Kissing Alec was like silence.
The kind of quiet that stirs a drumroll in your soul.
We were the silence of the battlefield, the empty space before the clang of armour and the stillness in the middle of a city just before the dawn. It was New Years Eve, the buzz in the air at the start of the countdown and the first breath you take before the calendar marked a new start. Our silence was hanging upside down on the monkey bars and just closing your eyes…it was freedom.
Mentally, I urged myself to push him away, still upset with him but I found that anger eagerly delving into the kiss. Even if our lives depended on it, I would not have been able to deny his touch, so I surrendered to the feeling. His touch, like the petals of a freshly picked flower tickling my skin. Everywhere his fingers landed — my jaw, my elbow, my waist — sparked an electric shock that exploded from my chest like a firework. It left a lightness in my stomach, heavy as a breath of air.
I was completely and utterly lost in him, his taste, his lips.
Weeks of lingering touches and scattered glances hid within our friendship. Raised voices and slamming doors, contentment in the anger and desire in the loneliness. I caught myself staring at the doors just waiting for him to appear. At night, he was a whisper in my dreams and when I woke, I couldn't not think of him. Not of what he was doing or thinking or wearing — just him. As if I were contemplating his existence in the world we both inhabited. I was consumed by him. I couldn't breathe without —
"Oh my god." I was breathing heavily and though I was more desperate for air than him, Alec's chest was rising and falling in sync with mine. My hands were on his chest, steadying myself as my thoughts zipped back and forth trying to process the moment. Until finally, "oh my god!" I pushed back against his chest and out of his arms. He seemed surprised - either with my sudden retreat or his own actions I couldn't tell, but he obeyed and his hands disappeared from my body. His eyes quickly scanned my body, as if worried he'd hurt me with a kiss. A kiss.
"You kissed me."
A small smirk, on its own accord, replaced the concern and confirmed, "I did."
I smacked his shoulder. "Wh — Why!"
"You didn't like it?" He raised an eyebrow with a teasing tone, as if daring me to deny it.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to maintain the same calm and regal attitude as I struggled to find a comeback. "What? I didn't — that's not…" I pointed a finger at him, trying to collect myself. "You can't just go around kissing people."
"I'm sorry." The apology was oddly genuine as he continued, "I'll take it back."
"Huh?"
He took two fingers and brushed them over my lips quickly before tapping them on his own. "There. I took it back."
My hand replaced his at my own mouth, and though it was impossible, it did feel as if the ghost of his kiss lingered on my lips. "You can't just take it back."
"Yes, I can."
"No, you can't."
"I just did," he laughed at me. "It's mine, again."
"No." I huffed, wrapping my hands around the soft silk tie that was tucked into his vest and pulling him back down to my mouth.
I lingered. I did. I'll admit it. And the millisecond that I did caused Alec to automatically take hold of my hips so when I pulled away, the shocked expression on his face was only inches from mine. He began toying with the loops on the sides of my jeans, twisting them around his fingers in a secure grip. Our eyes locked and the glow of red in his were growing darker. Only this time, I wasn't so naive to attribute it purely to hunger.
I swallowed, suddenly timid under his heavy gaze. "Now, it's yours." My eyes fell to his lips with the words and as I bit my own, I saw something flash across his eyes.
"Mine," he growled, giving a sharp tug on my jeans and pulling my hips into his.
My body collided with his as we met halfway with a fervent desire, both driven by something we didn't quite understand but knew we could no longer resist. Whatever I was going to say vanished as butterflies escaped my stomach and entered my bloodstream. I became lost in my attempt to protest his words with more than playground retorts.
There were so many things that needed to be said. The bad, the underlying fears, and the innocence associated. These topics hadn't been pushed from my mind. And being so aware, the last thing I should have done was let him kiss me again. But I knew that once they were said aloud, this couldn't happen again. No matter how much I wanted it to. So, I indulged. Selfishly, fatally, euphorically.
My fingers found themselves at the nape of his neck, knotted in his hair. His grip tightened on my hips, holding me close with a cautious note as if to keep himself from forgetting how delicate I was. I tempted these boundaries, tracing my tongue over his lower lip. He squeezed my right hip in an empty warning, and still he grasped control in both himself and the battle we were engaged in.
His fingers briefly flashed by the skin at my navel and I tugged his hair as a natural response, pushing myself closer to him. Emboldened, his teeth scraped my bottom lip and with a gentle nip, a targeted electric pulse bolted through my veins, lighting them on fire. A small whine emanated from my vocal cords and I could feel him smirking at the reaction.
