Dried and Dying Roses (BWWM)

Thirty Two: Trusty Ade

Thirty Two

Cuff Bracelet to the side/above/ wherever

He was the most beautiful thing Isa had seen when he was awake, but when he was asleep Adrian looked angelic. His pale skin was perfect, seeming to glow in the night, those plump, pink lips of his separated as the softest of snores fell from his lips. Isa hadn't been to sleep the night before; staying up just to look through all the sketchbooks he had filled with drawings of her, of the both of them, some of Nic and Leigh, of even their nephew. She didn't regret it at all.

Isa traced his lips, ran her fingers over the rough skin where his stubble was starting to grow in. He was still a little quiet, but since he had taught her how to block her thoughts, he seemed to be a lot better. Isa was thinking that it was her thoughts that had been upsetting him.

His silver eyes slid open, meeting Isa's as he spoke, his voice hoarse from just waking up, "You had a nightmare?"

Shaking her head, Isa let her fingers continue to trace those perfect, plump lips of his, "No. I haven't been to sleep. Figured it's better to stay up and look at your drawings than to have multiple nightmares, and then wake up hysterical."

Adrian nodded with a sigh, sitting up with an adorable grunt before glancing at the clock. Isa's gaze followed his.

3:03 AM.

"Well now what?"

Isa shrugged, leaning forward, and pressing her lips to his gently, "Happy birthday, baby."

Adrian hummed a thank you against Isa's lips, cupping the back of her neck as he coaxed her lips open with his tongue before it was brushing against hers, then exploring her mouth lazily. Isa had to gather up the strength to pull away from him, leaning over, and then reaching off to the side of her bed on her nightstand where she pulled out a small, wrapped box, and a velvet jewelry box that was larger than Isa's whole palm. Silently, she pushed them into his lap.

He was already shaking his head, and trying to place the gifts back in her hands, "Isa, no. I don't do gifts."

"Well you will from now on," She responded, nodding towards the boxes.

After a brief stare down between the couple, Adrian finally gave in with a sigh, picking up the wrapped box and opening it. A chuckle fell from his lips for the first time in days after he saw the contents.

"Condoms?"

Isa shrugged with a grin full of humor, "We ran out. I mean, we can use them....or not if you-"

Adrian groaned deeply, lunging for Isa, but for once she was quicker as she leapt off the bed shaking her head and pointing at the other box that had fallen from his lap, "Open that one," She commanded, "That's the real gift."

He obeyed, quietly lifting the top, the sound filled with the barely audible creak of the hinge, revealing a white-gold men's cuff bracelet that it had taken Isa almost the whole two weeks that Nicole had told her about before his birthday to find, and yet she was still scared that he wouldn't like it.

His name was etched into in the center in cursive, while hers was beneath it, under the design of weaved metal, slightly smaller, with the day they had met in the bottom right corner.

Isa wasn't going to put her name on it, but then, a wave of possession had flown through her, so she called in to the store, and added it at the last minute so that if Adrian chose to wear it, everyone would see who he was with, who he belonged to, and that would be the end of it. But then, he had walked into her store, and a customer had been openly flirting with him. She wasn't human, Isa could smell that much, but she wasn't a vampire either.