24th November 2013
Ireland woke up slowly, blinking her eyes and wincing as the sunlight came streaming in through the window. She was still tired and felt incredibly warm and it took her a few seconds to figure out why she was so warm: there was another person in the bed with her.
She was laid on her back and Xav was resting his head on her breasts, an arm tight around her waist and one of his legs draped over both of her own. They were both naked, skin to skin, and she felt incredibly comfortable in that moment. It was the first time she'd slept in the same bed as a guy, she normally left after the sex or made them leave, so this was new to her. It felt right though, and she didn't want to move and risk waking him up.
She looked straight up at the ceiling and without even thinking she lifted one of her arms and started gently stroking the soft tresses of Xav's dark hair. Memories came back to her of the previous night in short flashes...
Xav's lips drifted down to her neck as he undid the buttons of her jeans and Ireland willing gave her body to him to control. Already, she felt like she was going to explode and she was shivering with delight and excitement about what it would be like to make love to her soulfinder for the first time.
When Xav's eyes met hers again, she was thrilled to see that he clearly was feeling the exact same way.
Despite recognizing that look in his eyes, she couldn't stop herself from asking: "are you sure you want to do this with me?"
"Yes," his reply was instantaneous and sure. "I want to be with you, Ireland. Although I have to be honest that I'm really not thinking about what I want; I'm thinking about what I need. And right now all I need is to be inside you, to be as physically close as possible with you." He lowered his head and started planting gentle kisses on her neck and collarbone. "You can tell me to stop any time you want and I will," he whispered, his breath tickling her skin.
Ireland knew that she should probably tell him to stop, that this was moving far too quickly, but she didn't. Instead, her hands drifted to the bottom hem of his t-shirt and started to pull it off his body.
She remembered how afterwards, they had laid in the bed side by side as they gradually got their breath back, and how neither of them had said a word to each other. She didn't know about him but she hadn't spoken because she was so overwhelmed with what had happened between them.
It was quite easy for her to admit that Xav was the best she'd ever had. No other guy had felt quite as good; no other guy had focused more on her pleasure than his own; no other guy had made her orgasm, not even once. To be honest, she'd started to believe that she would never enjoy sex but Xav had certainly changed her opinion on that last night.
They still hadn't talked when Xav's phone rang ten minutes later and he told her it was Uriel asking for a lift home. Xav had left to pick his brother up without even acknowledging the life-changing event they'd shared together.
Ireland breathed in deeply as Uriel's bedroom door shut behind him. It was late and he'd gone to bed halfway through the movie the three of them had been watching on the sofa together. Now that he was gone and it was just her and Xav again for the first time since he and Uriel had got back to the apartment, she was tingling all over with nerves.
Was she supposed to not mention what had happened? Was she supposed to be acting differently around him? Would he expect her to apologize for letting it happen? Would he tell her that it could never happen again?
"You're going to make yourself bleed."
Ireland looked at Xav in confusion before realizing she was biting down hard on her bottom lip. She released it and shrugged. "It's fine."
"You've been really quiet this evening," he mentioned. "Was it my family? Are you still thinking of them? It's probably Vick, right? I've never known him to back out on a threat but... Well, hopefully he'll come around and decide not to arrest you."
"That's not what I'm thinking about," she shook her head. "You know what, never mind. I think I'm just going to go to bed." She stood up but was instantly pulled back down onto the sofa as Xav gripped her wrist. She landed awkwardly, her legs over his. He shifted them both easily so that she was laid on the sofa and he was holding his body over hers. "What the hell are you doing?"
He smirked. "I think you know what I'm doing, Ireland. I've been dying to kiss you again for hours now, it's all I could think about. I don't even know what movies we just watched. I don't know what has happened to me but suddenly I've become obsessed with you." He nuzzled his nose into her neck before kissing her there. He pulled back to look into her eyes again. "You can't tell me you don't feel something pulling us together. I don't want to think about your past or Vick's threat, I just want this. I just want us."
He pressed his lips against hers, slipping his tongue into her mouth when she gasped. It didn't take her long to reach up and grip his shoulders as she kissed him back, feeling far more inexperienced than she actually was. "Let me take you back to bed," he mumbled, his look burning her skin. "I need to be with you again. Please, Ireland."
She gulped and nodded her head.
Her hand stilled its stroking, fingers tangled in his hair. God, she really had had sex with him twice... Usually she wouldn't even think about it after she'd had sex with a guy because it never really meant anything to her, but with Xav it had meant something. She didn't know what, she just knew that it felt more special – most likely simply because he was her soulfinder and there was a link between them that couldn't be destroyed.
