It was three weeks after our trip to the states when Maximus, Vlad, Leila and I were getting ready to head into town. Our trip got pushed back a few weeks thanks to Lance seemingly disappearing before Vlad's people could find him. He had sent multiple of his guards to find him, but no one knew where he went.
I tried to reassure myself that Maximus's ability would have wiped Lance's mind, meaning he wouldn't know where I was, but my paranoia wasn't easy to dismiss. Maximus had seen my fear over the past few weeks and had done his best to stay close. After the first few nightmares after hearing the news, he had practically moved into my room to help calm me down at night. Not that I was complaining about that, I definitely enjoyed waking up to him in the morning, and being wrapped into his arms was definitely my new favorite place to be. I just wish that the reason for his almost nightly sleepovers was more pleasant.
I snapped out of my thoughts when Leila and Vlad walked over to us, ready to head into town after dealing with some last-minute things. Originally the plan had been for only Maximus and I to go into town, but Leila had been wanting to spend more time with me lately. I hadn't even realized I had been spending most of my time with Maximus until she had pointed it out.
I had been so embarrassed, but when I tried to apologize she had brushed it off with a grin. She had just been happy we were hitting it off, she had said that there would be time to hang out and so we planned for today to be our group outing.
I tugged on the sleeves of the dress Leila gave me, nervous about more than just the outing. I usually didn't wear dresses thanks to them having the unfortunate side effect of getting caught in my wheels, but Leila had got it for me as a gift and it did look cute… I would just have to do my best to keep it out of my wheels today.
Maximus came to my side, immediately redirecting my thoughts to him as he spoke. "We are all set if you are?" I managed a nod, forcing my nerves back to the best of my ability. He smiled down at me in understanding as his hands settled on my shoulders.
The familiar weight calmed me and when his fingers dug into the tense muscles behind my neck it was all I could do not to lean back against him and close my eyes. I heard two male chuckles, the second one making my cheeks flare.
I shot a weak glare at Vlad as I ducked my head to avoid Leila's gaze. He opened his mouth, the twist to his mouth alerting me that he was about to make a joke at my expense, only for Leila to lightly elbow him in reproach.
"Vlad, leave her alone. It's not like you don't have areas that you like to have rubbed, I just don't do it in public because you wouldn't like it." So saying, she raised a hand and went to wrap it into his hair with an impish grin, only for him to encase her hand and drop their interlocked fingers to their sides.
The grin was still on his face, but the corners softened as he smiled at Leila. "You've made your point, there is no need for a demonstration."
I bit my lip at the sight, I would never get tired of seeing them so happy together. I didn't know a lot about Vlad, but from what I knew about Leila's past she deserved her happy ending.
I glanced up at Maximus and found a similar smile on his face as he watched his friend dissolve into his own world with Leila. I squeezed his hand, redirecting his attention down to me as I gestured to the car. We should give them some privacy, but I couldn't get into the lifted car without help. The original car Maximus used on our date was low enough for me to get into easily, but with my dress on I doubted I could get into this car. Well, not without at least one accident.
He took the hint without me having to say anything, moving with me as I rolled to the car door. Maximus easily slid me out of my chair before putting me in the passenger seat, moving to fold up the chair and put it behind us. Once done, he got in the driver's side and waited for Vlad and Leila. I saw them separate from what seemed to be a passionate kiss before following us to the car.
Leila flashed me a sheepish smile from the backseat, "Thanks." She didn't need to say what for. I understood wanting some privacy with your significant other and it wasn't like they took a half-hour. I smiled back to reassure her.
"It was nothing to thank me for. I'm fairly certain you'd do the same for me." She grinned, her previous sheepishness gone as she nodded.
"Yup and I'll be sure to remember that for future reference when you need it." The thought of that future sent butterflies aflutter in my stomach. I wanted to believe that we would last for years and get to have times like that, but after years of hoping for things only for them to go belly up, I was wary of being hopeful. Losing things always hurt more if you really wanted them.