Not one to give in quite so easily, I took the opportunity I'd been presented and pulled a little harder on his hair. I was awarded with my own guttural groan originating from Alec's chest. He broke away in astonishment to see that my power matched his own. He narrowed his eyes as I giggled in triumph, a direct challenge to his dominance.
Also not easily deterred, Alec leaned in again, his breathing bracing against my own as his eyes met mine through the fullness of his lashes. Our faces inches apart, we recycled the air between us, not willing to part for an activity so inconsequential as breathing. With a devilish smirk, Alec took advantage of my pause and gripped my waist, pulling our bodies closer together until space was merely a theory.
I gasped at the impact and instead of returning to our previous activity, Alec brushed the mess of my hair off of my face as I stared up at him, missing the taste of his lips. He traced my cheekbones with two fingers and pressed his lips to my forehead. He took a moment there before whispering against my skin, cherishing the meaning in, "my mate." He said the words as if he couldn't believe they were true. As if the statement alone would bring him happiness for the next thousand years.
But it was the one thing he could have said that would end the moment between us.
He was breathing just as heavily as I was and I think he knew what he had done. Had he done it on purpose, knowing that the comment would ignite a certain response in me or had he gotten what he wanted and was ready to move on? As I quietly questioned his intentions, he kept me close.
Alec watched me through cautious eyes. Yes, he knew as well as I did. There was no avoiding this.
Almost reluctantly, a touch of bitterness coated my throat. "Of all the centuries, of all the women, right?" I began to quote him.
"I don't want anyone else." My stomach fluttered despite the returning of my normal brain functions. I breathed in, not yet willing to pull away from him but I squeezed my eyes shut, too afraid of what I might interpret in his eyes. "Only you. Always you."
I shook my head, his words ringing in my ears like church bells and catapulting me back into reality. All of a sudden, I could feel the caress of his skin against mine become more distinct, no longer stuck behind a haze of fog. I couldn't take it. The purity in his words with the backdrop of unintended damage, but damage none the less, made my chest ache. His words were sweet, but the intimacy in them haunted me.
I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. He rested his forehead on mine, his lips inches away and I let him, too weak to resist. I needed him, his touch, his faith.
"Saffiya?" His voice nearly broke my heart. All frustration and disgruntled sass had disappeared. I couldn't stop the innate pull to check in with him. My eyes opened and he was already staring at me. He looked at me like a puppy, devoted and naive as concern began to grow on his face the more he observed mine.
I couldn't taste my own words as I used them to close myself in an empty sepulchre. "A…again," I breathed out, still finding my voice. "You said you wouldn't lie to me again."
It was not difficult to note the differences from the first time I'd accused him of lying to me. That annoyingly attractive and conceited smirk that had rested on his face, playfully challenging my claim was nowhere to be found. Instead, it was replaced with a deeper emotion, an internal case of shame and guilt with a loss on how to rectify the damage of his decisions.
I struggled to resist as his hand came up to cup my cheek and his breath washed over me like the morning tide.
"Forgive me," he pleaded in a whisper and I whimpered, unable to retain the height of my anger when he was this close to me. My knees were weak and I was sure that if he let me go, I wouldn't have the strength to hold myself up. I lifted my head to look at him and he observed me through thick lashes. His eyes searched mine for any sign of absolution. In his desire for it, he soothed my uncertain affect by touching his nose to mine. Softly, slowly, his lips found my forehead and with a soft kiss, my body's tension begin to dissipate. In turn, I could feel his chest lose a similar tension caused by mine. His lips fluttered over my eyelids, continuing their exploration of my face and leaving whispering kisses along the curve of my cheekbone. I couldn't remember what I had to say, if I even wanted to say anything.
"Perdonami." He repeated his plea, the Italian tickling my skin. His lips pressed gently at the height of my jaw, directly beneath my ear. They trailed down my jaw, leaving no one kiss as they made their way to the corner of my mouth, tempting me, confusing me. It wasn't his intent, as he asked for forgiveness he may not have deserved. I'm not sure if it was our proximity, or something else I wouldn't yet acknowledge, but I could almost feel the pain radiating off of him.
He whispered something else but my ears were clouded as his lips barely brushed mine with the words. The gesture of intimacy lacked a lustful intention, serving instead to convey the judgement and honesty mixed along the emotions that were at war inside of him. The last thing I wanted was to stoke the emotions that taunted him, but I had to be clear, while I still could be.
