A love like mine

It was now a couple of months since she had left a very disgruntled and annoyed King at her apartment after giving it to him. She had thought about reaching out a couple of times but had always decided against it; no, she would much rather make herself comfortable in her giant Victorian house, where she had given an entire wing to Griffin that he could make his home until he had figured out what he wanted to do, she had even given him the space to run around playing nice with that delicious hybrid of his, even if the boy clearly had tried to keep it a secret, the earth would now why.

Right now, she was sitting in her rather luxurious living room and enjoying a good book accompanied by a bottle of wine that she every now and then poured the content off into a glass by her side. Of course, the wine wasn’t wine but fairy blood. That was when she was suddenly interrupted by someone ringing the doorbell, her brows pressed together, as she was quite sure that she wasn’t expecting anyone. Putting the book downward on the giant light brown lush couch, she got up with her glass of blood and walked to the hallway. Opening the massive door, she looked at Leigh, her brow lifted in a questioning manner as she looked at the dog in his arms. “Leigh?” she said with a soft tone and stepped to the side so he could come in. “what brings you here?” she asked, before closing the door, letting her hand run over the pup's head.

Now, it wasn’t because Leigh had gotten beaten up, but how his mind had definitely had it better before he had been in that stupid shadow world. Now, he wasn’t really the one who sought people out for help, and he always took care of things himself, that way he was certain that things were completely like he wanted them, and nothing was wrong, but when he had been spat out of the shadow world, and Nutmeg had come running to him, he had felt how everything was creeping around. Each and every corner. It felt like every shadow was going to drag him back into the darkness. He had tried his best to keep the day going smoothly, but as he reached the night, gotten under the sheets with his lights turned on he figured that he wasn’t going to feel secure enough to fall asleep. He had also tried to go to the laboratory with his dog and do some work; just to get his mind on something else. But everything just seemed to spook him. He ended up looking through his contacts, thinking about who was closest, and who wouldn’t mind an unexpected arrival. After a ‘tough’ decision, he chose to pick up Nutmeg and his cup of coffee from the laboratory and drove towards Silent City.

He found himself carrying his small dog under his arm and carrying his mug in his free hand, managing to ring the bell with it. Eventually, the door opened, and with no words, he started to walk in, “I need some company,” he said and turned a little which made her able to pet the pup’s head. “And you’re the best company I can think of,” he said and pulled a cheeky smile before he took a sip of his lukewarm coffee, looking at the cup shortly. Maybe he didn’t need the coffee anymore.

A soft smile formed over her lips that quickly turned into a smirk when he told her she was the best company he could think of. “What, my mother didn’t do it for you?” she hummed, before leaning over and giving him a soft kiss against his cheek, “oh don’t look so surprised, Norah is one of your half-brother’s favourites when he found out you were her mate” she made a small whistle before the smirk once again formed over her lips; “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you,” she said, before taking his cup of coffee and walked down the hallway before she took a right through a beautiful oak carved arched opening into a big kitchen that was made just like the rest of the house, grand and expensive.
“I have some nice fairy blood cooling, what some?” she called from the kitchen, as she found a bowl for the Nutmeg that she filled with water, she was also quite sure she had some dog food from last Leigh had brought the little feller with him, dogfood didn’t expire, did it? She looked at it took a whiff and with a shrug of her shoulders, she poured it into another bowl and placed both of them on the floor.  

Only Leigh’s eyes looked toward Nathalie as she spoke about her mother, feeling her lips against his cheek shortly after. He raised a brow, almost as if he wasn’t surprised about being reminded about that fact. It once again reminded him of how much he was displeased with those men. All of it was just things he hadn’t come here to talk about, things he mostly just wanted to bury in the past.
Suddenly she had taken his mug, which made him feel more awake than the sip he had just taken from the mug. He let Nutmeg get down onto the floor and shortly after he followed her towards her grand kitchen. “Of course, I want some,” he replied, watching how Nutmeg followed her, mostly because she carried bowls. He knew it would take some time to get past the taste of Norah, but eventually, he knew it would be packed away.
Leigh furrowed his brows a little, “Do you have company?” he wondered and turned his gaze towards what he believed to be the sound of company. In truth, it was simply Griffin who was cleaning up everywhere on his wing, not wanting to have a mess if his mom and her company suddenly wanted to visit him.

