And here is chapter ten for you wonderful readers! ENJOY AND REVIEW!

"The fire feels good," said Serena as she took a sip of hot chocolate.

"It's going to be a cold one tonight," grunted Darien as he placed another heavy log on top of the burning flames. "Do you need another blanket?" The blonde shook her head no as the rocker returned to the couch.

"I'm warm enough as it is," she answered, cuddling closer to the man's body. "You're a pretty good one anyway."

"I'll take that as a compliment." As Darien looked down, he watched as Serena's smile lit up her face. Nothing in the world could top how beautiful she looked right now. The fire's glow seemingly lit the room more effectively than any manmade lamp could ever do. It also presented Darien with the perfect setting to give Serena his gift. As the dark-haired man started to rise from his seat, Serena quickly grabbed his hand and pouted.

"Going to bed so soon?"

Darien chuckled, "No. Just off to get something special."

"I thought you didn't want to go into town."

Darien returned to the woman's side and wrapped her up in his embrace. "I already have it here," he said before leaving a kiss on her lips. "Be right back." Serena watched as her boyfriend walked into his bedroom.

'What's going on?' she thought to herself, tiptoeing behind the man. She peered around the doorframe of his bedroom and continued to watch him as he continued in his unsaid mission. Her eyes focused in more closely as she saw him open up a nightstand drawer and pull out a small box. Serena suddenly felt her heart drop to her feet and fill her throat at the same time. 'Oh God! Is he going to propose?!' Serena quietly ran back to the couch she had been sitting on earlier.

"This isn't how I planned it to be."

Darien returned to the main living space of the mountain cabin to discover his love had fallen asleep on the couch, moderately covered by a blanket. He chuckled to himself as he remembered the last time that he came across Serena sleeping.

"You're not going to hit me in the face again if I try to wake you up," the rocker said as he slipped the box back into his pocket.

"That was an accident," she groaned in response as she slowly opened her eyes. Somehow, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of his blue eyes. "But it was really funny though!"

"Hey!" said Darien as he started to tickle Serena's sides. She could not squirm away from his grip.

"Stop! That tickles way too much!" giggled the blonde.

"I will never admit defeat!" said Darien, continuing the gentle torture. As Serena squirmed onto her back, the rocker fell on top of her in response to maintain his actions. His mind signaled to him the position his body was in relation to Serena's which prompted his fingers to stop tickling the woman.

"Something wrong, Dar?" Serena smirked up to him, not realizing the position the two were in.

'If only you knew how much I love you. Someday, but not now,' he thought as his mind raced to form an answer. His heart began to pound against the wall of his chest.

"Hmmm, I think I know what you need," whispered Serena as she placed her hands around Darien's face and brought it closer to her own, gently taking his lips. "I love you," she sighed into the kiss.

Darien felt his muscles relax as the woman he loved with all his being said those three words. He began to think about how much he had revealed to her about himself over the past seven months, how she had seen the side of him that wasn't all about being a celebrity. He knew that she valued him in a different way than any woman had ever in his life. Spending the rest of his life with her would be filled with wonder and so much love. At that moment, he remembered the box in his pocket.

"Wait, I nearly forgot about something," he whispered by the blonde's ear as he reluctantly broke the kiss. As usual, she pouted in response. She watched as her boyfriend sat up and reached into his pocket. Her heart began pounding in her ears. Every thought in her mind clouded up. If she had to speak, she knew that nothing coherent would come out. As a result, a lump formed in her throat.

"This is something incredibly special to my family but I want you to have it. My mother would have wanted it this way," the rocker said as he opened the box. Serena peered inside but before she could get a good look, Darien closed the lid. "You have to close your eyes first." Serena smiled as she covered her eyes with her hands and turned her back to him.

"You're not going to put a bug down my shirt, are you?"

"Come on, I act much older than that. Still watch your back though," he joked as he gently placed the necklace around Serena's neck, leaving kisses on the back of it. He could feel Serena shiver underneath his lips, making him smile. He then trailed his fingers down to the single stone.

"Can I open my eyes yet?" asked Serena, relishing in the warmth of Darien's touch.

"Yes." Serena looked down to where Darien's hand was resting. She gulped and felt her muscles tense at how intimately he was holding her.

"What are you hiding?" she laughed slightly. Feeling Darien's smile, she felt her muscles relax and her heartbeat return to a comfortable rhythm. The blonde watched as he revealed a small stone on a silver chain. "Is this moonstone?"