"I can't trust you right now."
I found strength in the admission and I gave a soft push against his chest, asking for space in-between us. Unwillingly, he once again followed my silent command and took a full step away from me. He'd step off the world if I requested. It occurred to me then that it was possible I owned him as much as he did me.
"I was trying to protect you." He went to say more but stopped himself, rethinking the words he had already formed. But I knew what he was going to say; 'mate'. The guy wouldn't say it for months and now all of a sudden he couldn't stop reminding me that I was had been claimed.
The mere reminder of the relationship triggered the exact response Alec had attempted to avoid. One of defiance. Defiance against some unknown force that apparently gets to decide who we are supposed to spend the rest of our lives with. The audacity of such a system made my blood boil and I took it out on him.
Automatically, a short laugh came out of me and he was taken aback by the abrupt shift in my behaviour. "You keep saying that, but have you considered that maybe you did all of this for yourself?"
The accusation struck a nerve and he growled unthreateningly at me, "that's not true."
"Maybe not consciously, but did you even think to ask what I wanted?" The prospect of the validity in my statement caught him off guard, taunting him to reconsider his actions and their effect on the world outside of himself.
"What do you want me to say?" Alec snapped, an already exasperated attitude surrounding him. I shot him a glare and slammed my hands on the nearest table because it was a stupid question and he knew it.
"I lost everything just so you could keep me here." Alec's eyes were intensely cautious as my anger began to physically manifest itself. I wondered if he feared what I'd do and I think a part of me wanted him to. "Your very own pet human."
He spoke desperately, but his surety came off more condescending then he obviously intended. "Don't be foolish."
I was already at a point where reason would be useless and Alec wasn't exactly helping anyways. I stifled a scream and reached for an old silver candle holder on the table and whipped it towards his head. He easily dodged it and as I turned away to grab something else, he caught my wrist, turning me back around.
"Stop it." He warned me, "you are going to injure yourself."
I responded quickly, however, raising my hand to his face. He caught it, glaring down at my impetuous behaviour with stern eyes. Somehow, he'd overlooked the availability of my other hand, which collided with his face only a second later in a backhanded, half punch half slap. I heard something crack and while I knew it wasn't his face, I really wished it had been.
"Screw you."
His shock from both the physical and verbal attack gave me the chance to put as much force as I could into pushing against his chest and moving past him. However, as I turned my back on him, he appeared in front of me, blocking my exit. Before I could tell him to get the hell-o out of my way, he pushed me to the side and I dropped at an awkward angle into a forgotten chair. I had no chance to readjust or stand back up because almost immediately, Alec slammed his hands on the arms of the chair and leaned forward. Leaving me with few options but to sit and glare up at him like a child.
"I am aware that this is difficult for you to process." I watched him run his fingers through his hair before he sighed. "Everything I did, I did for you, and perhaps I have also been selfish in my desire to preserve your life." I blinked, utterly shocked and a little impressed that he admitted it. Honestly, it'd been a shot in the dark on my end. However, I couldn't help but wonder just how many hoops he'd jumped through and still expected to jump through to ensure that I kept breathing. It almost made me feel guilty for testing my superhero flying powers with a flimsy bathroom towel and jumping from a very tall tree as a kid.
"I have waited centuries…and I cannot lose you."
My breath caught in my throat. His words were sweet, but it hit me that what I needed was time. Time to think. Time to process my own thoughts and feelings. Because this was…a lot. So, trying to muster the same intensity and independence as I had before, I barely gained the courage to meet his eyes. I swallowed and with a small shake of my head, I denied him.
"I am not yours to lose." A small part of me had meant the words to hurt, to throw him off enough to regain the upper hand but he didn't miss a beat.
"But I am yours."
There was a smouldering intensity in his eyes that sent me soaring and I nearly forgot how to breathe. It seemed that neither of us could find our own footing, much less share equal ground.
Three heavy knocks resonated from the library doors and I jumped at the sound.
"What." Alec barked at the person on the other side, eyes not leaving mine.
Felix slowly opened the door, freezing as he took in our position. He cleared his throat and in an unusually timid tone, he said, "you should know. The entire castle can hear you screaming at each other."
I'd been so focused on Alec that I hadn't even considered the fact that just because we were alone did not mean we were alone. My eyes widened as I wondered exactly what they had heard…or didn't hear.
