After the tense couch conversation, all three of them were relieved to let it die.
Ayle tried to sink into the quiet, tried to believe the apartment was safe, but her body refused to relax.
Once the talking stopped, the silence felt fragile, as if something could rip through it at any moment.
Still, she kept her face composed, a habit.
She couldn't help but imagine how nice it would be, relaxing, instead of running, looking for her next place to hide.
Knowing they had the rest of the day to do whatever they wanted, Alexander decided to show Ayla his favorite things about their apartment, while Julius went to his room to decompress and get ready for the day.
They held a home on the highest floor of the massive white marble building, which had red intricately sewn into its structure to make it look elegant and grand.
Silver and charcoal fixtures complemented the marble and red perfectly, which made up the building.
Being on the highest floor came with some privileges, but the real gem was a special elevator.
Ayla didn't get the chance to explore when she first arrived, due to several factors.
Now that she had her immediate needs met, for the most part, Alexander was eager to show her around.
First on the list was a shower, as he showed her to the bathroom, providing her with a large t-shirt to toss on after she was finished.
He wanted to join her more than he cared to admit, but the last thing he wanted to do was make her think he brought her there for the wrong reasons.
Reluctantly, he kissed her on the forehead and closed the door behind her as she took in the massive space.
A beautiful oversized black marble tub sat directly on the white tile that matched the rest of the bathroom, with a shower curtain gathered to one side.
There were two doors that she investigated while she waited for the water to warm, leading her to a toilet room and a walk-in closet.
To her surprise, the water was warmed nearly instantly, and she climbed in without hesitation, realizing in that moment that she would be exiting smelling like Alexander.
After what wasn't such a short shower, she found Alexander sitting, clearly enjoying the sight of her in his oversized t-shirt.
It caught him off guard for a second, making him wonder if he even needed to bother with showing her the apartment.
He took her hand and led her to the bedroom, briefly pausing the tour.
This time, not because of him.
Seeing her in the light of the sun brought a whole new level of amazement to his eyes, and she noticed it.
The hunger in his eyes seemed contagious, or maybe it was being trapped by his smells in the steamy shower.
Alexander couldn't help himself, though, as her eyes were mesmerizing.
Previously, he thought they might have been golden amber with a hint of fire in them, like there was sort of light behind them.
Now, he was sure they were a greyish blue in color, as moonbeams from a rare blue moon.
Her long, light blonde hair cascaded down her back, almost the lightest shade he'd ever seen, with milky white skin, and she resembled what most werewolves would imagine the moon goddess would look like if she walked among them.
She looked majestic, and no one he'd ever seen could compare.
Ayla leaned in and kissed his neck, sending signals that she didn't intend to let him finish the tour before getting what she wanted first.
He grinned knowingly, full intending to give her exactly that.
"Give me one minute," he said, ducking into the bathroom to take a quick shower.
Ayla sat patiently on the bed waiting for him.
She stood, walking over to meet him the moment the door opened, and he stood there with steam surrounding him.
Alexander placed his hands on her sides, his thumbs pressed into the sides of her breasts, and she knew she was about to be lifted and she would be brought toward him.
In one swift motion, she was up, and her legs were around his waist, her arms around his neck, and her lips pressed against his as his feet stepped toward the bed.
There was no point in her leaving the bed as she had, she chuckled as she thought about it.
As she felt the bed press against her back, his body pressed against her.
She knew she was seconds from feeling him in some fashion.
The pressure of his body against hers, his cock pressing against her groin, was only increasing her desire for him to be in her.
Her instincts took over as one of her arms removed itself from around his neck and ran its fingers gently down his body until they found his rock-hard appendage waiting for her.
Gently, but not too gently, she gripped him and started moving her hand up and down, slowly, feeling his approval instantly as he inched himself closer to the warmth of her folds.
She kissed him more fiercely as his free hand was now making its way toward her more exposed breast, and her arousal was at its peak to match the point her nipple was making.
He was doing his best to guide her, pushing himself forward to put himself inside of her, but she was teasing him now.
His tip was now dripping as she continued, acting as a lubricant as she rubbed him along her folds.
Ayla was enjoying the act of holding him back when he wanted to be inside of her.
Playing with her was sort of a kink he had discovered that made her drip with passion.
This time, turnabout was fair play as he was nearly on the verge of taking over, having a hard time holding back.
