Hope everyone had a great holiday season, or just a great weekend. Absolutely loving all your support! By now I've mapped out most of this story and we've got a long way to go so stick around!
Chapter 9
B POV
Friday morning I woke up feeling on edge, as if I knew something was going to happened tonight, but shook it off all the same. I checked my phone and smiled.
Tonight's outfit should be at your door by the time you're home from school, knock em dead Bellzy
Jane had begrudgingly given my number to Heidi, and she and Gianna had been picking out things for me to wear, asking if I had any occasions coming up. When I mentioned yesterday that there was a casual party tonight and that I'd convinced Jane Volturi to come with, they'd jumped at the chance to send us outfits. They also swore their pick for me would help me 'get exactly what I was looking for' I didn't bother asking what they meant by that.
The morning went by as the past four had, classes with Jane, a mildly uncomfortable lunch, followed up by third period. On my way to my last period of the day, I found myself once again bumping into someone, though this time I didn't fall, but was instead caught in a pair of cold stone arms. I felt his sweet breath hit my nose and immediately fought through the lightheaded fog that accompanied it, finding it's effects much easier to combat than in the past.
"Bella" he breathed, looking over me as if he hadn't been able to really see me since we'd landed in Forks. It felt like forever had gone by since the last time I felt his arms around me, and now I knew for sure they weren't the pair I wanted or craved to have.
"Edward" I answered back, hesitant but still confident as I brushed back my hair and looked him in the eyes, something I used to find difficult to do when confronted by his otherworldly good looks.
"I miss you" he started, sounding sad and resigned, "I know you have accepted your path, but I do need you to know that I am still here, still desperate to earn your forgiveness. Just say the word, Bella, and I will be there." With one last glance, he gently squeezed my shoulders and then walked off.
As I settled in my seat beside Tristan, I casted him a small grin, trying to shake myself out of whatever that exchange had caused. I glanced down at my phone, half expecting to have a message from Felix, some sort of jab or acknowledgment, or even something from Demi to check in. Nothing. I sighed, maybe they decided I could handle it myself so long as there was no actual threat, which from his words, Edward didn't seem to pose any.
Chemistry passed by like a root canal; painfully. Thank god for Tristan, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have a clue what was going on, his explanations were far more interesting and easily understood than the teacher's. By the end of class, I'd dubbed him my 'Chemistry for Dummies' instructor to which he blushed a little and then bowed slightly before we finished up for the day.
"I guess I'll see you at the party tonight?" he asked, hoisting his bag onto his shoulder and fiddling with the strap.
"Yep, see you there!" I grinned back before heading towards the parking lot, knowing Jane would meet up with me once I hit the main floor. She looked at me strangely as we met up, almost scrutinizing me until I turned to her as we got in my truck, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.
"You smell weird this week. Not bad weird, maybe it's the new clothes, whatever." She sighed, sitting back and staring through the windshield with a slight frown marring her porcelain face. Brushing it off, I pulled out of the lot and drove us home.
As promised, a cute bag containing our outfits for the evening was sitting on the porch swing. I'd turned Jessica down on her offer to get ready together, saying we'd meet up with her and Ang at the party. Charlie was already down at the reservation with Billy having an early dinner before heading out for their guys' weekend. We entered the house seeing Demetri lounging on the two-seater reading a book. I squinted my eyes, reading the cover, the upside down cover, of an old dictionary.
"Gee Demi, I didn't know vampires could read upside down, or is this another special gift you've been hiding from me?" I asked, smirking while I kicked off my shoes. I then looked at the package again, realizing that the edges were slightly frayed and there was a hole. Someone had looked. My eyes narrowed once again at the vampire in front of me who was casually whistling and now watching an episode of Doctor Who. "Seriously?" I asked, annoyed, "did you take anything?"
He sighed, turning around, "No Lil B, I barely got the chance to peek in before you guys pulled up. Jane knew and told me she'd bring on the pain if I didn't stop snooping."