Alec hardly glanced at Felix. "Is that all?" He asked rudely, impatiently.
Felix's eyes flashed up from the broken candle holder on the floor behind Alec. "The Masters finished deliberating and have requested you in the study."
Alec kept his eyes on my face, hardly acknowledging the other male. "I will be there in a moment."
At the same time, I looked at Felix over my shoulder again. "Deliberating what?"
Felix looked between the two of us awkwardly. When Alec also gave his attention, the vampire answered, "…Heidi wants to show Saffiya her new room, her 'masterpiece'." He included air quotes around the word, gently making fun of Heidi's enthusiasm for interior design.
"Deliberating what?" I asked again and turned in the chair.
Felix again checked in with Alec, who sighed and pushed off the arms of the chair, giving me the room to stand. I crossed my arms expectantly. It was Alec who answered.
"How to win a war."
As we stepped out into the hall, Felix moved to walk beside to me and bent down to whisper in my ear, "scale of 1-10?" He was only teasing, but a trademark growl sounded from behind us.
"None of your business." I rolled my eyes, but I still had no intention of answering the question. I tried to convince myself that the question wasn't about the…thing that happened, but I had a hard time winning that argument with myself. Felix pouted at the missing gossip, but he dropped it.
They escorted me the rest of the way to my room, outside of which Heidi was standing and checking her nails.
"Finally!"
Alec avoided eye contact with me as Felix ruffled my hair and the two men went on their way. Heidi raised her eyebrows.
"As juicy as that looked," everyone in this castle had way too much time on their hands if Alec and I were the only gossip. "It can wait because…" She pushed open the doors as if they weighed nothing and held up arms out like a ringmaster introducing his circus.
"Ta da!"
The room was lovely. A canopy bed, a beautiful vanity, and a new love seat took up most of the attention. I cannot honestly say it looked much different than before because I couldn't fully remember it. After all, I hadn't spent much time inside it. This time, though, it did feel more personal and homey, and it was definitely better than before. There was a chess set in front of the bookshelf wall, which she'd kept. The rest of the walls were changed and were by far, my favourite addition.
Heidi saw me looking at the side wall and grinned, "Chalk wallpaper." She pointed to a basket on the ground in front of it. "Hope you don't mind, but I left it open for the others to come in and write you some messages already."
Scattered across the wall were signatures by some members of the guard. A few had drawn pictures or written a little 'hi Saffiya!' message near their names. Even some that had barely spoken two words past their date of creation. I spotted Jane and Alec's names side by side, as well as surprisingly enough, Caius's, a little further away from the twins'. Aro's was front and center and even Marcus had written something in tiny writing. I decided I would read them all later and give Heidi the praise and attention she deserved.
"You may have to do a bit of damage control every once in a while," she nodded her head to a newly erased circle next to Demetri's name. Not far away, Felix's name had a smile next to an arrow that pointed towards the empty white space. I could only imagine what he'd drawn.
"How did you—"
"You seemed to enjoy helping me draw on my walls, so I thought I'd give you a fun new medium to—" I threw my arms around her waist, hugging her stone body.
She patted my back awkwardly, "you like it, then?" I gave her space.
"Heidi, it's amazing. Thank you." For as long as I could remember, I'd never had my own room to decorate. My father and I often moved from downtrodden hotel to luxury hotel, repeating that pattern in each new city. The nuns lived simply and while I enjoyed a few simple exceptions to that standard, I found I didn't need much anyways.
"You've also got an entire new wardrobe. Complete with castle-appropriate outfits, modern wear, historical costumes, gala dresses, etcetera, etcetera." She sat on the armchair of the loveseat as I stepped into the doorway of the walk-in closet. It was so large it had a bench in the center with two turnoff hallways. Heidi continued, "oh! And club wear."
I spun around and rolled my eyes at the last one. "Because that turned out so well before."
"In my defence, I had hoped it would get Alec to confess his feelings for you." She shrugged and leaned back, "so maybe it backfired a little."
"A little," I commented, more miffed about the mention of Alec than the event from weeks ago.
Ignoring her quip at Alec only seemed to encourage Heidi's curiosity. "When you're no longer a pathetic, defenceless human—"
"Thanks?"
"He'll probably get turned on by it."
I choked on air. "Oh my god." Heidi giggled as I spun on my heels and retreated further into the closet.
A knock sounded on the door and Heidi shouted, "come in," through her laughter.