She didn't regret being with him, but she was still unsure and cautious about it. She still didn't know who she wanted to side with now she didn't have something else controlling her mind – the Benedicts and the net or her dad – and she didn't want to get too attached to Xav in case she did one day leave him. Getting too attached and then leaving would not only hurt her, but it would also hurt Xav and she didn't want that because he was a decent guy. He'd proved that when he'd given her a chance so easily.
She wondered to herself: will Xav regret being with me when he wakes up and realizes what we did? Yes, he started it both times last night but he wasn't thinking things through, he'd admitted that, and she felt genuinely scared that he'd regret it and say that he hated her like his family did. She told herself that he was a Benedict, that she wasn't supposed to care what he thought of her, but the reminder didn't work like it would have before yesterday.
When she felt Xav start to stir, she stopped breathing. He lifted his head, keeping his arm and leg over her body, and drowsily looked at her. Her fingers were still in his hair and she couldn't make herself let go. He was simply looking at her and Ireland was impatiently waiting for a reaction out of him.
A huge, elated grin spread across his face and Ireland let out a loud breath. She felt more relieved than she'd expected to be. "Morning," he said cheerfully. "You're beautiful."
"Are you always like this in the morning?" She grimaced.
"Like what?" He raised his eyebrows.
"This... So happy and awake straight away. What the hell is wrong is with you?"
Xav laughed freely and said, "I'm guessing you're not a morning person? I love mornings. Well, I love mornings when I've had a long, good night's sleep. I especially love mornings when I wake up with a pretty girl."
Ireland rolled her eyes, a smile appearing on her face. She tried to ignore the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach when he said that. "That must be the cheesiest thing you've ever said to me. If you're hoping flattery will get me to make you breakfast or something, you can think again. It's not going to happen."
"You're right, that's exactly what I was after. Damn it! I can't believe you saw through me," he joked sarcastically. They both laughed but stopped a short second later when they heard a noise in the living room. It took them a moment to figure out what it was. "That'll be Uri getting ready for work."
"Shit, do you think he heard us last night?" She was embarrassed at the thought. "Oh God."
Xav shrugged. "I'm not sure. He might have, you were pretty loud," he winked. "Either way, he'll know that I'm in here because it's usually him that wakes me up in the morning when I'm on the sofa. I don't care to be honest, I'm not ashamed of what happened."
"You're not?" She asked tentatively, her fears from earlier returning. "I thought you might regret it once you had a chance to think about it. I mean, you know, because of how your family feel about me and what I've done in my past. I thought that you might still hate me."
"I don't hate you," he said gently, removing his arm from her waist and stroking her cheek with his fingertips. "I don't even think I really hated you at first either, I just thought that I did. Even back then, I might not have liked you very much but I felt sorry for you and just wanted to help you. Now that we know the truth about what was in your mind, it makes me want to work on us more than ever.
"I'm happy that we were together last night, Ireland; I don't regret it. I know that having sex doesn't make things perfect but at least it's a start. I really want to try and make this work somehow. I'm not ready to give up on you just yet."
She smiled sadly at him, thinking about her dad and the real reason she was here with Xav. "I'm glad you don't regret it," was the only thing she managed to say to him.
"Listen, Ireland. I need to know..." he hesitated. It looked to her like he was scared to broach whatever subject he was about to. "Have you decided what you'll do at the end of the week? With Victor, I mean. He will arrest you if you don't tell him where your dad is, I don't doubt him."
"I don't know what I'm going to do yet," she whispered, telling him the truth. "I don't want to be arrested but... He's my dad, Xav."
"I understand that," he nodded. "I can't force you to tell him, I don't want you to hold it against me for the rest of our lives."
"What will happen between us if your brother arrests me?"
"I have no idea and I don't want to think about it yet. I'm hoping that it won't come to that but I get that you don't want to betray your dad, even if I don't like it. Seeing as you feel this loyalty towards him still, do you ever think about going back to him?"
"I miss him. He was never a great dad towards me but that's just who he is. I always hated my life with him though, I never want to go back," she replied. Her face fell after because she wasn't sure whether she was telling the truth or not. In her gut, it felt like the truth and that worried her so much because she'd never once thought about how she hated her life with him before. Never. This was a revelation to her but she still felt like she needed to go back to him at the end of this, that she needed to follow his orders still.
"I'm glad you don't want to go back." His eyes drifted over to the clock on the beside table and he sighed. "I have a lecture in half an hour, I should start getting ready otherwise I'll be late." He looked back down at her and smirked, his fingertips skimming down her waist. "I'd really rather stay here with you but unfortunately it's an important lesson today that I can't miss."
"Well I suggest you get out of bed then," she laughed and pushed on his chest. "I'm not going to be the reason you fail."