I looked back at the small angelic vampire beside me who was grinning back in a way that was both adorable and menacing. I almost cringed, poor Demi.
We got ready together, talking intermittently while I did my makeup and Jane's, using some blue mascara and eye liner to accentuate Jane's contacts, and blush to make her look a little more human. Jane begrudgingly changed into the soft flowing dark blue cropped long sleeve shirt and black leggings Heidi sent. I happily slipped into the tight beige top with a square neckline, and dark brown leather pants that had my name on them. We both slipped on a pair of white sneakers and were heading downstairs when we stopped at the sound of a throat clearing.
"Keys?" Demetri's hand was out and for once her had a 'don't fuck with me' look on his face that I obeyed, dropping them into his palm and following him out the door. The drive was a little tense, he clearly didn't approve of tonight's plans but knew they were inevitable. Pulling over outside Greg's house, he shifted to stare me down as Jane slipped in some contacts from her purse.
"Alright, Isabella. If anything goes wrong, you call. If anyone touches you, you call. If –" Jane yawned, opening her door and slipping out of the truck. He wasn't finished, and this time he'd clearly had enough, appearing in front of the smaller vampire I could see his mouth moving too quickly to understand what was being said. Jane's back stiffened slightly and she nodded in understanding, causing him to back off and cross his arms over his chest as I slowly got out of the truck behind them.
"Are we good to go then?" I asked, glancing back and forth between them.
"Yes," Demetri consented, "phone's on loud and pepper spray is in your purse?" he asked as I made a move towards the walkway.
"Yes sir," I turned with a two-finger salute before hooking my arm around Jane's and starting towards the party. It was just after ten o'clock and the party seemed to be in full swing, Greg's place was isolated enough that they could get away with playing loud music, the beauty of no neighbors.
We made our way inside and spotted Jessica and Angela immediately, waving us over with red cups in their hands. I casted Jane a pleading look and she just sighed, holding up two fingers, so I did a little happy squee and went to grab each of us a drink from the kitchen.
About a half an hour later, the music was bumping, our classmates were tipsy, and some were borderline drunk, when the door burst open. A bunch of college guys came in carrying kegs and bottles of hard liquor.
"Hello seniors of Forks High, let's get wild!" one guy cheered, who Jess pointed out was Greg's older brother who'd been staying up in Port Angeles where he went to college. Everyone seemed to welcome their group, the big house offered plenty of room for everyone to bustle about.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, turning to find Tristan there with a drink in his hand. "Hey Bella! This party is way wilder than I expected but still a great –" his eyes got wide, looking beside me. "—time" he finished.
I looked over to find Jane, her fresh contacts sitting in her wide eyes, a small shy smile playing on her lips. I was shocked, I'd never seen Jane react like this; she'd even been sporting her classic, seemingly permanent scowl up until now.
"Umm" I paused, looking back and forth once more, "Tristan this is Jane, an exchange student from Italy staying with me. Jane, this is Tristan, the genius who's been single handedly saving my grade in chemistry." Tristan blushed at the praise and stuck his hand out to one of the most feared vampires in the world, who needed a nudge to snap out of her trance and return his shake.
"It's nice to meet you Jane," he said, dimples peeking out as he smiled down at her. Her blue eyes nearly sparkled as she grinned back unrestrained.
"You too," she said, eyes drifting over to me.
"Hey Tristan, would you mind grabbing us a refill? With the college guys over there it's a little more difficult for people our size to squeeze through." He nodded back and headed over to the kitchen.
I turned to my stoic friend, eyes wide, "Jane! What was that!?" I was trying to hide my smile, curiosity creeping in as she closed her eyes, inhaling with a small grin still plastered across her face.
"Bella," she started, "I think I know why you smell so good every other day." She continued at my urging, "I think – no I know, I've finally found my mate." In a move that was totally un-Jane-like and very me, she bit her lip, and cast her eyes in the direction he'd gone.
"Oh my god. This—that – Jane! I'm so happy for you!" I said, lurching forward to hug the small vampire. Her cool skin also helped cool off my frazzled nerves.
