Sanguine - Aro Volturi

Chapter seven

Sunday was a near identical repeat of our perfect Saturday. I'd woken up to Aro still next to me in bed, his smile pristine, not a hair out of place or a crease that wasn't made by me on his shirt. My sleepy brain had had trouble convincing myself he'd actually been to sleep at all. Once I had fully woken up and Aro had managed to persuade me that I didn't need to brush my teeth before he gave me a good morning kiss, he left – this time from the front door – for me to get ready while he headed back to the Cullen's house to get changed. It had taken me a good ten minutes after he'd gone to draw myself away from the pillows, they smelt of him, deep and rich but with that cool almost minty freshness.

Dad came home between the times Aro left and when he returned, he seemed happy which was good. His team had won the football and he was quite excited to tell me the details, but his mood soured slightly as the doorbell rang.

"Good morning chief Swan," Aro's voice wafted through the house and I felt myself smile just at the sound. "Excellent game wasn't it!" I bolted to the doorway of the living room, poking my head out into the hall.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess it wasn't too bad," dad grunts with a semblance of a smile. "You want a coffee, Mr Voltaire?"

"Aro, please."

"Charlie." And with that Aro and my dad ended up spending over an hour chatting and sometimes laughing about sport at the kitchen table.

"You do realise that was the weirdest thing I've ever witnessed!" I say, my mouth still open in shock as Aro climbs into the driver's seat of his Audi.

"I wanted to impress your father, he's a good man, and is very fond of you, it took me some time to persuade him last week," he admits.

"Well, I can safely say you're on better footing than Edward, even though he did attempt to woo dad with fishing talk," I roll my eyes at the memory. "How did you know so much about the game anyway, you didn't even watch it?"

"A man of many talents," his soft laugh fills the car and I relax back into the smooth leather seat.

"Where are you taking me today then?" Aro twists his head round and flashes a toothy grin.

We arrived at a beach further up the coast, I'd never been to it before but it was stunning. Silver stained driftwood decorated the edge of the sand for as far as I could see; smooth pebbles and stones were embedded into the finer grey sand and silvery waves rolled up to brush against my bare toes.

"Don't get cold la mia bellezza," Aro breath fanned into my ear making me shiver, and the tiny hairs standing up at the back of my neck had nothing to do with temperature.

"What does that mean?" I quiz, dipping my toes further into the water.

"My beauty," his lips graze my earlobe and arms lace themselves around my waist, locking me into his body.

"I'm still going to support that you need glasses," I breathe and convulse sharply when his fingers dig in to tickle my sides. "Aro no!" laughter spills from my mouth as he continues his attack; my feet completely leave the floor as he supports me with just his hands. I had no way of escape.

The waves washed over my feet as my back hit the sand and Aro's larger body caged me beneath him. "I have no need for glasses, la mia bellezza," the words curl around his tongue, melting out of his mouth deliberately slowly. "I will lavish you with compliments, Celestine you are gorgeous, stunning, beautiful, è bellissima."

"And you, vous êtes parfait." My accent was hideous, and Aro's quirked eyebrow tells me just that. "Sorry, I only know little bits of French," I blush.