Previously in "Pages in Between", Aubrey passes away in her sleep, and Klaus and Caroline break the news to Liam and Carrie.
Chapter Sixteen
Later that Night – New York
Vicki was reading a book in the library of the home that she'd shared with Zane when she felt herself being shifted into a seating position from her previous position of her legs and shoulders sprawled out over the arms. "Zane," she said before getting cut off by his mouth crashing to hers.
Zane growled playfully against her lips and pulled away momentarily to say, "Still need that distraction, Vicki?"
She nodded and pulled his head back down to hers.
Zane kissed her passionately and urgently, running his hands up and down her body.
Vicki pushed him toward the bookshelf nearest to him, and Zane turned them around, his fingers sifting into her dark blonde hair and tilting her head back.
Vicki moaned against his lips as she felt him tilting her head back. The raw passion that was burning all around them was just as hot as it was when they were still married, perhaps even hotter.
"I need you, Zane," she whispered when his mouth moved down her cheek and into her neck, which she arched to assist him. Zane nodded and leaned back then pulled his shirt up and off, throwing it onto the floor behind him.
Vicki undid the buttons of her blouse and threw it on the floor. She also took off her skirt and threw it on the floor by her discarded blouse, leaving her bra and panties for Zane to remove. Zane licked his lips at the sight of her and attacked her lips again, reaching behind her to undo the clasps of her bra, caressing her breasts gently before leaning down to capture one of her nipples with his mouth, suckling on it.
Picking her up, Zane carried her up the stairs and into his bedroom, which used to be theirs.
Once in the room, Zane carried Vicki to the bed, following her onto the cool sheets.
She wrapped her arms around his neck then pushed him onto his back.
Once she had Zane on his back, Vicki kissed down his chest until she got to his pants, loosening his belt and undoing the button and zipper.
Zane groaned and let his hands move into her hair as she went further down.
Vicki pulled down Zane's pants and underwear, licking her lips before moving up and taking his hands into hers, helping him take off her panties before she straddled him, gliding him into her and began gyrate her hips against him. Zane smiled and began to thrust in time with her gyrations, slow at first, but then gradually picked up speed, wanting to enjoy the moment.
The Next Morning…
Riley arrived at his childhood home and went inside without knocking.
Vicki heard footsteps downstairs and, throwing on her housecoat, went to see who it was. When she saw Riley, she put her hand on her heart. "Oh, Riley, you startled me there for a second."
"Sorry, Mom," he told her with an apologetic smile. He glanced around. "What are you doing here anyway?"
Vicki bit her lip. "I was…just looking for some pictures of Aubrey to display at the funeral."
Her son stepped closer and sniffed her. "You smell like Dad. Oh my god you two are back together, aren't you? That's why you're here, isn't it? You wanted Dad back," he said, grinning when he stepped back.
Vicki was about to reply when Zane appeared, also dressed in a housecoat. He kissed her neck and when he saw Riley, he said, "Hey there, sport."
"Hi, Dad," his son replied. "Are you and Mom really back together? I didn't get an answer from her."
Zane smiled and pulled Vicki into his arms. "Yes, Riley, we are. Even though it was originally supposed to be a distraction from her grief over your sister, something happened that made us realize that we could give this another go."
Vicki was surprised by this but smiled at her ex-husband and kissed him softly on the lips.
Riley watched his parents kiss and smiled. He then looked up toward heaven and whispered, "Thank you, Aubrey, for bringing our parents back together."
Just then, there was another knock on the front door and Riley went to answer it, hugging his grandma Kelly.
Kelly returned her grandson's hug. "How have you been holding up, Riley?"
"It's been rough, but I'm trying to cope," he replied. "My girlfriend, Penny, is also a big help."
Vicki spoke up then. "Hello, Mom."
"Hello, Vicki," her mother replied. "How are you?" She noticed Zane in his housecoat and then her daughter in hers. "Okay, did I miss something here? Why are you two dressed in bathrobes?"
Vicki blushed. "Well, um, I came down to make breakfast for Riley when he got here, and Zane had just taken a shower," she lied through her teeth.
Kelly raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I was born yesterday, Victoria Marie? I can tell you're lying. You know how? Your eye is twitching and you're blushing, which means you're not being honest with me."
Zane laughed. "Okay, Kelly, you caught us. Vicki and I…well, we had both grief sex and make up in the same night."
His words made Vicki blush even more. "Stop it, Zane! You're not helping!"
"What? I'm only telling her the truth," her ex-husband replied.
Vicki sighed and shook her head. "I know, and I appreciate it." She looked at her mother. "Yes, Mom, Zane and I did make up last night. We realized that we were better together than we are apart. I just wish it didn't have to take Aubrey's death for that to happen, because I feel like calling her and telling her about it, but I know I can't."
Zane hugged her to him from behind and she turned around, squeezing his back gently through the silk of his robe.
Salvatore Summer Estate – That Same Moment…
Liam dried his hair and body as soon as he stepped out of the shower. He was still numb from hearing about Aubrey, but he was calmer than he was before. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked into the bedroom he and Carrie shared, where he saw her standing in the doorway, her eyes red from crying. His heart breaking at the sight of her, Liam went over to her and hugged her, running his fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to just walk away from you like that and not let you comfort me."