"He's so sweet, and smart, and oh my god Jane this is perfect! Not to be crude but I don't think he has anything holding him here, from what he's told me, he moved here recently after his parents passed two years ago and is living with foster parents now who he isn't very attached to."
I saw hope sparking in her eyes as she listened to me, and saw them soften slightly as Tristan returned, handing her fresh a cup, and then giving me the same.
"My ladies," he said, eyes fixating more on Jane, "geez, I'm sure all the guys in here are practically drowning in jealousy over the fact that I get to hangout with the most beautiful girls here." He finished with a wink in Jane's direction, and I froze as I heard her - Jane Volturi, witch twin - giggle.
"Say," I thought as I glanced between them, "why don't you guys chat for a bit. I'm gonna go see how Jess and Ang are doing at beer pong." I said, wanting to let them have a little time to themselves. Jane cast me a worried look to which I just shook my head and nodded reassuringly; I wouldn't go far, and she deserved this.
As I walked away from what would be the future happy couple, I chugged down my new drink, snatching another in the kitchen as I bypassed the college guys to get to my friends. They were losing, but when Ang saw me, she waved me over, "BELLS!" she yelled, clearly feeling the effects of losing, "can you pleeeeease take this shot for me? I'm like sooo bad at this?" I giggled and scooped up the ping pong ball, turning towards Mike and Ben at the other end of the table.
I pretended to stare down their set of cups before tossing the ball and watching dazedly as it landed in a cup, only registering my success when I felt Ang's arms around my waist and Jess's lips on my cheek.
"Yes Bells! You're the best!" they cried, letting me go to gloat.
As their arms left me, I felt another snake around my waist. This arm was warm like the body attached to it which was now pressing up against the length of my body.
"Well hello, "a voice whispered in my ear, "I don't believe we've met. I'm Jeremy, Greg's brother, and judging by your friends' reactions, you must be Bella." His hand had slipped down to my hip, thumb tracing circles, reminding me of when someone else was doing that last week.
I thought about brushing him off, but then I remembered the feeling of rejection I had when he didn't seem to care what I did after coaxing a confession from me Sunday night, so with that in mind, I glanced up at Jeremy, smiling innocently and nodded my head.
"That would be me" he grinned back down at me, lazily drawing me in closer as he steered me away from my friends. We sat down on one of the couches and he told me all about himself while running a hand up and down my side. Usually, this kind of physical affection from a good-looking guy like Jeremy would be all any girl in my position could hope for. But I couldn't help but wish he was someone bigger, colder, and cryptic as fuck. After a while I'd tuned him out, thinking about what Jane and Tristan could be up to, and reached into my purse, pulling out my phone to text Jane.
"Oh no sweetheart, you don't need that," Jeremy said, lowering my phone and giving me pointed look. By now the alcohol in my third drink seemed to be really hitting me, waaaay more than the first two drinks did, and I found myself getting dizzy and feeling light-headed.
"I donno if I feel so good Jer—emy." I said, slurring my words a little bit. "May—maybe I should go find Jane…" He smiled back, almost condescendingly, but it was hard to tell when my world started spinning a little bit more.
"Come on baby, let's go upstairs and get you sorted" he said, scooping me up in his arms. I grimaced at the endearment, deciding it only came best falling from Felix's lips in our own little world, then sagged a little at the feeling of nausea that passed through my body when he lifted me.
The next thing I knew Jeremy was placing me on a soft bed and began pulling off my sneakers.
Despite my slightly delirious state, panic started to swell inside me, "N-no I think I need to just go home, Jeremy. Can you just tell me how—how to go down and fin mphh—"
My voice cut out when his hand clamped over my lips. My eyes went wide, and my heart started to pound. I started trying to thrash around on the bed, struggling as the reality of my situation set in. Panic flared in my eyes and my heart continued to skitter away. Jeremy smirked back, "don't worry baby, stay still and I promise it won't hurt at all, let me make you feel good girl," he pushed up my shirt and groaned, roughly palming a breast as the other hand travelled south, causing me to yelp and whimper.
