Part 25

Livia was very nervous as she entered Tristan's hotel suite. She wasn't sure what scared her more, to be here alone with him or if Eli would find out. There was no doubt that he would try to hurt Tristan, he had been more than overprotective lately. A part of her wanted to tell him that she wasn't a child, she could take care of herself, but she hadn't been able to do that. She wasn't completely sure why.

He had always been there for her, looked after her and loved her. He had never had to share her and she knew that he wouldn't agree to do that. There was nothing she could say that would change his mind. She really didn't know how to handle this, but she also didn't want to go back home right now. She wanted to experience what she had missed for so long.

Was that really so wrong? Was someone like her not supposed to have these kinds of feelings? Should she be ashamed of herself for wanting to be touched? Maybe. Maybe this was wrong and she was a tramp, but she really didn't care. She knew what would happen here tonight and she wanted it. She wanted to be a real woman and be touched by a man who wasn't repulsed by her. She didn't know what would happen after tonight, maybe Tristan only wanted sex, but she didn't really care. This was something what she wanted and needed. Just one night when she could pretend that she was a normal woman.

"You look beautiful," Tristan said smiling.

"Thank you," Livia replied as calmly as she could. She had tried her best to tame her curls, put on a little makeup and her favorite perfume. She had spent almost an hour choosing her clothes, as ridiculous as that was. Just like she would have been a high school girl preparing for her first date. She had tried to remind herself that she was a grown woman, over a thousand years old, but the truth was that she might have as well been a high school girl. This whole thing was nothing but foreign to her. The dress she had finally chosen was cute, but she hoped not too girly, light pink long sleeve crochet tulle dress. She had hoped that it would make her look confident, but also womanly.

"I hope you didn't have any problems…sneaking out?" Tristan continued, trying his best to sound serious.

Livia smiled; obviously she knew how ridiculous this whole situation was.

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry about all of this…"

"You don't have to be, I understand." He paused and smiled. "There is something… exciting about these secret meetings."

Livia hoped that she could feel the same way, but she was mostly worried about Tristan's safety. Was it selfish of her to agree to meet him? Suddenly the whole thought started to irritate her. She had the right to meet whoever she wanted; no one had the right to deny that. Maybe Eli was overprotective, but he wasn't like Nik who had killed many Rebekah's lovers and daggered her after finding out about her and Marcel. Eli wasn't like that. He wasn't. Yet some part of her hesitated.

"My Livy…"

There was a part of Eli none of their other siblings knew about, but Livia did. She had seen it. He had never hurt her or anything like that, but he had a very dark side. A possessive side. She had seen glimpses of it when some men had tried to approach her. She hadn't been interested in those men because she had known that they hadn't really been interested in her, but now… What would happen if Eli would find out about Tristan? She shouldn't be here, she should…"

"Livia?" Tristan said. "Is something wrong?"

"I… Maybe I should leave, I… My brother…"

"Livia," Tristan said firmly and cupped her face. "We talked about this, you don have to worry. If you want to leave because you don't want to be here, I won't stop you, but I'm not going to let you go because your family treats you like a child. Tell me, do you want to leave?"

Slowly she shook her head.

"No."

He smiled and gently caressed her cheek.

"I'm glad to hear that. Please, come in."

She still felt somewhat nervous as she looked around in the suite. Of course it was a presidential suite, she couldn't imagine Tristan settling for anything less. She noticed the there were plenty of fresh flowers and candles around the living room. Everything looked…perfect.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Tristan asked. "Wine?"

"Yes, please," she replied. Wine was the only alcoholic beverage she enjoyed and she suspected that he knew that.

"Red or white?"

"Surprise me," she replied, trying her best to sound carefree.

"Hmm," he hummed while pouring something into her glass. "How does Merlot sounds to you?"

"My favorite."

"Wonderful. Shall we take a seat then?"

Livia swallowed as Tristan sat the two glasses of wine down on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Slowly she sat down and pulled the hem of her dress down over her knees and flattened it against her thighs.

"You seem nervous," Tristan said gently before sitting next to her.

"No, no, I…" She paused and sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

He smiled and touched her hand.

"It's alright, Livia. You have no reason to be nervous."

It was easy for him to say. She felt ridiculous and pathetic; apparently she really was a high school girl.

"What can I do to help you to relax?" he asked.

She didn't know what to say, she was too embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she finally managed to say. "This is just…very foreign to me."

Tristan took her hand and kissed it.

"I understand and I want you to know that we are in no hurry. I would like to start by apologizing."

"Why?" she asked.

He bit his bottom lip.

"What happened between you and me all those years ago… I'm not going to say that I'm sorry that it happened, that would be a lie. But I truly am sorry that it happened that way. You would have deserved so much better."

She looked at him in wonder.

"Tristan, that was a thousand years ago…"

"Yes, but it was your first time. Your only time."

She really wouldn't have wanted to talk about that and apparently he noticed that.

"I apologize; I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. What I wanted to say was that… I want you to know that I won't pressure you into anything, I will wait for as long as…"

She muffled the rest of his sentence with a kiss. He was surprised, but he didn't hesitate to kiss her back.

"I don't want to wait," she murmured.

He licked his lips.

"Thank god, me neither."

She giggled before kissing him again, this time more hungrily. She felt more than ready for finally becoming a real woman.