Nemia glanced up at Dorian as he announced their arrival to his room, opening the door for her. It swinging inwards, much like the other doors in the castle but this one felt more, real. He was standing just off to the side, giving her plenty of room to walk in. She smiled, trying to conceal her nerves and failing miserably.
She glanced back down the hall, they hadn't went up or down any stairs. Just down the hall, made a right turn and the mid way down they were stopped in front of a room. His room. So close to the one she'd been in the past few nights.
She shook her head slightly, pausing for a moment before she finally stepped through the threshold and into his room. The air felt thicker, heavier. Weighing down on her chest. She scanned the room quickly, not letting her eyes linger too long on any one piece.
She noted the natural stoned walls, layered in tapestries. A desk to her immediate right, littered with papers splotched with wells of ink. A fireplace with a bearskinned rug lying just a few feet away from it.
Taking another step, deepening her journey into his room. Her eyes swept over the large bed that was made to be the centerpiece of the room. Commanding attention to it. Four posters spilled from its corners and shot towards the ceiling, stopping a couple feet away from its destination and had a thin red mesh in waving bunches. Connecting each set to the next beam.
The bed itself was wide enough to fit four people comfortably and Nemia's fingers itched to press against it to see if it was as soft as it looked. She restrained however, and only thought of how it's feel. Maybe as if she placed her hand into a bed of clouds?
She pulled her eyes from the bed and continued scanning the room in silence, Dorian's presence lingering behind her. She could feel his eyes burrowing into her back, but she couldn't look at him again quite yet. Instead, her eyes swept across the left side of the room now.
Not much was as interesting, just a dresser with some old looking books collecting dust on top of it. A small table with two chairs resided in the corner closest to Nemia on the left. In between those items, a door was placed. Leading into what she could only assume was his personal bathroom. She also noticed the claw marks that raked across the surface of that door.
She pointed towards it, finally speaking. "The marks?"
Dorian moved closer, she could feel him just behind her. "From after my sister left. I raged out again at myself for what I had done. It wasn't the first time this room witnessed my wrath, and definitely wasn't the last time. But I cover the rest up, that one stays however. As a reminder to myself what losing control means for me." He answered her honestly, though his voice was distant as if he was reliving the moment again just then.
She turned on her heels to face him then. "But she's coming tomorrow, and you never truly lost her to begin with." She pulled the bags of clothes out of his hand, making them drop to the floor as she replaced their presence with her own hands gripping his softly. "And now, things like that should stop altogether." She mumbled softly.
Her mind was still reeling with the events from the day but right now, everything was clear. This moment is the exact one she needed to be in. To be with him. Yes, his silence on her prophecy hurt but on that same hand, his presence alone seemed to comfort her in ways she never thought possible.
'It's our bond.' Adira whispered, brushing across her mind softly. Nemia knew that was the case, she just never knew the entirety of it. She smiled softly to herself and Dorian took notice.
"Never again." Bending his head down to place it on hers as his thumbs circled the backs of her hands softly, carelessly.
They stayed in the position for a long moment, letting the silence between them say all that was needed. Just being in the moment, for once in Nemia's life, that's all she wanted.
But, awareness set it finally and she caught the scent of the dried blood that still caked her clothes. She sighed, pulling away then. Using her head to motion to the other door in the bedroom. "That the bathroom?" She asked, though felt it was a stupid question.
He glanced over. "That'd be the one." He confirmed, a soft smile teasing his lips. "Ready to rid yourself of the day?"
Laughing softly, Nemia nodded her head. "Absolutely. I smell of blood, sweat, dog... Bear..." Her nose scrunched as she pursed her lips in a look of disgust. "I smell gross, and probably look even worse." She laughed again, trying to mask her embarrassment though the heat in her cheeks and ears let her know she was red with it anyway.
Dorian chuckled, shaking his head. "You'd look amazing no matter what you was covered in." He grinned wolfishly then brought her hands up to his lips, kissing each one softly before dropping them and motioning to the door. "Have at it though, I'll get a shower downstairs to give you some space."
Adira sat in her mind with a huff. 'No.' A soft whine escaped and Nemia understood. Adira didn't want him to leave, not for mating purposes however. Instead, it was the closeness that she didn't want to lose. Nemia understood solely because at the mention of him saying he'd be downstairs, her heart sank. She felt gutted.
Dorian turned, started to walk out of the room and was almost through the door when Nemia sighed. "Wait."
Dorian stopped, turning to give her a furrowed look. A question without sound.
"Stay." A shaky breath escaped but she lifted her head. Almost regally. "Stay." She repeated, more firmly this time.
Dorian's eyes widened ever so slightly, taking a step towards her but stopping. "Nemia I..."