Then suddenly he was gone. Red eyes peered down at me then disappeared as well before another set of red eyes caught mine. I felt myself being scooped up and held close to a stone cold chest. Demetri. I snuggled in close and buried my overheated skin into his body as I tried to relax. I could feel him murmuring with someone else, a deep rumbling in response. Arguing. Then a softer voice, Jane. More arguing.
I knew they were carrying me away, even in my inebriated state. Despite everything: his avoidance and annoying tricks, I wanted that big wall of man and comfort to be with me, feeling vulnerable in my state of confusion.
With great effort, I pushed his name past my lips, like a desperate plea. The answering smell that encased my body caused me to finally relax and stop fighting against the wave pulling me under.
When I peeled back my eyelids, I took a moment to breathe before clamping a hand over my mouth and making a beeline for the bathroom, praying to the porcelain god as I emptied my stomach until I was heaving up acid. The second I'd started throwing up, I felt large cool hands pulling my hair back, one settling over my forehead, and words of comfort being murmured lowly from behind me.
I fell back against him, having spent of all my energy, completely drained, and curled into his body, not caring beyond anything besides how he felt, and how he made me feel. After going so long without his touch, his cold hands caressing my skin this felt like napalm on my raging headache and nausea. I whimpered, shifting impossibly closer, and clung to him as another wave of nausea threatened to push me back to the toilet.
The murmuring morphed into crooning, and marble hands scooped me up, carrying me at a human pace back to my bed, settling me down beside him. Not satisfied, I crawled over to drape myself over his cool body, eyes sliding shut once more.
When I awoke again it was to soft low rumbling, and his large hands drifting up and down back. I stretched out like a cat, causing his body to stiffen and the rumbling to turn darker, more luxurious as it vibrated across my body like a heavy blanket.
His hands had slipped up under my shirt at some point, stroking the heated flesh of my back. I rested my chin on my hands and sheepishly glanced up at him.
"There she is" he purred, lips quirking up on one side, but I could see the obvious worry evident in his red eyes as they searched mine.
I held up a finger and motioned for him to stay put, stumbling to the bathroom again. Now feeling a little bit better, I knocked back some aspirin, took a shower, washed my face, and, thoroughly brushed my teeth. I snuck back into my room to retrieve fresh clothes and could feel his eyes on me. Watching. Always watching. I snagged a sweater and leggings, retreating to the bathroom once more to change into my clothes before joining him again.
Returning to my room, I hesitantly crawled up onto the bed, unsure of where we stood, until cool hands grasped my wrists, pale fingers overlapping as he coaxed me to sprawl my body over his once more. Without a word, Felix drew the blanket up over our bodies and the soothing growl-like sound started up again. It was a while before either of us spoke, his hands once again resuming their slow patterns on my back.
"Never again" he rumbled lowly, hands tightening over my hips, pulling me in while he inhaled with his nose in my hair.
"I will never let anyone put their hands on you ever again." He said. The finality in his tone soothed something deep inside me and I found myself peering up at him once more.
"Can you tell me what happened last night...?"
His jaw clenched, ruby eyes glaring up at the ceiling in my bedroom. I reached up and smoothed my fingers over his jaw, trying to ease some of the tension. It must've worked because his eyes snapped closed as if he couldn't bare to look at me while he spoke.
"One of those college scumbags" he spat the words out harshly, "slipped something into your cup. At first, it sounded like you were just a little overwhelmed, it was difficult to distinguish what was going on and Jane was occupied" he sneered, pausing. "The second I heard you mention Jane, I found a window on the same floor and broke in. He'd be dead if Dem hadn't been there. Still not sure if I'll hunt him down later…" He trailed off for a minute.
"Dem got you out of there while I handled the coward. I was going to run off my anger, but you called for me and—" he paused, peering down at me with an unreadable expression.
