A/N: The bond grows, as each person settles more into the relationship.
Chapter TextWhen I wake up, I'm lying in a soft bed. For a moment, I worry about where I am, but then a hand reaches out to hold mine, and I remember.
"You're with me, love." Caius mutters gently, and when I open my eyes, he's right there next to me.
"I know." I answer, noticing how tired I still sound. I wrap my arm around his middle, snuggling closer. Caius was lying on his back, a hand behind his head, the other holding my hand. He's only wearing a pair of joggings, which has my cheeks heating up, as I remember his muscles.
"Would you like to go back to the castle today?" He asks softly after a moment. I open my eyes at that, meeting his red eyes. In them, I can tell he truly is okay with whatever my answer is, and I realize this is my choice entirely. My mind drifts off to Marcus and Aro, and it feels like my heart is tugged on. Perhaps this was the bond speaking.
"Yeah, if you're okay with that." I say softly, and he smiles, before pulling me on top of him. I protest, but his arms lock me in place firmly, so I give up soon enough.
He's positioned me so that I'm straddling his waist, though my upper body is pressed tightly against his, only leaving room for me to hold my head up just enough to look down at him. Even though he holds himself as still as a statue, his eyes are raging with a fire that has butterflies erupting in my stomach and heats my cheeks up.
"You're incredible." He whispers eventually, his voice hoarse, his hands finally moving to gently stroke my waist. I realize he's giving me the option to pull back if I want to, but I find myself unable to move, my heart screaming at me to get closer and just kiss him. Would it be weird to do that? After all, I had only just kissed Aro, and we'd spoken a lot more than Caius and I had.
"What are you thinking about, honey?" Caius asks, and when I see something so incredibly vulnerable appear in his eyes, my decision's made. I don't answer him, and gently lie down further, so I can place one forearm beside his head, my other hand coming up to gently cup his cheek. His red eyes widen in surprise, and I'm sure he's never been this still before, like he's forcing himself to keep still as to not scare me.
I lean down, and gently capture his lips with my own.
Just like with Aro, fireworks explode in my head, but this kiss is softer, sweeter, with something utterly vulnerable in it. I can feel that Caius is giving up a piece of himself with it, by allowing someone to come this close to his heart, and I promise myself I won't ever break it. His lips are cold but soft as he gently kisses me back, his own hands coming up to cup my cheeks in return, holding me gently like he would break me otherwise. Heat spreads through me, and I can feel myself blush.
When I finally pull back, his eyes flutter open, and he looks at me like he's seeing me for the first time.
"You're unbelievable." He breathes out, before kissing me again, with more passion this time. I'm far too eager to kiss him back, and we remain like that for a long time, kissing and holding each other close. With each meeting of our lips, I can feel our hearts grow together, and it's a sensation that both excites and scares me. When I meet his gaze in between our kisses, I can tell he's feeling exactly the same, something vulnerable but warm growing between us.
"We should return home." Caius speaks, our first words since our kiss. His hands are currently tangled up in my hair, mine resting upon his chest, as I'm currently catching my breath. I glance outside, and realize it's at its highest point. It would start setting soon.
"Okay." I breathe out, a smile appearing on my face. He smiles in return, before wrapping his arms around me to pull me into a hug one last time.
"I've dreamt of this happening so many times I've lost count. I thought it would never happen after I messed up." He whispers, so quiet I barely catch it. I tighten my hold on him, remembering that day at the airport far too well.
"It's fine, Caius. Don't worry about it." I whisper back, but he shakes his head.
"It wasn't fine, honey. I feel terrible about it still." He mutters, his hold on me tightening slightly, and I can hear just how upset he is with himself.
"You have the rest of our lives to make up for it." I say, turning my head to look at him. His eyes meet mine, and I suppose he sees something in mine that reassures him, for he relaxes slightly, nodding in agreement.
"Let's take you back home." He says, tugging me up and out of bed.
When we get home, I find two familiar figures already waiting for me in the garage, impatience in their bodies and expression.
"You're finally home!" Aro exclaims, sounding terribly relieved as we get out of the car. Marcus doesn't say anything, but one second he's standing beside Aro, and the next he's in front of me, pulling me into an incredibly tight hug that leaves me breathless. My heart warms at the feeling of him wrapped around me, and I realize I'm starting to feel the bond more and more. Only now, I realize how much I had missed his presence.
When he pulls back, his gaze goes from me to Caius. Slowly, a warm smile begins to appear on his face.
"What is it, Marcus?" Aro asks, clearly noticing it.
"The bond." Marcus brings out, before wrapping his arms around me again. This time, I squeal when he lifts me up and spins me around in his arms, my feet dangling in the air. I chuckle happily, realizing he must see what happened between Caius and I, or at least that the bond between us grew a lot more. His laugh joins me, and I find myself laughing along, cherishing this rare moment. From what I had heard, Marcus never laughed, and it made my heart skip a beat.
When he finally puts me down, I find Aro holding Caius' hand, a wide smile on his face as well. Caius is smirking, although his eyes are full of pride.
"That's wonderful, cara mia." Aro speaks up after he lets go, his eyes meeting mine. I remember our kiss in the moonlight, and my cheeks heat up at it, as warmth spreads through me. He laughs knowingly, and then pulls me into a hug of his own. His hands roam my body freely this time, and it's almost as if he's trying to soak in as much of my memories as he possibly can, trying to see every thought and feeling I've experienced in our time away.
"I've missed you." Aro whispers eventually, pressing a gentle kiss to my now red cheek.
"I've missed you both as well. But I think we needed this." I answer, flashing Caius a smile. He's smiling too, and there's a relaxedness to him I haven't seen before in this castle, only at the beach house.
