After they were both safely back at the estate Arkonus collapsed into his office chair exhausted.
Ryvian brought him a cup of tea and placed a hand on his shoulder.
He looked up at her with a small smile and patted her hand.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that. I tried to leave as soon as possible after the meeting was over" he said, sighing in frustration.
Ryvian shook her head.
"It's okay, but why did they want you to stay?" She asked.
He rubbed his tired eyes and groaned.
"It's because they've never seen me bite anyone before. Some of them don't even think I'm really a vampire and the other half think my loyalties lie with humans instead of my own kind." He explained.
Suddenly it clicked for Ryvian.
They were upset and had stopped him from leaving because he had finally brought a human to a meeting but then refused to bite her.
"Why don't you have bloodletter?" She asked him.
"There are a few reasons. One of them being that biting a human hurts the human and very few actually enjoy the experience. Why would I purposely hurt someone, especially when they have done nothing to hurt me."
Ryvian shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
"I… wouldn't be against it" Ryvian mumbled.
"What?" Arkonus asked, looking confused.
"I wouldn't be against it… if you bit me" she said again, a little louder.
Arkonus froze for a second, completely caught off guard.
Suddenly he stood up and grabbed Ryvian, who let out a small squeak of surprise.
He pushed her up against the wall, his mouth mere inches from her neck.
"Are you sure?" He asked her. His breath tickling her neck.
Her heart thumped rapidly against her chest.
"Y-yes" she stuttered, shutting her eyes tight.
"Okay,I guess that's enough teasing."
He said as he let out a dry laugh and backed away. He turned his back to Ryvian and sat back down in his chair.
Ryvians heart was still pounding against her chest and the feeling of his breath still lingered on her neck.
She couldn't help but feel sad he had pulled away.
"Why?" She asked. Unable to put her questions into anymore words.
"Because if I start I won't be able to stop, at least not with you." He said, glancing over his shoulder at her. His eyes glowing red.
She had never realized how beautiful his red eyes were. She had seen vampire eyes before but none of them glowed as bright red as his did.
Before she knew what she was doing she had found her way into Arkonus's lap, holding his face and staring into his eyes.
Arkonus looked surprised and he chuckled softly.
"I have never met a human that confuses me as much as you do" he said as his eyes slowly turned back to blue.
Ryvian, no longer entranced by their beauty, blushed a deep red and folded herself into his chest.
"Being close to you makes me feel safe, but also somehow vulnerable" she whispered. "Sometimes it's confusing and I don't know what or how to act"
He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her small frame.
"Just be you, do whatever you want to do, act however you want to act, it doesn't matter what people think" he said, calming her insecurities.
"I don't think you'd like that. I'm really clingy" she said quietly.
"Hmm, you never know"
She yawned as her eyes began to close. She hadn't realized just how exhausted she was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day Ryvian woke up in her bed.
As she remembered what had happened the night before her face turned beat red and she quietly screamed into her pillow.
What was I thinking ?! Why am I so embarrassing?!
She thought as she rolled around and kicked her legs.
But beyond the embarrassment it was really nice…
Suddenly she sat up
That's it! Today I am not holding back. Embarrassment be damned!
She took a deep breath and got up to get ready for breakfast
But what if he thinks I'm annoying?… No! He told me to be myself and do what I want to do, judgment or no judgment.
She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.
She had on a short black frilly skirt and a dark purple crop top with off the shoulder long bell sleeves and thigh high purple socks.
She felt like herself for the first time in a long time.
By the time she got to the breakfast table Arkonus was almost done reading his morning paper and drinking his coffee.
Without waiting for him to say anything she plopped herself into his lap.
"Oh, well hello" he said sounding surprised.
"Good Morning" she said smiling up at him.
He smiled back
"You seem in a good mood today" he said as he put his paper and his glasses down on the table.
"I am" she agreed as the servants brought in a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal and a cup of coffee for her.
They looked at her confused, unsure of where to put down her stuff.
"Don't you want to sit in your seat and eat your breakfast?" Arkonus asked her in an amused tone.
"I am in my seat" she said matter of factly as she motioned for the servants to set her stuff down in front of her.
Arkonus's ears flushed red and he looked flustered for a moment.
He covered his face with a hand and laughed.
"Again and again you surprise me. I really can't get a good read on you" he said with a smile.
Ryvian looked down dejectedly.
"I-if i get annoying you can tell me to stop" she said sadly, expecting him to tell her to knock it off.
He abruptly grabbed her chin and made her look into his eyes.
"Nothing about you is annoying" he said and then in a more gentle tone; "now eat your breakfast".
The next couple of days Ryvian continued to be herself, using Arkonus's lap as often as she could, rarely leaving his side, and being goofy without worrying about being rejected or told to stop.
She was feeling the best she had ever felt.
Until she noticed a decline in Arkonuse's health.
Dark circles formed under his eyes and he was taking his medication way more often than he should.
Any time Ryvian asked him what was wrong, he told her not to worry about it and he was finding a solution.
Ryvian began to wonder if her clinginess was the reason his health was declining. So she slowly started to let up.
Arkonus was sitting in his desk chair reading through more papers, most likely related to human and vampire relations.
Ryvian entered the room and was about to walk over and sit in his lap, when she stopped herself and sat down in the chair across from him.
He slowly put down the papers he was reading and looked up at her.
"What's wrong?" He asked, taking off his reading glasses and leaning forward.
She tilter her head at him questioningly.
"Nothing, why do you ask?" She said, trying to hide how uncomfortable she was.
Arkonus looked from her, to his lap, and then back at her.
"You aren't in your seat" he said pointedly.
She just shrugged her shoulders, unable to come up with a believable excuse.
He got up, walked over to her and with a grunt lifted her into his arms.
"Hey! What are you doing!?" She yelled as he walked back over to his desk chair.
He sat down and placed her in his lap.
"Putting you back in your seat where you belong" he said with a smirk "unless you would rather be somewhere else?"
Ryvian gave in and melted into his chest.
"I thought maybe the reason you weren't feeling good was because of how clingy I've been…" she mumbled.
He stopped putting his papers back together and gently grabbed her chin and made her look at him.
"It's not you, trust me." He said firmly.
She nodded and laid back into his chest.