Maximus squeezed my hand, our combined grip lying calmly on the gear shift as he broke me out of my thoughts. Seeing his look of concern, I smiled at him. There was no reason to be pessimistic, I could enjoy this from day to day and hope that it lasted as long as possible. He returned his attention to the road but left our hands on the gear shift.
After I had mentioned my liking of holding his hand but not being able to do it while moving he had used any opportunity given to grab my hand. If he wasn't holding my hand then he had his hands on my shoulders, some part of him was always touching me and I loved it.
It seemed like no time at all before we pulled up outside of the shops. The small buildings lining the streets looked inviting and from what I could see they weren't overly packed, to my relief. The last thing I wanted to do was have an attack in front of Vlad and Leila.
While I didn't like having them in front of Maximus, he had proven adept at calming me down from them. It was massively relieving to know that even if I did have one in town, with Maximus there it didn't matter because he would calm me down and back any curious onlookers off. He was safe and he made anywhere we chose to go safe as well.
That was why I was okay with going out into an unknown town with him, despite refusing to do similar things with my own mother not three months ago. I knew that everything would be okay, one way or the other.
As I got comfortable in my chair again, I felt eyes on me and immediately tensed. That was one of the downsides to my disability, people stared as if they had never seen someone in a wheelchair before. It wasn't too bad when kids did it, they were usually just curious and I was happy to answer their questions but adults were more malicious.
I swept a glance through the surrounding crowd to see who, if anyone, was staring and locked eyes with a woman across the street from us. I couldn't see much of her features thanks to her mostly standing in the shadow, but from what I could see she seemed average. From her brown hair down to her nondescript clothes, but something about her eyes made the hair stand up on my arms.
"Zelda, are you alright?" I jerked around to look at a concerned Maximus. He must have been calling me for a while now, but I had been so focused on the woman I had missed it.
"I'm fine, I just thought I felt someone staring at me." He immediately did a scan of the street before shaking his head. I threw a glance over my shoulder and the woman was gone and so was the feeling I was being stared at.
Trying to shake off the paranoia and enjoy our outing, I grabbed his hand and tugged toward the shop Leila and Vlad already stood in front of. "It's fine, I was probably just imagining things."
Even as I said it, Vlad's eyes narrowed. He could read my mind so he knew what I thought I had seen. Deciding to send a thought his way I asked, Was there a woman there before or am I going crazy?
Vlad nodded behind Leila's back. Well, at least I wasn't going crazy… I shook it off and powered ahead when Leila called back asking what was taking me so long. We don't have a lot of time together so I should focus on having fun, not some curious stranger who was staring at me. She probably just thought I was someone she knew…
I put the thought out of my mind and followed my sister into the nearest shop with Vlad and Maximus trailing behind us.
The second we entered I was greeted with clothes of every color of the rainbow in any size you could possibly need. I'm not ashamed to say I froze as my eyes tried to take in everything around me at once.
I could feel myself getting dizzy from the sensory overload and the heavy perfume scent in the air. Just as I was moving to back out of the shop, familiar scarred hands settled on my shoulders. I looked up into calming grey eyes.
"Are you alright? You look a little dazed." I forced a smile and nodded. This poor man was going to be constantly concerned at the rate we were going...
"Yeah, there's just a lot to take in here and my head takes a bit longer to absorb all the information. I'll be fine, just stay close please?" He nodded promptly, but I knew that he would be watching me closer now. I bit back a sigh, I didn't want him to be worried about me. I really would be fine as long as we didn't get separated.
Leila's voice pulled me from my thoughts, "Hey Zelda, come look at this. I think it would look good on you." I wheeled myself over and nearly choked on air at what she was pointing to. It was an underwear set that was made of lace and thick straps of fabric that criss crossed around the hips and chest. It wasn't the most risque lingerie that I had ever seen, but I had never even thought of wearing anything like that.
