When I had said to take it slow, I hadn't meant this slow. However, that wasn't completely Alec's fault. He had been caught up in several meetings with the Masters and been sent on various missions that usually lasted for a week or so at the time. Now he was back on one of those missions with Felix, and tonight the Masters had decided to host another ball. Or banquet. Whatever they had decided to call it this time.

For what, you may ask. I have no idea. I was too busy moping around to pay attention.

"Anna." Heidi smoothed my hair away from my face, twisting it into a low chignon.

"Hm?" I blinked at her through the mirror.

"I know Alec isn't here, but I promise you that you won't die."

"I know." I cast my eyes down, fiddling with my bracelet.

Heidi grabbed my hand to take a closer look at it. "That's new, looks like a Cartier piece. From Alec?" Upon closer inspection and seeing the engraving she snorted lightly. "Oh. he would."

"I know right?" I grinned.

Alec handed me a deep red box, Cartier stamped along the top in gold. My eyebrows raised as I looked back up at him. I had never been one to wear jewelry, aside from my grandmother's wedding band. He simply stood there waiting, his own eyebrows raised in turn. I couldn't help but grin and opened the box with a shake of my head. It was a golden bracelet, simple as it was beautiful, but what was so special was the engraving in the middle. The Volturi crest.

"I had it made especially for you, with special permission from the Masters to use the crest. I know you like to wear it when you can. This bracelet is the only one of its kind." He seemed particularly smug as he removed the bracelet before mentioning quietly. "I thought it would also help with your anxiety."

I started when he mentioned the anxiety.

"Your nails are usually bit down to the quick, love." He gave me a small smile. "Perhaps you can begin fiddling with this instead. And think of me of course."

That's when I noticed the other engraving on the other side. His name. I raised a brow at him and smirked at me, saying nothing, a challenge in his eyes. I shook my head again and looked back at the bracelet and then the box. There was one more thing that was in it… a little screwdriver? I looked back up at him, confused. He picked both the bracelet and the screwdriver up.

"You have to use this to put the bracelet on… and to take it off."

So, he was essentially collaring me… I kinda liked it.

He clasped it around my wrist, tightening the screws gently and then he placed a small kiss on my pulse point.

"I love it, Alec. Thank you."

I kissed him then, my heart filled with joy.

I missed him. Terribly. I couldn't remember the last time we had really been alone.

"Come." Heidi broke me from my thoughts. "Let's get you dressed."

I slipped into my dress, black this time, the silk feeling like heaven against my skin. Heidi then cornered me, lipstick in hand.

"You're really playing up the gothic vampire thing tonight, aren't you?" I asked, eyeing it warily. "No lip stain?"

She shook her head and I groaned but acquiesced to her demand, letting her dab it on my lips, just as Jane entered the room.

"Sister, you look beautiful." She gave me a small smirk, and I blushed.

She had taken to calling me sister now that Alec had essentially claimed me as his mate. Secretly I think she loved it, especially if she could get a reaction out of me. And Alec found it downright hilarious. Deep down I loved it too though. I had never had any siblings until now. Of course, that also meant that Jane was just as protective of me as Alec was. Tonight should be interesting.

"I don't see the point in dressing up and looking pretty. Alec isn't even here." I sighed softly.

"It is for that exact reason that you should." Jane's soft voice was almost angry. "You are mates now, therefore an extension of each other in the view of the vampiric world."

Heidi nodded her head. "On top of that, he is considered an elite among vampires. When he isn't here, you essentially represent him. No one will mess with you of course, but you may find that tonight will be very different from any of the other occasions you've attended before."

"You're scaring me a bit." I swallowed, suddenly ten times as nervous as before. "I didn't realize…"

Heidi and Jane shared a look before Jane floated over, putting her hands on my shoulders.

"You are still learning. Come, sister. The banquet is starting."

"No crest tonight?"

She shook her head and simply held out her hand. I frowned, my heart speeding up, but I did my best to push aside my feeling of uneasiness and took Jane's hand.

The banquet was more lively than usual, and Heidi was right. I was treated with almost reverence by both vampires and humans alike.

I spent most of the night next to Jane, her soothing hand on my back, trying to keep me calm. Despite my anxiety, I did manage to keep my outward composure, keeping in mind what Jane and Heidi told me earlier. I was Alec's mate, and I would make him proud.

I made the rounds, making small talk and smiling until my cheeks felt as though they were going numb.

I only wished Alec were here.

It was finally over. I had managed to convince Jane to let me leave early. I was free.

Jane was in the middle of escorting me back to my room when she paused in the hallway, a look of surprise on her face before she broke out into a genuine smile. That smile struck fear into my heart since there was nothing around her to be smiling about. Just an empty hallway.

She shoved me forward lightly before turning back the way she came, and I looked at her like she was crazy.

She looked over her shoulder at me, a softer smile on her face. "Have fun."

