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maiden-of-wolves · 7 years ago

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Heads in Beds - SM AU Fic - Chapter 6

This chapter’s SUPER LONG in comparison to the others. Full of drama and interesting things and gets a tad dark. Hopefully that’s okay! This is also the first chapter with a beta reader’s help. I’ve also changed things in previous chapters due to her invaluable assistance, so if you see anything you don’t remember noting before March 2018, it may be a part of those changes.

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Even though the office was a fairly large space, when the boys all filed in it felt terribly small. It didn’t help matters that they had to crowd her and each other just to see the small screen. She’d never cursed its small size until now.

“So what’s this about?” Sam asked. “Why’re you staring at that light book?”

Thea chuckled. “It’s called a laptop,” she informed him, turning around in her chair so they could actually see the screen. She’d pulled up men’s daily fashion in a google image search. “I got a bit of an idea with Sam’s little stunt with that ‘glamor spell’,” she said. “Can you all adjust what you’re wearing with magic?”

“In a sense,” James replied. “But it will draw from our reserves, so you may want to consider suggesting this carefully—”

“Would you wear actual clothes if I got them for you, then?” Thea asked, thinking nothing of interrupting James.

The brothers didn’t answer, looking between each other for a few moments. They didn’t seem to want to answer, rather than not being able to.

“I don’t want to wear shoes,” Matthew muttered, tapping his sneaker-encased foot on the floor.

“You don’t have to inside, but outside you’d better have them on,” Thea informed him. “Or you’ll need to wash your feet every time before you come inside.”

“Can do!” he piped up.

James sighed. “Are you sure about that, Miss? You are alright with bare feet traipsing about the house?”

“As long as they’re relatively clean bare feet,” she pulled up her own legs a bit to wiggle her socked feet. “I usually have socks or bare feet inside too.”

“Alright!” Matthew exhaled happily, grinning at Thea.

The innkeeper offered a smile in return before drawing their attention back to the laptop. “I’ve pulled up images of every day wear for fashionable men. It’d be good to pull from these to make an outfit you all like to wear in public. Multiple would be good, considering people tend to have a closet full of clothes instead of just one outfit… but I understand if it’s too much energy.”

The brothers leaned in, trying to get a good look at the images.

“It’s like… paintings…” Damien murmured.

“But really detailed! And on a lit page,” Matthew marveled.

“What’s that one?” Sam asked, pointing at a particular picture.

Thea adjusted her stance enough that she could click on the picture, making it easier for him to see. “Looks like... a twill jacket with T-shirt and jeans. Nice loafers, too,” she pointed to each piece as she noted what it was.

“The shoes are stupid,” Sam said, though he shimmered and soon stood in the soft green twill jacket, grey T-shirt and his jeans remained on his legs. His feet remained in their black and white sneakers.

She tilted her head as she observed him. “That looks pretty good on you, actually,” she noted. “Nice choice.”

Sam completely avoided eye contact and said nothing, though Thea could see a light blush painting his cheeks and she grinned at him.

“Not that what you think matters,” he muttered. “It’s comfy. Not as comfy as nothin’, but you humans don’t go around naked or shirtless much.”

“Glad you remembered that,” she mused, which seemed to startle Sam back into silence again.

Thea started scrolling again and Matthew stopped her next. “Hey, wait! That one!”

She clicked to enlarge the picture. “Ah, you like a hoodie?” she asked, smile returning to her lips.

“Is that the second shirt there?”

“The jacket, yeah. Hoodies are cool. They have pockets that are actually comfortable to put and leave your hands in and, true to the name, have a hood you can flip up and down.”

“So it’s a hooded cloak?” James asked, quirking a brow.

“No,” Thea replied, shaking her head. The way they saw things was very interesting to her. Our worlds and times are so different… she couldn’t help but think to herself. “Cloaks are long, to your knees or ankles. These are just to around your butt or your waist and the hood is only enough to shield your head from rain. It takes a fair amount of stretching for it to cover your face much more than that.”