Another pair of heels joined the echoes of the room. "I thought I heard the little human." The voice sounded like Chelsea, but there was no way I was going out to check.
Not one to get particularly lost in clothing, I retreated to a bench in the center of the closet and plopped down on it, crossing my arms across my chest.
I could still hear them chatting. "She's hiding."
"Or she's simply lost in that maze you call a closet."
Much to my dismay, Heidi didn't even defend her accomplishment but rather continued on. "I mentioned lover boy and she got all flustered. It's adorable."
"Did you tell her about the lingerie?" The suggestive nature of her voice only made my embarrassment grow.
I felt my mouth part and I scanned the walls, finally resting them on a section separate from the undergarments that showcased a lacy, black and red 'number' above several drawers that I could only assume held similar items.
I gave a small yelp, which made the two women immediately burst into a round of giggles at my expense. I grabbed the hanger off the wall and stormed out of the closet doors with it, tossing it at Heidi's face.
I pointed at the two of them, casually lounging on the loveseat. "I'm sixteen. You should be ashamed."
Chelsea tutted, sweeping her hair over her shoulder. "Sweetie, in Alec's day, you would've already been married with kids." I gagged.
"Or a prospective bride."
I snarked back, "what would that make you two?"
"Touchy, isn't she."
"Well, it's a wonder why." They fell into another fit of laughter.
I turned and shoved an empty vase on a table beside the closet doors, which didn't move an inch. I paused and pushed it again, a little harder.
"Caius insisted we fix the expensive items in their place. Just in case." I rubbed the side of my head in embarrassment, which Heidi saw as an opening to what she really wanted to talk about. "Which, from the sounds coming from the library, was a good idea."
"You run a bit hot, don't you?"
They were right. I'd always had a bit of an impulsive temper, which was apparently not unusual for someone with my condition. Though, I'd never experienced emotions quite as intensely as I did where Alec was concerned. And the fact that Caius had had the foresight to tell Heidi to glue stuff to the tables just so I wouldn't break them in a fit was slightly more mortifying than the lingerie.
I tried to be an adult about the inevitable conversation. "No offence. But I really don't want to talk about this right now."
It didn't work.
"It just wasn't exactly the response we all expected."
I groaned and sat at the vanity while they generated gossip.
Chelsea nodded, agreeing with Heidi. "We knew you'd be mad. I told him to tell you weeks ago."
"We all did." Heidi insisted heroically, "Felix and Demetri nearly let it slip about fifteen times in the first week alone." Now, how in the hell did I miss that?
Chelsea cut Heidi off, recognizing the beginnings of a rant on the two men's theatrics. "Anyways, you were just a wee bit angrier then we were prepared for."
I bit. "Why does that surprise you?"
The women looked at each other before carefully choosing their words in answering me. "It's just that Alec sort of has this way with women—"
"Oh my god." I turned to go back into the closet, not wanting to know where they were going with this fun new direction.
Heidi zipped over to me, guiding me to the sofa to sit in the small space between her and Chelsea. "All we mean is that he's particularly charming - even for a vampire."
"It's to your credit that you stood up to him."
I remembered Alec's words and the sincerity in them and the conflict that still ran inside me. While I was confident in the validity of my reaction, I wavered at the memory. "So, you don't think I'm being unfair?"
Heidi began to play with my hair pointlessly. "Maybe a tad. But he deserves it."
Chelsea chimed in, "Aro gives him everything on a silver platter. The boy hasn't heard the word 'no' since he was a newborn."
The other woman tucked my hair behind my ear, agreeing with her friend. "Plus, angry sex is fantastic." She joked, tossing me back the lingerie. I fumbled with it before letting it fall to the floor.
I squinted and quickly stood. "I need a shower."
They laughed me all the way into the bathroom. I was 100% positive that if they could still drink, they'd be wine at 9 ladies.
I glanced in the mirror as I turned on the shower and realized that my non-dominant hand, which had hit Alec's rock hard vampire body only a short while ago, was hanging weakly at the wrist. I'd completely forgotten about it and I was lucky no one else had noticed. They'd all make a big fuss over something that I could handle in five minutes.
Everyone here already thought I was a violent freak. I didn't want to give them even more evidence to support that theory.
To Heidi's credit, the bathroom cupboards were stocked with all the essentials — enough to wait out the zombie apocalypse. She had, however, not included the one thing I used more than my floss — crepe bandages. Which wasn't actually surprising seeing as they were all so overly cautious about not injuring me that I'd had less injuries in my time at the castle than in my entire life.
