The atmosphere was so heavy as to nearly be tangible in the close quarters of the SUV, the weight of what he proposed while not something the leopard might fully be able to grasp but his tone was not something anyone could have ignored. She could sense that this was not something he offered lightly, nor was it something that she should take as such, and it is this which quiets her initial urge to give her consent right away. While she may not know the full extent of the royal's reach or what connections he possessed she didn't doubt his abilities to live up the promise of safety which he laid at her feet. The question of why is the one that somehow lingers at the forefront of her mind, though not for the first time. Carolina was so rarely out of sorts that her earlier confessions seemed to have opened a sizeable fissure in her carefully constructed mask she so often wore. From within it slipped an uncommon admittance of the insecurity she couldn't remember feeling since... since her school days most likely.

Yet so much had changed in those months she had been away and though she had begun to rebuild herself tonight had made the fact that those scars ran much deeper than they appeared abundantly clear. She hated what it left her with more often than not, yearned for the days when easy confidence was at her disposal, but it was just another reason she enjoyed being around the charming vampire; somehow he reminded her of who she was and perhaps could be again. As his accented response filled the air around them she couldn't help but nod lightly to herself at the points he made. The idea of exposing him, outing their intimate exchanges to the public for money or anything else had never so much as crossed her mind for those same reasons.

Though it was not until his mention of the fact that he so liked her did the full focus of her aquamarine eyes fall back upon him. Such a simple, silly thing and yet it caused her stomach to curl in that familiar way which made way for the breathy laugh which followed his admittance that her unique flavor was rather polluted by the liquor she enjoyed. He seemed to consent to her flaws, surely she was owed a few of them, as the familiar sight of that simper lingered upon his lips. It was her succinct acceptance however which prompted its falter and she could not miss the mixture of surprise and skepticism which replaced it with the rise of that one polished brow. She half expected him to object, yet as she settled the light weight of her arms around him he seemed at ease.

Until she voiced the question of how they would proceed with what he had proposed tonight, her gaze steady on his face even as his unfocused in thought. The answer not entirely what she had expected, and it was her turn to look a touch surprised, though she had to admit the feline curiosity was more prevalent. His insistence that she so carefully read the contract he would have delivered not going unmissed, but that was a problem for tomorrow. The southern lady had a propensity for rushing into things without fully considering all their implications, it was a habit that had yet to alter even as life so often taught her why it was not the best of methods. Still she had so much to worry about but she could not envision Sebastian as one of those things. Even his reminder of his kinds seeming predisposition towards possessiveness should perhaps give her pause but it only causes a certain heat to blossom at her core. Perhaps she would feel differently when she was not nestled so comfortably against him.

"A ribbon?" She couldn't help but question incredulously, blood she had expected as such a thing typically went hand-in-hand when it came to his kind so to speak but she wondered if he was being literal about the ribbon. Though a part of his promise from earlier in their conversation resurfaces, brought back to her mind after his statement of what he would be willing to give her in return brings a hint of gravity back to her expression. "I don't know what all you mean to promise me, Sebastian, but I don't want your money." Her tone was serious and it reflected in the stormy ocean of her eyes, perhaps more so than she had ever been in his presence before. It was a night of firsts it seemed. "Your help, your security, your promise to protect me yes... but I don't want a hand out." Carolina was many things, but she would not whore her blood out for that. She had lived a life of wealth and ease and found it so stifling it had sent her fleeing across a country, it was not something she would return to even for all the appeal of belonging to the Prince. Everything she had now was something she had earned for herself, it wasn't lavish or note-worth but it was hers and at the end of the day that was enough.