“Still, it looks interesting,” Matthew said, nodding to himself for a moment before focusing. His form shimmered just as Sam’s had, materializing a hoodie over his T-shirt and ridding him of his sneakers. He looked down at his toes and wiggle them with a grin. “Comfy!” he said, slipping his hands into his partially-zipped hoodie.

“Is there something that you enjoy seeing on males, Princess?” Erik inquired.

Thea chuckled again. “Not really,” she admitted, glancing over at him. “But, if you want to be smartly dressed…” she mused, thought trailing off as she turned her attention back to the laptop. She scrolled down further, finally finding a model with a tailored vest. “This would probably look good on you,” she told him, leaning away after she’d clicked on the image.

“Hm! That does look nice~” Erik admitted. A moment’s shimmer later and he had a brown vest overlaid on his T-shirt. “Though it doesn’t look as good with this shirt, nor in that color…” he sighed. “I will have to adjust this.”

“You have plenty of time,” she assured him, eyes making little secret of admiring how the new vest hugged his form. He really was like a model, though she supposed they all were. It was ridiculous.

“Is there anything that is considered formal?” James asked.

“Well, yeah, suits…” she started, hesitating for a moment. “But you really don’t need to be wandering around in a full suit n’ tie ensemble during regular days,” Thea answered. She turned her attention to the computer once more. “You could be all fancy, though. Erik’s vest is like that, but I’m sure you want to be different.”

She nibbled on her lower lip as she scrolled through. “Ah! Here,” she finally said, leaning back after clicking on another image. “Something like this.” The newest image had a man with a khaki trench coat, blue and black scarf wrapped loosely about his neck, double breasted grey vest and black slacks that ended in well-polished black loafers. “Of course you won’t need the coat and scarf— the second layer of clothes on his shoulders and the thing about his neck— right now. It’s summer. Too hot for that stuff.”

James hummed to himself for a moment as he looked at the image. “The...coat? Seems like a bit much anyway,” he admitted. Moments later, he closed his eyes and his form shimmered. He’d apparently taken what Erik said to heart and substituted a long sleeved shirt for his T-shirt when he put on a vest. The black slacks that appeared were perfectly tailored and the loafers were squeaky new.

Thea shook her head slowly, a smile at her lips. “Man, having magic must be nice,” she said. “To think how much time and money I’d save by being able to just think and manifest the clothes I wanted.”

“It certainly is easier than using a tailor,” Erik admitted with a light chuckle.

She quirked a brow. “Do you all wear clothes?”

“Sons and Daughters of Lilith do not, but many other demons do,” James interjected. “The clothing is typically far more for propriety or for protection than simply to accessorize.”

“Sons and Daughters of Lilith?” Thea echoed.

“Incubi and Succubi, respectively, Miss,” James answered easily. “It is another name for us, as our race was birthed by Lilith.”

“Lilith… like Adam’s first wife Lilith?” she inquired further.

“Or so the christian bible goes,” he replied, chuckling. “There are many stories of how the human Lilith appeared in the Abyssal Plains and how she gave birth to our race, but none know the truth of it.”

The innkeeper’s mind swam with the implications, but she shook her head to help clear her mind. “Back on to our original topic— the reasons for clothing are essentially the same here,” Thea informed them. “Though the rich use clothes as another way to show off their wealth and their individual tastes.”

“So some bullshit traditions are just everywhere,” Sam grumbled. “The only place you need to put your wealth is back in the kingdom. In defenses or offence… but a massive offence is better than any defense.”

The innkeeper nodded. “For once, we agree,” she admitted. The brothers looked surprised, but she held up a hand as she continued. “Though less about the massive offence part. To have anything you own be strong, anything you get from it you need to put back into it. Reinvest time and energy into your life, money into your business, love back into your pets or plants...”

“Attention back into your relationship?” Erik offered, a sly smile parting his lips.

Thea nodded. “Exactly.”