"Not just any moonstone. It is one that my father gave my mother."

"Darien, I couldn't keep something so important," Serena said softly. Darien lifted her chin to meet his eyes, making an unsaid promise that her heart knew.

"My father gave it to my mother as a sign of his commitment to her, knowing full well that he was going to marry her someday. Before my mother died, she told me that story and that when I find the girl that has taken my heart that I give her this necklace. Sere, this is my commitment to you because one day, I know that I want to marry you."

"Darien, I'm honored to be bestowed with such a gift," the blonde whispered before taking his lips with passion, an invitation that the rocker could not refuse. "I'll treasure it forever just like I'll treasure you forever."

"So that means it's a yes?" he sighed into the kiss.

"Yes. It's a yes! Oh, more than a yes!" she answered as she wrapped her arms around his muscular frame.

"I'm glad you accepted my preproposal," he said as he grinned from ear to ear.

"You have a funny way of doing things," she chuckled as she rested her head on his chest. A peaceful moment wrapped itself around the couple as the two sat in silence, watching the flames of the fire continue to burn.

"Wait! I almost forgot about your Christmas present!" shouted Serena in a low tone as she jumped off the couch and ran upstairs. Darien laughed to himself, listening to her feet pound up the stairs and back down again. Plopping herself back at Darien's side, she presented the man with a box. Leaning towards his ear, she whispered, "Merry Christmas, Love." Serena rested her chin on his shoulder as she watched Darien unwrap the box and pulled off the top. "I made a scrapbook about our relationship."

"What made you think of this?" he asked as he turned the pages that chronicled his love through photos and printed out emails among other things. "It's amazing."

"The few people in my life deserve to know that they are loved, especially you. Something homemade is better than something bought at a store in my opinion," responded Serena. She cuddled up more to the man she loved.

Darien turned towards her and asked, "Stay with me tonight, please?" The rocker's mind had no room to think as he anticipated his love's answer. Serena was in complete shock for some strange reason, almost in a state of disbelief as her mind tried to wrap itself around an answer. Her heart pounded inside of her chest because she was nervous of what the night would bring. Would she and Darien finally join themselves together or will it just be a couple sleeping side by side in bed? Serena then closed her eyes in attempts to gather her thoughts.

"I love you, Sere." Those were the words that brought Serena back to reality because she knew she loved him as well, probably as much as he loved her. Darien gathered the small framed blonde in his arms in comfort and sang softly in her ear, "It's all for you (*)."

"Thank you, Darien. You always know the right thing to say or sing in this case."

"I'm sorry if it was such a bold request but I want you to know that I trust you as much as you trust me."

"I love you too," she whispered as she gently took his lips. The kiss was short but quite passionate for the couple. Serena started to get off the couch but before she could get far, Darien grabbed her hand, standing up in response.

"Where are you heading, beautiful?" he prodded with a smile.

"You would know if you followed me," answered the blonde. Standing up on her toes, she whispered in the rocker's ear, "I'll stay with you tonight." Before she could say another word, Darien scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his bedroom. She giggled the entire time.

The sun managed to slip itself under the blinds to shoot a ray of light into a dark haired man's eye. Groaning in response to the unwelcomed wakeup call, Darien shifted around on his bed to hide his face.

"I don't want to wake up yet," groaned a soft but sweet voice. Darien laughed softly to himself as he watched Serena shift around in her sleep while clutching on to the sheets to cover her bare body. He could understand why she was tired because he was tired for the same reason, but it was a good kind of tired. It had been quite satisfying in his opinion. No, it was way better than that.

'I think that I can get used to this,' he thought to himself as he sat up in bed, the sheets pooling around his sculpted midsection, hiding the black sweat pants he had slipped on sometime during the night. Serena continued to stir in her sleep.

Resting his chin on her shoulder, he whispered, "Merry Christmas, Sere." Serena's eyes fluttered open in response.

"Merry Christmas, Love," she whispered as she turned over to face the man. "Your hair is all disheveled," she joked lightly.

"For a good reason," he smirked. Serena then reached her left hand around the back of Darien's head and gently pulled it towards her, delicately kissing his lips. "Stop," he lightly commanded.

"Why?" asked Serena, pouting as usual which caused Darien to smile.

"Because I wouldn't be able to stop," he responded, brushing her bangs gently to the side of her face.

"I love you, Darien," the blonde whispered.

