Colin's arms locked around Anna's small frame, holding her tightly to his body while he continued to kiss her. He wasn't giving her another chance to try and flee the scene. Her heart was thrumming at an unnatural rate; he could feel the erratic pulse at her throat.

"Open for me, sweetheart." He told her, guiding her head back further. As soon as she parted her lips, he searched the silky interior of her mouth. A primal sound of satisfaction purred from his throat as he deepened their kiss, urging her toward the bed. With little to no effort, he placed her atop the pristine covers. He sat beside her, staring down at her reverently, brushing his fingers down her arm.

"Are we going to…?" She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was implied. Colin closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to think about that as he was already aroused enough.

"No." He told her emphatically. Her blue eyes fluttered open in confusion.

"But, I thought—"

"Anna, regardless of the change in our relationship, we've only been courting for one day." A quiet laugh left him while he ran a hand through his hair.

"Then why am I on the bed?" She whispered. Colin leaned over her, staring into her eyes.

"You need to relax." He said, continuing to brush her face and hair with fluid movements. "And we need to talk." The color that had risen in her cheeks was gone in an instant. Colin left her momentarily, moving to the desk and taking out three folded pieces of paper. He saw her swallow at the sight of them.

"I can explain." She told him weakly. He nodded, hardly able to keep himself from smiling.

"Please do."

"I'm terrible with men." Anna blurted, "When you gave me your card at Lillian's wedding, I…" Pink flags colored her cheeks. "I never intended to send that first letter. But, I wrote it and I don't even know why…I was so lonely. I just wanted to talk to someone."

"But you did send it." Colin pointed out. Anna winced, nodding.

"My mother saw it on my desk and sent it thinking she was doing me a favor. I had actually planned on destroying it."

"I'm glad you didn't." He sighed. Anna nodded, reluctantly meeting his eyes.

"Me too. Truly." She agreed, still looking rather helpless.

"You should have told me the truth." He said, kissing her forehead. "I would have been back here even faster had I known it was you." Her eyebrows rose, taken aback.

"Really?"

"Anna, after the éclair incident, I had been drawn in by you to begin with. As you can see, Flash would never have been an obstacle had it been someone else. At the end of the day, it was always you I was going to choose, silly girl."

"I feel like such an idiot." Anna told him miserably, sitting up.

"I know about your sister." Colin told her, sitting beside her and draping an arm around her shoulders. "Rose." He heard her draw in a long breath. "Your father told me the other day."

"Oh." She said, though he wasn't sure what was indicated by her vague tone.

"That's what you and Simon fought about, wasn't it?" He offered. Not meeting his eyes, she nodded.

"He's always blamed himself for her death. He was six." Anna explained. "He and Rose told their governess that Mother needed her help and they snuck out to climb trees. That's how Rose died. She fell from the tree and broke her neck."

"How awful." Colin shuddered, thinking of a four year old girl broken and lying dead at the base of a tree while her brother stared down in horror. No wonder Simon Reynolds was so overprotective of the younger two girls. He'd have been the same way with Gabrielle had their situations been reversed. Rafe had been the protective one, while Colin had always been there to lend advice and an ear to their younger sister.

"It must have been." Anna agreed, still looking down. "The problem is, since both Grace and I were born, Simon had become a stubborn ass who hid from his feelings and refused to face the fact that our sister's death was a sad accident. Our mother was in denial about her death, almost pretending it never happened sometimes. Until I caught her one night."

"Doing what?" Colin asked, tightening his grip on Anna's shoulders. He could feel a slight trembling in her limbs. "She always kept the door to Rose's bedroom locked. But I woke one night and got up. I saw a light coming from Rose's room, which was open and so I snuck down the hall. My mother was sitting on her bed, just staring around the room. And that's when I noticed…it was all still set up like Rose was still alive. They'd never packed anything away. Her clothes were all still hanging in the closet. All of her toys were set up around the room." Anna's voice broke. "It was awful…and it was like I could feel Rose there. I was terrified."

"How old were you?"

"Ten." Anna admitted. "I ran straight back into my bedroom and shut the door behind me. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night."

"I imagine not." Colin said, watching as Anna brought her knees to her chest and put her arms protectively around herself. "Have you ever tried to talk with your mother about this, Anna?"

"I'm afraid to." Anna confessed. "Is it completely deranged of me to be jealous of a girl I never even met?"