“A wise strategy, especially for someone as young as you,” James noted.

She raised a brow as she looked to him. “Young?” she echoed. “You all can’t be older than me. No way.”

“Time… moves differently between the human and demon worlds,” James began. “That being said, I had passed my 114th year before we came here.”

Thea stared at him blankly. ...wut? she thought. It was the only thing that the gears turned out before they squeaked to a stop. “You’re… 114…?” she finally managed to ask.

“Ah!” Damien gasped, actually making his brothers jump as well as Thea. “Harold gave us those hard papers,” he said. “He said those would have all our information on them.”

James relaxed. “Oh, yes. The identity papers…” he mused, fishing around in his new slacks pockets. He grasped whatever he was looking for and pulled it out. “Here.”

Thea took the ID card that James held out for her. It was a full license... for Illinois. Mr. Anderson really had pulled out all the stops. These looked entirely legit. They have all their paperwork. You’ll need to take them to the local DMV to get it updated.... K’s commentary echoed in her head. They did indeed have all they needed. Especially if they had birth records and SS numbers as well as this. If Harold could get legitimate ID’s… there’s little doubt in her mind that he could get the rest, too.

“Your last name is Anderson,” she noted, chuckling at the thought. “I suppose that would have made it easier for Harold to keep in contact with you and help you out if you needed it. He was going to pretend y’all were his sons.” Thea’s lips parted in a small smile. “He did have quite a plan…” She flicked her eyes over the rest of the info, unsurprised to see his height listed as 6’0, certainly unsurprised at his hair and eye color and even less surprised that he was marked as ‘M’. 8/30/1994 the DoB read. “You’re 23 here,” she read out. “So, in human years at least, you’re younger than me by 2 years.”

James took the card back as soon as she offered it to him. “That will take some getting used to,” he admitted, putting the ID back in his pocket. “But considering how much more you know than I, perhaps it will not be as difficult as I think.”

“Your birthday is just a few day ahead of mine,” she informed him. “I was born on September 2nd.”

All the brothers looked very confused and glanced between each other.

“You… know exactly what date you were born?” James finally spoke up, seemingly for all the brothers.

“Oh yeah, we have a celebration every year or at least acknowledge whenever that date comes around, too. I usually just drink,” Thea shrugged. “Or maybe binge on food and or TV.”

“TV?” Matthew and Damien asked, nearly simultaneously.

“I’ll have to show you all that later,” she said. “It’s… not really something I can explain without you seeing it.”

“Do we all have birthdays now, too?” Damien asked.

“If you all have those ID cards, yeah, you do,” Thea told him. “They have to be on there. It’s part of your identity here.”

Both Matthew and Damien seemed terribly excited and enamored by the idea. “What’s mine?!” Matthew all but blurted out, fishing in his new hoodie pocket for the card before sticking it in Thea’s face.

She laughed, taking the ID and looking it over. “May 1st. It’s the 5th month of the year.” Thea handed it back to him without ceremony. “That’s usually also the day a lot of people celebrate spring coming back around.”

“What about mine?” Damien asked, far quieter than Matthew had been but still all but vibrating with excitement as he held out the ID to her.

She took it and scanned the info. “October 11th,” she informed him. “Good thing it wasn’t a month before,” she added, a mirthless chuckle passed her lips at that. My humor is so dark sometimes…

“Why?” Damien asked, tilting his head after he put his card away again.

“September 11th was the day of a horrible tragedy for this country. Thousands of people died,” Thea recounted. “It was back in 2001. I was a kid. Just 9. I didn’t really understand what was happening, aside from it being a bad thing. Smoke and fire were usually a good indicator of something bad.”

“What happened?” Surprisingly, the question had come from Sam.

Thea looked to him, silent for a good few breaths as she thought over the answer. “If humans are good at one thing, Sam, it’s killing each other,” she finally told him. “It was a very effective attack. Using our own technology of flight against us.” She got the feeling that someone would have asked about how humans could fly, but they could feel her distress at the topic and decided not to delve further for the moment. “They martyred themselves in order to cause the most damage possible. And they did a very good job of that.”

