He grabbed her against him again and his lips burned a path across her chin and to her earlobe and down her neck, hesitating on her shoulder just long enough for Nia to tremble.
"Ellis…" She whispered, and for a moment he lifted his face away from her skin to stare once more into her eyes.
"I love you." He whispered again, and when she opened her mouth to argue, he pressed his lips persistently against hers, and though she shoved her hands hard against his shoulders, the warmth of his body and his mouth and the hand that gripped her thigh made her surrender.
Nia, defeated with his false love, let her hands fall back against the bed.
Chapter Seven
Ellis awoke alone with a heavy feeling in his heart and a painful ache in his head. He yawned, slothily dragging his hand across still sleepy eyes. He tentatively cracked open an eye before allowing the other eye to join.
He couldn't remember when he'd dozed off or for how long, but it didn't matter. He figured that no one really expected the vampire to contribute much to this household anyways. If they did expect that, he mused, they would be sorely mistaken.
He lazed his way out of Nia's small bedroom, opening the door to find the redhead girl sprawled on the couch in the living room, brown leather book dangling out of her tiny fingers and resting on top of her face. Her hair was back to its usual mess, though she was still in her soft white nightie. Her head quirked towards him at the slight creak of the opening door, and she gave him a quick smile before ducking her head behind the book that she'd been previously ignoring, face hidden.
He yawned again and wandered to the couch, grabbing her ankles in one hand, lifting them off one of the couch cushions before collapsing onto it, allowing her feet to fall into his lap.
For half a second they sat like that, Ellis's head back against the couch and Nia hiding behind the book, before she withdrew her legs and sat up, the book resting in her lap.
She shifted a bit, nervously twirling the end of her braid between her fingers and staring at him with an awkward intensity.
He stared back, feeling slightly insecure and very much intimidated.
"About last night…." Nia began hesitantly, releasing her braid from her fingers' torture and gripping her book harshly instead.
"I wanted to talk about that too." Ellis muttered with a lax yawn.
Nia hummed, struggling to find words. She bit her pink lip thoughtfully.
"When did I fall asleep? I remember talking to Nana and heading to bed, I didn't pass out on the floor or something did I? My head was really killin' me." The vampire shook his head, rubbing his temple for a moment.
Nia just stared at him, lips parted and eyes awkwardly drifting to the side, "No…you…you slept in my bed…"
"Hm, okay then. What'd you have to say?" Ellis asked innocently, blinking his black eyes.
With the bang of his door, Kellen suddenly walked into the living room, giving Nia a funny eyebrow risen look that made her turn red. The lost Nia-soul in Ellis's heart panged uncomfortably again, and he glowered at the rusty haired boy standing there, ignoring his discomfort.
"Were you saying something?" Kellen asked, voice deep and emotionless as always.
Nia hastily shook her head, flipping the braid back over her shoulder and staring at the hands folded in her lap on top of her book.
He drifted over, plopping down behind Nia so that her back now rested against his shoulder.
Suddenly, Ellis noticed, the atmosphere had gotten a lot more complicated.
The vampire cleared his throat, glancing at Nia, who was hiding behind her book again, and Kellen, who was staring off into space.
"F-for siblings, you two are awful close!" He exclaimed with an awkward giggle, "I've always heard that brothers and sisters never get along..."
Nia's head popped out from behind the book, brow furrowing, while Kellen just stared at him glassily.
"Where'd you get that idea?" He asked, resting his chin on Nia's tiny shoulder, expression still stony, "We're not related, just raised together."
Nia nodded, slowly blinking. "He's not my brother. My dad rescued him from a village he was working in that was attacked by Corsentil before I was born."
Kellen nodded, tilting his head and leaning his cheek against Nia's, "She's just about all I have now, just Nia and Nana."
Oh yes, Ellis realized, this was complicated indeed.
"Nia," Kellen suddenly mused, playing with the stitches on the sleeve of her nightgown, "it looks your dress is inside out."
Nia's face suddenly contorted and turned red, "O-oh? Is it now? S-s-silly me!"
And then she was gone, shut inside her room and furiously changing.
Kellen stared at the very confused vampire for a brief second before standing and excusing himself from the room, going back into his bedroom.