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Khloe's POV:

I awoke automatically at the sound of the door to the room opening.

My eyelids parted just enough to see the outline of Nico walk into the room, gently closing the door behind him before walking into his closet.

Despite the fact that I had been asleep, it still didn't feel like he had been gone for that long.

Which kind of made me feel guilty for making him go alone.

Even though he was the one who insisted that I rest.

Since we had a viable future now, I wanted to take that seriously, which included all of the meetings with his parents.

I think he sensed that given the way he insisted that his parents would understand my absence.

I guess I just wanted to jump into things even though I physically couldn't.

Not yet anyway.

I wanted to be liked by his family, and show them that I could fit the job that they needed me to fill when the time came.

They needed him to take their place soon, so I think I was just worried about not physically being able to meet whatever deadline they'd set.

I let out a small sigh, hugging the pillow I had in Nico's absence closer to me.

Why did I suddenly just feel so impatient?

I knew that I needed to let myself rest and that it was going to take a while to learn everything that I needed to.

I guess now that my life had a good amount of certainty to it, I wanted to get started as quickly as I could.

Still, when I talked or even looked at Nico... The way he looked at me... I could just tell that I was the only one in this rush.

He looked at me like I was his world, like he couldn't care less what our situation was.

As long as we had each other, we'd be absolutely fine.

Of course, I felt that too, but there was still this lingering thought in my mind.

It was just an ongoing battle in my mind that I hoped would be over soon.

I lifted my head a bit as he walked out of his closet, now in something much more comfortable.

That same look crossed his features as he met my gaze, tossing away the blankets so he could scoot up next to me.

I discarded the pillow I was holding so he could take its place, sliding my arms under his shirt to feel his warmth as soon as he was close enough.

I basked in his scent as he got himself situated, wrapping both of my legs around one of his.

I swear he was the only thing that actually gave me enough warmth to feel comfortable.

He let out a quiet snicker at my actions.

"That didn't take long," My quiet voice spoke as my eyes closed again on their own.

His hand began gently running through my hair.

"No. They just wanted to cover the basics with me, and just let me know what to expect from now on."

There wasn't that usual edge he held before whenever he talked about a conversation with his parents.

I hadn't even realized it was there in the first place, but now that it was gone, it was nice.

It was calming.

Although I did worry that my time with him would be more limited now that he had to take his duties as an heir more seriously.

"And?"

"They graciously gave us two years to figure this out, and gave Xander a good portion of my workload so I could spend my time helping you. My mother also wants some time with you each week."

My eyes opened wide.

"Well, that's certainly better than I was expecting," I stated.

I had already known about the time with his mother. I was something she and I had already discussed a few days back.

"Those were my thoughts exactly. The two years is the maximum time we get so even if we do get married before then, It'll be our choice."

I felt my toes cure at just the sound of that word leaving his mouth so casually.

Like there wasn't a single doubt in his mind that that's what would be happening for us.

Married...

Usually, such a thought would make me nervous, but all I felt was excitement when it came from him.

I lifted my head to meet his, just blinking at him for a second.

"You seem to say 'married' quite confidently despite not even formally asking me," I teased.

His eyes widened for just barely a second before his grin took over his face.

"What? are you planning on saying no?" he replied as he leaned forward, lips inching close enough to my neck where I could feel the words against my skin.

He was trying to fluster me.

And I'll admit that it was only half working.

My hand inched up to the back of his, head, almost holding him there as my head instinctively lifted to allow him to continue.

"Not exactly," I breathed out, "I just think your confidence is admirable."

He placed a single kiss on my pulse point, that rumble in his chest starting for just a moment.

"My confidence in this can't get any higher, sweetheart. You know you're the only one who my heart belongs to and I'm confident that you feel the same. There's no reason left for me to even think of any possibility of that changing."

His words were mellow yet almost seductive in the wat he said them, but the feeling of them against the skin of my neck were like soft kisses in of themselves.

It was like he was speaking his truth directly into my heart.

He wasn't at all wrong.

That was a fact that I could somehow feel within me.

He continued.

"But if me formally asking as something you worry about, don't," He spoke, one hand gripping my hip, " I can take care of that right now if you really want me to."

He spoke that last sentence in that low, almost gravelly voice that always got a reaction out of me.

This time it seemed to work even better than before.

No, I knew it was affecting me differently.

Instead of just my brain, it was affecting my entire body.

It was like a call from his body and my own was responding as it saw fit.

Curse this vampire bond.

My face flamed red and my hold on him tightened.

It took everything in me to keep my claws at bay as goosebumps crawled all over my skin.

Holy crap.

Once I figure out how to do all of this, I'll get my revenge.

I let out an exhale that ended up trembling.

"I... I didn't mean i-it like that... I just-" I stopped as soon as I registered how the sentence was leaving my mouth.

It was like my whole body was now in deep anticipation for what his next move was, and I couldn't focus on anything else.

And just as quickly as all of this appeared, it disappeared the second Nico's boyish chuckle rang in my ear.

"I know, babe, but you started it."

I ran his words through my head once before turning to the side with a huff.

"True, but you cheated," I responded, which got another laugh from him.

Maybe I shouldn't try to start up a tease competition with a vampire who actually knows how to use the bond we have to his advantage.

Maybe Caroline could help me with this.

"I wouldn't call that cheating. That wouldn't have worked if you didn't want it to," He explained, "This bond doesn't make us fall to each other's whim, just makes it more fun when the trust and internal consent is there. Even with the bond always being present, its effects are still earned, not given."

I took that in for a few seconds, trying to ignore the sudden excitement my body had at his explanation.

Gosh, I had so much to figure out.

"One day... one day I'll get my payback," I claimed, driving my own determination from my words.

He just smiled, placing a quick kiss on the tip of my nose before replying.

"And I'll look forward to it every day until you do."