When she looked at me expectantly, I sputtered out. "I'm not sure if I can pull something like that off…" She looked at me with confusion, which was flattering but it was also salt in the wound. I knew I wasn't anything to look at under my clothes. Years of muscle atrophy in my thighs had withered them and I hadn't bothered going to the gym so I was what most would consider pleasantly plump. But pleasantly plump would not look good in that underwear, not if it was me at least. I was sure other women could pull it off, just not me.
Leila's confusion was endearing, even as she asked. "If you're worried about anyone else seeing it you don't have to be. If you like how something looks then you can wear it under your pajamas or even under your regular clothes. No one but you has to know."
I bit my lip as she spoke, I had to admit I was tempted. The set she held out was cute, but the idea of sliding into them made my stomach roll. I had enough trouble getting into regular clothes and while the set was pretty all the straps would make it difficult. I had never thought about wearing lingerie before, even for myself, but now that she had mentioned it the idea stubbornly clung to my mind.
Seeing my uncertainty, Leila guessed at the reason. "If it's all the straps that you don't like there's another version without them?" I looked at the one she gestured to and felt slightly more confident when I saw it. It still looked nice and more importantly it looked like something I could get into with breaking my neck trying.
Leila took my silence as consideration and put the outfit down so I could feel it before grabbing a considerably more flashy one made mostly of leather. She made a face at the outfit, before turning when Vlad made a sound.
He didn't have to say anything, he just looked at the outfit she held meaningfully with the barest flash of green to his eyes. Leila's mouth twitched as she slung it over her arm with a smile and a shake of her head.
I watched as she made her way to the changing room to try it on, only to pause outside of it and look back at Vlad expectantly. He raised a brow at her, only for his eyes to turn street light green at her next words spoken with a crick of her finger. "Well, are you coming? If you want to see it then I need your opinion on it before we get it."
His eyes burned with a truly impressive intensity and I caught myself imagining what I could wear that would turn Maximus' eyes that shade of green. I wish I could make him react like that…
Vlad stopped momentarily on his way to the dressing room, his eyes flicked over me before responding. "You are more than capable." My face flushed brilliant ruby as I remembered that he could read minds.
Even if I was attractive enough to pull that off, was it appropriate to buy something like that when Maximus spent most of his nights with me and he wasn't allowed to do anything more than look? I didn't want to tease the poor man, he was sweet to stay inside my boundaries and it would be rude to blatantly tease him with what he couldn't have.
A speculative hum from Vlad broke me from my train of thought and again I had to remind myself that he could hear my thoughts. I really needed to start watching what I think around this man…
He sent a jaded smirk my way before responding to my thoughts again, "Whether you think you are attractive or not, I can guarantee that Maximus would find you quite desirable in that or any other outfit you chose to wear. As for your other worry? While it is admirable of you to keep his stance in mind, he would have no problem with what you chose to wear or not wear. He knows what you're not comfortable with and, if you chose to wear such a thing, he would simply enjoy seeing you in it."
With that, Vlad sped into the dressing room behind Leila and clicked the door shut quietly. I could practically feel Maximus' eyes on me and when I glanced up I met his gaze.
His hand encased mine before he asked, "Are you reluctant to wear such things because you believe I would attempt to cross your boundaries?" There was an undertone of hurt that immediately made me answer.
"No! It's nothing like that at all. I just know that I'm not sexy and I don't want to waste time pretending that I am. Even if you did find me attractive in that way, I wouldn't want to tease you when you can't touch me in...intimate areas."
By the time I finished my face was crimson and the sentence trailed off, getting steadily quieter as I went. I jerked in surprise when Maximus crouched to meet my eyes in the next second. Before I could say anything, he interlocked our fingers and reassured me.
"You're wrong. You are mercilessly beautiful and I've already had to glare down multiple males who were eyeing you. If you don't want to wear lingerie that's fine, but don't stop yourself from buying something you like because you're under the impression you won't look good in it. As for your concern with my feelings on the matter, Vlad was right. While I would enjoy the sight of you in anything you chose to wear, I would never do anything you have already stated not being ready for. As long as you don't mind me devouring you with my gaze when we lie together, I have no problem with you wearing it with nothing more than cuddling promised."
