Chapter 255: No great gestures
It was a bit comical...
At first, he thought she’d consulted Ada before coming but the way Arabella sneakily tip-toed throughout the hallway made him lean towards a different theory. The one where their visits weren’t, in any way shape or form, orchestrated or at the very least, were planned separately.
The young woman stood in the same spot Ada had taken only minutes prior. Her frame looking much frailer and a lot more fidgety than the maid, looking almost like one of those spazzing little squirrels that followed them in the valley, but instead of curiosity in her eyes, it was hesitation and fear.
She spoke first while flicking her nails together, "I couldn’t really sleep," her voice brittle, its pace quick.
"Did the nightmares return?" He, on the other hand, tried to keep as calm as possible so as to not scare her any further.
"I couldn’t stop thinking about you," she blurted.
"This shouldn’t happen since you are no longer under the influence of the Mirari and-"
He never got to finish that thought, "Ada said she’d sing if I was honest and Lady Persephone said that you always uttered what you meant and meant what you said and I kept on turning and tossing and-"
Arabella had been so entrapped in her own mind, spilling that deluge of words that she hadn’t even noticed Silas approaching her until both of his hands cupped her cheeks, whisking the rest of those jumbled thoughts she tried to get out.
The vampire loved the way his hands almost perfectly contained her entire face, which threatened to release steam through her pores seeing as how red it’d turned.
"Breathe," he advised very calmly.
She did as told, took a deep breath and kept eye contact with him.
"Now, why don’t you tell me who has to sing again?"
Her shoulders slumped, shortly followed by a longer exhale before her eyes flickered down towards her hands, "I’ve had a conversation with Ada, and it opened my eyes to a lot of things I’d been completely blind to before. Namely, the way you’ve treated me since the very beginning and I am just scared...," she trailed off.
"What is it that scares you?"
He’d been told what truly scared her, but Silas wanted to hear it from her own mouth.
Her lips opened and then closed before reopening to allow words out, "I’ve never harbored romantic feelings for a man ever before. As a matter of fact, I’ve never felt any sort of strong, positive feelings for a man at all. Edgar is quite easy to figure out. He is kind and it is so simple to see who’s got his heart in a tangle, but... I just don’t know how to handle this and don’t want to come across as offensive and ungrateful after everything you’ve done for me,"
"I could not care any less about gratefulness," Silas said sharply, "Do you or do you not carry any feeling for me?" he still held her face between his hands.
Her eyes walled up with tears as he’d gotten a full feel of the trembles coursing her entire body, "Yes," the softest of murmures left her lips.
Silas never imagined that such a common word, uttered all day long to his regard, a word he’d taken for granted due to the number of times he’d heard it through the years would ignite such fire and tingles in him.
Right at that moment, there were many things he wanted to do to her. Many ways he wished to react, but Ada’s words buzzed in his mind. Her last advice in order not to scare her.
The frenzied and erratic beating of her heart clued him in on her emotional state.
Silas slowly brought his face closer to hers, lowering himself to her level and allowing their breaths to intertwine.
Arabella immediately shut her eyes, bracing for their looming connection.
However, instead of locking his lips with hers, Silas pressed them very softly against her forehead and remained in that position for a good number of seconds.
The young woman did not protest. On the contrary, her muscles mellowed and her eyelids weren’t glued together so tightly anymore.
Her heart did not exactly simmer down but it sang a different tune.
Noting the shift in her overall demeanor, the vampire let go of her face before wrapping his arms around her, bringing her body against his.
Among the many scenarios both of them had pictured, the way they reacted and handled the situation wasn’t even on their list.
There was no crying, no running away as Silas had expected from her and there were no silent or cold glares from him either.
It was just so peaceful and blissful to a degree that neither of them wanted it to stop.
"I suppose it is my turn to lay my feelings for you," he broke the cozy silence between them, his voice warm but deep, reverberating through her chest, "I never thought it’d be you who’d come out with it first. I admit I imagined this moment to unfold very differently. I believed I’d have to make the greatest of gestures for you to even notice,"
There was something in his tone that begged her to open her eyes and look up at him. Sure enough when her gemstones landed on his features, her mind didn’t know what to make of the sight.
Plastered across his face was a smile... Faint but sweet.
For the first time since they’d met, Silas had finally graced her with a smile.
Eyes still wide open, lost in his bright diamonds, "I could not care any less for grand gestures. It is as if a heavy weight was lifted off my shoulders and I finally do want to explore my feelings... For you,"
"Your heart is making quite the fuss," for once, Silas did not harden his features or try to shake off the beam tugging at his lips.
"Well, I suppose I am still a bit overwhelmed, but your heart isn’t exactly the perfect example for calm," one of her hands lay flat on his chest.
"Fair enough," his smile grew even brighter.