Soft || 18+ Reverse Harem ||

20 - Complex

Her cheeks were bright red now, and her fingernails dug into her thumbs which were covered in bandaids. I took her hands in mine and kissed her thumbs. "You need to stop doing that."

"It distracts from anxiety."

"Does it?"

She nodded.

"Do I make you anxious?"

"I..." She gulped, looking too vulnerable as the sunlight swept through her hair and fell on me. She was a sight to behold. I wanted to pull her into my darkness, to devour her till she forgot everything. Control, Alexandre. "I don't know. I am always anxious." She gave me a grimace. "I never really know if it's just normal nerves or anxiety. My gut feeling is fucked."

I pulled her closer. She didn't protest but gave me a dirty look which reminded me of Bobby who, from what I had gathered, loved getting petted but looked miserable while getting petted. I held back a chuckle.

"What can I do to make it better?"

"There's nothing." She gave me a sad smile. "This is something I'll just have to figure out on my own."

"What can I do to make sure I never make you more anxious than you already feel?"

She frowned. "You want to know?"

"Yes."

"Well..." She hesitantly put her hands on my shoulders as I pulled her even closer. "Raised voices make me anxious. Loud sounds do, too."

"Okay, and?"

"Don't be monotonous. You do that."

"Do I?'

"Mhm."

"I won't, then."

She gave me a slight smile. "You won't?"

I shrugged. "It may be hard. I am used to it."

"I don't want you to change to accommodate my stupid anxiety," she said. "I can deal with it. You shouldn't have to."

"It's not about should or shouldn't, Dahlia. If there is anything I can do to help you, I want to do that. Not doing anything would feel bad."

"It would?"

"Mhm." I mimicked her.

She smiled again. "Okay," she whispered. "There's not much else, except the usual. Public places, new people, you know?"

"Okay."

She sighed, looking all over my face. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't know," I said, truthfully. "You're a beautiful and smart woman, Dahlia. But you're something more, too. I can't quite put my finger on that something more, and I don't think I ever will. You just...make sense to me. You have since the day I saw you."

She tilted her head and then let out a chuckle. "You...You don't know me."

"I'd love to know you."