Bound To You: Marcus Volturi

Chapter 27: He's My Brother

"Psst! Lee! Wake up girlfriend!" I ignore Liam's hands tapping my back in an annoying manner, and roll away from him, in an attempt to ward him off. He persists, kneeling over me on my bed, and peeling the covers away from me. "Lee? Come on, say hi to your brother!" He coaxes, pulling at me. My eyes open and I rub them sleepily.

"Brother?" I repeat. "That's right, honey. I accepted Caius and Athena-whatsit's proposal for them to adopt me!" He throws himself across me. "That's great," I mumble, giving him a friendly pat. "Wow, you could at least react with more enthusiasm." He pretends to look hurt. "I'm half asleep," I defend. "I'll pretend to be happy for you some other time." I flip him off. He ignores my comment and slips under the sheets with me.

His arm goes round my shoulders and he pulls me close. We cuddle into each other.
"If you're going to stay in my bed, at least go to sleep, Liam." I mutter. "I am, trust me." He mumbles, eyes closing. "Great, sleep well," I mutter. "It's eight o clock already." He mumbles. "Great, another two hours and I'll wake up, promise."

"If you say so," He smiles. "Liam, either go to sleep or fuck off." I mumble. "That's the way uh huh uh huh I like it, uh huh uh huh," Liam sings. I sit up groaning. "Why the fuck are you singing, bro?" I play punch him. "Woo ooo woo oo," He chants. "Fuck, at least sing in key. You sound like a tortured donkey." I roll away from him.
"Ew aw ew aw," He tries making donkey noises. "Jeez, Eddie Murphy made a better donkey than you." I snark. "Who?" He asks. "He played Donkey in Shrek." I explain.

"Oh," He says. "There's no point going to sleep is there?" I jump up. "Not with you here," I scowl at him. "Bitch," He smirks at me, throwing a pillow at me. "Ugh, do one," Liam ignores me and saunters into my bathroom. "Oh, they're blue," He comments. "What?" I follow him in. "The tiles are green in mine." He comments. "Good for you. Well the next time you'd like to discuss bathrooms come round for a cup of tea," I snark, pushing him back into my bedroom and closing the bathroom door.

"Lee," He knocks the door. "What are you doing in there?" He calls. "I'm on the toilet," I shout. "I'm coming in," He warns. "Pervert," I mutter. "You love it," He challenges. "Fuck off," I hit the door to ward him off. "Aggressive much," He complains. I flush the chain and wash my hands. Coming back into my bedroom, Liam is sitting cross legged on my bed, looking through my drawing book.

"Who's this?" He holds up one of my drawings. "Just a woman," I shrug, trying to take it off him. "Nah, why would you draw someone like her?" He asks. "What's that supposed to mean?" My cheeks start burning. "Well she's a bit chavvy looking. A bit...rough." He says carefully.
I look at the drawing again. I spent hours on it, carefully observing every detail. The woman is about eighteen, with her brown hair done up in a high ponytail. She has huge hoop earrings. She's wearing red lipstick and black eyeliner.

I stare hard at the drawing, eyes watering. "She's not chavvy. She was just young. And on drugs." I defend. Another moment passes and I look up to find Liam staring at me with eyes full of sympathy. "It's your mum, isn't it?" He asks softly. I give the drawing another look before pulling it away from him.

"I copied it from a photo I saw of her when I was twelve." I mutter. "It was the first time I ever saw her. The only photo I'd ever seen. It's not her fault. She was young. Not the best role model but she brought me into this world. I would have liked to have met her." I turn to look at him. "If you ever insult her again, I'll....I'll....." I trail off.
"I'm sorry," He whispers. "It's fine, I just need some air." I mutter, walking out and heading to the garden.

There are a number of benches in the garden, scattered around the fountain, but instead, I opt for sitting on the grass, among the flowers, like I did in Romania. I lean back, so I'm resting against the side of the fountain, closing my eyes. I forget about Marcus, the adoption, the sex thing, Liam, my mother. Everything. Just take deep breaths and listen to the birds. In. Out. Again and again. Relaxing peacefully. Of course, I didn't count on one person.

"Hello my handsome," Demetri comes over and sits beside me. I give him a tired half scowl. "Oh no," He scolds. "Why aren't you scowling fully? Hmm? What's wrong, my Prince?" He gently cups my cheek, and surprisingly, I lean into him. "There now," He pulls me to lean against him, so we're sitting side by side. Our legs are touching. He grabs my hand and holds it in his lap.

"You were thinking about your mother," It wasn't a question. He knew. "How do you know that?" I ask wearily. He sighs and looks apologetic before answering. "I heard you and Liam." He admits. "I wasn't listening on purpose, Prince, but as a vampire, I have very good hearing." He says.

"Why do you call me Prince?" I ask. "You're Marcus's mate, he's my master. Therefore, you're more or less a Prince of vampire royalty." He teases.

"And let's face it," He smiles. "You're not much of a princess are you?" He pokes me teasingly. "Hmm, guess not." I mumble. "I think you'd look very grand with a crown on your head." He smiles. His cheeriness does make me feel much better. He gives me another quick look. "What?" I ask. "Forgive me, mother." He says to the sky. "And forgive me, Lee." He murmurs.

Before I can ask why, he rolls me onto my back and kisses me. At first, the surprise is so heavy, my mouth does nothing, and the first thing I realise is that he tastes different from Marcus. I can smell aftershave; a sharp sweet scent I've never smelt before. It's an awful confession, but it feels good, too good. Demetri is also feeling a little surprised from the feel of the kiss; his mouth softening in shock.

He groans softly and runs his fingers through my hair. I grip his collar and pull him closer. He shakes his head softly and we reluctantly break apart. We look at each other a little awed, and maybe slightly guilty. Demetri turns to the side and the smile wipes off his face. I follow his gaze to the doorway and my heart stops.

Marcus is standing there, and boy, is he mad. He takes several short breaths in anger and looks straight at Demetri. "Run." He growls.