The room went quiet, all the brothers apparently cowed into silence by the heaviness of the topic.

After a few moments, though, Damien spoke up. “Did you lose anyone?”

Thea shook her head. “Thankfully, no. But I have met people who did. It was particularly tough for them because it was a national tragedy and it felt like they couldn’t be alone in their grief. I can only imagine how difficult that must have been. No to mention anyone that didn’t want a war over it. The politicians used it as an excuse for more bloodshed and more lives lost in a war that’s been going on most of my life.”

“This place doesn’t look like a battlefield,” Matthew commented. “It’s peaceful. And not covered in blood…”

The innkeeper smiled, though there was no happiness behind the expression. “It’s not fought here,” she attempted to explain. “We try and keep our wars off our soil. We go where the enemies, or where the politicians claim our enemies are.”

“Sounds like a good strategy,” Sam noted. “Bring the fight to them. Protect your kingdom.”

Thea laughed again, though bitterly. “And what of the other people in the country? The ‘kingdom’ doesn’t just have soldiers. It’s just ‘good strategy’ to destroy places that service soldiers… but they also serve the people. You end up murdering innocents and creating more martyrs.”

“Have they attacked you again since?” Sam asked.

“Not as directly—”

“Then the war’s working.”

“It’s not that simple, Sam,” she snapped. “War is fought on multiple fronts here. With every innocent person we kill, we do the extremists’ jobs for them. Recruiting is easy when you don’t even have to provide propaganda to show the enemy is evil.”

“Evil?” he scoffed, crossing his arms. “You’re just defending yourself!”

“By taking over their land? Murdering their people? I think not.” Thea watched him, gaze hard. “If one can avoid war or violence, one should. The cost is too high. Both in actual lives and collateral damages.”

No one seemed brave enough to speak up at that and after a few tense moments, Thea sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m going to leave this search page up,” she told them. “All you need to do is tap these to enter new words to search for,” she began to explain, gesturing to the keyboard. “And then press this one labeled ‘enter’,” she added, tapping oh-so-gently on the ‘enter’ key. “That’ll bring up new results, if you all want to explore clothing a bit more.”

She stood and the boys parted like the Red Sea for Moses. Thea paused at the door. “Remember to turn off the lights before you leave,” she told them. “Like this,” she casually flicked the switch by the doorframe down and received a soft click as the room went dark aside from the laptop. She left them in the dark for only a moment before flicking it back up.

“Woah…” Matthew exhaled, eyes wide as saucers. “So that’s what you meant! Do it again!”

Thea chuckled. “Do it yourself if you want,” she suggested.

Erik groaned as Matthew scurried over to the switch and began flipping it back and forth while staring up that the ceiling. “Must you do that so quickly?”

“It’s really fun!”

“It strains the eyes,” Erik informed him. “Stop it.”

“Is this also electricity, Miss?” James asked, clearly just as bothered by the flickering light as Erik judging by his squinted eyes was but trying to ignore it.

“Yes,” she answered, also having to squint her eyes a bit as she let Matthew get his latest excited phase over with. “It’s typically how we illuminate anything. We don’t really use torches or candles much. Sometimes we have scented candles, though. Those are nice.”

“Can you not smell others?” Damien asked. “There are scents for emotion, intensity of scents for power… why would you need more?”

Thea quirked a brow. “No. I mean, not unless they’ve stopped bathing and are dirty or something. Most people don’t have a smell or, at least, we clean ourselves enough that any smell we naturally have is washed away regularly. We can put stuff on us to change how we smell, but it doesn’t usually last long. The candles are meant to help relax.”

“Or maybe human senses are just too weak,” Sam muttered, though his attention was clearly on the curly haired brother as he gleefully continued messing with the lights. “Matthew! Stop it!” He growled at his brother, reaching out and grasping the younger incubi’s wrist and pulling it away from the switch.

