Infinite Bliss || Volturi Kings

|21| RELAX

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT OF A SEXUAL NATURE BETWEEN CONSENTING ADULTS. IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SMUT, DON'T READ. BUT HEY, YOU DO YOU.

Ignoring any of her protests, Caius insisted on her spending the night in his quarters instead of her own room.

She couldn't say she didn't understand, though. He was right, in that the trial she'd been injured in could've gone a lot worse than it had. If there was one thing she was learning about the true mate bond, it was that it wasn't keen on her being put in any form of danger.

When she'd gotten up to find herself some pyjamas from her own room, Caius was instantly standing in front of her with one of his shirts.

Eliana looked to the white button up and then back at him with a slightly teasing smile. "You really don't want me leaving this room, do you?"

"You have no need to for the time being," he argued. "Get dressed and get some sleep, carina. You need the rest."

He held the door to his bathroom open for her until she was inside and closed it behind her. Once he heard the click of the lock, which he knew wouldn't actually do anything to stop him from breaking in if he needed to but that was irrelevant, he walked over to his desk and slowly began to tidy his workspace.

Honestly, he'd let the state of that area get away from him, which was why he tended to prefer working in his office instead, but as far as he was concerned, if it distracted him from the sound of his mate undressing, it was a suitable activity.

Contrary to his frequent teasing, Caius was as reluctant to push her into frankly anything she wasn't ready for as either of his brothers. It wasn't very frequently he met humans this innocent, this naive, this purely unknowing. There was so much for her to learn, but that didn't mean she couldn't learn at her own pace instead.

As he began moving files into his desk drawers, the bathroom door opened, but since he'd turned so slowly, Eliana was already in his bed by the time he saw her. Just as he'd expected, his shirt was far too big on her, one side exposing her completely bare shoulder. The sheets pulled over her bust, which was likely a good thing considering the thin material the shirt was made of, she instantly turned over and closed her eyes.

Caius approached her at a human pace and crouched at the side she was sleeping at. Her lip was still quite swollen, possibly slightly more so than before, and judging by her expression she could feel it too. His knuckles brushed against her smooth cheek.

"Do you need some pain medication?" he asked her quietly.

Eliana shook her head. "I just want to sleep . . ."

Caius couldn't help but smile. "Of course. I'll be here if you need anything. Sogni d'oro," he murmured as he kissed her forehead.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

To Caius' surprise, Eliana had managed to sleep for a solid 11 hours. So that he could be closer to her without disturbing her, he opted to work in an armchair near the bed with his laptop, which wasn't exactly ideal but at least meant that he wouldn't have to leave her side to go to his office.

Throughout the night, he'd been more than relieved to see the swelling around her mouth completely disappear, just as expected. There was still a cut on her lip which would almost certainly cause her discomfort for the next few days, but it was progress regardless.

Caius still didn't know how he'd let himself lose sight of her like that. It had been him who had persuaded his brothers to allow her to attend in the first place. She was one small responsibility.