"Want you to stay. Don't leave me alone, please." Whispering the last, she closed her eyes. Unable to look, afraid of his rejection. Was she too damaged?
Her fears subsided as Dorian's arm laced around her waist and pulled her into him. His scent invading her nostrils, which flared, breathing in deeply as her face was forced into his chest. Well, almost. She was up on her toes and he had bent down slightly just to grab her in the way he had. So her nose was just under the center plate of his chest.
"I'll stay. Just tell me what you need." He murmured, swaying side to side with her still in his arms.
"I do need a shower..." She took in a deep breath, his scent melting into her. "J..." She cleared her throat and buried her head deeper into his chest to shield her from the embarrassment. "Join me." She swallowed.
Dorian sucked in a breath, quick and sharp. "Are you sure?" His chest rumbled against her face. The caution, uncertainty in his voice caused her to pull away. Just enough to look up into her eyes.
Red with nerves, she sank into the depths of his eyes as she searched for her answer. After a moment her head made a single, though subtle, nod. "Yes." That singular affirmation hung between them, thickening the air.
Nemia was answering more than just that on question. That approving yes, was a submission to him. To the bond. To everything. She was ready, but her heart still pounded in her chest. Ready, but nervous.
She also knew Dorian understood what that answer meant as well. The way his shoulders seemed to loosen. His hand, possessively gripping her waist now. Those eyes swallowed her whole as they darkened a shade or two. The struggle within was evident. Nemia could almost see the clash of his nobility and beast warring in his mind.
"You lead, I'll follow." Nobility winning, for now it seemed. His hand loosened on her waist and motioned to the door.
Nodding in response, she reached for his hand tentatively. Then tugged him to follow suit as she made her way to the door to the bathroom. Pausing briefly before she pulled the door open, slowly swinging it past her and stepped inside his bathroom for the first time.
It was natural looking, with the castles stone walls taking root as the base foundation. The first thing she seen across from the door was an old styled, metal basin set on a wrought iron legs with clawed feet. The plumbing connected looked old, maybe even some of the original from when it was first added.
To the left was the rest of the toiletry addition. Though it was more updated than the sink, more than likely for comfort purposes. The toilet itself was black rather than white, however. Which was nestled in the corner closest to the sink and the other corner had an updated standing shower in the shape of a larger box. Though she couldn't quite see where the water came from as there was no traditional shower head, just a handle at his waist level that controlled the waters temperature.
"Where's your shower head?" The question slipped out before she could stop herself, but went with it and pointed to the shower.
He chuckled softly behind her. The hand that wasn't nestled in hers, snuck around her waist from the back. Leaning his head down to just above her ear, feeling his breath as he spoke. "The slit close to the ceiling. Pours down like a waterfall."
She searched and rested her eyes on the slit. "Fancy." She mumbled sheepishly.
She turned, looking to the right then. Vines of ivy crept through a small, iron barred slit of a window. Just wide enough to let natural light in and peak up at the sky, nothing more. Right now, being a new moon tonight, darkness was the only thing that seeped through.
The ivy crept down, falling just above a large stone tub. Almost as if carved out of the stone that structured the castle. Steam was seeping up from the tub, already filled. Her brows furrowed, doing a quick scan over the room one more time before turning onto Dorian.
Her movement breaking his connection to her as she pointed towards the tub. "Did you fill the tub before you came to your sisters room?" She questioned, that being the only thing making sense at the moment. Though even that didn't make full sense, as when he's come to her he seemed unsure if she would join him in his room in general.
He chuckled and shook his head. "I mind linked Nik, had him call for the butler and tell him to get the bath drawn and ready in my personal bathroom. Also told him to make sure he was discreet, which is easy enough for him as he can teleport in and out of anywhere."
He tugged her towards the tub then, softly. "I figured you would appreciate having a moment to just relax. Let your muscles soak in the warmth and soothe you."
Nemia's face softened and a smile tugged the corners of her lips. "I definitely will appreciate it." She pulled her hair over her shoulder in a clump stuck together by congealed blood. "But first, a shower to wash the blood off so we aren't soaking in it."
Dorian tilted his head to the side slightly, his lips mixing between a smile and a frown. "I suppose that's a good point, if it bothers you."
Nemia's brow cocked. "Are you saying you're not bothered by the thought?"
With a pause of contemplation, Dorian shrugged. "Ninety-eight percent of that is your blood anyway, and the beast in me would lap it up if I gave him that option." He winced at his own honesty, but Nemia had a different reaction.
A sweltering heat seemed to send a jolt through her senses and ignited something deep within. Adira brushed across the surface of her mind, then slammed against it. Nemia wasn't just feeling her own reaction, but Adira's coursed through her as well.
"Now, Nemia." Adira pressed in her mind harshly, panting. And Nemia listened.