CHAPTER 35: Ground Rules
London
Alex came awake in degrees. It had been a normal pattern for her since she was a small child. First she would become aware of the fact that she was waking, but she refused to open her eyes. Instead, she'd lie in bed, listening to the sounds of the day beginning around her. She would stay like this as long as she possibly could, only opening her eyes when she absolutely, positively had too. Today was no exception. She became aware of her surroundings slowly, only to find herself pinned to her bed. In her semi-awakened state, she began to think Marina and Marius Corvinkus were still holding her captive. Her heart rate accelerated greatly as she fought to keep herself in control. She forced her eyes open, to find she was lying on her side, staring at a wall covered in a really ugly floral paper. Relief flooded her body as she realized she was still in the room she had been occupying now for the last six weeks. And the object holding her captive was only Lucian's arm slung across her waist.
She relaxed and laughed silently at herself. Sleeping with someone was going to take some getting used to. She had never spent the night with anyone, yeah she had had sex before, but staying all night with someone had never held much appeal, until now. She had to admit, she liked the feel of having Lucian's arms around her. With a contented sigh, she snuggled back against him, and closed her eyes, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
"Good morning," Lucian whispered into her ear.
She smiled and rolled over. "Did I wake you?" she asked.
Propping himself up on an elbow, he looked down at her. He absently reached out and brushed a strand of red-gold hair from her eyes. "No, I've been up for a while," he assured her. "It's just so rare that I experience mornings like this, I thought I'd take advantage of it," he admitted.
"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing," she answered honestly. "You're my first ever sleepover buddy."
"A sleepover buddy huh?" he asked with a grin.
Embarrassed, Alex was sure her face had turned beet red. "Well…it's just that… I haven't ever done this before," she said waving her hands above the two of them and the bed.
Lucian leaned down and placed a soft, gentle kiss against her cheek. "I love it when you blush," he told her. Which only sent her into blush overload; making him laugh.
She lay there a little longer, as his fingers traced the contours of her body. He was acting as if this were an everyday event. Her, she was a bundle of nerves. What was he expecting from her? Did he want the others to treat them as a couple or were they supposed to hide what they had done? That would be impossible, she was pretty sure everyone in the house knew they had slept together last night. So how were they supposed to proceed? God how she hated feeling out of her element! She knew the if she asked the question she wanted to ask, she'd look like one of those weak, suffocating females that expected a fulltime commitment from him now that they were sleeping together; but their situation was anything but normal…. and she needed to know. Unable to contain her curiosity, she hesitantly asked. "So, what do we do from here?"
"I'm not sure Princess," he answered her honestly, his fingers stopping their mesmerizing tactics. "You have the advantage over me in this situation."
She looked at him like he was stupid. She had the advantage? She had never even had one real relationship with a man; he had at least been married before! But then, that had been what, …several hundred years ago? He was right, damn him.
"Okay, I don't know what to do," she admitted reluctantly. "Our situation certainly doesn't allow us to date like normal people. Not to mention we are no where near normal anyway…" she trailed off as he placed a finger over her lips, closing them for a moment.
She was obviously nervous, and Lucian understood her reaction. He had no idea of what to do either. "How about this, we agree to be sleepover buddies, as you so eloquently put it." He noticed a spark light deep within her eyes at his suggestion: he had ticked her off.
"Believe it or not, I don't do casual sex, Lucian," she told him anger evident in the set of her shoulders and the tightly clenched jaw. "If that's what you want from me, we may as well end this before it even gets started," she told him bluntly.
Lucian sighed, knowing he had ruined her morning. That had not been his intention. "Alexandra, that's not what I meant," he told her candidly. "You are important to me, that's all I know. When you left Budapest, I mentally kicked myself for letting you go. I pushed you away, thinking that this was what was best for you." Unused to the emotional outburst, he paused for a moment. "And when I found out you were missing, it nearly killed me, Alexandra" he told her quietly. "I know you mean something to me, but I'm not sure what that something is. So I'm going to be cliché and tell you let's take this a day at a time, and see where it goes."
Lucian watched as uncertainty replaced the anger in her eyes. She struggled between wanting to believe him and protecting herself. But he couldn't offer her anymore than what he just had. Hell, he had nothing to offer her right now anyway. He had no home, no job, nothing to call his own except for the clothes on his back. He waited, holding his breath to see what her response would be.
Finally, she gave him an answer. "Okay, you have some feelings for me, and I have some feelings for you; we've established that much. And neither one of us is ready to commit to any kind of relationship, that's cool. So, we agree to get to know one another better, hold hands occasionally, neck in the hallway when no one's looking and have really great sex when we both feel like it…okay?"
She had surprised him with the casual way she spoke about it, but all that she had said was okay with him. "Sleepover buddies" he stated with a grin.
"Sleepover buddies," she agreed, "With conditions," she amended. Uh oh, Lucian thought to himself, he was in trouble now.
"We share this bond, and there's no getting around it," she began pulling herself up to a sitting position. She waited as he moved himself so that he was sitting beside her. "I want to know everything there is to know about these things: how they work and more importantly, how I keep you out of my head when I don't want you in there," she told him adamantly. "I also want it known that I am an adult. I don't need, nor do I have any intentions of getting your approval to do anything. I will continue to live my life the way I did before you and I ever met. So if that's going to be a problem for you, you had better say so right now."