"What?" I asked dumbly.

A hand reached out of the dark, snatching me into a nearby alcove, and pressing me into the wall. I let out half a scream before a cold hand muffled it. 'Oh fuck, I'm gonna die.'

"Relax, tesoro." Alec's voice was in my ear.

I blinked, my eyes rapidly adjusting to the dark before seeing his handsome face. He grinned at me, and I let out a tiny squeal, diving into his arms.

"You're here!" I exclaimed happily.

I nuzzled into his chest, breathing him in.

"I am."

Wasting no time, he picked me up by my thighs and I heard a familiar rip as my dress tore.

"Alec!" I hissed at him. "Heidi was going to kill me."

"She'll survive." He began licking up the side of my neck.

"My point is that I might not."

Alec hummed dismissively, too busy sucking at the pulse point on my neck. I moaned softly, my hands threading themselves in his hair, tugging gently.

"I do have to say, this is a nice hello though." I teased him and he nipped my ear lightly in retaliation.

"I have missed you, amore."

"And I you."

He buried his head in my neck, and we stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying being back together again.

"Please tell me that you don't have to leave again soon."

"No, thankfully I do not." He sighed happily. "Come. Let's head back to the room."

"And here I thought you'd fuck me in the hallway."

"If you would like, I am more than happy to." He smirked at me, eyes flashing.

Two could play at this game. I leaned forward, pressing my breasts against his chest and pushing them out a little so he could get a good view.

"I think I'd prefer to be in your bed the first time you take me."

His hands tightened on my thighs and growled. I simply gave him a seductive smile. After rearranging my position so that I was bridal style, he carried me back to his room. Not as quickly as I would have liked, but I had the feeling he was trying to keep calm and not fuck me against the wall or on the floor right then and there.

We had both been waiting for far too long. He kicked the door open easily.

"I see someone has already been in my bed." He raised an eyebrow as he sat me down, taking in his now messy bed.

I was a little embarrassed and played with my bracelet a little.

"I really missed you, so- uhm. I kinda decided to sleep in here. Until you came back. It smells nice… like you."

I could feel the blush working its way up my cheeks. Alec suddenly went rigid, an incredulous look crossing his face before his eyes darkened a little and he leveled me with a look that almost had me dropping my panties right then and there.

"Tell me, mio cara." He reached out one hand pulling me in by the back of my neck gently and the other winding around my waist, before placing his lips next to my ear. "What else did you do in my bed?"

My heart picked up its pace and I felt my nipples harden painfully. Surely, he couldn't have known about that. That had been days ago-

"Answer me."

His voice was deadly quiet, causing a shiver to run up my back.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about." I cleared my throat, highly embarrassed.

Big mistake. Alec swiftly popped me on my ass and I let out a surprised yelp. He let his cold hand soothe the ache left behind, but tilted my chin until I was looking at him.

"You know better than to lie, Anna. Now tell me. What else did you do?"

His eyes were a dark burgundy, and I could see black starting to creep its way in.

"I may have had a bit of fun. It- uhm. It was kinda hard not to, uhm. I just kept thinking, er, imagining." Oh god no, don't tell him that. "I am so sorry. I didn't think-"

He kissed me roughly and when he pulled away just a little, I could see the red of my lipstick smeared a little on his face. It reminded me of blood, and I found that it turned me on, just like that night in the alcove.

"Show me."

"What?"

Alec narrowed his eyes. "This will be the only time I repeat myself. Get on my bed and show me."

I nodded dumbly, a little- no- highly turned on and nervous. Alec must have picked up on it because he caught my hand before I could make a move, his face softening a little.

"I need to know that you're okay with this first."

I reached out and stroked his cheek. "I am fine. I find that it turns me on. Very much."

There had been some heavy petting in the past, but it had never gone very far without something happening and getting in the way. He was very much dominant even outside of the bedroom and I very much enjoyed it, even when it took me by surprise. However, sex would be a whole new territory for me.

He gave me a swift kiss and a soft, playful pop on my backside before nodding to the bed. I walked over to the bed, stripping my dress down so only my bra was exposed, flicking a nipple playfully and hiking up the skirts of my dress while I laid down on the bed sideways. I let my hands wander, one sliding down my neck to my breasts and the other tantalizingly slow up my thighs.

"Eyes on my, tesaro." Alec demanded softly. "I want you to look me in the eyes while you show me exactly what you did to make you cum in my bed."

My breath hitched and I let out a moan, making sure to keep eye contact as I pinched one of my nipples and then slipped a hand under my lace panties. I let my fingers slide through my folds a few times, getting them nice and wet with my slick before coming up to circle my clit slowly.

Alec had pulled up a plush chair to sit in, his legs crossed as he leaned back and spread his arms across the top. Somewhere in the middle of everything he had managed to shrug off his jacket and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, his sleeves rolled up his forearms. Just looking at him sitting like that made a thrill go through me, my nipples tightening even more, and I could feel the pulsing begin in my clit. If the strain in his pants was anything to go by, I would say he was enjoying his view too.