"No, Liam, it's all right," she replied. "Your mother told me to let you be so that you could think about your memories of Aubrey, since you guys used to date before we got back together."
"It's not all right," Liam said. "True, I needed space to reflect, but at the same time, I was selfish. We should've mourned her together."
"Who says we can't?" Carrie said. "Liam, we can still mourn her together. She was part of both of us."
Liam had to smile at this. He liked the way his fiancé thought about their needs together.
Carrie stepped back and took his face in her hands, massaging his cheeks. "I love you, Liam. We'll get through this together, I promise you."
Liam nodded and placed his hands on top of hers. "I love you too." He leaned in and kissed her softly. "And I have no doubt in my mind that we'll get through this together."
Carrie kissed him one more time then stepped back. "Let's go shopping!" she said excitedly.
Liam smiled at her and kissed her again. "That sounds like a fine idea, love. While we're there, we can buy an anniversary gift for my parents."
"Oh, yes, definitely." She eyed him up and down. "As much as I like the sight of you with just a towel on, I doubt the people in town will appreciate it."
Liam looked down at himself and realized she was right. "I'll get dressed then."
With that being said, he excused himself and went to get some clothes on.
Later…
Liam held Carrie's hand as they walked into an older-looking shop that had vintage dresses.
Carrie was in awe of the dresses in the shop, examining the hem of a few of them.
"Those are beautiful," she remarked. "One of them even looks like the one Audrey Hepburn wore in Roman Holiday; doesn't it?"
Liam smiled. "I think you'd look ravishing in that one."
"I think so too. I'm going to go try it on," she said before gently removing it from the rack and heading toward the dressing rooms in the back.
Liam waited as Carrie tried on the dress. When she came out, he felt his jaw go slack. "Wow, you look beautiful."
Carrie smiled. "Thank you."
Back at the house, Alexis Salvatore was sprawled out on the bed with her laptop on her lap when she looked up and saw her mother coming in.
Rebekah smiled at her daughter. "Are you emailing your friends back home?"
Alexis nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of quiet in the house. Liam and Carrie are out shopping, Aunt Care and Uncle Nik went to Venice for the day, I don't know what Aunt Elena and Uncle Damon are doing, and I guess Damian, Dominic, Juliet and Katie are outside by the pool with Ana, Christian, Lily and Sebastian." Curiously, she added, "What are you up to, Mom?"
"Nothing," Rebekah said. "Your father is on the phone with your Aunt Lexi, so I thought I'd see how you were."
"I'm doing fine. I was just telling Tanya about one of the cute Italian boys I met today while I was out," Alexis told her mom. Rebekah was suddenly intrigued and scooted up until she was sitting next to her daughter.
Rebekah smiled at her daughter. "Tell me more about this boy you met today. Is he as cute as your father?"
"His name is Paulo. I met him when one of the other guys 'accidentally' bumped me into the water," Alexis replied with a big, dopey grin.
Rebekah nodded. "Which one of the guys did it?"
"Not sure," Alexis said. "I think it might have been Damian or Dominic. You know how goofy they are."
Her mother nodded again before turning to the doorway when Stefan appeared. "Guess who is on her way here," he said. Alexis squealed and put her laptop aside, hugging her father on the way out of her bedroom.
Alexis smiled at her father. "YAY, Aunt Lexi is coming!"
Stefan grinned, knowing that she loved Lexi, since she'd been named for the other blonde. Stefan nodded. "Yes, your Aunt Lexi is coming to visit us. I know she's looking forward to seeing you."
"We can go shopping and I can tell her about Paulo!" Alexis said excitedly.
Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Who is she talking about?"
Rebekah giggled. "She's talking about Paulo. The boy she met today."
Stefan shakes his head. "Just be careful, Alexis Rayne," he told his daughter before kissing his daughter's forehead.
Alexis nodded. "I will, Daddy." She kissed her father's cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart," said Stefan. "You and your brothers are and always will be my most precious possessions."
"What about me?" Rebekah asked with a pout from the bed. Stefan grinned then hugged his daughter one more time before heading toward his wife.
Stefan took Rebekah's hands, lifted her off the bed, and pulled her into his arms, kissing her. "You're also my most precious possession, Bekah."
Rebekah giggled and returned his kiss. "That's good to know. I almost thought you were leaving me out."
"I would never leave you out of anything," Stefan said. "We're partners for life."
Alexis rolled her eyes. "You two are worse than Aunt Elena, Uncle Damon, Aunt Care and Uncle Nik combined."
"And what's wrong with that, Alexis?" Rebekah said with a grin at her husband.
Stefan looked at his daughter. "Yes, Alexis, what's wrong with that?"
"I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with it," she replied. "It's just that they sound like they're in romantic comedies when they talk to each other the way you're talking to each other now." She tapped her finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, Carrie and Liam do that too."
Author's Note: We hoped that you enjoyed seeing one more younger sibling make their appearance. We'll probably see more of Alexis (and maybe Paulo) soon!