WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT OF A SEXUAL NATURE BETWEEN CONSENTING ADULTS. IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SMUT, DON'T READ. BUT HEY, YOU DO YOU.

"Am I really less interesting than whatever is flashing away on your screen?"

Eliana blindly walked ahead, with a hand on her shoulder occasionally steering her away from any walls before she could collide into them head on. Her phone was held landscape in front of her as she tapped away at her screen.

Aro opened the heavy door to his quarters and sighed as she absently wandered in. "Earth to Eliana."

"Hold on, I've just got to . . ." She trailed off as she sat on the edge of his bed, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, even oblivious to Aro removing his suit jacket, shoes, and tie. ". . . My high score on this game is 768 and I'm nearly there . . ."

"Couldn't you do this tomorrow?" he questioned.

"My streak ends, uh . . . in a few minutes, and then I get no more of those, er . . . those things, I don't know . . ."

"Bonus gifts," he finished.

She nodded her head, her tired eyes glued to her screen. "765 . . . 766 . . . 767 — no, Aro, NO!"

Her hands were suddenly empty. She looked up to find him standing directly in front of her with nothing but crumbled pieces of metal and glass in his hand. He casually deposited the remains on a small side table and wiped his palms clean for effect.

"Oh, amore, don't look at me like that." He tilted her chin up, closing her mouth in the process, although her eyebrows were still raised and her eyes wide. "You'll catch flies."

Her eyebrows furrowed together further. ". . . Aro, what the fu –"

"I'll buy you a new phone, there's no need to get yourself worked up," Aro replied humouredly. Evidently, this was a far worse issue in her mind than in his. "I hear Apple is releasing a new mobile phone this year anyway, so consider that other device outdated."

After a moment, she groaned and lay back on his bed. "I almost beat my high score though!" she protested.

He lay down beside her, both of them staring up at the ceiling. "Once you've lived for a few millennia, you'll realise that you have more than plenty of time to engage in mundane and meaningless tasks."

"Who said talking to you isn't a mundane and — Aro, I was kidding!"

Before he could make much of an attempt in getting up, he'd been rather weakly been held down by her, one arm and leg over him to hold him closer to her. Her head was nestled against his shoulder.

"You're unbearable," he muttered, only half-joking. "But I still love you anyway."

"'Unbearable' my arse," Eliana whispered bitterly under her breath. "You're lucky to have me."

He hummed lightly in agreement. "That I suppose I am."

She kissed him then. It was hesitant, as she found herself nearly always, but as he gently reciprocated the kiss, his cold hands moving to her thighs to pull her on top of him, that hesitancy seemed to almost vanish completely. Her hips involuntarily grinded against him just in time for him to flip her underneath him, with her legs forced apart for him to settle between them. Feeling the pillows under her head, she suspected that they'd moved further towards the centre of the bed.

Their lips separated for enough time for her to take some deep breaths, but it wasn't long before he began to trail kisses along her jaw instead. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes.

"Weren't you the one who said no to this stuff?" Eliana reminded him.

"Using my own words against me, hm?" His voice sent a deep vibration against her neck. "There are exceptions to every rule."

"And the exception here?" she asked.

His hands slid under her top. "That we have all the time in the world to not be doing this later. And I want to. Unless, of course, you don't feel –"

"No, I do," she interrupted him. "I do. I want to."

Those words and her thoughts were all the encouragement Aro needed. The sudden cold sensation she felt across her arms and torso indicated that her top had been removed during that time, but it was difficult to tell when he was blocking her view and kissing her so hard that she felt as though she would faint. One of his hands traced along her bare skin and up towards her breasts, while the other tugged her shorts off and tossed them aside.

"You're nervous."

It wasn't a question, but a blatant statement.

"I'm not," she dismissed.

He shook his head as he began to rub her through her underwear. "Not reluctant or hesitant, simply nervous. But you needn't be." At that moment, a small change in pressure through his fingers sent a strong wave of pleasure through her that was instantly visible on her face as she moaned under her breath, still trying to pay some attention to his words. "I know you better than you even know yourself," he murmured, his voice smug. "I promise, you're in safe hands."

She shakily nodded her head. "I trust you."

"And that is all I could ask for," he answered reassuringly. His hand which had been on her bare chest reached up to her face, his thumb gently caressing her cheek.