His grey eyes had a flickering ring of emerald as he imagined me in what I assumed was the outfit Leila had picked out for me. With his compliments and his assurance that he would be more than fine with it, I made my decision.
I nodded up at him, "Alright, then I guess I'll get that one. I'll try it on now, that way if I don't like it I won't regret buying it later." Maximus smiled down at me, the sight equal parts reassuring and encouraging.
I started wheeling to the changing room before I could change my mind. The sight of Vlad leaving with a satisfied expression and Leila trailing behind him with a grin made the butterflies take flight again. Maybe Vlad was right, maybe I could do that.
Transferring to the bench inside the room was easy, getting the lingerie on was not so much. By the time I managed it I felt like I had run a marathon, but the sight that met me in the mirror stopped any thoughts about the struggle.
I looked...completely different than I thought I would. While I wasn't the model kind of sexy most women pulled off in outfits like this, I had to admit that I did look nice. I still didn't like how my thighs looked, but there wasn't anything I could do about that so I shifted my attention to the door Maximus sat behind.
Was it any different if he saw me in it now versus waiting and having him see it in the bedroom? At least now if he didn't like it I wouldn't regret buying it. Swallowing my nerves, I called out after a breath. "Maximus?"
A curious affirmative was my answer and I forced the rest out. "Can you come in here? I want your opinion on it." The second that it took him to answer was one of the longest in my life.
"Absolutely but only if you're sure." After I agreed, I unlocked the door for him. The room felt considerably smaller after he folded himself through the door. The atmosphere charged with tension as he closed the door behind him and raked his gaze over me. I felt the heat rush to my head as he looked over every inch of flesh that was in front of him.
The previous thin ring of green I had noticed inched out until it completely covered his iris. The desire I could plainly see made my nerves melt. He actually liked what he saw. My surprise must have been obvious because he rumbled in a voice like gravel. "You are a thing of beauty and this image will definitely be playing a part in my future fantasies."
I expected the thought to send dread through me, but it only made a heady warmth sit low in my stomach. I was actually looking forward to that… That revelation was almost as surprising as the fact that he found me attractive.
Before I could try to come up with something to say, he brought his hands down to cup my face to smoothly pull me into a kiss. His mouth stayed closed, giving me the choice of how far I wanted to take it. I only had to consider it for a moment before I carefully slid my tongue along the fold of his lips.
We hadn't done this too much since the first time on the plane, thoughts of Lance being out there somewhere had easily cooled any desire I would have had, but as the memory of his bright green eyes flaring with desire came back to me I knew that now was the right time.
His mouth opened without the hesitation of the first time, inviting me to explore to my heart's content and I wasted no time in accepting that invitation. His mouth had a slight tang that my brain immediately labeled as blood.
I ignored my instinctual aversion to the taste, choosing instead to focus on the sensations his tongue caused when it twined with mine. Just like before it was slimy and, after remembering him tilting my head last time, I repeated the movement.
Immediately our mouths slid together, this time I didn't flinch away from his probing tongue. After a second of consideration, I decided just this once I wouldn't worry about what-ifs.
I wound my tongue around his before sucking lightly. Maximus shuddered above me, his mouth opening against mine to release a low moan. I felt the vibrations against my mouth, the feeling, and the sound it came from sending a shot of molten heat down between my legs.
Oh, that was going to become one of my favorite sounds, I just knew it. Feeling emboldened, I did it again and got another groan that had my senses tingling. My hands came up to curl into his hair, using the leverage to drag him down onto me.
His knees hit the floor as his hands came to life. One wrapped into my hair while the other started stroking my jaw. His tongue returned the favor I had paid him, pulling a muffled moan from me. Briefly, I froze, I didn't even know I could make that sound.