"Okay, okay," he laughed and got out of the bed.
Ireland stayed in bed as Xav got a quick shower and got changed. Before he left, he gave her a soft kiss and Ireland was smiling to herself when she heard the front door close behind him. It felt so normal having her soulfinder kiss her goodbye before he left for the day and she found that she really, really liked it.
Vivienne Buchanan rolled her eyes and silently chuckled to herself as one of the squirrel monkeys climbed up onto her shoulder. "Hello mister," she smiled at him. She had always loved animals and although back in Wales it'd been more farm animals that she'd worked with, she'd taken to working in the zoo in Denver quickly. Viv had her savant power of healing, but she also had a secondary minor power: to control the emotions of animals. Because of this, animals tended to be drawn to her like a moth to a flame and she adored it. She loved her job and enjoyed it every single day.
She looked over at her work partner Uriel and frowned. She'd known him for about eleven months now and she knew him well enough to know when something was bothering him. He had tried to make it look like nothing was wrong, but she saw the slump in his posture and the sadness in his eyes.
The monkey jumped off her as she walked over to the corner of the enclosure Uriel was cleaning out and put her hand on his shoulder. "Tell me what's wrong," she ordered. "Don't lie to me, I know there's something on your mind. You know that I can't stand it when you're in a bad mood and that I'll get you to talk eventually, so you might as well just spit it out."
He looked up, his blue eyes meeting hers. Viv gulped and forced herself not to look away. God, his eyes always managed to affect her. He was so beautiful, yet so sad deep down, and it was a wonder to her how he seemed surprised when girls paid him attention. That's if he noticed, of course. He could be pretty oblivious about all that.
He was still oblivious to how she felt about him, she was sure of it. Viv wasn't scared to admit to herself that she was so in love with Uriel, but she was scared to admit it to him. She knew that she didn't stand a chance. Uriel had told her about his life and she knew that his heart still belonged to his ex-girlfriend Hazel.
Vivienne had met Hazel once, briefly, and she was stunning. It was no surprise Uriel was so hooked on her.
"Talk to me," she said to him gently, hoping that he'd open up to her. "Please."
Uriel sighed and rested his hands on the top of his sweeping brush. He was quiet for a few seconds before he finally nodded. She breathed a sigh of relief when he started speaking. "Last night I was reading in bed and I heard my brother having sex with his soulfinder. I didn't listen of course, I put my headphones on, but I still knew what was going on."
"You're jealous," she surmised. It came to her instinctively. He was her best friend, she knew how he thought and how his heart worked. "You're jealous that he has his soulfinder and has that sort of intimate relationship with her. You wish that you had that."
"Yes," his voice broke on the word as he nodded. He looked at her again and she saw tears in his eyes. "Is it bad that I mostly want to find my soulfinder just so I have something to take my mind off Hazel? And still, I don't know if my soulfinder will be enough to make me happy because she won't be her. I know that I told Vick and Hazel to be together and I'm glad that I did because I want them both to be happy but I still keep dreaming that she'll wake up one day and want to be with me again. I feel so guilty for having those thoughts. It just hurts so much, Viv. You have no idea what it's like to be in love with somebody that doesn't love you back because they love someone else."
That's what you think, she thought to herself. "Oh Uriel," she quietly said. Her heart ached for him. She hated to see him like this and wished that out of all the things she knew about him, she also knew how to comfort him over Hazel. She gave him a hug before releasing him and smiling at him. "There's a girl out there who is destined to be with you, who will love you with all her being. When you meet her, you'll realize that she's more than enough to help you let go of Hazel. Just you wait."
"I hope you're right," he wiped tears from his cheeks, trying to compose himself. "I just don't see how it could ever happen."
"You want to do something tonight?" She blurted out, her entire face blushing as she realized what she'd said. "I mean, it just might be good for you to be away from your brother and his soulfinder for a few hours. I'll get a babysitter and we could go the cinemas and then for something to eat. It'll be fun."
Please say yes, she silently begged him. It would be like their first date, at least to her anyway. Maybe this would be her chance to prove to him that Hazel wasn't the only girl out there for him. They always said that they were best friends but hardly ever hung out together outside of work and she wanted just one night with him. That's all she was asking for.
Uriel shook his head and it felt like her heart was going to break in two. "Thanks Viv, but I think I'll just go for an early night. I'm not really in the mood for a night out."
He grabbed his supplies and moved over to the other side of the enclosure to clean it. Watching him, Viv sent a prayer out to whatever God may be listening. She prayed that Uriel's soulfinder would come along soon and put a smile back on his face. It would hurt her to see him with somebody else but if he was happy, she knew that she'd be able to cope.
Uriel just didn't deserve to be this unhappy.
