"Good evening, mio caro." I slowly awaken, wrapped in the sheets, and straighten out my legs. The room is dark, no doubt it's getting into early evening, and I can see the beginnings of the moon shining through the window onto the floor. I turn to Aro as he rolls into me and lays his head on my chest. He lays a kiss on my cheek. I respond with a smile, and wrap an arm around him, pinning him against my torso.
Caius' eyes open beside me and he offers, a genuinely happy smile, no trace of irony or sardonic grin as usual which is a pleasant surprise. He stretches his arms above his head and slowly flops back down, resting under my arm. "Good evening." His voice is quiet. Aro re-positions himself and wraps his arms around my waist. His fingers reach towards Caius' hair to stroke it leisurely, Caius' back arches like a cat, it's satisfying to watch him writhe with pleasure. I look over my shoulder to Aro who grins. "Are you going to stroke my hair, too?" He smiles at my teasing, but Caius beats him to it, and turns, to run his fingers through my scalp.
I can't help but groan happily, the effect is therapeutic, paired with Aro's gentle kissing of my temple, I think I might fall back to sleep, but the covers are pulled back, revealing our almost bare bodies. It's a blissful tangle of arms and legs, wrapped around each other, warm and comfortable. I lay in the middle, Caius's fingers run through my hair, Aro's reciprocate on Caius' blonde head, and I wrap an arm each around both of them, stretching out my legs. I sigh contently. "So." I announce after a few minutes of therapeutic head scratching. "Is this weird for you?" I glance at the two of them. "Or are you both comfortable with this, too?"
Caius groans as Aro's fingers skim across his forehead. "I'm strangely comfortable." He admits. Aro murmurs in response. "Well as I said, it's about time you came to accept the truth, Caius." I wrap myself around Caius' slim waist. "All this time, you've liked men? What about your wife?" I feel Caius' body shift a little in discomfort but he doesn't pull away. "He's right Caius." Aro muses. "You have a duty to Athenadora to keep her happy and to give her respect."
Caius' shoulders stiffen. "I don't wish to speak about it." His voice turns hard, almost back to its usual, harsh self and I feel my heart sink. 'Do something, before he turns back into a mean girl.' Richard urges. I find the courage to just dive into it, and keeping my arms wrapped around his waist, start kissing his back and shoulders. He relaxes, and sinks against me. "It's okay." I utter between kisses. "We can talk about it another time, if you'd like."
Caius purrs softly, his head tilts back and so that his eyes meet mine. Our foreheads touch as he lays in my arms and he looks at me with an expression of longing, his hands reach to grab my face. 'You going to kiss him? Really? You're going to kiss him?' Richard interrupts the mood a little, but not enough to put me off. 'Are you sure that's a good idea?'
I look at Aro who is watching intensely, and he gives a swift nod of approval.
Then yes, I will.
Our lips touch for just a second or two, but it's enough to warm up my body and make my erection return, swelling in my underwear. Caius feels it dig into his back and he moans, with a smile, pulling me closer until he rolls onto his back, and hauls me on top of his body. I'm careful to kneel above him, placing both my knees either side of his waist, before pinning my elbows near his head and kissing him deeper. I feel Aro shift to get closer behind me, as his hand slips into my shorts and begins to handle my stiffness.
"Fuck." I lean back against Aro's chest, his arm wraps around, his hand gripping my erection tighter. "More, Alex?" He whispers in my ear darkly. I break apart from Caius' hungry mouth for just a second to respond. "Yes." Aro obeys immediately, as though he'd been expecting my 'yes'. Caius' hands travel around my waist and up along the length of my back, scratching my skin eagerly. I shift forward to straddle Caius' hips, and he bucks, groaning as we kiss further.
Aro's hand wraps around my erection and begins to shift his hand along the length quickly. I move my hips backwards and forwards excitedly, shifting along Caius' hips, as a stiffness grows in his underwear. "Aro?" The three of us freeze, falling silent, we glance up towards the front door. "Aro, are you in there?" Marcus stands outside the door, knocking persistently. Caius gasps.
Something seems to switch inside him.
He jolts and throws me off him, hard enough that I fall backwards against Aro, who catches me by gripping my arms, pulling me to his chest.
We watch as Caius jumps off the bed and pulls on his trousers, throwing on his shoes and socks in record time. He dresses quickly and launches himself towards the door, pulling it open to reveal Marcus who stands patiently waiting. Caius smooths his hair back. "I would wait outside, brother." He ducks his head in our direction. "They're rather busy." He rushes past him and down the corridor hurriedly without another word.
Aro and I exchange glances but no words are spoken. He dresses quickly and heads out to speak to Marcus who he invites to sit at his desk. I slowly put on my clothes, aching with sadness and missing what we'd had just moments before. 'Damn, did he really have to run out like that?' Richard sounds as disappointed as me. To think that a minute before, I was tangled in his arms, kissing him, and now he's gone, running off like a scared boy.