“Hey!” he whined, pursing his lips as he looked at Sam. The rest of the brothers were relieved that they could finally see without their pupils constantly adjusting.

“You can be the one to turn on and off the lights,” James told him. Matthew’s eyes widened again as he looked to his eldest brother, a light blush on his cheeks from excitement. “But,” he added, Matthew’s energy barely dampening, “Miss Thea will tell you when to turn them on or off. None of this back and forth.”

Thea took notice of Jame’s use of her name for the first time, a small shiver tracing her spine. It was interesting how much more important her name sounded when it wasn’t used so often. “I’ll have to get used to telling someone else to do it,” Thea said. “But, sure.”

“Really…?” Matthew asked. When he received a nod, he all but jumped on her, wrapping his arms about her shoulders and squeezing her. “Thank you~!”

Thea yelped, heart hammering within a second and hands at her sides twitching. Too close. Too much. Too fast. Let go. Her mind chanted at him, but she was frozen.

“Matthew, let go,” Damien instructed.

“Huh?” Matthew asked, turning his head to look at his brother.

“She’s extremely uncomfortable…”

“Oh…” the second-youngest released his grip, offering Thea a sheepish smile. “S-sorry…”

Thea released a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding and it shuddered on its way out. “It’ll be fine,” she assured him. “Eventually. I just… need to get used to the fact that you’re touchy-feely.” She offered him the biggest smile she could muster, though it was small in comparison to his. “Anyway, I’m going to see if I can’t put my bags up in the master bedroom and get ready to sleep. You all have fun with the search. Hopefully you can find outfits you like.” With that said, she shuffled around Matthew and headed out of the office.

She hadn’t even gotten to the door of the innkeeper’s living area before she heard footsteps beyond her own.

“Miss—” James started.

Thea turned to find him having stopped only a few paces away. “Yeah?” she asked.

For once, the eldest brother hesitated. “...are you... alright?”

She took in his expression, concern etching across most of his face but she swore she saw a twinge of pity. That was something that always irked her, even though it came from a place of compassion. “I’ll be fine, like I said.”

“Will you?”

“Why do you all not take me at my word about this?” she huffed. Despite the minor outburst, the innkeeper averted her gaze and pulled up a hand to rub self-consciously at her opposite arm. “I have a lot of scars you can’t see,” she relented. “They’re still tender, even though I’ve made a lot of progress. I’d prefer it if you all ignored them, as I do. I’d like to think they’d go away faster that way.”

“From that past you don’t want to talk about, I take it?” James prodded.

“Yeah,” she answered crisply, her mind recalling K’s reaction to her prodding about Harold. “From that.”

She knew he was watching her, but they sat with the silence for a time. Thea lifted her gaze to the office as she heard the remaining boys arguing about something.

“A wound won’t heal without proper treatment,” James offered, his expression still of concern as Thea’s gaze finally turned to him before he continued speaking. “Just as ignoring hunger does not sate it.”

Even though it was hardly a come on, Thea’s cheeks flushed. “Oh,” she breathed. “Right… You were,” she paused, swallowing. “Needing to feed.” She had completely forgotten about that in all the chaos that his brothers had stirred up.

“I can wait, if necessary,” he offered, voice quieter than she ever recalled it being. She didn’t immediately take him up on his offer, so he continued. “But… the glamor spell adjustments drained some reserve.”

There was a tenseness between them, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Thea still didn’t answer, sensing there was something else that was itching to be said but she was unable to insist he spit it out.

“And you,” he started again, gaze expressing something Thea couldn’t quite place. “Impress me. I… would very much like to taste you.”

“Taste?” she echoed, a nervous chuckle slipping over her lips as her ears bloomed pink. The hand that had been at her arm lifted to rub at the back of her neck. “That’s quite a way to put it...”

“But not incorrect,” he reminded her, still not moving forward despite her apparent acquiescence. After they seemed stuck again, he held out a hand. “Should I help you to your room?”