"And?" I prompted.
"Nothing else mattered in that moment than getting to you, making sure you were okay. I sat with you to make sure whatever was slipped in your drink didn't cause more harmful effects…" he trailed off, reaching one hand up to cup the side of my face and smooth a cool finger along my cheekbone. My eyes were a little bloodshot from the strain of puking my guts out.
I closed them now, leaning into his hand. The low rumbling started up again and I settled back down against him, head resting over his right peck, fingers tracing patterns over where his heart once beat.
"What's that sound you're making?"
I felt his body shift as he shrugged, "Meant to comfort."
"Uggggh no." his eyes shifted down to me, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"No?" he asked, red eyes now holding traces of humor.
I sighed, pushing myself up slightly so I could lock eyes with him head on, "This is the most I've ever heard you speak. Don't go back to minimal syllables. Please?" I did my best pout, titling my chin down slightly and poking out my bottom lip. That seemed to distract him as his eyes zeroed in on my lip before slowly trailing up my face back to my eyes.
"Alright" he sighed, I could hear the humor in his voice though, "what else?"
I snuggled back down, for some reason the hard ridges of his body weren't that uncomfortable to settle into.
"What happened with Jane? I noticed she was acting a little…strange around Tristan?" I knew something had happened but couldn't for the life of me remember anything besides my first drink with the girls, trying to get away from Jeremy, then feeling safe as Felix took me home.
One of his hands that had resumed their stroking on my back reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he exhaled loudly. "What happened with Jane was what started the entire clusterfuck of last night. Jane is—" he paused, changing tones, "your friend, how attached are you to him?" He questioned, glancing down at me with a stern and possibly worrisome expression.
I frowned until I remembered what I'd said to Jane about Tristan's looks and personality, blushing as I now had confirmation that he was, in fact, listening in. Felix's eyes narrowed, prompting me to blurt out without using my brain, "Why does it matter? Jealous of his good looks and how well we get a long?" I challenged him back, watching as something glittered in his red eyes, something that made a chill run up my spine, and my fingers curl in the soft fabric of his shirt.
"No" he started slowly, calculating, causing my chin to drop down a little to hide my disappointment. But that didn't last long as he carefully lifted my face up to his with one finger, eyes searching mine. "No," he repeated then licked his lips before continuing, "last night, you called my name, needed me. And today, right now, with you plastered against me willingly and tempting, I can't fathom wanting to be anybody else."
I think my brain just short circuited.
"Oh?" I manage to squeak out, causing those killer dimples to peek out as a grin spread across his face.
"Mhmm" he conceded. "So, are you saying I need to be worried?" he asked, and with that grin still in place and our bodies smushed together, it was really difficult to even remember what we were discussing.
"N-no. No, you don't." I stammered out.
"No more boys?" he questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
"Uhh I mean there is one that I like," I hedged, starting to traced little circles with my pointer finger on his chest, unable to hold eye contact again.
"Tell me." A demand, not a plea.
"Well he's infuriatingly cryptic, doesn't say a whole lot most of the time, and somehow always shows up when I need him…" I trailed off.
I squeaked as I found myself being dragged up his hard body, up until his lips touched my ear. "Isabella," he murmured, lips brushing against me, "I can assure you that I am all man, and if you tempt me, or push me, I will have no qualms taking what is mine."
Okay. Breathe, Bella, breathe.
As if he could sense my body having gone into overdrive, he pulled me back, oh so slowly, down his body, not even trying to hide his own reaction to the recent turn of our conversation. I heard his darkle chuckle as he smoothed his hands down over my body again, big hands giving my hips a gentle squeeze before the low rumbling returned.
"Don't worry, kitten, you're safe," he said, pulling my gaze back up to his smouldering one, lips quirking up on one side as he heard my heart skittering along, "for now". He leaned his head back again, as if reigning himself in and took in a deep breath.
