going to kiss me, or not?”

The question seemed to surprise Vaughn and truthfully it surprised me too. I just smiled softly, a blush coloring my milky cheeks.

A small smile graced Vaughn’s lips and he closed those last few inches between our lips. The kiss was soft and gentle, his hand cupped my cheek. It was everything I dreamed a kiss would be. He pulled away slowly and my eyes opened to meet his.

“I love you Elisabeth,” his words held so much truth, so much love, that I couldn’t help but smile.

“I love you too Vaughn” I whispered, left breathless by his kiss. My words seemed to spark something within him, a smile broke out on his lips that was so genuine and sincere that it was contagious. His hands cupped my cheeks and he leaned forward once more to press a kiss to my lips, then another, and another. Soon the kisses melded into one and I was left utterly breathless when he pulled his lips from mine. “You can’t imagine how happy that makes me,” he said before leaning towards me once more, his lips meeting mine in another heated kiss. His hand stroked down my cheek and slid around to the back of my neck, his other hand flattened out over my lower back. The touch sent a shiver down my spine that turned into something warmer, it brought a small gasp from my lips. That small sound made Vaughn’s lips fierce on my own, yet they always stayed gentle. He slowly moved me down on the bed so I was lying next to him on my side, he matched my position, pressing softly butterfly kisses on my lips as he did so. I tangled my fingers into his tousled hair, feeling every emotion I had felt since the day I realized I loved this man being so gentle and loving with me. He pulled away for a quick moment to utter three simple words that sent my heart fluttering, “I love you,” he said, whispering the words like they were his greatest gift. My eyes spilled my emotions out to him, I didn’t have to tell him I loved him, he knew.