A round of raucous laughter and what was apparently Sam yelling echoed into the room from the office. Thea smiled as her gaze slipped over towards the noises. They need you, she thought to herself. Relax. They’re not going to hurt you. Her gaze shifted back to James. Especially not him. Thea grasped his hand. To his apparent surprise, according to the sharp exhale she heard, she also pulled it as she headed into the living room. “I don’t really have much to put upstairs,” she told him. “But it is three levels of stairs, so your assistance would be helpful.”

“Of course,” was all she heard from him as she guided him along. He offered no resistance to her and kept up easily due to his height.

Thea was surprised to find that she was reluctant to release her grip on his hand, but forced herself to. Her now free hand wandered between two bags for a moment before slipping her arm through the loop of her duffle bags’ handle and standing up. “If you could take that one, that’d be great,” she said, tapping the handle to her cheap, world-weary khaki suitcase.

She headed towards the stairs only when she saw James nod and reach for the bag. They climbed the stairs in their comfortable silence, not finding any trouble on the way up. Thea hadn’t even been in this room yet and she was waffling between emotions as she entered. She’d never seen a spiral staircase with a door only at the top level, but she supposed her mother had been one for privacy if nothing else in her life.

The decor was pretty much as far from Thea’s taste as one could get. A beautiful powdery blue lined the walls and the furniture was all light cream or white. Even the king bed’s linens echoed the color scheme. There were small details here and there of inlaid gold and the woman even had an old-fashioned vanity with a powder blue puff of a cushion on the stool that sat in front of it. Thea could practically see her mother putting on her makeup as she stood there and tsked under her breath. “This is gonna have to change,” she muttered to herself, lazily plopping the duffle bag on her shoulder down onto the chaise at the edge of the bed.

“You don’t like your mother’s taste in decor?” James asked.

As she looked at him, she swore she saw the faintest of smirks at his lips. She couldn’t tell if he was teasing her or not. “No,” she answered firmly. “This is way too bright. And fancy. And, frankly, opulent...” she muttered.

He actually chuckled, holding a closed hand against his lips as if to muffle the sound. “You know, for not liking Sam much, you’re a lot like him. Just with a far larger vocabulary and better morals.”

So he was picking on me! she cried in her head. Okay, James. You wanna play? I can play. “Of all your brothers, you compare me to him?” she asked, sighing. Thea ran a hand through her hair and leaned her head back as she did so, adding a dramatic flick of her wrist as it left her locks. She wouldn’t directly insult Sam, since James clearly loved his brothers, but the suggestion was there.

“Which of us would you prefer to be compared to?” James asked in return, his hand moving away from his mouth and slipping beneath his arm as he watched her. He was no longer hiding his smile.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she countered. Start with the others. Then lead up to him. she instructed herself. “I would like to think I share Damien’s gentleness.”

“When you are not defending yourself from perceived invaders, perhaps,” he admitted. “Is that your preference? My youngest brother is… special, in many ways. There is much to see there, if he lets you in.”

“I will have to keep that in mind,” Thea mused. “I’m afraid I can’t be as smooth as Erik, but there must be more than that to him.”

“Indeed there is,” James replied. “Though he will make it difficult for you, in particular, to see anything else.”

“Why?”

“Because he— as do each of us— owes you a debt. It is only natural to want to show your best side to those that hold power over you.”

Thea actually barked out a laugh at the idea that she held any power over these brothers. They had magic, and special abilities; she did not. There was little to compare in terms of power. “Power? Really, now?” she asked. “I doubt that.”

His expression fell, and she immediately felt guilt pool in her gut. “We are… resourceful, Miss, but we would be arrogant to think that we would survive long in an entirely new world without guidance or monetary assistance.”

“And you think I’d be the type to kick you all out after letting you in just to get some kind of power trip?” Thea inquired, quirking a brow.