"Another reason you might want to cool it with your friend," he said, reminding me of what were originally talking about, "he's Jane's mate." My eyes widened in shock at the revelation that seemed to tug at a similar memory from last night, and a grin broke out on my face.
"Really?" I asked, and at his nod I giggled and sat up, "that's awesome Tristan's cool and Jane deserves someone to love her for who she is and oh my god, Felix!" I babbled on, until I felt his large hands cupping my hips again, almost wrapping all the way around.
When he grunted, I froze, "Stop. Squirming." It came out strained and desperate, and suddenly I felt a fire licking up my skin that needed to be soothed by his cool and firm touch. I lifted my chin defiantly, holding his steadily darkening eyes, and shifted ever so slightly. The newfound knowledge that it wasn't just me, that he hadn't been using me last week, but had been waiting for something, making me wonder if it just could be…me. Or me waving a metaphorical green flag. I mean you don't spend months with a bunch of half naked hormonal boys constantly bursting out of their clothes and not hear things. And by the way his body felt under mine, I knew Felix was at least interested. But how much was the question.
I was brought out of my musings by a louder growl that rumbled through him, nothing like the previous soothing sound he'd been making all morning. One second, I was presenting some sort of challenge, the next I was the one feeling like I was being tested, lying prone beneath his massive body while he looked at me like the prey we both knew I was.
"Oh kitten" he started, all hushed and deadly, "you just want to break all the rules today, hmm?" before I could answer or even nod, he skimmed a hand up my leg, grasping behind my knee and pulling it up to hitch around him, allowing him to nestle in closer to my body. I drew him in, my breath coming in gasps as he lowered his entire body down to mine, gaze falling to my lips. I bit the bottom one, trying to stave off my gasp of surprise. His answering groan caused another wave of heat to flash through me and he leaned forward and ever so carefully pulled my lip from my teeth with his own before sucking it into his mouth. Another low growl sounded as his tongue soothed the slight sting from his teeth.
Something in me seemed to snap, and suddenly I was moving, hands grasping at his shoulders, other leg coming up to try and anchor his body to mine and gasping loudly into his mouth. He took the opportunity to pushed his tongue into my mouth and we both moaned as it felt like finally giving into this clawing need that had been pushing us together since that first day.
I'd started to feel light-headed when his lips left mine to trail down my neck, nipping and sucking the skin as he went. Hard enough to pull little needy sounds from my throat, but soft enough not to leave any marks. When he hit the spot over my thundering pulse, the same one he'd zeroed in on last week, I couldn't hold back my moan.
"F—Felix" I panted, body trying but unable to arch underneath him as his hard body was effectively pinning mine to the mattress.
"Fuck. Kitten, say it again." He muttered, one hand coming up under my sweater, thumb resting just below my breast.
I groaned this time, lips parting to say just about anything, anything that would urge him to ease the heat, the ache in my body.
All of a sudden he tensed. His head hung down into my neck, breath huffing against my skin, sending shivers through my body. He cast his eyes towards my bedroom window with a look that had it been directed at me, would've haunted my worst nightmares.
"Fuck, fine. Give us a damn minute and—I don't care, she can fucking wait. After last night she's lucky I haven't interfered. I could have lost her."
Trying to keep up with just his side of whatever conversation Felix seemed to be having, my breath caught at the utter anguish on his face, so vulnerable for the first time. Even when he'd been angry before, he'd never looked so lost or devastated.
"Hey." I said, reaching up to his face, hand pausing mid air when he snapped his attention back to me. "I'm okay. I'm here. You saved me." I finished, boldly stroking my fingers across his furrowed brow which smoothed out slightly as he looked down at me protectively.
"She's lucky I've had a nice morning. Otherwise, no amount of pain she could throw at me would stop me. We all know I can endure that shit just fine." He said, attention half on my roaming fingers, half on who I guessed was Demi outside talking to him.
"One more minute or die." He said in his no argument tone. I now had his full attention once more.
He canted his head to the side, eyes studying me. "hmm, one more taste, breakfast" he whispered darkly before capturing my lips once more, only pulling away once I was gasping with a satisfied smirk.
