"Feyre?"

I looked up from the book I was reading. "Yeah?"

"So, you've been living here a while, and I realized that I haven't yet taken you somewhere nice," he said, scratching the back of his head. I almost thought he looked kind of… nervous, a change from his usual arrogant air.

"Somewhere… nice?" I asked.

"For dinner." Rhys took a deep breath. "Feyre, will you go out with me?"

My eyes widened and my face flushed. I smiled at him. "Yeah. Yeah, I would love to go out with you."

"Then I have something for you."

Rhys took out the mystery bag out from the closet and gave it to me.

"Don't open it in front of me," He commanded.

I nodded, and waited for him to close the door to his room. Then I dug in.

A pale blue piece of glimmering fabric rested at the top. I squealed in delight as I pulled out a gorgeous evening gown. Going through the rest of the bag, I found more accessories. Everything looked amazing and my heart fell as I realized how much money Rhys had spent on me.

But my qualms were forgotten as I put on the whole ensemble.

Crafted of tiny blue gems so pale they were almost white, the dress clung to every curve and hollow before draping to the floor and pooling like liquid starlight. The long sleeves were tight, capped at the wrists with cuffs of diamond. The neckline grazed my collarbones, the modesty of it undone by how the gown hugged areas I supposed a female might enjoy showing off. My hair had been swept off my face (the bruises now healed) with two combs of silver and diamond, then left to drape down my back. And I thought, as I stood alone in the bedroom, that I might have looked like a fallen star.

Rhys was waiting for me by the door, looking handsome as hell (as usual), in formal attire. One good look at me and he was speechless. His mouth popped open and his eyes grew wide for a moment, then he quickly recovered and his mouth twisted into a smirk. I descended the stairs carefully. He held his arm out for me and I took it, his familiar warmth comforting.

"You're exquisite," He whispered in my ear. His hot breath caressed it and I shuddered as pleasant shivers traveled down my spine. My cheeks heated.

"Thanks to your impeccable taste," I replied. He grinned a devilish smile and I found myself staring at his lips longer than necessary, which failed to escape his notice.

"Like what you see?" He asked me in a low seductive voice.

My face flushed and I playfully gave him a light shove.

"Well I certainly do," He said, laughing, and slipped an arm around my waist. I leaned into his touch, into his body.

"Shall we?"

The restaurant was called Starfall, a beautiful place with chandeliers and marble and lovely art and decor. Rhys led me to a balcony overlooking the city, a beautiful view. There were string lights draped around us, and lush plants in pots. The table was set with candles and flowers.

The whole place was very romantic.

The food was delicious, the wine even more so, and I didn't even want to think about the price.

"One day, Rhys," I sighed. "I'll pay you back."

He just smiled and shook his head.

We talked the whole time, about everything, and I just felt so natural and at ease with him.

Music began to play and Rhys stood up, leading me to a more open space.

"Will you dance with me, Rhys?"

"Of course I'll dance with you. All night, if you wish," He breathed.

"Even if I step on your toes?"

"Even then."

We didn't dance all night, as Rhys had suggested.

As we were going into our (yes, our) room, unable to read his face, I asked him, "What are you thinking?"

He paused just by the bathroom, and stared at me. "I'm thinking… I'm thinking that I look at you, and I'm dying. That I can't breathe." He backed me up against the door to the bathroom. "I'm thinking that you are all I've ever wished for and all I'll ever need. I'm thinking that you are the most amazing thing in the world and you deserve everything good in life, you deserve more than I could ever give to you."

I stared at him with wide eyes, stunned by his confession. He kept going.

"I'm thinking… I'm thinking that I'm completely, utterly, and hopelessly in love with you, Feyre."

And I wondered if love was too weak a word for what he felt, what he'd done for me. For what I felt for him.

Our lips were a hair's breadth apart.

"I think I'm in love with you too, Rhys."

He closed the distance between us and kissed me.

I forgot everything. The world faded away until all that was left was Rhys, Rhys who had been my friend when I'd needed one, Rhys who had always been there for me when I'd needed him the most, Rhys who had saved me and loved me and healed me and kept me from completely breaking.

The kiss was gentle, at first, nothing but his lips on mine. Then I laced my fingers through his ebony hair and tugged him closer to me. My lips parted and his tongue swept him, tasting me. I moaned into his mouth and he moved to bite my bottom lip. His lips moved from mine to my neck and he sucked there. I gasped as he licked the sensitive flesh up the column of my throat, then bit. I stumbled into the bathroom and we broke away so he could start a bath and I could wipe away my makeup. Then we pressed our mouths together as he removed the clips and combs from my hair, running his fingers through my golden waves.

I pulled at his clothes, and he helped me shrug off mine. Our lips still locked, we staggered into the bath. The hot water hit our skin but I didn't notice due to a different heat pooling in my core.

We went from the tub to the bed to the wall to back to the bed again.

Rhys took his time with me, and had me moaning and gasping and screaming his name throughout all of it.

"I think I fell in love with you," Rhys said, stroking circles on my skin. "When you met the Inner Circle. I knew then you were one of us, the way you acted with them. I could tell they all loved you."

I smiled and rested my head on his chest. "I think I was falling in love with you for a while, but I knew after you… saved me from… Tamlin. Or came close to knowing and was so scared of it that I didn't want to look closer. I was a coward."

"You had perfectly good reasons to avoid it."

"No, I didn't. Maybe- thanks to Tamlin, yes. But it had nothing to do with you, Rhys. Nothing to do with you. I was never afraid of the consequences of being with you. You… You're worth it."

"Thank you," He said hoarsely. "I love you, Feyre."

"I love you too."

And with that, I closed my eyes, exhausted, and fell asleep.