Actually, it was a problem for him, but one he would have to get used to. He was slowly finding that he had acquired a taste for modern day women, or at least one in particular. And this particular woman was hell on wheels, so to speak. He didn't like the idea of her going head long into battle and putting herself in danger, but this was a major part of what made Alexandra who she was. So, he agreed to her terms, with an addendum of his own, "Just remember Princess, these rules go both ways."
"Good," Alex stated relieved the awkward portion of their conversation was over and done with. "So now what?" she asked ready to forge ahead.
"Now, I think we need to move on your idea," Lucian said, placing one last kiss on her forehead before sliding off the bed.
She watched him walk into the bathroom, his nakedness momentarily distracting her. When he disappeared from view, she was able to think again. "What do you mean?" Alex asked, throwing off the covers and following him into the bathroom. She walked in to find him turning on the faucets and stepping into the shower. She watched in utter fascination as the water poured down over him. He may not be the biggest, most beautiful man on the block, but he what he was, was so much more. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. She was haunted by the sadness that lurked deep within his eyes, and his lean, muscular body was hard enough to take her breath away. Lucian threw her a look over his shoulder, flashing her the grin she had so come to love. "You remember, your idea to contact the families of the women that were taken prisoner by the Corvinkus coven," he reminded her.
"Oh yeah, that idea," she muttered vaguely.
Lucian chuckled as he went back to bathing. Tired of watching, she walked over to the shower stall, opened the glass door, and stepped in behind him. Grabbing the shampoo, she poured some into the palm of her hand, the reaching up on her tiptoes, she began lathering up his hair.
Lucian stood there, pleasantly surprised that she had chosen to join him, but completely stunned that she had started washing his hair. He glanced over at her, and saw her shrug her shoulders. "I seem to remember you doing this for me when I couldn't lift my arms, I'm just returning the favor," she commented.
So he stood there, enjoying her tender ministrations. "Um, could you maybe duck down a little?" she asked trying to get the very top of his head. Instead, he turned and scooped her up in his arms, holding her high against his chest. Giggling, she finished the job, then motioned for him to move under the water. Taking her with him, he stood under the spray, rinsing the soap from his hair. When the water ran clear, he turned his body so that she was under the spray.
He watched rivulets of water run over her golden shoulders, onto her breasts. Hunger gripped him; unlike any he had ever known. He and Sonja had had an vigorous sex life, but sex with her had been slow and gentle…sweet. There was something about Alexandra that made him want to ravage her, possess her totally.
Unable to help himself, he bent his head and took one pink tipped nipple into his mouth, his teeth lightly grazing the hard bud. When a husky moan escaped Alexandra's lush full mouth, he suckled harder. She grabbed his hair and held his head tight against her breast. When she could stand no more, she pulled his face up to hers and leaned in to whisper fervently, "Lucian, fuck me, please."
He growled as he pushed himself inside her in one hard thrust. Like an animal he took her there in the shower, thrusting into her harder and harder. Alexandra rocked against him, meeting each of his thrusts with one of her own. Soon, he felt her explode. When her inner muscles clamped tight around him, it sent him over the edge as well. Afraid of losing his balance, he leaned forward resting Alex against the wall. "Oh princess," he breathed against her ear, "you do such wonderful things to me."
She lifted her head and offered him a genuine smile, one that lit up the room. Lucian prayed she would always give him that smile. He kissed her gently upon that smile; but before it could progress much further, a loud knocking had begun upon the bathroom door. Lifting his lips from against Alex's mouth, he spoke quietly, "It looks as if paradise is lost."
"Milton, right?" Alex asked, surprising Lucian immensely. Obviously the shock showed on his face. Bristling, Alex punched him on the shoulder, "Don't look so surprised, I am intelligent Lucian, and quite well read."
"It's not that I doubt your intelligence Alexandra, it's more like you never cease to amaze me," he said reassuringly.
"And that's a good thing, right?" she asked expectantly.
Pushing wet strands of hair from her face, he said, "Oh yes, it's a very good thing."
But the knocking started up again, this time accompanied by a deep, raspy voice. "Lucian, Alex, we know you're in there," Raze called out loudly. "Whatever you're doing, hurry it up. Aaron has gone, and left a note that you both need to read."
With a sigh, Lucian released Alex, letting her standing on her own. "Very well Raze, we will be there soon."
"I'll hold you to that Lucian," Raze called back in response.
The two of them bathed quickly and dried off. As they dressed, Lucian couldn't help sneak a few glances at Alexandra. She pulled on a pair of lacy, white underwear and a matching bra. He vaguely remembered she had told him something about a place called Victoria's Secret. He still had no idea who or what that was, but he was most appreciative of how they made her look in their undergarments. Shaking off the longing that had already begun creeping upon him, he quickly dressed and waited for her to finish. She was fast on his heels, dressed in a pair of low riding, tight blue jeans and a white, midriff baring tank top. She was pulling her long, red gold hair into a ponytail as she walked past him over to the door.
"C'mon old guy," she called out behind her. "Try and keep up."
With a laugh, Lucian followed her out of the room.