Three skeleton maids came out with our meals. Thankfully, Nezera told the chefs about my appearance, and so, they were courteous enough to cook edible food for me. Nikolas mentioned that his father wouldn't be joining us for dinner, so it would only be the six of us.
“You know,” said Nikolas. “I'm quite surprised the two of you are back. I thought you would be returning in the new year?”
“Initially yes, but we managed to find the harpy quickly,” Nodin replied with a mouthful of bread.
I poked my fork through what seemed to be a sausage and took a bite. I hummed in delight.
“Do you like it?” Nikolas asked.
I nodded eagerly.
The twins gasped. “He understood you?” They questioned in unison.
“I gave him a potion.”
Niles grinned at me. His eyes lit up as he appeared to remember something. He reached into his pocket and lifted a large feather. It was a shimmery shade of both blue and black.
“You can have this.” He placed the feather in front of me. “It's a harpy feather.”
I picked it up and noticed how soft it was.
“They say a harpy feather is deadly,” Niles explained. “If someone has any intention of harming the owner, it will pierce them with no hesitation.”
Nodin snickered. “Like this?”
A silver glint flew past my face towards my right side. Nikolas held up his left hand and caught the projectile. He spun the knife on his fingertip. Suddenly another blade was thrown at him, but Nikolas swayed to the left. The blade lightly grazed him, cutting through a strand of his hair.
My jaw dropped out of shock. I turned to see if Kazu noticed, but he was happily devouring his fourth serving of food.
Nikolas glared at his brothers as he threw the blade back at Niles.
I held my breath and Niles blinked, unphased by the blade that pierced through the head of the wooden chair. “Not bad, but you need to work on your aim,” Niles remarked.
“I wouldn't aim for your head.” Nikolas deadpanned. “You've already lost enough brain cells.”
“Bold of you to assume he has any left,” Nodin mumbled.
“Hey! I do!” Niles turned to his right, grumbling at his twin.
“You probably lost it after having your head ripped off so many times on missions.” Nodin rolled his eyes as he put a fork full of food into his mouth.
Niles pointed his fork aggressively at him. “The reason my head gets ripped off is because I'm saving YOUR ass!”
“Explains why you're so slow.”
“I prefer ‘strategically patient’, little brother.” Niles faced the front and narrowed his eyes at Nikolas.
“More like ‘painfully stupid’.” Nodin retorted.
“At least I have a sense of direction,” Niles argued.
“It was only ONE time. I got lost in the Avonmont forest.”
Nezera let out a deep, long sigh. “Alright, boys, enough. It's rude to argue like this at the dinner table, especially with guests.” Nezera turned to me with a smile. “Well, Akio, how did you and Nikolas meet?”
I swallowed my food and hesitated to speak. What am I supposed to tell them? ‘I got caught by the Headmaster and Nikolas was supposed to punish me’? I thought.
“He was put into my bedroom as punishment for trespassing on campus at night.”
Shell-shocked, I moved my head in Nikolas’s direction to see him nonchalantly sip from his cup. How could he say that with a straight face?!
Nezera gasped. “Scandalous.”
I blushed at her comment.
Niles grumbled. “That scaley-hag being ruthless as usual. She made me kill a trespasser once.”
“Did you do it?” Nikolas asked while chewing his food.
“I did. It was a perverted ogre. Their blood tastes horrible so I slit his throat instead.”
My back stiffened at the thought of my throat being slit. I touched my throat and shuddered.
Nodin put a mouthful of salad and spoke with a full mouth. “So little brother, did you punish him?”
Nikolas shook his head.
“You've always been too soft.” Nodin laughed. “But I also hate Headmaster’s guts.”
“Does that mean your brothers went to Takuya High too?” I asked Nikolas.
He nodded. “They went 30 years ago.”
I dropped my fork. “30 years ago?! How old are they?”
“440.” Niles and Nodin replied.
My jaw hurt from the amount of times it became agape. “Wait,” I turned to the werewolf, “how old are you?”
“85!” He chewed on a rib bone. “Less werewolf years are equal to human years compared to vampire years.”
“Nikolas is still young,” Nodin said while pointing his thumb at his younger brother. “He's 350 years old.”
“Our sister is—”
Before Niles could finish his sentence, a fork pierced the side of his chair. Nezera gave a menacing glare and Niles shut his mouth.
“How old are you Akio?” Nodin tilted his head.
“18.”
“That's a perfect age to get married!”
The high-pitched noise of Nikolas's knife shattering hurt my ears.
My face and ears felt hot from embarrassment. I chuckled nervously. “Well, I want to focus on my studies before I think about marriage.”
Niles tapped his chin. “Our parents married at 320, which is 16 human years.”
“Niles, that was 700 years ago, times have changed,” Nezera noted.
“My parents married around the same age!” Kazu beamed. “Now they have seventeen children.”
My head started to hurt from how casual this insane conversation sounded.
“Akio dear, it's best if you take your time and focus on what's important. You're still young.”
Niles giggled. “You're not young and you're still single– OW!”
The sound of Nezera's foot grinding into Nodin's foot could be heard from under the dining table. This sibling banter continued throughout the entire meal, but it slowly became entertaining. I got to witness a new side of Nikolas. Seeing him irritated and babied by his older siblings was fresh and comical.
After we finished our meals, Kazu and I decided to wash up and go to bed. Their maid provided us with toiletries and we cleaned ourselves.
Kazu waved at me while rubbing his eyes. “Good night, Acchan.”
“Good night.” I waved back as he lethargically walked to his guest room.
Nikolas followed beside me down the hall. He exhaled deeply. “I'm exhausted.”
“Thanks for your hard work.” I put my hand on his back. “Your family seems fun.”
“Imagine living with them for three centuries,” Nikolas muttered under his breath.
