Once we were seated in the private box it became very clear to me that Aro was a well respected patron here and that they were apparently prepared to do anything to ensure his comfort, even offer two of their staff to wait on us. I heard the human waitress' heartbeat speed up as she faced Aro and offered him some wine, no doubt she was as puzzled by her unexplainable attraction to him as I was when I first gazed upon his beautiful features. Equally I heard the heartbeat of the young man stood beside me flutter behind his ribcage as his eyes met mine as I declined his offer of wine politely. The power I had over humans still astounded me and I cringed every time I remembered that I had behaved just like this around Edward. What an idiot I must have seemed.
"May I say signora, you are the most beautiful woman in the room this evening." The young man bowed his head and blushed profusely as he averted his eyes from mine. I smiled at him softly as Aro spoke beside me.
"Indeed, she is." I could hear the agreement in his tone but also an underlying warning to the young man. Surely he knew that this boy wasn't a threat?
"Thank you." I said, still smiling. "But I am not married." High school Italian jogged my memory enough to know that Signora was the correct address for a married woman. The gentleman looked surprised before bowing at the waist.
"Forgive me, I presumed…" His rich brown eyes drifted over toward Aro before darting back to me face again. His lips clamped together tightly as if he'd realised he had said too much and he backed away toward the exit with the waitress who had now apparently finished ogling Aro.
I met Aro's gaze and raised an eyebrow at him, he only met my eyes passively and refused to speak as the lights dimmed and the curtains opened.
Whilst I had never been to the opera before I knew it was a profound experience and one I would appreciate, and whilst I couldn't speak Italian or understand what they were saying I still felt my chest ache as the woman sobbed over the body of her dead lover as the Opera came to a close. Her voice reached pitches I didn't even know were possible and it echoed perfectly around the room as she pulled a red cloth from her white gown, signifying her own demise. I took a deep shuddering breath and knew that my cheeks would have been wet were I still able to cry, I looked over at Aro to see his eyes firmly planted on me rather than the stage.
"Weren't you watching?" I asked, my voice trembled with emotion.
"I had something far more beautiful to behold than what was occurring on the stage Isabella." Was his reply as his eyes drank in my evident emotion. He extended his hand to me in question. "May I?"
I took his hand and expanded my shields, knowing how much he enjoyed feeling my emotions after so long without his own. I felt my sadness and empathy for the characters on stage flow between out connection and Aro pursed his lips in confusion.
"Did you not like the performance?" He asked, clearly puzzled.
I shook my head vehemently. "No, it's not that I didn't like it. It was wonderful. I just felt so sad for her."
Aro shook his head at me in astonishment, a small smile curved his handsome mouth and the urge to lean over and kiss him came upon me suddenly. "It will never cease to amaze me how easily you feel emotion."
He looked down thoughtfully before a smirk appeared on his face and his deep red eyes glittered with mischief. "Having impure thoughts, dearest?" He spoke so quietly I barely heard him and yet his deep rich baritone still struck me deep in the stomach. I glanced down and realised I was still touching him and decided that rather than pull away as I had done in the past I reduced my shields more to let him encounter every emotion I felt.
In a movement so quick even I almost missed it he tugged at my hand and span me so that I was pulled from my seat and landed perfectly in his lap, my legs dangling over the side of his as he cupped my jaw with his chalk white, masculine hand. "Isabella." He whispered and I let him feel the pleasure course through me at the pronunciation of my name and he chuckled deeply as I leaned into him.
"Will you ever forgive me, dear one?" He asked stunning me momentarily before I let him feel my forgiveness in waves. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against mine.
"I forgave you a long time ago Aro, I just needed time to readjust. You need to know that I wont be your pet anymore, If this is going to work then we will have to be equals." I felt nerves tremor through me as I finally voiced my thoughts on our relationship.
"Oh Isabella." He whispered reverently, nudging my nose with his and softly pressing his lips to the corner of my mouth. "We are not equals." I felt my heart sink but Aro quickly continued. "You are the Master and I am but your humble servant."
I swallowed thickly as emotion crashed over me and suddenly everything shone with remarkable clarity. I adored this man, loved him beyond all doubt and knew that our bond was cementing. I could feel it within me, like my heart was forming a chord linked to him which would forever remain, nothing I had felt with Edward even came close to the way I felt for Aro Volturi.
I wrapped my hand behind his neck, threading my fingers through the silky hair there as I pulled him toward me and kissed him. As he clutched me to him and passionately returned my kiss I decided that I'd had enough of playing games, I wanted to bear my soul to this man and so withdrew my shields completely; finally letting Aro see every memory I'd ever had.
He gasped into my mouth and held me closer, a soft and deep moan left him as he saw my desire for him even from the first moment we had met. He didn't linger on memories of Edward but merely watched and discarded them quickly, searching for more of our time together. I let him sift through every moment we'd had together, every touch or glance from my perspective.