Now that he was in her hands, he was finding it very hard, and she was finding it very arousing.
She purposefully kept him just at her entrance while moving her hand up and down his shaft.
She was letting him feel just a taste of her warmth and moisture as she kissed him, but refused to allow him to enter.
Just his very tip knew what lay ahead, as she went down low enough to let him get just that much in.
It was driving him wild.
Finally, without any warning, he reached his tipping point.
He grabbed her wrist that was holding his erection in a way that instantly released her hand.
In one swift motion, her arm was above her head, meeting her other hand, and he had powerfully thrust himself all the way into her, and she let out a massive moan that matched his, and he didn't stop there.
The dominance that he felt over her was powerful, and he moaned right along with her with each thrust, as the tightness, warmth, and pool of moisture grabbed him, urging him to keep going from there, thrust after thrust.
Flipping her, nearly effortlessly, after several rounds of pumps, to put her on her hands and knees.
Now, his hands were on her hips, grabbing them mercilessly, and showing no signs of slowing down.
Before that session, he did his best to be as gentle as possible, fearing going too far.
This time, she was playing with him and pushed him until he snapped, and she was enjoying it.
Ayla was getting wetter and wetter the deeper, harder, and faster he penetrated her.
Every thrust, carrying moans that made him want to give her even more than he already had, and everything he had been holding back.
The pair climaxed at the same time in a euphoric explosion as he collapsed on top of her, as if he had just finished running a marathon.
Neither of them wanted to move.
Finally, after wasting a large amount of daylight, they emerged, nearly glowing.
Alexander was pleased to finish showing her where everything was.
A smile was present on his face the whole time.
She already knew where the bathrooms were, the kitchen, and the living room, but now she knew where their bedroom was!
On top of that, she found the laundry room, storage if she needed supplies, but best of all, the special elevator.
Alexander made sure to tell her how special it was, without sounding like he was boasting.
They were the only ones who had this elevator or even knew it existed.
Since they had private access to the rooftop, the two men decided to it into something extraordinary.
When the elevator doors opened, she was mesmerized by the view in front of her.
The two slightly scatterbrained men she now lived with had created a nature oasis above their heads.
Alexander and Julius filled it with gardens, bushes, trees, and peaceful water areas with seating areas.
It was truly beautiful.
"How come no one knows about this?" she asked.
He turned to her with a serious face.
"It is for us, and only us. If people knew about it, then they would want to come, and it wouldn't be peaceful anymore. Where would we escape then? If you think it's special in the daylight, I can't wait for you to come back at night," he smiled.
If anyone understood, it was Ayla as she smiled back, a feeling of calm and peace washing over her.
"I think you did an amazing job. If I had known about it before now, you would have found me a lot sooner," she winked.
She felt amazing as she soaked in as much of the sun's rays as she could while making her way to a hammock that tucked itself away under a small canopy of trees.
Ayla felt like she could easily drift off to sleep as she lay there beside Alexander, with his arm around her, and nearly did.
Suddenly, she sprang up out of nowhere.
"What the hell am I doing?" she yelled.
Alexander was startled as he was lying beside her and didn't know what he had done wrong.
She had a startled look on her face as she spoke.
"I have people after me, and I'm not doing anything? This is wrong. What did you do to me? Why was I so quick to assume you aren't trying to do the same thing with your kind words?" she asked.
He looked truly worried but flattered at the fact that she complimented him as she insulted him.
Knowing he had to approach her carefully, he thought about how to ask her what was going on.
"What happened? Did I do something that gave you any indication that I was a bad guy?"
She started shaking her head.
"Exactly my point, you haven't done anything to the opposite either. You have essentially succeeded in kidnapping me, and I let you," she exclaimed as she jumped to her feet, turning to face him.
Her hands had drawn over her face, cupping her nose, followed by pulling them backward to meet her hair.
Dainty fingers moved backward in unison just enough to pull her hair off her face as if she were starting to pull it into a ponytail, and then they paused just as she did.
There was no mistaking the fact that thoughts were racing through the girl's mind, and she was trying to catch up to them.
Alexander didn't know whether to speak or let her think.
Either way, it was risky for him.
Standing to meet her, "Why would you think I kidnapped you?" he said softly.
He hoped the sincerity would come through his voice.
Ayla looked up from her frozen stance, slightly lowering her hands.