She looked up from the drawer when he asked if she had company, then her eyes turned to the wing of the house and a smile formed on her lips “only my son, I think he is tidying up;” she licked her lips before turning her gaze back down to the drawer where she picked up one more wine glass and then walked over to her wine cooler where she kept the blood. “His house got torn down, so he is living with me, well, until he finds something himself”, she hummed while pouring into both glasses, then she turned and walked over to hand it to him.
“So, I’m all yours,” she said with a soft smile, letting her hand find his cheek and softly let her thumb glide over his cheekbone. Now, even though her feelings were turned off, she had gotten a taste of what it would feel like if it wasn’t, that had changed her, at least in the way she regarded other people; there was a tenderness, a loving manner to how she approached him, that was so unlike her, and yet, very much her as a person. Her hand fell back down her side, “want to go to the living room?” she asked before tilting her head “or would you rather just go straight to bed?” she added shortly afterwards, taking a step closer to him, so close that their chests almost touched.

He nodded a little, wondering how long the boy had been living with Nathalie. He had once met the boy, just because he had told Nathalie he would be picking her up. The boy had been quite miserable in that old hut. “Oh damn,” he laughed a little, “Poor boy,” he said, honestly feeling bad for the kid. He had seemed like he really liked his hut. Like a real old caveman who just didn’t want to leave his cave.
He received the glass and pulled a smirk as she said that he was all hers. “That sounds like something I can deal with,” he said. As she placed her hand against his cheek, he got a little confused, and it showed just a tiny bit. Where did this kindness come from?
He managed to get a sip of his drink while she spoke and lowered his glass as she stepped closer. The kitchen is fine. It laid on the tip of his tongue, but there was something about the restlessness that was uncertain if he would even be in the mood for such activities but on the other hand…
“I don’t think I can sleep,” he replied, but of course, there was the chance that she didn’t think about sleeping. He let an arm snake around her pulling her closer. He was confusing himself. He wasn't used to being frightened at all. “But going to bed might be a good idea,” he added, thinking he wasn’t going to get much sleep at all.

Her brows pressed toward one another when he explained to her that he wouldn’t be able to sleep; now, they were purebloods, so they didn’t need sleep, or at least not in the same way that mortals required it; but she also knew him, with his job and what he did, it took a lot of energy to stay on top of everything, which meant that even though it wasn’t necessary, it was essential to get a good night’s rest.
She felt a slight pull in her heart, something that wanted to take care of him, and not in the way that he might be hinting and wanting something else. Maybe it had been how he had looked, the small signs that told her that there was something else entirely going on than just him coming here to ease the pressure of whatever was going on in his head.
“Okay,” she said with a soft voice, letting her hand caress his cheek a little more before she removed it “, let’s go to bed” she took his hand and gently guided him to the massive bedroom, which could easily fit a whole family inside—the giant king-size bed filled with luxury pillows in a dark grey silk cover.
“Take off most of your clothes and lie on your stomach,” she said before letting go of his hand as she walked over and placed her glass of blood by the bedside table. Then she walked into the adjacent bathroom, where she slipped into something far more comfortable, a small silk night dress and a kimono over; then she took the massage oil and walked into the bedroom, seeing if he had done as she had asked him too.

Leigh knew very well how he didn’t need sleep like humans, but it was nice to shut off the mind completely. Not having to consider things and let the mind run a thousand miles per hour. He liked sleeping just as much as he liked coffee. Warm coffee. Not lukewarm.
Her hand caressed him in a way that was calming him. It felt a little odd, not that he minded it. Things were different this time compared to so many other times. He gave her a short nod before he followed her inside her massive bedroom. His eyes followed her as she placed her glass of blood by the bedside table, he walked to the table on the other side and placed his own glass there, watching how it swirled while he took off his shirt. As it left him, chills ran over his back. He could almost feel how shadows crept in on him, which made him hold onto his shirt for a moment. As soon as he felt like he had swallowed the lump of fear he picked up the glass and took a bigger sip of it, putting it back before he undressed everything else. He felt like his thoughts were running slower, and he was uncertain if it was because he felt calm or if it was his brain that was shutting down from the fear of what hid behind any corner. He turned to the bed and let himself slide onto the bed, while he looked up as she entered again. His elbows were on the mattress his face upright, so he wouldn’t feel blinded by the pillows. “You look comfortable,” he told her, having his eyes rest on her. He knew very well he might look somewhat comfortable too, since he laid butt naked on his stomach in her bed.

A smile formed over her lips as a chuckle left her, just for him she spun around, the fabric dancing around her curves. “I do, don’t I” she hummed before walking toward him and placing the bottle with the oil beside him as she crawled into the bed. “You seem rather comfortable yourself” she added before Nathalie placed herself across his lower back “still comfortable?” she asked as she moved her head down and placed a soft kiss against his cheek, then his neck before they landed on his shoulder for a small while before she rose back up in a seating position.
“So, what happened?” she asked as she put some oil into her hands and started gently moving them over his back, up to his shoulders. She took her time, kneaded out every small aching muscle she came across not at all minding doing this for him, if anything it took her own thoughts away from the matter of her uncontrolled feelings and how she had a harder time turning them off and letting them stay off.

