Midnight Shadows

Chapter 8 - Moving Forward

Aurora's POV

I lace my fingers together in anxiousness as I sit in front of the two men who I'm about to give the means to absolutely destroy me: again.

I look between them, taking in their body language as they both look upon me with certainty and intrigue, as they are clearly interested in the reasoning to why I've allowed them back to see me, in my safe space no less. Kaede has his legs slightly crossed, right arm draped over the back of the tiny couch, eyes shifting to me and then away from me ever so often, almost as if he can't look at me for too long. Acyn is sitting with his arms resting on his knees; his hands in a praying position in front of his face, dark eyes staring at me with a hint of desire.

I inhale deeply and exhale, composing myself before I speak.

"Thank you both for coming." They look to me, nodding in agreement. I continue speaking, partially astonished at how strong my voice sounds.

"You both are here to stay?" I ask and Acyn answers with a stern "Yes. Definitely."

"Okay." I trail off, looking away from them for a moment, before gathering my thoughts and continuing again. The fact that they haven't interrupted me and are allowing me all the time I need to get my thoughts out makes me feel heard and respected.

"This whole idea of being your beloved; for both of you makes me incredibly nervous. I pushed down all the feelings I had for you both when you left. I forced myself to push through and move on, and I've been finding it hard to pull those feelings back again."

I sigh loudly before smoothing my hands over my slicked back ponytail as a means of composure.

"Kaede." I speak his name and the way he glances at me with such intensity, my heart skips a beat. "You always were the reasonable one. You brought positivity and understanding in a way that I never understood. It hurt to hear you reject my feelings before you left. And Acyn..." I pause to glance to him on my left. "You always were brash. Supportive but always had that hint of danger and mystery. I fully expected the rejection from you, but only because I felt I would never be someone to you in your eyes."

They look between themselves, adjusting their positions so that they are both sitting at full attention and facing me. "This scares me. To be this person who is all important to you after all the hurt I've experienced. But I'm willing to work towards what it means to be your beloved, with both of you."

Both Kaede and Acyn smile at me, which makes me blush and I place my palms on my cheeks to hide it. Acyn rises from the loveseat quickly and stands in front of me, making me look up at him. He reaches up and grabs my hands from my face gently and pulls them away. His dominating presence is too much, and I bite my lip ever so slightly to try and stop my reaction, but he chuckles as he grasps my chin and tilts my head upwards, almost straining my neck.

"You wont regret this little darling. Kaede and I are going to ravish you as you deserve." I glance to my right as Kaede stands and joins his brother, grasping my right hand and pulling me up to a standing position, Acyn's hand still grasping my chin.

I'm suffocated my them, but my body comes alive being in such close proximity to them again and I realize then that it won't ever stop. This pull I've felt was happening for a reason. I was meant to be theirs.

Mind, body and soul.

They back away from me, breaking contact, but only ever so slightly. "Do you still need to practice?" Kaede asks and I nod. "I had only just started before you both got here."

"Can we watch you?" Acyn says quietly and I look at him confused. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Are we really going to have to answer that darling?" Acyn chuckles and I'm caught by surprise as he pulls me into him before dipping me back dramatically. I gasp and laugh as he brings me back upright. "We always loved watching you dance, Aurora. We'd like to be able to do that again."

I nod, blushing even more knowing that little piece of information. I point to the farthest wall facing the mirror of the studio. "You can move the couches there to face me then, and I'll get back to work."

- - -

I finished my practice early because I couldn't focus with both Kaede and Acyn's eyes on me the whole time. But I guess that is something I will have to get used to. We all came back up into my apartment and the boys decided they would hang out in my living room while I showered and whatnot, which I did quickly as I was nervous that they would start snooping around.

What I came out to was a surprise.

The lights dimmed, bowls of chips and other snacks were on my coffee table, with some movies from my cabinet picked out.

"Wha... did you both know where all this was?" I ask, astonished since they hadn't been in my apartment before. "We did a little snooping." Kaede says with a smirk, and I roll my eyes playfully before joining them on the couch.

I knew it. They snooped.

"You want to watch a movie with me? Really?" They both nod. "We want to do all the things with you. We've missed out on so much, and we're going to take a steady pace with you. If that's okay." Kaede explains and I nod. "I'm 100% okay with that."

"But once we're comfortable, it won't be steady anymore. Understand?" Acyn says sternly and goosebumps shoot up all over my body at the use of his tone. I'm rendered speechless, so all I do is nod in agreement.

What am I getting myself into?

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