Sick Child - MarkoxOC

Part 21: only by the night

A/N: i know weekend at bernie's came out in 1989, but i wanted to make the joke.

The sun rises. Paul passes out on the couch. Dwayne and David retreat to their rooms, leaving Jordan's body splayed out on the floor of the cave. Marko places his hand on Sofie's lower back.

"We should sleep."

She nods and follows him into their room. They shed their clothing and climb into bed. Marko cradles her gently. She feels safe and comforted, but she can't seem to fall asleep. Normally, the daylight would lull her to sleep the moment her head hits the pillow, but her head won't stop spinning. Marko's fingers swim through her hair and she sighs.

"You're thinking too much," he whispers.

"I know I said I liked David's idea," she mumbles. "But the more I think about it -"

"Sofie. Look at me."

She rolls onto her stomach and stares up at him as she runs her fingers up and down his chest.

"I know you and David don't always see eye to eye, but you have to trust him."

"Last time I checked, you were my sire."

Marko flashes her a devilish smile.

"Which means you do what I say."

Her fingers trail down to his hipbones. His eyes close and he bites back a soft moan.

"Oh?" She asks. "Is that what that means?"

He growls and bites his lip.

"I remember when you used to be all shy and sweet..."

She drags her fingers lower and he gasps.

"And I remember when you used to look at me with these big puppy dog eyes."

"I never made puppy dog eyes," he hisses.

"That's not true," she giggles. "You'd look all googly-eyed and... wanting."

Marko flips her over onto her back, placing a series of quick kisses and nips up and down her neck and across her jawline. Her laugh is bright and musical and for a moment, she forgets about everything.

"I'm still wanting," he purrs.

Sofie reaches up and kisses him softly, slowly. He pulls away and brushes her cheek.

"Are you afraid?"

Sofie pauses, her blood running cold. She's afraid that Kevin will kill her... or Marko. Or her brothers. She has no idea how strong he is, what kinds of weapons he has at his disposal, or just how much his rage has twisted him in the three years since she last saw him. Kevin could hold a grudge for an eternity, whereas Sofie was always the calmer of the two.

"Yes," she whispers after a few breaths.

"After tonight, he's never going to be able to hurt you again."

She can feel the determination rising in him. The anger. Relief begins to creep into her chest. She's not sure if it comes from Marko's emotions bleeding into her, or from their conversation. Sofie sighs and nuzzles against him. His skin is soft and comforting. It takes a while for the tension in the room to fade completely. She can tell he's still daydreaming about ripping Kevin to pieces. Eventually, Marko pulls the blankets up around them with one hand.

"Comfortable?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

He kisses the top of her head.