"I love you too, Sere." The couple spent a long moment gazing into each other's eyes, silently speaking their hearts' desires.

"I wish I could be with you like this forever," Serena whispered finally as she gently traced Darien's jaw line.

"You can be, but I think you would miss the snow outside." Serena raised her eyebrows in confusion. "You haven't looked out the window yet?" The woman shook her head. Darien then shook his head in disbelief.

"What?"

"You told me that you had never had a white Christmas. I didn't think that you wanted to miss this," he responded as he stepped out of bed and opened the blinds. Serena's eyes took a moment to focus but quickly lit up as she smiled in excitement.

"It's snowing!" she shouted with enthusiasm as she leaped out of bed and hurriedly put on some clothes. Before she could run out the bedroom door, Darien extended out an arm and grabbed the blonde by her waist. The two sets of eyes immediately locked their gazes on each other. Serena's hands slowly slid down and traced the muscles of his arms, remembering how just hours before, these same arms held her tenderly in a way she had never been held before. She felt herself shiver at the memory as a mischievous grin crawled across her face.

"Are you thinking what I am thinking?"

"That you will lose to me in a snowball fight?" said Serena as she wiggled out of the rocker's embrace and ran to put on her coat.

"That's what you think!" he shouted after her as he continued to throw on some clothes.

"That restaurant was amazing!" said Serena as she and Darien walked hand in hand back to his log cabin.

"It's just a little mom and pop kind of place. I go there every time I come here. The owners were good friends of my parents," elaborated the dark haired man. The snow had been falling lightly for the past ten minutes, almost every flake landing on the couple.

"It was a good way to celebrate my victory anyway," the blonde smirked.

"Hey! I thought you said I won the snowball fight," joked the rocker. The couple had reached the porch of Darien's cabin, just in time as the snow began to fall at a steadier pace.

"I lied," responded Serena, blushing in the process.

"You're not very good at it," he chuckled. "C'mon, let's go inside and start a fire." The deejay nodded and followed her boyfriend inside.

"You did a good job with the fire," said Serena as Darien sat down at the piano next to the hearth.

"My dad taught me well. Besides, I'm that rugged mountain man that you love so much," answered the rocker, patting the seat next to him.

"That is true." Serena drew a blanket over her legs to defend them from the remaining cold in the room as she took a seat next to Darien. "New song?" The rocker nodded his head.

"It's still in the works, but I have a debut date in mind when it's finished," he answered as he placed a few music sheets in front of him. He then turned to the beautiful woman beside him, touching his forehead to hers. "I think you know who this is dedicated to." Serena smiled in response.

"This kind of love it's what I dreamed about/Yeah it fills me up/Baby it leaves no doubt/This kind of love it's why I'm standing here/It's something that we can share/I can't enough of this kind of love (**)," sang Darien passionately, letting his feelings flow through his fingers. Serena sat in silence with her eyes closed, allowing the emotion of the words and the music to wrap themselves around her, enveloping the blonde in a peaceful cocoon. She was so entranced by the song that she didn't even notice when Darien stopped playing.

"That was beautiful," she whispered, her eyes still closed. A tear managed to escape under her eyelashes.

"Sere, what's the matter?" asked Darien as soon as he noticed the tear roll down her cheek. He then took her in his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder.

"Sometimes I can't help but wonder how all this happened. I'm afraid to wake because I fear that this is only a dream, that you are only a dream. I would be devastated if it wasn't real," she managed to say, listening to the soothing sounds of her love's heartbeat.

"I don't want you to doubt a thing. The only reason that this happened was that I was destined to meet you and love you." Darien brought Serena's chin up so his blue eyes could meet hers. "I can't imagine life without you. I'm forever committed to you."

"As I am you."

"You're my angel from heaven."

"Say it again, Love."

"I love you," he whispered as he took the blonde's lips.

"Oh God, I love you so much!" she sighed as she slipped her arms around his neck. Darien then tightened his embrace around her body.

"Let me show you again how much I love you," he whispered seductively in her ear, making Serena grin with anticipation.

"Gladly," she managed to say as the rocker scooped her up in his arms and took her to his bedroom. The dark haired man gently laid his angel on his bed, giving her enough time to adjust her position before he laid his strong muscular frame on top of her.

Before he continued, he asked, "How was your Christmas?"

"One of the best ever and only the beginning of many that I know that I get to spend with you," she whispered before taking her lover's lips with passion.

Thanks for reading guys! and please do not forget to review!