Maximus felt my hesitation and began to pull back, but I tightened my hold on him and dragged him into another kiss. So far I didn't feel even slightly uncomfortable and I was going to take advantage of that for however long it lasted to kiss him as many times as I could.
This new confidence was thrilling and I fed off of it as I released my hold on his hair to wrap my arms around his neck. One of his arms came down to wrap around my waist and pull me tighter to him. As I separated from him, my lungs demanding air despite my body's want to keep kissing Maximus, I glanced down and did a double-take.
It made sense that he was aroused, considering the heavy make-out session we had just had, and I was surprised to find myself not scared of the quite obvious bulge that tented the front of his pants. If we weren't in a changing room in a very public place, I might even be tempted enough to see how far I could push my boundaries. But we were in public, so I dragged my eyes up to Maximus who watched me with caution.
To put him at ease, I smiled while trying to get my breath back. "I'm not bothered by it, I can't rile you up like that and expect you not to react in some way. It's actually really nice to know that I have that effect on you."
He relaxed against me, the previous tension calming down as I loosened my hold to a hug instead of the death grip I had on him before. I wasn't sure what else to say on the matter of his erection, or if I should say anything, so I switched the subject. "That...was one of the best things I've felt in my life and as long as you're okay with it I would like to do that many more times in the near future."
A slow grin crossed his face until he was beaming at me, "I am more than okay with doing that as many times as you want. Whenever you want that, just drag me down and have your way with me. I definitely won't complain."
His wording made my cheeks flush, but I grinned right back at him. For the first time in years I felt like a woman, not a victim of trauma, not an emotional basket case, but just a woman. The feeling was liberating.
"I'll keep that in mind. As much as I would love nothing more than to continue, we should really get back out to Vlad and Leila. I don't want to make them wait any more than they already have." I watched as Maximus took a deep breath to cool his arousal. His eyes shifted back to grey as the tent in his pants disappeared.
Once he was ready, he stood up while being careful to not knock into my chair. "You're right. We shouldn't keep them waiting, as much as I enjoyed that we still have an outing to go on." So saying, he dropped a kiss on my head before leaving me alone in the dressing room.
As I watched his muscled back leave, I let out a sigh of contentment as my head thumped back against the wall. I'm getting better, slowly but surely I am starting to be able to handle more. The thought made me giddy, a grin splitting my mouth as I bit back a fit of giggles. So this was what it felt like to be desired and return that feeling to your partner.
I like it.
As Maximus and I came out of the store with a bag of clothes resting in the pack of my chair, we saw Leila and Vlad curled together outside of the car. Leila had all of her weight leaned against Vlad, who didn't seem to mind in the slightest as he rested his chin on top of her head.
I smiled at my content looking sister, "Thanks for waiting." I felt my cheeks flush as I remembered earlier when it had been her telling me that. I hadn't expected to be saying it back so quickly…
She flashed a grin, proof that she was thinking along the same lines, before waving my thanks off. "Is there anything else you want to get while we're here?"
I shook my head, "No, I didn't even plan on getting the clothes, but Maximus insisted." Maximus went to open his mouth, only for Vlad to beat him to it.
"As he should have. Having a week's worth of clothes is impractical, especially when you have a significant other who can afford more." His tone said he had this argument before and by the look Leila shot him full of exasperation I got the feeling I knew who he had it with.
I turned to her and teased, "Is it normal for Romanian males to try to buy you mass amounts of clothes?"
She grinned at me as she answered, throwing a playful smirk over her shoulder at Vlad. "It appears so, it was for me at least. I managed to talk him down to half of what he originally tried to buy me, but he still slips in gifts every now and then."
We both managed to keep a straight face for a minute before we burst out laughing. When we had collected ourselves, Maximus tapped me on the shoulder.
"Do you have any hobbies that you need supplies for while we are in town?" It was sweet of him to ask, but I wasn't sure if I felt comfortable with him getting me anything else.