"Let's go to my room, shall we?" I offer, taking a look at each of them. Surprise appears in their eyes, but they're eager to agree, Aro speeding me away.
In my room, Aro puts me down near the door, and I let out a sigh, content to be back. I could feel my heart grow now that we were all together, and it startled me just how much I could feel our bond now.
I take a look at Marcus, who's sitting in the green loveseat, waiting. He looks happy to see me, but I can now see how dark his eyes are, and just how tired he looks. Frowning, I glance at Aro, who's still standing beside me. He looks just as miserable.
I grab his hand to voice my concerns. He gives me a tiny nod.
"You shouldn't worry about it, cara mia. We're fine now." He speaks up, squeezing my hand gently. I wrap my arms around his waist, pulling him close to me. His arms are eager to pull me just as close, one hand gently rubbing my back, his other holding the back of my neck. I take note of how he's done that before, and lie my cheek against his chest, where his heart would be. I don't know if vampires have a heart in the sense that humans do, but there must be something, otherwise I didn't know how to explain the bond.
"I had a wonderful memory to think about while you were gone, as well." Aro mutters, and I can hear a smile in his voice. My stomach flips at the kiss we shared, and he chuckles at it, no doubt feeling it through me.
"Mine was much better." Caius speaks up smugly. When I turn to look at him, there's a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Don't rub it in their faces, Caius, or it will have been your last kiss." I argue playfully, making Aro chuckle. My eyes land on Marcus, who's still smiling, and Aro gently pushes me in his direction, sensing my thoughts.
"I don't mind waiting, darling." Marcus says softly, noticing the look in my eyes. I smile, and sit down in his lap. When I swing my legs over the armrest, he automatically holds me, pulling me close.
"I know, sweetheart." I say, content to be close to him.
My head rests against his shoulder, one of his arms wrapped around me, the other holding my legs.
"What did I miss while we were away?" Caius asks, and Aro begins to explain some of the court cases they held. He keeps it brief but tells the important stuff, and I try to follow as best as I can, but am distracted by Marcus. His presence seems to demand all my attention, which I assume is the bond speaking.
"Do vampires always feel the bond more than humans? Is that why you both look awful?" I ask Marcus, who looks down at me with a smile.
"Exactly, darling." He agrees, though I can already see his eyes have become a bit lighter than before.
"I can feel the bond more now that I'm growing closer to you." I admit quietly. His eyes light up even more at that, a smile dancing across his face. He looked beautiful, his brown hair framing his face, his skin pale, but his cheekbones and nose defined.
"I can see it. It makes me very happy." His hand comes up to go through my hair, gently. My eyes flutter shut, as my stomach heats up. For some reason, I find it terribly attractive, and feel myself get turned on.
It's then that something unexpected happens.
Caius and Aro abruptly break off their conversation, standing in front of us in a split second. Marcus has frozen up, his eyes turning dark as he stares down at me, a hunger appearing in his eyes. My heart skips a beat at it, unused to this look coming from him.
"What's going on? Are you okay?" I ask Marcus, trying to control the blush that's creeping onto my cheeks. His hand has frozen in my hair, but his hold on me is tight.
"Cara mia… we can smell your arousal." Aro speaks up. Oh no.
"I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." I quickly answer, placing a hand on Marcus' chest. Caius is taking deep breaths, which is something I've never seen him do before.
"Your scent is… just overwhelming for us." Caius brings out, his voice strained.
"Don't feel bad about it. I'll consider it my own good memory, being the first to have you react like this." Marcus finally speaks up, a… was that a smirk on his face?
"We're taking things slow, cara mia. We're not doing anything you're not ready for, don't worry. It just took us by surprise." Aro reassures. When I look up, I realize I'm surrounded by the three of them, which only makes my body heat up more. Marcus groans at it, the sound reverberating through my body.
"I-I'll go cool off for a moment. Sorry!" I stammer, quickly bolting for the bathroom, locking myself in. I turn on the faucet, and decide washing my face with cold water might be the best idea.
God, why were they so hot? I had the feeling that I was just getting started with this whole mating thing, but my body seemed to react subconsciously to them.
After a few minutes of me trying my hardest to think of anything but them, resorting to images of puppy's happily playing in the grass, I find myself ready to face them again.
They immediately turn to look at me when I step out of the bathroom, though it looks like they're trying incredibly hard not to mention what happened earlier.
"Can we just cuddle?" I ask, a bit nervous.
"Of course, honey." Caius speaks up, standing near the window.
I grab Marcus' hand, leading him to my bed. There's warmth in his eyes as we lie down on the bed, and I curl up against his side. Aro is by our side in minutes, and seems to have decided he'll be the big spoon today, wrapping his body around mine. Caius finally sits down on the bed himself, and places my feet in his lap, seeming content to give up the majority of my attention to the other two. He begins to gently massage them, and I sigh in contentment.
"I like you three. A lot." I whisper, and I can feel warmth spreading through the room.
"We're happy you're back, Ophelia." Marcus answers, as Aro finds my hand and squeezes it gently, holding me close. My head's resting on Marcus' chest, one arm wrapped around his waist. Aro is wrapped around me from behind, his hand holding my free one, and Caius' lap is surprisingly comfortable to put my feet in, not to mention the amazing massage.
We spend the entire day like that, cuddled up on my bed. Caius fetches me dinner, which is the only moment we're all not touching, and I'm content to just listen to the three of them talking. There's a strange ease to it, with them often not having to finish their sentences because they've known each other for so long. I enjoy the warm feeling it brings me, and fall asleep eventually, surround by my mates.