"Time to go" he said, making me groan for an entirely different reason. In a flash, he'd returned with a glass of water and one more aspirin, "this will help keep the side effects at bay. Change if you want, Jane just arrived and she has something greasy" he wrinkled his nose, "and something friendly".
With a dramatic sigh that got that smirk of his showing briefly, I slid out of bed and tossed my hair up into a messy ponytail. Still feeling dizzy I decided to take full advantage of our new closeness, reaching up my arms as I'd done in the kitchen before. He indulged my silent request, ghosting his lips over my temple before carrying me downstairs at a human pace.
I looked down and saw Tristan sitting on the couch beside Jane, eyes wide as he took in the giant vampire cradling me to his massive chest. I waved meekly, knowing I still looked more than a little rough, and now also disheveled. Demi was leaning against the doorway between the kitchen and living room smirking slightly.
"Hey Tristan, this is Felix" I supplied, trying to sound chipper to offset Felix's threatening demeanor. At his answering gulp, I looked up at vampire holding me, scowling menacingly as he slowly lowered himself into the armchair and settled me on his lap. Usually, I'd be blushing like a fire truck, but I was too distracted to feel embarrassed. I reached up, tapping his chin, and giving him my own glare which caused his anger to melt into surprise, and mirth.
"Tristan is my friend" I started, eyes narrowing, "Jane is my sister. They are both family now. So be nice or…" I paused trying to come up with something little human Bella could to the imposing man currently wrapped around me.
"Or?" he rumbled back, gaze now challenging mine. I could feel the tension in the room as the other three waited silently, watching our stare down.
"No touching" I huffed, causing Demetri to burst into laughter. I looked over to see Jane was also smiling now, but with relief as she mouthed thank you to me. Tristan seemed confused, but still very uncomfortable as his gaze shifted between us.
I felt Felix's growl, large hands shifting, causing me to press in even closer to his chest. Without thinking, I melted into him, then huffed indignantly at his dark chuckle. "Empty threat." He stated confidently. But he seemed more at ease now, winking at my scowl before turning his attention back to the others.
"Give me the run down" he stated, gaze flickering between Jane and Demi. Jane was a little distracted, she'd shifted closer to Tristan when his discomfort around the largest vampire had shown, and was now making a sound similar to what Felix had been doing this morning as she looked at him, the hand grasping his drawing slow circles.
"One of you" he snapped.
Demi reached out and nudged Jane who looked up at Tristan. When their eyes met and they shared a look, I almost felt uncomfortable, like I was invading on a private moment between lovers. Jane spoke up, "I told him everything, he'll come back to Volterra when we all go," she started then shrugged and turned an accusing look towards Felix, "he's my mate, I told him everything." Something about the way she said it made me shift my gaze up to Felix's face.
He looked mad, and a little…caught out? It was hard to tell, but I couldn't help the burning curiosity. "Felix?" I prompted, causing him to look down at me again, gaze surprisingly a little worried as it met mine, "I have a feeling you're 'being too cryptic' thing may need to come to an end." I could just feel there was something, something more to this situation, and how I felt about him, that he needed to tell me.
"Everyone, out. Meeting is done. Jane take your mate somewhere else, don't care where." He said, not bothering to look up as his steady gaze stayed fixed on mine.
"Don't sweat it" I heard Demi speak up, "he does that a lot, you'll get used to it."
I assumed they'd all left when his eyes fell closed and he sat back with a sigh. I scramble around in his lap, straddling him so I could look into those ruby eyes.
"Out with it, all of it. No more secrets, no more games, no more hiding. I need to know, I can feel it." I said, once more placing one hand on the left side of his chest.
He studied me for what felt like forever before slowly nodding his head.
"Okay."
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There we go, a nice, long chapter! Things may be heating up now, but sadly that doesn't mean it'll be smooth sailing for these two. I debated doing a Jane POV but I might just do an outtakes side story later on…we'll see!