Leila must have caught on to that because she jumped in. "How about we make that a different trip? We could make a day out of it and explore the different shops?"
I jumped on the out, nodding in relief as we made our way back to the car. Just as we were a few yards from it, my wheels snagged the end of my dress. I barely managed to stop myself in time before the dress twined further into my wheels. As it was, I bit my lip as I tried to figure out how to untangle it without ripping the dress.
I felt embarrassment drown me as I ducked my head. I had almost managed to have a successful outing in a dress without there being an incident.
Maximus knelt beside me and examined the mess before smiling at me reassuringly. "This should only take a moment if you'll allow me?"
I nodded and watched as he carefully untangled the dress from my chair. In no time he was finished and standing up again. I pulled the edge up to clear the wheels and shifted to follow Leila, only to freeze at a voice behind us.
"I can't believe that you lowered your standards so far as to fuck a gimp, Maximus." The voice was haughty and it made every bit of confidence I have shrivel.
Half of me wanted to turn around and confront the woman, but the other half wanted to hide from the unexpected hostility. The other half won. I ducked my head as I tried to move behind Maximus, the gimp comment hitting too close to home.
Before I could get far, Maximus' hand on my shoulder stopped me. His voice rang out above me, his tone as hard as granite. "My standards haven't lowered, Amelia. As a matter of fact, since our unfortunate coupling, my standards have risen quite a bit. And she is not a gimp, you will do well to remember that or I will see to it that you do."
His defense of me sent a shot of warmth through me even as his words sank in. Our unfortunate coupling. They had slept together. The thought that this woman had been with Maximus in such an intimate way, a way that I couldn't even dream of without a panic attack taking hold, made the contents of my stomach sour.
Even though I knew I would regret it, I lifted my head to look at who his previous lover had been. The instant I laid eyes on her I felt all the confidence I had felt in the dressing room die. She was model sexy, thin but not overly so, with curves in all the right places. And with a jolt, I realized that she was the same person I had seen lurking in the shadows earlier. The one I had felt staring at me. Now that she was in the sunlight I could see how un-ordinary her looks were.
She sent a scathing look down my body that I could almost feel before Maximus stepped in front of me to block me from her poisonous eyes. Her voice was sickly sweet when she spoke, "Threatening me over this scrap of a woman? I was merely pointing out the obvious, no need to become so defensive. She must be magical in bed to have you so protective. Tell me, does she do that thing that you like-"
I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach as bile tried to crawl up my throat. Her taunting words making tears sting my eyes as she began to detail things I didn't want to imagine her doing with Maximus. The images sparking something primal in me that wanted to rip apart any body part that had touched Maximus.
I had never felt territorial like this and it scared me, but that fear was pushed to the side under the sick feeling the images gave me. The things she was describing were ones I wasn't sure I could ever do. Just the thought of trying them made me feel faint.
Her voice suddenly cut off with a choked gasp. I looked up through blurry eyes to see Vlad to my right and Leila to my left. Looking over to the woman, I bit back my own gasp.
Maximus had punched her, the force sending her skidding back before she caught herself. Her blazing green eyes looking at him in pure disbelief. I was staring at him with the same look, I was sure. He had been adamant that he wouldn't hit an unarmed woman when we had discussed his training and yet he had just done that. Why?
Vlad answered my unasked question. "Because she was hurting you. She knows what she is doing and Maximus will never stand for someone to hurt you like that in his presence. That viciousness is what made Maximus break it off with her a decade ago. She would become insanely jealous of any woman even looked at him for too long. She is far out of line today, and it is his decision on how he wants to deal with her."
I swallowed to relieve my suddenly dry throat. I had never expected Maximus to go so far in defending me against someone's taunts. While I was a bit overwhelmed with the entire situation and the unexpected hostility, his protectiveness chased away some of the chills from the heavier feelings.