“No!” he said. His answer came so quickly that even she was a bit surprised. “You are magnanimous, even after we all but invaded your new home. You offered us shelter; are teaching us; providing us a living. Even though it was not what Harold originally intended, my brothers and I will never be able to pay you back.”

She was struck silent for a few moments, actually feeling like she might tear up from the sheer gratefulness in his tone. She’d never been in this kind of position before. She’d been the one needing help, but not the one that was able to give it. “Well,” she finally managed to say, offering him the largest genuine smile she had since they arrived. She took a few steps forward, raising a hand to gently grasp his shoulder. “Then I suppose it’s a good thing I’m not the type to take advantage of any power I have over others.”

James’s smile returned and his gaze caught hers, intent, like it was searching for something. “Oh, I think my brothers and I wouldn’t mind if you took charge a bit,” he mused. Thea was still not entirely certain he was joking or teasing her.

“Really?” she asked, clearly incredulous. “The eldest brother would simply turn over his reins to an all but stranger?”

“You lead from a place of knowledge and experience and aren’t harsh,” he informed her. “I have had far worse teachers than you, Miss Thea.”

There it is again… she thought. Still, even though her name was gated behind that ‘miss’, it struck her. “We’ll see how long you feel that way, James,” she chided him in reply.

They were quiet again, though it was still not awkward. Each of them seemed to be looking for something in the other, but either could not find it or were not sure they had.

“Are you still…?” she started, unable to figure out how to properly bring up the topic.

“Yes,” he replied simply. “Is that an invitation?”

Thea’s flush returned and painted the tips of her ears as well as her face. She couldn’t form the words, but managed a small nod.

James’s smile turned to a smirk, whiskey eyes easily shifting to gold and within a breath Thea felt the emotional effects of enthrallment take hold. Her pulse quickened, flush deepened and this time she noted energy zipping along from even her core and dancing along her skin. His hand reached out, fingertips tracing along the skin of her neck and gently pushing her jaw up. Their height difference made the adjustment necessary as he leaned over and placed a kiss at the edge of her lips.

Even through her enthrallment, she was confused. “Did you just... miss…?” she asked, though the question came out more like panting.

“Purposefully,” he answered her in a breath, pressing another kiss towards her cheek. Her energy tickled her skin, leaving heat not only at his touch but following as his face and hand moved along her form. Her body bade her try to follow and actually have him kiss her but he held her jaw in place. Gently, which she was grateful for, but still firmly. “Just… let me,” he murmured against her skin as he placed several more kisses along her face.

Thea didn’t have much option, even if she didn’t want him to continue. The thought made a part of her not so thoroughly entranced, panic. What if he doesn’t want to stop? Can I stop him? Would he actually listen if I said stop? The thoughts roiled in the back of her mind, but she didn’t speak of them and did her best to ignore them. The enthrallment was still working its literal magic and she was wrapped up in her body’s need. Her arms reached up to wrap around his neck, drawing him closer even as he took his time kissing down to her jaw and lightly nipping at her neck. “I thought,” she started, still having difficulty forming words through the heat the enthrallment brought her. “You said you wanted to taste me,” Thea managed to pant, threading her fingers into his hair.

“I am,” he replied easily, vibrations from his words tickling her neck. After another light kiss, he pulled back. His golden orbs stared into hers with an intensity that should have scared her, his free hand ghosting over her skin to draw the energy about as if to tease her further. “Was there something else you wanted…?”

There was a new quality to his voice, Thea noted. A deep timbre that was not just his voice. It echoed and the effect ran a chill up her spine her even through the enthrallment. They’re still not humans, she heard herself think. I have to remember that. She wasn’t certain what she was hearing, but she did know it wasn’t her imagination. “Aren’t you going to feed?” she asked, her voice suddenly small and uncertain despite her flushed face and rapid heartbeat.