"No." Colin assured her, gently coaxing her knees down away from her chest so that he could pull her toward him. She took him by surprise, when she not only turned toward him, but wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face in his chest. He felt his heart clench pleasantly at the feel of her in his arms. Her even breathing told him that she was not crying, thankfully, so he continued to rub her back in soothing circles.

"Tell me about Arthur." Anna finally said, pulling away to look up at him. Colin smiled, thinking of his sweet natured dog.

"He's silver." Colin told her. "Except for his eyes, which are blue. He is really smart. He's figured out how to open a door, which is really rather inconvenient, considering my housekeeper has forbidden him from entering the kitchen. He has a knack for stealing treats."

"He sounds adorable." Anna said, biting her lip.

"I'm not sure how he'll react to Cleo, though." Colin chuckled. "He's never seen a cat before."

"How he'll react—?" Anna's eyes filled with bewilderment before widening. "Are you saying that you want me to…that me and Cleo will come…?"

"Did you really think I would figure out the truth and just return home, Anna?" Colin asked her, unable to hold back a smirk. "Sorry to tell you, love, but you'll have a hard time getting rid of me now." Her hand curled around the fabric of his shirt and brought him closer to her.

"Are you going to the ball on Saturday?" Her eyes were huge, gazing into his. Colin could not help himself; he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Of course I am." He replied. "And you?"

"Yes, of course." Anna confirmed. "Have you seen the baby yet?"

"No, but from what Julienne told me, she's quite a darling little tyke with black hair."

"She's going to look exactly like Claire." Anna smiled. "Claire is beautiful."

"So are you." Colin reminded her, touching the tip of her nose. "Come, I'm going to take you home before your parents send out a search party."

"Colin?" Anna said, stopping him when he moved to put on his tie.

"Yes, love?"

"Thank you." She said. Colin wrapped his hand around her small wrist and pressed his lips to the soft skin there.\

"How dare she throw Rose in my face?" Simon thundered, storming into their home with his wife trailing behind him with a resigned sigh. He tore his tie off and tossed it unceremoniously to the side while Julienne perched patiently on the bed. She knew Simon was furious that Mercer Arnott had returned to Paris and she couldn't really blame him. It had been a definite shock to see him strolling casually around as if he had never tried to kill James Westcliff, but also that he was chatting with Simon's own younger sister.

"Simon, think about it. She's right." Julienne cautiously argued, watching as her husband gave her a glare. "You said it yourself that your parents have never really grieved over her death. You grieved enough for all of them…but, imagine how Anna feels. She's the youngest child, but I'm sure she sometimes feels overshadowed by Rose." She crossed to her husband and pressed her palm to his warm cheek. "You're much stronger than you think…"

"I shouldn't have confronted her about the letters in public that way." Simon conceded, making Julienne relax. "She just…she doesn't realize what Arnott is capable of. I underestimated him once."

"She's smarter than you think, darling." She told him soothingly, knowing the exact tone to use with him to calm him down. "And she's in love with Colin, so you needn't worry about Mercer Arnott."

"But is Moreau in love with her?" Simon countered, putting his hands on her waist, smoothing his hand over the front of her bodice and turning her away to begin the endless task of unbuttoning her.

"I think he is…and when he finds out she's Flash, I wouldn't be surprised if Colin proposes to her right then." A helpless giggle left her as he pressed his lips to the exposed area of her back, sending a thrill of lust through her body while he continued his project. "Everything is going to work out, Simon. You'll see."

"How do you live with me?" He asked rhetorically, turning her around to face him and tugging her dress down to reveal only a chemise. Raising his eyebrows, he helped her step out of the garment. "No corset?"

"I'm afraid it's out of the question now." Julienne told him unapologetically, pulling her chemise over her head before putting her hand over the burgeoning curve of her belly. She was now three months along and almost overnight, she had seemed to blossom. Simon's eyes fell to stare at it before his hand covered hers.

"When did this happen?" He asked with tears sparkling in his light eyes.

"I am not sure." Julienne smiled. "I just noticed recently."

"How did I miss it? We've hardly missed a night together." He said, placing his other hand on the opposite side.

"You see me every day. I only realized it when my sister Claire made a comment the other day. I decided it was no longer practical to wear the corset."

"No, definitely not." Simon agreed, dragging her into his lap while she bent to brush his throat with her lips causing him to groan. Gently, Julienne pushed him to lie down and leaned seductively over his aroused body.

"Let me take care of you now." She murmured, and grinned at the sharp hiss that left him as she moved lower.

It's far from over. :)