Ok, so as you already know, I'm continuing this 100 reviews project, and am really looking for a lot of reviews. So R&R! Anyways, I know there has been little if any romance so far, and I guarantee there will be some in this chapter….

/Mininski

Chapter Five: When the Unwanted Returns

Ash POV

Why in the world did I send a request for the jokester to come here? He's a mess, a scandalous mess and only gets on everyone's nerves. Plus, he is the one responsible for … for Ariella's death.

Ash winced and leaned closer to the sleeping Tara by his side. She lay there with a fixed, happy look on her otherwise glaring face. She loves me. The realization hit him with full force, and for some odd reason, guilt filled him to the brim. She loves me, and the only thing I want to give her is a night in my bed. Remorse kept him in a sullen mood while he pondered over his choices. Well, naturally I don't love Tara, so should I just lead on, or should I tell her the truth? The Winter Prince was wise. He knew that even if he broke the news to her about not having affections for her, she still would come back for more of what they had done tonight. It was inevitable. Tara was a stubborn a girl, not a stupid one. She had probably realized already he didn't love her, but was willing to stick around because she either didn't care or she thought she could change him.

I'm becoming more and more like Rowan, Ash silently laughed in his head. Leading girls on, making them think he had feelings for them – an impossibility, since he would never love again.

But then, why the mess around the Summer Princess? It wasn't as if he loved her, or ever would. But there was a certain … attraction between the two of them, and Meghan seemed drawn to him like a moth to a flame. But perhaps it was just lust, and not true passion. But even though love between the two courts was forbidden, lust was not. So then he had nothing to worry about.

Of course, she had been making even more of a nuisance of herself than usual, which disturbed him. Sending the horrendous Goodfellow had been the only way out of the girl's jungle of emotions. What if I don't want out? Ash jumped slightly, startled at what his mind had suggested. His grip tightened around Tara's shoulders, and he felt her move slightly as she began to wake up. What if I want to be involved with her life, her problems? He immediately discarded the thoughts with a shake of his head. What was he doing, thinking like this? He had tried so hard to keep his emotions at bay since Ariella, and now they were gushing out of him like blood from an open wound.

"Hey," Tara murmured, words soft like silk. "What are you thinking about, this early?"

Ash quickly kissed the top of her head, and matched her gentle tone. "Nothing," he said.

But Tara was, as he had suspected, quite intelligent. "You know I love you," she said seductively, gripping a hold of his jaw with one hand, and kissing his lips hungrily at the same time. Tara was as good as ever at being a distraction. She knew he had been thinking about the Summer Princess, and was now trying to lead his thoughts away from the half breed. And it was working.

"I love you," She repeated, and as he looked at her, Ash saw his own reflection in her chestnut brown eyes. And he was dazzling, dazzling enough to have the beautiful, famous Tara stare at him in wonder.

"I love you, too." She smiled from pure happiness. The first lie of many.