I alternated between sliding my fingers in and out of my wet pussy and circling my clit, all the while making sure that my poor aching nipples received some attention from my other hand. The only noise was the clinking of my bracelet and the sinful wet sounds coming from my cunt.

"That's my good girl. Keep going." His voice was husky in the quiet.

I let out another moan, closing my eyes and bucking my hips as I felt the heat beginning to build.

"Eyes on me."

I forced my eyes open again, doing my best to keep eye contact as my hips kept moving of their own accord.

"Tell me, darling. How close are you?"

"Close. So close." I whimpered.

He stood up from his chair, and climbed onto the bed with me, positioning himself between my legs. I paused a moment before he raised a brow, pointedly looking at the hand beneath my panties and back to my face. I took that as my cue to continue.

Alec kissed me then, slow but deep and I gasped, my hand automatically begins to circle around my clit faster. I could feel how hard he was beneath me and I let out a wanton moan just thinking about it. His hands cupped my breasts, kissing his way down to them before pulling a nipple into his mouth and sucking hard.

My gasp turned into a desperate moan, my back arching off the bed. He let his tongue swirl around before nipping me lightly and then proceeding to do the same to the other one.

"Alec."

Alec shifted so he was leaning over and looking down on me. "Is this what you imagined, Anna?" He ground his cock against me, sending a new kind of friction through me.

"Not quite." I said breathily, circling my clit even faster.

I was so close.

"Then tell me, darling. What did you imagine."

He ground his hips into me again and I could feel his cock. It was right there, and I needed it goddammit.

"I thought of- I thought of you." My head fell back in a moan when he ground into me again. It took every ounce of willpower to look back up at him, panting, but keeping eye contact as ordered. "I thought of you. I thought of you in so many ways. Of you going down on me. Of you shoving your cock in my mouth until I gag. Of you fucking me senseless right here. And then against the wall. And on the floor. In the chair. And in that goddamn alcove. I wish you had fucked me right then and there."

By the time I was finished, the wave of my orgasm was hitting me fast and hard. Alec didn't even give me a chance to come down off my high before he had stripped and pushed my panties aside, entering me in one swift movement. He muffled my surprised yelp with his lips, hard and cold, licking along my bottom lip for entrance. I gasped in shock, and he took it, his tongue cool in the heat of my mouth. He pulled back, continuing his rough and fast pace. I could already feel the heat of another orgasm low in my belly.

"You look like heaven, amore." He said whispered, his hand slipping beneath my panties. "But by the time I'm through with you, you will be absolutely ruined."

My brain stopped working as his words registered, and then his fingers found my clit, making tight and fast circles. I let out a debauched moan, meeting his every thrust with my hips. Oh god, it was so good. I was whimpering with every thrust. Please, don't let this stop.

Another orgasm, so much better than the first. I clenched down hard around him, but his pace didn't falter. He leaned down again, his hands coming up to cup my face, his eyes now pitch black. He kissed me again and again.

"Come on, amore. I know you have at least one more in you." He whispered against my lips.

I shook my head in denial, tears streaming down my face in pleasure, but I could already feel my pussy tightening up at his words.

"I can't Alec. I can't. It's too much." I whimpered as he licked away my tears, kissing his way back to my mouth.

"You can, and you will."

Oh fuck.

I moaned as he thrust harder, my breasts bouncing against the cool underside of his arms.

"Alec."

I was being reduced to a quivering mess as he pounded into me. It felt like the heat in my lower half had never left and I chanted his name over and over when another orgasmic wave crashed over me, sending my eyes rolling into the back of my head.

"Fuck." Alec groaned, going rigid and cumming inside me, coating my insides with cool liquid.

We were both breathing heavily, staring at each other, trying to let our brains catch up. Or at least that's what I was doing. Alec slid out of me with a wet pop, and disappeared before he came back with a wet cloth. I hissed a little as he began to clean me up, obviously still tender.

"Relax, amore. As much as I love to watch my cum dripping out of you, you need to be cleaned up at least a little."

My cheeks ran hot, and he smirked.

"I think it would be best to get you out of your dress… well, what's left of it."

I looked down and realized that my dress had been ripped way past the point of no return. And then I noticed the bed. My eyes widened in horror to see that not only had my dress been ripped, but so had those beautiful silk sheets, and the poor mattress had tears running down either side of my body, with small chunks missing. I sat up quickly, gawking. There was also a crack in the headboard.

He frowned looking down at me and I followed his gaze. There were bruises marking where his hands had been. I looked back at him and gave him a small smile.

"Marking your territory, Alec?"

He looked at me surprised before giving me a rather dark smirk. "Trust me, the whole castle has heard it my now."