We finally reached my room. Nikolas opened the door for me and I leaped onto the soft covers of the bed.
“I apologize for how my brothers are,” Nikolas said while closing the door behind him.
I shook my head. “They were scary at first, but they mean well.”
Nikolas pushed his hair back and sighed again. “They're completely unhinged.”
I laughed as I pulled the covers off the bed. “Your sister is nice. Too bad I couldn't meet your mom or dad. Although, it seems like your dad doesn't like me.”
“Don't worry, he doesn't disapprove of you.” Nikolas's face turned solemn as he sat down beside me on the bed. “But my mother isn't around anymore.”
“Oh, I didn't know. I'm sorry.” I replied softly.
“It happened a year after I was born. Complications from childbirth had its toll on her body.”
“Was your mom a vampire too?”
“Not exactly.” Nikolas placed his hand behind his neck and stared down at the floor.
I frowned. “I'm sorry for asking. You don't have to tell me if it's a sensitive topic.”
The vampire glanced up and shook his head. “It's just,” he scoffed. “Quite amusing that my mother was human like you.”
My eyes widened. “She was human?”
He nodded. “After my parents got married, she convinced my father to turn her. He refused at first, but my mother was adamant. She was frail despite being a vampire.” Nikolas sighed. “I sometimes think it's my siblings and I’s fault for her death.”
“Don't say that.” I scolded. “Your mother must've truly loved your father if she wanted to become a vampire and start a family with him. Her love for you and your siblings was probably just as much or even more. It's not your fault she wanted to bring you into this world.” I looked into his eyes and gave him a reassuring smile. “Your family must’ve meant a lot to her.”
Nikolas slowly nodded. “From what my siblings told me, she was caring and took great care of them.” He looked at me as his face softened. “Thanks, Akio.”
I grinned at his calm response.
“If you need anything, my room is the first door down the stairs.” He stood up with his hands in his sweatpants pockets. His arms appeared stiff. “Good night, sweet dreams,” Nikolas said as he kissed my head. He seemed tense. I started to feel bad about bringing up a sensitive subject.
He began walking towards the door until I grasped onto the hem of his shirt.
Akio, what are you doing?! I internally panicked. I was surprised at my actions, but there was no going back now. I murmured, “Wait, don’t leave.”
The room was silent.
“Can you please stay?” I whispered.
The vampire slowly twisted his head in my direction. We both knew what I meant.
He joined me on the bed, his body now towering over me. Nikolas’s ruby eyes stared right through mine with an amorous glare. I could hear my heartbeat hammering against my chest as I felt his breath on my skin.
Barely a breath away from my face he whispered. “Are you sure?”
I nodded slowly.
He leaned into my ear, his voice huskier than usual. “I'll show you how much you mean to me.”
Nikolas's right hand was holding onto my cheek as he gently placed his lips under the right side of my chin. I felt an instant chill travel up my spine. I moved my head to the side and closed my eyes as he slowly kissed his way up to my face.
His left hand intertwined with mine as his thumb rubbed my pointer finger. I could feel my hand shaking in anticipation.
Nikolas glanced at my hand and watched me with his tender gaze. He leaned his forehead against mine. “I'll only kiss you tonight.”
I gave a reassuring nod as he kissed me. I felt helpless as I'd never done something like this before. When he turned his head to the left I turned mine to the right, allowing our kiss to deepen. His pace was slow and delicate, easing my nerves. He let go of my hand and placed it on my hip. I could feel Nikolas's fingertips move their way under my sweatshirt, making my skin tingle.
Boldly, I cupped his face and pulled him closer to me. I let out a gasp as I felt a foreign sensation in my mouth. His tongue rubbed against the tip of mine. He didn't move in further until I was confident enough to use my tongue. His hand combed through my hair and pulled my head closer to his if that was even possible.
He placed his knee between my legs and I could feel his crotch pushing against mine. Nikolas let out a low grunt and his body started grinding against mine. My breath hitched as the hand under my clothes moved to the middle of my chest and then to my side, his fingers tracing my body lines. My head became numb as our tongues twisted together. His touch and his kisses were still tender despite how erotic our kiss had gotten.
I fluttered my eyes open and he did the same. I watched as Nikolas bit my bottom lip and lightly pulled on it as he moved back. I thought that Nikolas couldn't get any sexier.
I was gasping for air as he nibbled on my ear. His hums vibrated my ear, sending tingles down the back of my neck. “Are you alright?”
I was about to respond to him until he started licking the area under my ear. I groaned, but I quickly covered my mouth.
Nikolas continued to lick in all of my sensitive spots. I did my best not to make any embarrassing noises. I had a feeling he was doing it on purpose to make those weird sounds come out of me. Nikolas moved back and slightly smirked.
I scrunched my nose as my face started to heat up. I shoved my palm in his face out of embarrassment. “Don't look at me with that face.”
He let out a low chuckle and held my wrist. “I can't help it. You're adorable.”
I put my arm down by my side while avoiding eye contact.
Nikolas lay beside me. “We can stop there.” He patted the space next to him.
I scooted closer to him and put my neck over his extended left arm. I laid down on my right side as his free hand pulled my torso close to his. He then pulled the blankets over the two of us.
I didn't realize how hot my body had gotten from our kiss. Once I got comfortable, I noticed that I became hard. Self-conscious of my bodily reaction, I bit my cheek. Getting hard off of a kiss? How embarrassing… I brooded.
I closed my eyes, hoping it would go down. I whispered good night and tried to focus on relaxing.
Nikolas started to play with my hair by combing through over and over again. He rested his mouth on my forehead and replied with sweet nothings. Despite how cold his touch was, I felt hot within his arms… or maybe it was because I wanted him to do more than kiss me.
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