He enjoyed how the fabric swayed around her, humming to agree with her. His eyes followed her movements and watched where she placed the oil. There was something that lingered. Not that he was uncomfortable with her company at all, but he was just very aware of everything in the room. He wished to know where things were standing so he was certain that nothing was lurking in the shadows. A short chuckle left him, “Thank you. I worked hard on looking this comfortable,” he told her. As soon as he felt how she moved over his lower back, he closed his eyes, wanting to relax underneath her, but as soon as she did, he felt the shadows creep up on him, which made him open his eyes again. Another hum left him, telling her that he was still comfortable, even though she sat on his lower back. As her lips found his cheek, he once again wished to close his eyes so he could enjoy her kisses to the fullest as they traveled, but he didn’t.
He turned his head a little as she asked him about what had happened. “I wanted to make amends… Make her listen to me,” he mumbled. “She basically shut the door in my face,” he grumbled. He started to think back to what had been going on.  “I found the youngest Jones a minute later and brought her with me to Hanna’s house,” he explained, “And then she got mad at me and next thing I know I’m in a shadow world,” he mumbled. It was dangerously relaxing to lay underneath her. He turned his torso a bit, “And you’re certain you don’t want some?” he wondered and let his hand find her knee, caressing it gently.

A slight sound left Nathalie to tell Leigh he should continue speaking–even though she didn’t look at him, she was still listening.  
It wasn’t like Nathalie knew her mother or that part of the family besides what she had gathered through the years when they had visited River at his casino; at first, she had been surprised at how many of them actually found their way there, but as time went on, she understood better. It was the addiction, the atmosphere it brought–especially the casino in Las Vegas. But somehow–the way Leigh told the story, she felt like he was leaving something out. But the vampire didn’t say anything. She let her hands work their magic by slowly untangling the knots she found under his skin.
Then his hand found her knee, making her finally look away from what she was doing. Of course, she always wanted some; she faked emotions through sexual intercourse, drugs, and alcohol–the list was endless of what she wouldn’t do to get something without turning her feelings on.
“If that would make you feel better”, she whispered, leaning down and gently kissing his cheek with the tip of her nose. She caressed it in circles before finally letting her lips kiss the cheek. Then something grabbed her stomach, and before she could stop the words from floating over her tongue–she spoke, “do you want my feelings on or off?”

He felt how she leaned down and closed his eyes as he listened to her. She did such an amazing job of pleasing others even though she didn’t have her feelings on. It was a sweet touch, the kiss too. The question she then asked made him furrow his brows, then opening his eyes and turned his head as much as he could up towards her. Since when was she willing to turn her feelings on? “I think you’d enjoy more with your feelings on,” he replied before he took a greater breath in, even though he didn’t need it. “But it’s completely up to you, sweetheart. I’m not the one to say what you should or shouldn’t do,” he added with a soft sigh. He caressed her knee again, closing his eyes. He didn’t know if she wanted to stop massaging him, so she could get some, or if they should be waiting before they shifted places.

She chuckled when he told her that it wasn’t up to him; “oh, I thought you liked to control the situation no matter what”, she whispered with a loving voice, then she found the key and unlocked that chamber that had hidden all the emotions. It was, as it had been last time, almost enough to knock her off her game; but this time, she had expected it, not when King had managed to find her key and do it for her, forcing her to face the consequences of not dealing with the traumas that she had gone through her entire life.
A tear glided down her cheek, dripping from the tip of her nose to his cheek. With a soft sigh, she pressed herself up and started letting her hands massage over his back; of course, they could do as he had suggested, but right now, she needed a moment to find herself in the waves of feelings rushing over her. She knew it was dangerous to let the damp break, and she tried to navigate through it as best she could—at least without losing her mind in the process.

Leigh glanced up toward her as she spoke to him. He grumbled a little. He could almost feel it when she unlocked her feelings, even though she only touched him a few places. It took a little second before he felt a tear glide down her cheek and landing on his. He let one of his hands caress her knee a little. “Take your time,” he spoke softly. He knew that things had been rough for her, and even though Leigh could take and take, as much as it pleased him, he had a very softcore and a very caring heart. Something that Norah might have forgotten or overseen. He was definitely going to make sure that Nathalie was comfortable with everything they did, even if it was drinking coffee; besides they were both feeling insecure, so maybe it could be a mutual goal for the night to get comfortable. There were many factors that made Nathalie interesting to experiment on, including how her brain worked. But he held Nathalie a bit too dear to put her in a cell. It was another case with her grandmother.