Once I'm dressed, I find a seat and perch beside Aro, who is engaged in conversation with Marcus. "Well," Marcus crosses his legs in front of him. "The good news is, the Countess of Milan, doesn't seem very bent on revenge, so I think we can rule her out." He almost smiles. Aro returns it, grinning madly. "Well thank goodness for that."
"However." He sighs in frustration. "I do think the Romanian coven may be involved, though I'm working on more leads."
"How did you know the Countess is fine with Aro?" I ask. Marcus glances up at me, his eyes are still disturbing to me. There's something unsettling about his detached demeanour. "I spoke to her myself." He pauses. "By telephone." He pronounces 'telephone' as though it's a non-English word. The idea of him using any type of phone is amusing. Marcus doesn't seem as though he'd have many people to call.
Aro sighs. "At least we can rule her out." Their conversation is serious and important though I can't help but think of Caius, who's probably in his room, overthinking and experiencing a quarter/mid/partway life crisis? Who knows, he's so old it's practically an end-of-life crisis at this point. But what kind of hateful world must he have experienced for him to hide himself away for three thousand years?
"I'm sorry." I stand and interrupt, they glance up at me. "I'd like to speak to Caius, to see what he wanted." Aro gives me a knowing look, an unspoken from of acceptance. "Yes, I wonder what he came to speak to us about. Do tell him I'll be along shortly." I nod along with the charade and pass the two of them, heading out the bedroom door and into the quiet corridor. Caius' room.
Where is Caius' room. Damn, now is not the time to be getting lost.
'Walk down the corridor, dickhead.' Richard sighs, tiredly.
I obey, it must be this way, Marcus' room isn't too far from here, it must be this way to find Caius. Where else would he go? Maybe to see his wife?
'You really think he'd visit his wife after he nearly fucked you?' Okay, fair point. Further down the corridor, I spot one of the bedroom doors open, and in its entrance, is Enoch, the kind young man who serves here. "Enoch?" He jolts and spins to face me, his face full of fear until he realises I'm not a vampire, but a human. "Mr. Alex." He sighs with relief, his shoulders sagging.
He approaches me. "This is Mr. Caius' room." He gestures to the open door. "Great, I'm looking for him." I go to pass by but he bars the entrance with a slender arm. I look at him, his eyes are weary. "Mr. Alex, the room is empty." I shrug at his words. "Don't worry I can come back later, or wait for him." I go to enter the room again. "Mr. Alex, I just saw him, he took his car keys, he looked...angry. I wonder if maybe he's gone on a rampage."
'What the fuck is a rampage?' Richard hisses in my ear.
"What do you mean by that?" The word 'rampage' is troubling.
Enoch shrugs. "Last time he was overly upset about something, he fed on four people at once and then left the room in a horrible state." He shudders. "However, he did say something about needing a drink, as in, alcohol." He pauses. "There are several bars around here."
I hurry off down the corridor. "Where's the nearest spare car? All the money Caius has, he must have a car or four, right?" I hear Enoch hurrying along behind me. 'So, we're going to steal one of his cars?Yeah, sure.' Richard scoffs. "I don't fucking know, you idiot, but we have to check on him, he's run off like a kid and I can't let him be by himself."
If Enoch hears me talking to seemingly myself, he doesn't say anything.
We get down to the first floor, and Enoch redirects me towards a shuttered garage. "Here, he keeps his cars and their keys in this room." I gasp as he pushes open the shutter and reveals a black, sleek, sports car. I wish I knew its name but cars have never been something I've understood or had passion for. I stare at it, it is low, almost to the floor. Enoch unlocks it and hands me the keys gingerly. "Can you drive?" His voice is nervous. "He'll kill you if you damage his car. Especially this one." He gestures to the car. "This one and the one he took - the Bugatti- are his favourites."
I roll my eyes. "You want to see my license?" I give him a friendly nudge. "Stay here and tell Aro where I've gone. I don't want him to worry." I unlock the driver's door. "What type of car is it?" Enoch smiles nervously. "It's a Lamborghini Veneno, it's worth 5 million dollars." I retract my hand. "Are you serious?" My eyes almost fall out of my head, that's a ridiculous amount of money. "Mr. Caius loves cars." He smiles.
I jump into the car, and fasten the seat belt. The layout is low and the seats are awkward to adjust. I roll down the window and stick my head out. "Where are most of the bars?"
"Into the main town, where the markets are, further down from there. It's well lit, and you'll see lots of people. Follow their lead, and you should find him." I reach out to place my hand in his. He's so thin, he needs a good pot of soup, some good nutrition. "Thank you Enoch." I slot the keys into the ignition and get the engine started. It roars with life. 'It better be the best car in the world, for a price like that.' Richard sounds disgusted.
Enoch smiles shyly. "I'll tell Master Aro where you are." I start to pull out of the garage and onto the street outside the building, waving my arm out the window as I leave as a goodbye until the building and Enoch in the garage are in the distance and I focus on finding Caius, wherever he may be. God knows, with his money, where I will find him. A five star, fancy hotel with sweeping doors and deep bath tubs with a view of the city from the 28th floor, or a rat infested, cruddy brothel on a backstreet somewhere. There is no in-between.