When I saw him about to stalk forward for round 2, I rolled up behind him. I knew he would hear me, with his hearing it was impossible for him not to. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head against his back. He stiffened in my arms, but I didn't loosen them.
I looked past him to where the woman had frozen solid, her eyes never leaving Maximus' form as he tensed to have another go at her. She looked afraid and a small part of me was satisfied with that, but I quickly shook that part to the side. I should never be satisfied with someone else's fear, I had been the one afraid too many times to take pleasure out of it.
I focused on the solid body in my arms, unlike usual he hadn't relaxed any when I hugged him. I tried to soothe him with my voice next, "Maximus, she's not worth it. You aren't someone who would beat an unarmed woman who is far below your skill level. Don't let her make you into that person now."
While her words and the thoughts she had planted in my head still made my stomach turn, I didn't want to see him bloody his hands over her. He was better than that. I knew he was and so did he, as soon as he calmed down enough to think.
One of his hands rested over mine on his abdomen, interlocking our fingers as he slowly calmed down. I tightened my arms around him, leaning my head against his back as I spoke again. "Please Maximus, I just want to go back and relax with you. If you waste time with her then we won't be back in time for our dinner plans." Our dinner plans were just a movie and whatever he felt like making, but the reminder of what we had waiting at home seemed to do the trick.
He slowly calmed, his hand stroking my fingers as he spoke to Amelia in a scathing tone. "If she wanted it, I would deliver your head to her feet for that insult. But, luckily for you, she isn't that kind of person. You are well aware of what kind of person I am, so have care with how you speak of her. Next time I will remove your head from your shoulders."
The woman didn't react to his threat besides a slight paling, something I wasn't aware vampires could do before now. Maximus turned around and enveloped me in a hug. Suddenly being pressed against his stomach instead of his back took me by surprise before I returned his hug. By the fine tremor that was still going through him, I would guess he was resisting the urge to go back and do bodily harm to the woman.
Vlad had told me about vampire instincts and how overwhelming they could get. It wasn't surprising that Maximus was so affected when I considered what Vlad had told me. But in the hopes of avoiding any bloodshed, I cuddled into his stomach and wrapped my arms around him again.
I only let go when the tremors stopped and he looked down at me with sharp grey eyes. A small, hard smile twisted his lips. "I am calm now, you can let go. You wanted to get back right? Do you have an idea of what you want for dinner?"
I relaxed as he spoke, the questions telling me more than anything that he really was calm again. I shook my head, "Nothing jumps out, so I'm happy with anything."
Maximus gently gripped my hand as we walked back to the car. Vlad looked at Amelia with a hard stare before gesturing for Maximus and I to continue on.
I went to voice my disapproval, but Vlad cut me off. "You may not deem it necessary but you are my sister in law through Leila and any disrespect given to you by my people stretches to me as well. I can't allow that."
Biting my lip, I nodded. I didn't understand all these new rules but if Vlad said this was something he had to do, then I couldn't stop him. But I could get Maximus out of here before he decided to join Vlad in whatever he was going to do.
Vlad nodded, snapping something in Romanian that Maximus gave a sound of affirmation to. After he helped me get situated in the passenger seat, I glanced at Leila who watched her husband with rapt attention.
When I asked if she was coming, she shook her head. "I'll wait for him, you go back. We shouldn't be too far behind you."
I didn't like leaving them behind, but again I agreed while trusting their judgment and Maximus started the drive back to the castle.
The air was heavy with tension, but it wasn't like our earlier one that made me want to kiss him. No, this was heavier and as the images flashed across my mind again I had to swallow back the bile.
The car pulled to a stop on the side of the road, immediately bringing my attention to Maximus as he gripped the steering wheel so tightly I was amazed it didn't break. Before I could ask if he was alright, he beat me to it.
"Zelda, are you alright? I saw the way you went white as a sheet when she said those things." He spoke in a carefully controlled tone that made me wary. Why was he walking on eggshells with me?