Something flashed in his expression, but she couldn’t pinpoint what. After a moment, his eyes glittered and the mist expanded. “In due time,” he told her, a small smirk painting his lips as she involuntarily released a moan. Her mind’s worries were pushed away, though she could still hear them they were a distant chorus that she could no longer focus on. The heat that pooled in her core made her wriggle in place, the earlier wish for it to be wrapped up forgotten for the constant drumbeat of more, more, more.

As if he could hear her wishes like his youngest brother, James kissed just below her ear and this time she actually felt some of her energy leaving her skin. Her vision lost focus as he took up a sharp nibble at her ear and she gripped even tighter to his hair. The faint chorus grew louder again. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t bring herself to actually say anything like ‘stop’ to him. Why was she having so many concerns with James? She’d been worried with the others, but it got easier after they started. Maybe because he was taking his time and the others had been quick?

The thoughts were forced away again as he sucked on her earlobe and she whimpered. Energy shot from her core through her neck, flaring pleasure and heat before it slipped away and into James. As his lips’ travel along the shell of her ear was rewarded with needy pants, he chuckled. His lips brushed against her ear and the sound echoed in her mind. It held that new timbre, the ethereal echo that she hadn’t seen in any other brother. “I see why Erik had such a hard time with you earlier,” he murmured, assailing her ear one last time with a sharp nip. Another round of energy shot through her and was pulled away. “You’re fit to burst…” James leaned back to look at her, that impossible to pin down expression crossing his face once more. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead he finally leaned into her and laid claim to her lips. The kiss was simple, entirely lip lock, but radiated need even more than Damien’s had. His hand slipped from her jaw along her neck and held the back of her head tightly as he kissed her. Once, twice, thrice, each claiming their fair share of her energy as it raced along her skin. Her head felt light, then her body and she clung to him for support.

All at once, the enthrallment ended and the flaring heat subsided. Her thoughts came screaming at her again, worries raging in her head. Comparisons to Keith, though not deserved, were amongst the raucous chorus. James held her tightly as she shook, unable to decide if she should try and pull away or just break down in tears.

“M-miss?” he asked, gently running a hand through her hair. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

She slowly shook her head, but buried it firmly against his chest. Tears had spilled from her eyes as she tried to manage her thoughts. It was to little avail.

James kept hold of her and part of her screeching thoughts wanted him to release her immediately, the rest suggested she’d likely then fall over. There was so much conflicting in her head and in her heart. She jerked in his grip as a series of hard knocks came to the door.

“Thea?” She already knew it was Damien, even with the voice muffled through the door. Her thoughts had been loud enough for him to hear and come running.

“The door’s unlocked,” Thea said, finally turning her head so that he could hopefully hear her despite her voice being barely above a whisper.

The redhead peeked out from around the corner of the door frame, apparently concerned about actually interfering. James’s expression was unreadable as Thea looked up to him. He reached up and brushed at the corners of her eyes to pull the tears that had begun to form from her eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have increased the enthrallment. Something was wrong…”

As much as she wanted to, Thea couldn’t tell him it was okay. Something was wrong.

“She said stop in her head, but she didn’t know if she really wanted it to,” Damien offered. “I came because it got very, very loud and I couldn’t ignore it.”

James sighed heavily, almost dramatically, and turned his gaze fully on Thea. “Next time, tell me— or any of us— to stop,” he insisted. “It will not hurt us. Or insult us. You are being gracious in offering us your energy in the first place.”

“Okay,” Thea agreed. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it…” she added after a moment’s pause.

The eldest offered a smile, but it was tinged with sadness or perhaps even guilt. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he assured her, releasing his grip on her.

Thea followed suit, but had to focus on steadying herself.

“Woah, hey!” Damien cried, scrambling over to her. James had reached out, but hesitated, so his brother had taken the initiative instead. “Let me help you to bed…”

Thea simply nodded and let him guide her to the bed. All of the sudden she didn’t have the fucks left to care what color the room or the bed was. She sank down into the plush bedding the moment Damien allowed her to, eyes closing.

“Rest well, Miss,” James said. A few moments later, the door opened and clicked shut.

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