Seraphine

fifty two

Seraphine

She can feel the weight of all of their gazes on her and Luca as he slowly pulls back from her reddened face and straightens. His hand lingers on her throat before he, too, pulls that away, and Seraphine is left missing his warmth and the excitement that swirled in her stomach and her core. 

She takes a breath and straightens her body, immediately finding Mia's smirk. If she could blush harder, she would've. 

"Come, come! Alfonso's preparing dinner and has requested your help, Damien." Mia nods her head towards Damien, who nods back and steps inside after a small wave to Seraphine. Mia follows him, sending Seraphine a warm, knowing smile.

Nico lingers for a moment, still staring at her, until Enzo calls his name and he disappears inside. 

Luca waits with Seraphine, who's breathing has quickened and panties have dampened. 

"Are you alright, Seraphine?" Luca's voice is deep and hoarse, and Seraphine has to hold in her shiver from the sound of it. After she regulates her breathing, she nods and turns her head to look at Luca from over her shoulder. 

"Yes, Luca." He looks her over once, his molten gaze making goosebumps erupt on her skin, before nodding and lifting his free hand, motioning for her to step into the manor. 

She does and Luca follows, closing the door behind them. Seraphine sits in her awe for a few seconds, still not used to the huge and gorgeous house. 

She hears Damien's voice from the kitchen, another male's speech accompanying his. They laugh together, and Mia can be heard scolding them back to work. Seraphine grins in the direction of their voices, sensing comfort and good relations between them. 

"Alfonso is our chef," Luca begins from behind her, and Seraphine turns to see him climbing the stairs, her haul from shopping all day now in both of his hands. She glances back at the kitchen once more, allowing her chest to fill with the sound of their laughter, before quickly following him up. 

"I thought Damien did all the cooking?" Seraphine asks, and Luca shakes his head. They pass the professor's floor, and Seraphine sees a light emitting from Nico's room. 

"No, it's just one of his hobbies. He's very good, there's no doubt, but when he's busy, we have Alfonso make our meals." Seraphine nods her head in understanding and steps into the hallway that leads to her room. 

"And Mia?" She looks up at Luca, who's already halfway down the hall, and wonders how he can move so quickly while being weighed down by all of her purchases. 

"Mia is our maid, she comes on Fridays to tidy up the house. And you've met Lyla, the security guard at the gate, haven't you, Seraphine?" Enzo responds this time, and Seraphine sees him stick his head out of her room to raise an eyebrow at her. She lowers her head in shame and embarrassment, thinking of the time she ran away from the four of them and first met Lyla. 

"...I'm sorry for running," she murmurs, hoping both of them will hear her, and almost gasps when a hand is cupped under her chin. Her head is tilted back until her hair falls from her face, revealing it to Luca, who's grip on her face is tight. 

"Thank you, princess. Now," he pauses and straightens, looking down at her with that steel gaze she's so attracted to. Seraphine swallows thickly, her eyes darting from his eyes to his neck, where the dragonfly lays. "Are you ever going to run from us again?" 

His voice is deep and rough and low, and Seraphine can't help the shiver that runs down her spine. Her eyes snap back up to his, and she finds them alight with something she can't quite place. 

"No, Luca." 

Luca smirks, leaning down to press his lips to her forehead. "Good girl." 

~~~

After about twenty minutes of unpacking and sorting, Seraphine stands proudly in the middle of her room, a satisfied grin on her face. She's put away all of her new clothes, hanging shirts and dresses and neatly folding jeans and shorts. 

Her face burns as she glances towards her fully stocked underwear drawer, remembering practically begging the professors to let her go into Victoria's Secret alone. 

They had relented eventually, thankfully, but Seraphine spent the whole time in the lingerie store wondering what would have happened if they had followed her in.

Seraphine shakes her head and flops down on the bed, humming to herself when she sinks into the mattress. She closes her eyes for a few moments, letting her tired body rest, before she remembers Luca's words. 

Would you want to get dressed up for dinner, princess? For us?

Seraphine blushes at the memory and her hands fly up to her face, patting her cheeks to try and calm the heat coming from them. 

Getting dressed up for them suddenly seems like the most daunting task Seraphine's ever had to face. Worry swirls in her stomach, sending 'what ifs' flying through her mind. 

What if I'm too overdressed? What if I'm underdressed? What if they hate what I wear? 

Seraphine groans softly, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes in an attempt to push the anxious thoughts away. It doesn't work. 

"Just...put on something nice," she says to the empty room, and her mind pauses only to flare up again with more questions and hypotheticals. 

Seraphine groans again, louder this time, and sits up on the bed, glaring at her closet. The newly purchased clothes stare back at her, challenging her. 

She stands up and walks over to the closet, pushing the door open all the way and flicking the light on. 

The size of it still overwhelms Seraphine, who's never had a walk-in closet before, but she shoves that to the back of her mind and focuses on the dresses she'd picked out earlier today. 

Her hand lifts and she sifts through a few of them, deeming the sundresses too light and airy for a dinner with her professors. The one ballgown Damien had insisted she pick up as they passed a dress store is out of the picture, too--it's not that fancy. 

Seraphine pauses on a baby blue dress that hangs almost hidden. Ironic, she thinks as she lifts the hanger, given that I had also hidden this from them. 

She holds it up to her body and smiles, knowing this is the dress she'll wear tonight.