My shower forgotten, I wandered through a side door in the bathroom and into the closet. Heidi had her quirks, but she definitely had an eye for convenience in design. I was able to find both suitable nightwear and a t-shirt that easily doubled as a mock bandage wrap. I knew I had some extras in my bag, but it was nowhere to be found.
Although Chelsea and Heidi's giggles had disappeared, it seemed I still wasn't left alone. Alec stood in front of the chalk wall, reading the messages left by his fellow guard members.
"Don't you knock?"
Grateful that I'd picked an outfit with both long sleeves and pockets, I subtly hid my injured hand in the fabric of my clothing. The only person I dreaded finding out about it more than Alec, was his sister. Although I couldn't exactly determine why, Alec was a close second. Though I was surprised the crack in the air had slipped his overprotective, detail-oriented mind. Until I realized that my never getting hurt also meant that my guards hadn't heard my bones crack or smelled burning flesh or any other clues that were used to determine when I should've been in pain. Though, I had no doubt they had all cracked a few bones in their day, so I let it go before it drove me mad. Besides, I had other things to worry about.
Nerves erupted in my stomach as Alec turned around to face me, so I quickly made my way over to sit at the vanity. I picked up a brush placed elegantly to the side with my non-injured hand and took a deep breath. I had to settle my stomach before it notified my heart to pick up its' pace.
"I have been given a mission." I stared straight ahead into the mirror, trying to pretend like he didn't exist. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure how to react. Heidi and Chelsea's teasing came to mind but I quickly squashed the embarrassing reminder. "Aro retrieved Razin's last known location from his minion's mind," he continued.
When I still didn't acknowledge the information, frustration carried his voice across the room. "You're angry, you've made that quite clear." Honestly, I wasn't sure what I was at the moment. I definitely wasn't as angry as I was before, but I doubt that even with a hot shower that I would be completely calmed down. But I wasn't about to fill him in. "Have you nothing to say?"
I don't know what he wanted me to say, and a dozen sassy comments flowed through my head before I chose one with less spite. "Why are you telling me?" I watched in the mirror as he stopped in front of the door, staring down at his Italian black leather shoes.
"Last time I left without saying goodbye, you were upset with me." I pursed my lips at this, because I couldn't fault him for sharing this with me if I'd been slightly bothered when he hadn't told me before. It seemed so long ago that he'd up and disappeared alone on a 'mission' to a location he still had not disclosed, but I appreciated the gesture no matter how frustrated I was with him now.
I couldn't quite gather the courage to turn and face him and I heard an exasperated sigh pass through his lips. But, all I could muster was a soft, "okay."
There was slight pressure on my temple and my eyes flashed to the mirror in front of me to see Alec tenderly giving me his own goodbye. My eyes fluttered closed, missing the touch that I'd barely spent any time without. As his lips left my forehead, he met my eyes in the mirror and I quickly turned away, feeling a wave of self-consciousness surround me.
"I will return soon." As much as I would've sworn I hated him at that moment, I couldn't help but worry — only a little. Because what if he didn't come back? What if this time was different?
"Alec!" I stood abruptly, almost knocking the chair I'd just vacated onto the floor. Alec was paused with his hand on the doorknob, waiting patiently for me to say whatever I was going to say.
I faltered, before saying the best thing I could think of. "Don't die?"
His face softened, but he only nodded. And then he was gone.
~•~•~•~
A/N: Yeet.
Thank you to everyone for all of your support and thank you for reading!
A heads up that you may notice the cover for this story changing over the next few days or so. I'm super attached to the original one so it will probably return, but I just want to try some new things. Let me know if you like any of the new covers, they're also temporary and unedited for the most part so we're just experimenting :)
Here is a link to the youtube playlist where I've added everyone's amazing song suggestions for the story! I'm not sure how links work on here now so bare with me if you're struggling to open or find it! It's called Heartbeat [Alec & Saffiya]
Update: So, links cannot be posted and clicked on in chapters. But, if you type "Heartbeat [Alec & Saffiya]" into the search box on youtube then it should come up. If anyone discovers otherwise, just PM me!
yours and more,
Ro
P.S. The title of the chapter is a reference to the 1962 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. If you don't know the story of Liz and Dick, go look them up. A little tribute since I missed Valentine's day :)