When he finally withdrew his eyes shone with emotion "Thank you for sharing that with me, I know it must have been difficult for you."
I rolled my shoulders in a shrug as I stroked my fingers over the expensive material of his jacket shoulder. "Not really, I wanted to. I don't want to hold back any more Aro, enough time has passed us by."
He nodded in agreement but didn't speak, apparently content to just hold me and look me over. I lost track of time as he held me and decided to just enjoy the moment and the feeling of being wrapped in his strong embrace. All too soon a throat cleared behind us and I looked over Aro's shoulder to see the blushing waitress trying to politely usher us out. It was then that I realised we were the only ones left and that they had been waiting to come in to clean.
Aro sighed sadly and I too felt the regret that this moment had to come to an end. "Come my love, let us return home."
In a daze I stood and took his hand as he led me down the stairs, his sleek hair shining in the soft light. All I could hear were the words 'my love' echoing around my mind, ok so it wasn't quite a declaration of love, but he had said it so casually, like it was just a term of endearment.
I was still dazed when the car rolled to a halt outside the entrance to the Volturi castle, I couldn't even remember getting into the vehicle in the first place. Aro quickly exited and reappeared around the other side to open my passenger door, he held out his hand to help me from the car and I took it and stood gracefully.
"Thank you." I murmured, holding onto his arm as he led me through the doors and towards the elevator.
"Are you quite all right dearest? You have been very quiet since the Opera." Aro asked, concern tinging his curious tone.
"Mm?" I said, finally looking at him as we stepped into the metal box and he pressed the correct buttons. "Yes, i'm alright… Just surprised." I admitted, forcing myself to be honest with him.
"Oh?" He asked, quirking one black eyebrow. "Surprised at what, dare I ask?"
He really was totally oblivious, I realised. "You called me…"
"My love?" He repeated, stepping closer to me and cradling my face in his hand. "Isabella, I have loved you from the moment I first saw you in the thoughts of others, since I heard your panicked little heartbeat and smelled your beautiful blood. I will not hide that any longer. Does it make you uncomfortable?"
I shook my head and felt my chest ache where my heart should be pounding in excitement tinged with fear. "I just wasn't expecting you to."
"You weren't expecting me to love you?" He repeated disbelievingly. "Little one how could I not? Your very soul calls to mine, as though we were once whole and have been split into two. I have been searching for you for three millennia, sei la mia anima gemella." His soft italian accent made my stomach swoop and I pulled him to me yet again, grateful that I no longer had the need to breathe and therefore didn't have to break away from his lips as he pressed me against the wall.
I vaguely heard the doors of the elevator open through the haze of desire that covered my vision, I smirked wickedly as I hit Aro with the full force of my emotion and he let out a low growl and pushed against me harder.
"You are playing a dangerous game, my love." He whispered into my ear, his voice sounded strained and I couldn't help but grin with pride. I was the one shattering the self control of the most powerful Vampire on earth and that in itself made me feel powerful.
"What if i'm not playing a game?" I gasped as he bit my neck sharply sending shockwaves of desire right to my core.
He suddenly pulled away and looked at me seriously, all playfulness gone from his eyes as he picked me up easily in his arms and ran so fluidly away from the elevator it felt like we were flying. At first I thought we were heading to his bedroom, his or mine I didn't particularly care, but then he veered off in the opposite direction, out into the gardens. He finally stopped before the large stone fountain where the water trickled softly and glowed silver in the moonlight.
I frowned at him as he put me down and met my gaze with so much restrained passion that a lump formed in my throat. "Aro, what are we doing outside?" I asked, confusion beginning to overtake my desire as I looked around us. I absently noted that the gardens truly were beautiful at night.
"Isabella." Aro breathed, his voice strong and deep and yet there was a timbre to it that worried me, it sounded like fear but surely not. What did Aro Volturi have to fear? "My love…"
Suddenly I felt like my heart was leaping into my throat as realisation flooded me like a light switch being turned on. I swallowed thickly as Aro dropped gracefully to one knee and took my hand in his, his beautiful eyes held mine and I could see nerves were making him doubt himself but he continued nonetheless.
"I have lived for over three thousand years without you by my side and now that I have you, I will do my utmost to keep you. I can't live without you Isabella, 35 years away from you were agony enough and it is entirely selfish of me but I refuse to lose you again. Will you do me the honour of staying by my side for eternity and becoming my wife?"
A/N: Dun dun duuuun. So, thoughts? Also this story has been nominated at nighttimerainawards dot blogspot dot com for best Bella/Volturi Member fanfiction. Voting begins on the 19th of may if you're interested in supporting this fanfiction. Thank you to all those that read and review.