Then she felt his hand leave her face again. In fact, she could feel hardly any of his weight on her at all. It was only once she glanced down that she briefly saw him tear her underwear away as if it was made of nothing at all and leave a small trail of kisses up the inside of her thigh.

Simply through the hand that was wrapped around one of her bare thighs, Aro knew that she was aware of exactly what he was planning to do. Her heartbeat increased, both in slight nervousness and anticipation. Pure adrenaline coursed through her veins; it took some effort to stop her legs from reflexively closing.

The moment his cold tongue brushed against her clitoris, she gasped and fell further into the pillows. "Oh shit . . ."

Encouraged by how she was responding, he continued to move his tongue at a precise angle he knew would send her over the edge in a matter of seconds. She was already so close, her arms above her head, her hands squeezing the pillow beneath her, and her hips attempting to move, although they were being completely restrained by his arm.

He felt like he could watch this all night. He could, really, leave her on just the edge of orgasm all night, but judging how tired she already was, he wasn't certain she'd last that long through any kind of orgasm denial before falling asleep.

Besides, there was more than plenty of time for that kind of fun at a later date.

Her fingers curled tighter and her lips parted as small whimpers left her mouth. "Aro, please, o-oh . . ."

Without warning or realisation that she had been quite that close in the first place, she came hard with a sharp moan of his name. Her hips began to jerk and her spine arch off the mattress, only for him to hold her firmly in place.

It was with one final swipe of his tongue across her still sensitive bundle of nerves that she exhaled shakily and settled back again. Her limbs felt so tired and limp, and her eyes were half-lidded, barely considered open.

With a small brush of air beside her, she knew Aro had comfortably settled next to her. He immediately pulled her naked body closer to him and carefully caressed her aching muscles that certainly hadn't been made any better through his handiwork.

He could get used to this. Silence generally wasn't something he enjoyed, but with Eliana held in his arms, her breaths sharp and frequent and a warm afterglow visible on her pale face, this could satisfy him for an eternity.

"That was a workout," she muttered after a quiet few minutes.

He laughed under his breath. "And, as much as I'd like to tell you that that was only the beginning, you need to sleep now, cara mia."

"I don't even have the energy to argue with you," she sighed. As the slight chill of the room began to raise the hairs on her skin, she felt him move them both under the covers in a single movement. "What about my wrist? You said I couldn't do anything that could injure it further."

"And I think you'll find that not once did I touch your poor wrist," he reminded her. "If I thought there was a chance that you could be hurt, I would have never even suggested taking things that far, bellissima."

"And what about your –"

She had no chance to finish her sentence before he tilted her chin up and looked her dead in the eyes. "No."

"But I can –"

"You can, but you won't," he argued calmly. "First of all, remove that internalised idea that you always must reciprocate sexual gratification. You don't owe us anything, ever. And second of all, amore mio, not tonight." He gently kissed her forehead and pulled her head to his chest, feeling the soft thudding of her heart finally begin to even out. "Maybe tomorrow, if you'd like, and possibly if you physically feel in a better condition, but not tonight."

"I still want to move here," she mumbled. "I'm just telling you now before I forget."

"You do?" Aro asked. "Are you completely certain?"

Eliana's head nodded. "I'll transfer universities to one out here, I think Pisa looks nice, so I can finish my degree, and I won't have any kind of bond pain or general longing to deal with. Just, y'know, me . . . and you . . ." She paused to yawn, "and the other two . . ."

"Maybe let's discuss this tomorrow –"

"But can I?" she interrupted.

He sighed a little. "Of course you can, and as soon or late as you'd like," he answered, slightly amused. "Now go to sleep, Eliana, or I'll send you to sleep myself."

"You can do that?" she asked, with an eyebrow raised.

That point was proven when she felt a sharp yet precise pinch on the soft flesh of her right shoulder. Her eyes closed fully and her thoughts became blank without so much as a full warning.

Aro ran a hand through her hair. "Dormi bene," he murmured, regardless of whether she could hear him or not.


"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?!"

"Like you're one to talk!"

"You greedy bastard, you were supposed to –"

"Enough!"

Marcus' slightly raised voice was enough to silence both of the other two leaders, but also apparently enough to disturb Eliana. She lightly groaned and shifted against Aro.