"I can't say I'm totally fine with what just happened." The images flashed again, reminding me of her words and what they had done together. It had been over a decade ago, I wasn't going to blame him for that.
His voice came again, dragging my attention to him. His words completely gobsmacked me, the pain in them tearing at my heart. "I completely understand if you want to end things after this."
Tears filled my eyes, I could feel the pain that was in that sentence and it was all I could do not to lunge across the seats to wrap him into a hug. I settled for gripping his hand, "What are you talking about Maximus? I would never end things with you over an ex throwing a hissy fit."
He visibly deflated with relief, turning to meet my eyes for the first time since we entered the car. The grey pools swam with his relief and something else I couldn't name.
"After you had to hear some of the...activities we did I wasn't sure if you would still want to be with me. I know that you are uncomfortable with things like that and I will never expect anything that you don't offer. You have to believe that." His eyes begged me to say I did, an easy thing to say since it was the truth.
While the thought of anyone else's hands on him was enough to make me want to rage or cry, it didn't affect how I felt for him. He was almost one thousand years old, I couldn't expect him not to have lovers before me. It was unrealistic.
If I had a problem with that then I would just have to muddle through. I refused to put that blame on him for wanting companionship in his long life. I made sure to tell him that, "I can't say I liked hearing what she was saying and I definitely didn't like thinking about you two… doing that. But it was years ago and I won't hold that against you. It would be cruel of me to be angry with you because you're not a virgin. It doesn't matter what you two did, because you're with me now and I trust you. I know that you're faithful and that's all that matters."
A strangled sound came from Maximus before he shifted sideways in his seat, reached over the gear shift, and picked me up. Before I could even squeak in surprise, I was in his lap. His arms wrapped around me, dragging me against his chest, as he buried his nose into my hair.
I could practically feel his relief and the extreme reaction sent a spear of pain into my chest. What had he expected me to do? Just break it off with him as if he meant nothing to me because one of his exes was rude?
It hit me in the next instant that yes, that is exactly what he had expected. My heart twisted in my chest and I gently pulled back from him enough to see his face. The echoes of past pain that showed clearly further proved what I had already guessed. His words from over a month ago came back, "I know what it's like being used as an instrument of pleasure". Had no one in this man's life cared for him past what he could do in the bedroom?
Determination blazed through me, it didn't matter if no one else had because I would. Every day that we were together I would do my best to make up for the years he had to deal with those people that took him for granted. They were all fools to overlook how special he was, but their loss is my gain and I would be sure he knew just how much he meant to me.
"It probably sounds horrible, but I'm glad that you hadn't found anyone who wasn't an idiot. If you had found a halfway decent person, then we might not have gotten together. It's selfish but I'm glad that we met and I like what we have. I don't want anyone else to have that with you."
Maximus caught my face in his hands, the kiss he bestowed on me was intense without an ounce of sexual intent. When he pulled back to let me breathe, he looked at me with such adoration that it took my breath away again. His words wrapped around my heart like a heated blanket, making me feel all warm and fuzzy.
"I'm not a virgin and I haven't been in over seven centuries, but the intimacy we have is more special to me and more intense than anything I have ever done with anyone else before you. I have never simply laid next to someone because they wanted my company, or because I made them feel safe. And I can say with confidence that I enjoy one night of laying with you in my arms more than the entirety of the sexual acts Amelia and I did in our relationship. All the previous relationships I've had have been shallow in comparison to the emotional depth ours has and we've only been together a month. You may not be my first sexual experience, but you are definitely my first meaningful relationship, and that means something to me."
My heart constricted as I soaked in his words. Suddenly the images that the woman had planted in my head before didn't bother me. So what if she had slept with Maximus? He had made it clear she nor anyone else would do so again and that was all that mattered. Our relationship was more intimate than that and if, when, we got to that point it would be an experience to trump all others.
I dragged him into another kiss, my emotions overflowing as I tried to put them into words. What I settled on was wildly inadequate, but it would have to do. "It means something to me too."
