Stolen Voices ✓

July 3rd

"Kiss you?" he murmures, placing a delicate kiss on both of her eyelids. He discovers himself loving the reaction he gets from her, the way her body turns into his. How her nails will dig into his skin as he teases her, leaving half-moon marks on his arms.

Impatiently Mara clutches the back of his neck, her fingers twisting into the hair on the nape of his neck. She pulls him down to her as he laughs against her lips, moving them in a slow rhythm. They have become expert dancers, their lips in synchrony.

It is a passionate kiss steaming from a week of them missing each other. Elias's left hand grips her waist, the other supporting his weight up as he continues his assault on her skin, his hands stroking everywhere he can. His fingers graze the exposed skin of her stomach as her shirt has ridden up. He is drinking her in, dehydrated.

By the time he pulls away, his lips are bruised and shaded dark pink. His hair is more disheveled than before, his eyes sparkling with alertness. He looks at her with so much care, and she matched its passion. Those three words are suffocatingly close to the truth.

They stay wrapped up in each other for hours before Elias stands up. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stretches his limbs that have gone numb being under Mara's weight for so long. She served as his blanket, using his chest as a pillow, his steadfast heartbeat her lullaby.

"Where are you going?" She demands quietly. They've been talking in hushed tones the entire morning, with the sun streaming through. Elias even opened a window, the soft draft swelling her room with the warm summer breeze. The crisp smell of cut grass filling the space.

"I have to go home," Elias murmurs in her ear, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek. Before he can step back, her arms wrap around his shoulders, holding him to her. Mara doesn't want him to leave.

"Stay with me?" She grins, hugging him tighter.

"That's why I'm going home," he chuckles, "to get my clothes."

"Oh," she says, letting him go, "have fun then." Elias smiles, shaking his head as he steps out of her room, shutting the door behind him. Mara may be an enigma, but she is his puzzle to solve.

---

Elias has only ever socialized with Genevieve twice. Once at Darla's wedding, the other time when she called him frantically in search of Mara. After that incident, he decided it would be best he avoided her. However, he's stopped while trying to creep back into the mansion. His shoes, squeaking on the marble tiles, giving him away to Mara's mother.

"Elias, is it?" She says, catching his attention. His hand is resting on the railing. His backpack, now stuffed with clothing, is slung over his shoulders. Sucking in a breath, he hums a yes, turning around to face her. She is looking at him, her dark brown eyes calculating.

"Come here and sit," she states, patting the empty space next to her. She is resting on the couch, wearing a loose dress, document papers sprawled all around her. She makes enough room for Elias to sit, offering him tea, which he declines. The amount of paperwork surrounding her gives Elias a headache, it looks stressful.

"I need you to know what you're getting yourself into," she sighs, rubbing her forehead. Her eyes are dull like all the life has been taken from them. Genevieve Gray resembles the ghost of a human. Walking through life with a frown permanently etched on her features. And maybe it is, partially, because she knows she abandoned her youngest daughter. But a larger part of it is because she can never feel true happiness.

She loved Mara's birth father with all her heart. But she wishes, deep down, she always yearned that someone would have told her what she was getting herself into. Maybe it would have dulled the pain she inflicted or at least prepared her for the heartache.