Allure (Caius Volturi)

25

Careful Attraction
(Not proofread-subject to change)

I clutched the book to my middle as Caius and I walked down the corridor.

"Uh, books."

"Really?" Caius sounded surprised.

"Don't sound too shocked." I laughed softly. "It's like a mini escape from my own head."

"Painting could be seen as such."

"I know that. You asked me to choose!" I laughed.

"You said you loved it!"

"I do love them both! But I read more than I paint. Hell, I sketch more than both." I said. Caius looked at me again.

"You sketch?"

"Yes."

"What do you normally draw?"

"Flowers a lot. People a little. I find myself with increasing issues with male body proportions. For everything I draw, I don't draw enough men."

"Have you drawn me?"

I paused, but kept walking. "I'm not going to answer that."

A door nearby opened and we looked to find that we were near the guard's quarters. Jane walked out with a scowl on her face. She stopped when she saw us.

"Oh, Hero." She stood straight and put her hands behind her back. She dipped her head briefly. "Master Caius."

"Jane." Caius nodded with a warm smile and I shook off the surprise at his countenance.

"Are you ready to go? If we're going to make it to the plane, we have to leave soon."

"That won't be necessary." Caius spoke as soon as Jane finished. I felt his hand slip across my back and around my lower ribcage. My heart stuttered and my diaphragm reacted in a certain way.

"I'm staying Jane." I smiled when her dumbfounded expression turned excited.

"Oh!" She reigned herself in quickly and stood straighter. "That's good."

"You should take your present now though, I should let the others know that they all have one in the library." Jane gently took the outstretched book from my hands, thumbing the envelope in the front cover. I almost lamented the loss of something to do with my hands. I settled for clasping them in front of me.

"They should all be in the throne room." Caius said and Jane nodded. "We should actually be headed there."

"Oh, we could talk for a little bit longer?" I put my hand on his.

"Wouldn't you rather talk when we're unhindered?" He asked. I nodded with a sigh.

"That does sound better."

"Let's go then." He steered me back down the corridor the way that we had come. "More questions. Dog-ear or random scraps as bookmarks."

"Random scraps." I answered immediately. "Receipts. Envelopes. Lace scraps. There's no way that I would willingly dog-ear a book now a days. I will admit that I had made that mistake up until early high school, but now I can be a bit of a snob about it. So help me if anyone dog-ears my own personal books, they will feel my wrath. And yes that is most certainly directed to the Cullen Coven. Emmett lost his borrowing privileges ages ago."

Caius chuckled.

"He would absolutely dog-ear a book." Jane said coming up beside me. She held her book close to her chest. "Him and Felix. A fatal flaw."