Infinite Bliss || Volturi Kings

|8| WASPS

Walking beside Marcus, although it felt strangely natural to her, was a weird experience, but it was difficult to describe exactly how. Maybe it was the way that he strode with such evenness and precision, or the fact that he made no noise at all as he did so.

"Does that usually happen?"

Marcus' head tilted down towards her. "Don't let that representation of my brothers taint your opinion of them. When their emotions are in balance, I assure you they act much more tame towards one another."

"Their emotions?" she repeated.

"The bond affects us just as much as it does you, amore mio," he explained. "Just how much did the Cullens tell you about vampire mating?"

She shrugged. "Not much. They made it seem kinda the same to the human version, just a marriage that lasts hundreds of years instead."

He hummed in thought. "I see. There is a fair bit that has been omitted from their explanations to you. For instance, in most mated pairs, there will naturally be a more dominant mate and a more submissive mate. In our case, like many others, the males are dominant."

Eliana winced. "Should I be disturbed? Or . . ."

"I don't mean dominant in the sense that you might think," Marcus reassured her. "We are dominant in that we, in nature, are more protective and, well . . . possessive, for lack of a better term. But that isn't to say that we would not be equals in this relationship. Do I make sense?"

After a moment, she nodded. "I think so."

They walked in silence again for a moment, until Marcus continued. "As per your previous question-"

"What previous question?" she interjected.

"I think you know exactly the question I mean, tesoro."

"Oh." She looked at the floor dejectedly. "So you heard."

"I believe the bond between us works against you in this case," Marcus humoured, "for we are very much attuned to every detail about your being, including your body language, your voice, and every sound you make. For myself, at least, I find it near impossible to direct my attention away from you when you are in the vicinity."

Noticing a blush slowly form across her face as her stare at the ground intensified, Marcus forced himself to withhold his smirk and continued.

"Hence I heard every word," he concluded. "I know you better than you seem to realise."

Eliana didn't say anything in response to that. Without exactly knowing what anyone could possibly say to that, she distractedly scuffed her shoes against the floor with each step she took.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Eliana."

That caught her attention. She looked up at him quickly, a hint of bewilderment behind her eyes. Marcus looked down at her with a faint smile.

"There are no expectations for you to uphold," he assured her. "This is as new to you as it is to us. Don't feel pressured into thinking or acting in any particular way."

Part of her felt like she should've been finding little comfort in that. Those were just words that held very little meaning overall.

But something about the way he said it soothed a piece of her mind, like how any Gaga song did after she'd taken some co codamol. Maybe that was a bad comparison, but that really was how it felt.

She smiled a little. "Thanks, Marcus."

"Of course, cara mi-"

She'd moved before she even intended to, but once she'd actually clocked in the motion, she realised she had her arms around Marcus' torso. In a sudden panic at what she'd done, she began to pull away, but once she felt Marcus' arms around her shoulders and his head against hers, she stopped and took a deep breath, hesitantly leaning into him. Somehow . . . hugging him felt like the best physical contact she could experience from anyone.