Ireland was smiling to herself as she walked around the supermarket, pushing the trolley in front of her and occasionally putting items in.
With both boys working today it was down to her to do the food shopping. Seeing as she had no money of her own, Uriel and Xav had given her money and all three had worked on a shopping list together so she knew what they needed and wanted.
Not that long ago, she'd been cursing domesticated life and saying that it was boring and there was no way she'd do it for the rest of her life. Now though, she was finding that she liked certain aspects of it and she liked how ordinary it felt. She was enjoying doing the food shopping as if she were just a normal person and not defined by her surname and it made her so full of joy to know something definite about her true personality, no matter how small and simple it was.
It was something. She'd take anything she could get if it meant she got to know who she was.
She turned down the aisle with yoghurts on and froze halfway down when she saw the man at the end of the aisle. He wasn't looking at her and was instead looking at the shelves of food. He was tall and dressed all in black, with a red mohawk and thick black beard. He had an empty shopping basket in his left hand.
Although he was ignoring her, Ireland recognized him. His name was Ed and he worked for Oliver. She continued walking, trying to casually walk past him without drawing attention to herself. As she passed him, he slipped a note into her trolley. When she turned around, he was already strolling down the aisle with his back to her.
She had been a little stupid to think he was here to shop and not here for her, she thought to herself. Her hands shaking, she grabbed the folded paper and opened it, recognizing her father's handwriting straight away before she read it:
Ireland, my dear daughter.
One of my men, the trusted ones I have watching out for you, reported that he saw through your bedroom window you getting intimate with Xavier Benedict. Well done, that's a very well thought out and good step to take. It will make you more likely to gain his complete trust, playing with his emotions like that.
I am proud of you, although I am a little disappointed it is only a small step that you've taken. I'd like better results, Ireland. I want to see the Benedict family hurting.
This isn't a holiday for you; get some real work done.
That night, Ireland lay awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep. She was too busy thinking about the most recent note she'd received from her dad. Of course, she'd thrown it in a bin outside the supermarket but she still remembered what it had said. Basically, she was being praised and told off at the same time. Oliver thought she'd planned to have sex with Xav to play with his emotions – he probably hadn't even considered that she didn't have the personalities controlling her anymore and she might have had sex with Xav just because she wanted to. She might have been that manipulative once, but not anymore.
Oliver wanted more though. He wanted to actually see the family hurting. He wanted Saul Benedict dead, that's what he was hinting at her to do.
Ireland jumped out of her skin when a knock on the bedroom door broke the night's silence. She clambered out of the bed and turned the light on before opening the door. "Sorry if I woke you up," Xav said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "I couldn't sleep."
"You didn't wake me up," was all she replied with.
"Oh. Good. Well um, I was wondering if I could sleep in here with you? I slept really well last night and now I can't sleep on the sofa, it's too uncomfortable. It's fine if you say no though."
"No, of course you can. Come in," she stepped back so he could come into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. "It's the least I could do, I'm the reason you're on the sofa in the first place."
"No, my family is for not letting us stay at my home," he corrected her.
He stepped closer to her and a second later, they were kissing. Even now, the kiss felt new and magical. She felt his hands slide under her tee and felt his palms on the skin of her hips. Immediately, she pulled away, her eyes drifting over to the window. "What's wrong?" Xav asked her.
Without a word, Ireland walked over to the window and looked down at the street before over at the apartment building across the street. Her dad's men must be renting a place over there, there was no way they'd see into the bedroom from the street far down below even with binoculars. It was creepy and pervy that they'd seen her having sex and it made her feel uncomfortable. She quickly closed the curtains and spun around to face Xav again, taking in the confusion on his face.
"I don't want to have sex," she said to him. "Not again, not right now. I want things to be good between us Xav, just like you do, but I don't want that to be based solely on sex. I don't think we should take things that far again yet, it's moving too fast."
Xav nodded, confusion replaced by a smile. "Okay. You're probably right anyway, it is a bit too quick. We'll take it slowly and just sleep in the same bed, nothing more. Alright?"
Ireland nodded, pleased that he wasn't mad that she didn't want to have sex with him. Xav turned the bedroom light off and they got into the bed together, settling down into a comfortable position. Feeling him behind her, his front pressed right against the back of her, with his arm around her waist, made Ireland relax and made all thoughts of her father leave her mind.
She fell asleep easily at last.
Author's note: I wasn't going to include the scene with Uriel and Vivienne in as it isn't really relevant to the plot, but Uriel's story will be the next one I do so I just wanted to kind of introduce Viv's POV and show her and Uri together again.
Hope you liked the chapter, please leave reviews xxx
A hint about the next chapter: Somebody is killed.