"Ssh . . ." Aro purred against her as he rhythmically brushed his fingers through her hair. She immediately settled again.

Caius narrowed his eyes at him and the scent of her that still lingered. "Couldn't you at least wash your mouth out afterwards, preferably with soap?" he murmured. "Or are you just that much of a bastard?"

"Oh, brother, that accusation hardly feels fair," Aro responded. Caius rolled his eyes. "Jealousy isn't a good look on you, Caius."

"It's his only look nowadays." Marcus narrowly dodged the punch that was aimed at his face, and instead retaliated with a perfect punch in the gut that left Caius wincing for a few seconds. "But now that you've proven your point adequately, maybe it would be wise to clean yourself up. I'll keep an eye on Eliana –"

"No one is falling for your tricks, brother," Caius snapped. The water in the bathroom opposite was already running. "You know Eliana isn't wearing anything, you're just –"

"My intentions towards my mate are nothing but pure, as they will always be," Marcus bit out. The calm man's very slight trace of anger caused Caius to take a small step back. "I care for her wellbeing just as much as you do. Don't let yourself forget that."

The steady increase in noise had yet again caused the girl to stir. Eliana made a small confused whimper as she began to shift under the covers uncomfortably.

Caius sighed in mild exasperation and moved to lie beside her. The moment her face was pressed up against his chest, she went still once more, with quiet snores following just a few seconds later.

"She still wants to move here," Aro informed them as he leaned against the bathroom doorway with his arms folded over his chest.

Caius nodded. "I heard. And?"

"I was going to suggest the end of this week," he explained. "Sunday, perhaps. Saturday evening could work, but Sunday would be ideal –"

"Stop talking in circles and get to the point, for goodness sake," Caius grumbled.

"You don't seem to fully approve of the idea," Marcus noted, "do you?"

"I do," Aro countered, "I do. My only concern is for her safety here. But that concern is irrelevant if this is what she truly wants."

"Then it's decided," he concluded. "I think it would be wise for her to do this unaccompanied, if possible. Give her a few days to wrap things up, figuratively speaking. It'll give her a chance to be certain about her decision."

"Or, just wildly suggesting here, we could ask Eliana once she is awake and allow her to be part of the decision-making process herself," Caius interjected, somewhat sarcastic. He then briefly glanced at his wristwatch and sighed. "Fuck. The Ukrainian coven is arriving in 5 minutes."

"Okay. Then get out of my bed to greet them," Aro deadpanned, "unless you plan to do so with the additional accessory of a naked woman."

Caius hummed a short laugh. "Don't tempt me."


By the time Eliana awoke again, she'd been asleep for over 10 hours. Narrow beams of sunlight shone through small gaps in the thick drapes that covered the windows.

She sat up slowly and yawned. As she stretched her legs, she saw Aro across the room buckling his belt and putting on a dark maroon waistcoat faster than her eyes could keep up with.

"Good morning, I guess?" Eliana mumbled as she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm.

Aro briefly smiled at her as he disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared in under a second. "Hello, piccola." He then gave her a little appraising look. "Now this is a sight I could get used to."

Eliana felt that the look she was being given didn't even come close to matching how icky she was feeling. "I need a shower," she muttered groggily. "And food. And some clothes would be nice."

"I'll have some clothing brought up, and you may help yourself to the bathroom," he responded. "I'm afraid I have a prior commitment to attend to this morning, but feel free to rest here for as long as you'd like."

"What about Caius or Marcus?" she asked.

"This is one of those rare occasions that requires a full throne room," he told her. As he stepped towards the bed, his hand slid up to cup her cheek and caress her jaw with his thumb. "Do you promise not to burn this room down while I'm gone?"

She nodded slowly in thought. ". . . Yeah, I think that's manageable."

"Good." His lips briefly brushed against hers in a chaste kiss. "Get some more sleep, bellissima. If all goes as it should, I'll be back in less than an hour."

A small laugh left her lips. "You're such a busybody."

"It's in the job title," Aro retorted with a light kiss on the top of her head. "Ti amo, cara mia. Don't get yourself hurt."

"I can't make any promises."

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Author's note: I can't lie, it's been a busy few months with coursework assignments and moving into a new flat etc, so I do apologise for how long it's taken me to get this written. Bit embarrassing really to be honest. Whoops. Slay.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading, stay safe, and ily lots!