THE ARISTOCRATS #1

00:34

Clementine was in Elijah's bathroom, applying some hair oil to her dry ends, when someone started pounding the door furiously. She yelped and dropped her hair brush, sending it clattering to the floor. Her bottle of hair oil also tipped over, spilling its greasy contents onto the tiles. She groaned with frustration, crouching down to right the bottle.

"Clementine!" Ronan's gruff voice hollered from the other side of the door. "Clementine! I know you're in there! Reply!"

"Ronan!" She hissed, glaring at the door. "Can you shut up?"

"Can I come in? Are you naked? Please tell me you're not naked, i just ate breakfast." He replied.

She rolled her eyes, using her arm with the cast to open the bathroom door. A pink-cheeked Ronan towered in the doorway, slightly out of breath, as if he had ran there.

"You need to see this shit." He said, peeking behind her to the oil on the floor. "Wow, you been a here a few days and you're already breaking shit."

"It was an accident!" She protested, glaring at him. "Don't tell Elijah."

Ronan blinked. Once. Twice.

A cheshire smile spread across his face.

"Elijah!" Ronan hollered, grinning and running to the living room.

Clementine swore and chased after him, pulling at his shirt. She stumbled into the living room, where Elijah, Aaron and Levi seemed to be engaged in a serious conversation.

"Elijah! Clementine just spilled oil all over your bathroom floor. Like, all over it. It's literally everywhere."

Her jaw dropped as he snitched on her.

"It's not everywhere." She defended herself. "And you startled me! it was an accident."

Elijah smirked, pulling her hand and gently wrapping an arm around her waist.

"You made a mess?" he whispered mockingly, regarding her in a predatory manner. "In my house?"

She huffed, pushing his face and scowling.

"You're all terrible," she grumbled.

Her frown melted into a begrudging smile as Elijah took a seat on the sofa, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around. She made a soft humming sound as he nudged the side of her neck with his nose, biting the soft skin. His hard chest pressed into her back, his hands roaming her sides and hips.

"Yuck," Aaron deadpanned.

"What did you wanna show me?" Clementine asked Ronan, slightly breathless.

Her heart immediately plummeted at his grim look, the way Elijah tensed slightly under her.

"One of Kieran's friends spoke to us," Levi spoke up, resting his elbows on his knees as he sat up. "We tried to talk to Kieran himself, but you saw how that went."

Clementine nodded, feeling that familiar nausea that arose in her whenever this topic was broached. She tried to focus on the feeling of Elijah's hands gripping her thighs, the pressure grounding her.

"Okay," she replied hoarsely, nodding slowly. "What did his friend say?"

Levi and Aaron swapped glances.

"He told us that they might be meeting up tomorrow night," Ronan said. "In her office."

Elijah's voice was soothing in her ear, low and smooth.

"We're telling you this because we may have a chance at getting evidence tomorrow," his voice was low in her ear. "You don't have to come, we can do it ourselves. I know this is hard for you."