"It's the stupid curse of my life. From the second we met, you immediately mentioned taking me here. I came willingly, just as you said. I didn't even question it. You didn't kidnap me; I walked willingly into your trap," she chuckled.
There was a sadness in his eyes as he looked at her now.
"It's not like that" he tried to say.
She snapped back at him, upset that he seemed to pity her.
"Isn't it"?
Now, she had begun pacing.
"After all this time of being chased, everyone knew they couldn't catch me. If they couldn't catch me, they would trap me. Is that it? Find a handsome man and dangle him in front of me so I choose to surrender," she said.
Ayla could figure out scenarios faster than he could, and it amazed him.
She was a true tactical genius.
There was a major problem with her summation of their situation, though.
"You are wickedly smart, and I love that. Unfortunately, you're wrong," he said without hesitation.
He was firm and left no room for interpretation or for her to guess what was going on.
Alexander couldn't afford for her to do what he thought she was about to.
Run.
Attempting to grab her hand but not having success, he decided to try to speak to her emotional side.
"I promise, whatever happened just now to make you think I mean to do anything more than protect you, I'm sorry," he said, with an almost begging tone in his voice.
Ayla started scratching her head and scrunching her nose.
After snatching her hand backward at his attempt to hold he hand, she was unsure of what to do.
"Something doesn't feel right. I had this feeling last night, too. It wasn't for a long time, but for a brief period. I've had this same feeling in the pit of my stomach before. Every time I had it, it was right before men showed up, and I had to run."
Alexander nodded, trying to understand, as she continued.
"So, tell me, why do I have it now if you are only here to help me"?
Alexander looked at her while he tried to process the information that she gave him.
Placing his hand on his chin, he started thinking harder and spoke quietly as he removed it.
"Do you still have the feeling?" he asked.
She nodded, and he gestured with his hand for her to follow him.
When he brought them to the edge of the roof, she was surprised that the view was perfect for spying on nearly half the town.
The town below them was busy with people moving around, enjoying the daylight hours full of intent.
Even though the two of them were wasting daylight, the rest of the townspeople didn't seem to be joining them in that task.
I guess you could say that daylight was, in fact, not so wasted for the people below.
She had nearly forgotten that the world around them existed, but why did he bring her over here?
At first glance, she knew, he was peering in every direction, trying to make sense of her feelings.
With no image of what these men looked like, he was searching the crowd for anyone who could look out of place to make her feel better.
How could she have thought that the man beside her was the one who wished her harm?
Instantly, all the thoughts of him being her captor or wishing to trap her disappeared.
For now, anyway.
She decided it was time for her to engage in the search as well.
Ayla lowered her eyes to the street to make sense of her feeling of fleeing this beautiful home.
There was no desire behind her fear to run, and she knew it.
If she could find a reason, then she could fix it.
Maybe then, she could stay where she was, forever even.
It didn't take long for her to find a man who made her skin crawl.
Alexander immediately hit the buzzer to notify Julius to make his way up to meet them.
His friend was unaware why he was being summoned, and Alexander didn't know if the buzz back was to notify him that he heard the buzzer sound off and he was coming to him, or that he knew not to come.
Sweat was starting to build on his forehead as he started to ponder the possible outcomes ahead of them.
This was the first time they were in this situation.
The rules were loose still, and they needed to come with a one buzz two buzz system.
Hell, they needed to come up with more than that in regard to communication now.
Something, so they could know what to do because this was serious.
When the elevator bell gave its famous ding, he felt like he could finally breathe again.
He hadn't realized that his body failed to let a single breath out until he knew that his friend had exited the elevator to meet them.
The idea that protecting Ayla was all that he could do was sinking in, and this was his first chance to prove it.
This was how he was going to prove he was the person he said he was from the beginning.
When Julius started walking toward the couple, it was obvious that something was off with the two of them as Julius's face began to look just as serious as Alexander's.
He was quick to step up for Ayla's protection detail as well.
Julius didn't want to speak until he knew what was happening, though.
Observing and waiting for them to fill him in seemed like his best option to not make himself feel like a fool.
Sure enough, he could see who they were focused on without having to be told.
Julius didn't hesitate before speaking.
"So, I was right. His mission isn't over. He is looking for someone still, and it's you," he said as he turned to Ayla.
He confirmed without question that the man walking below was the man who found Julian the night before.
The only question that remained for Ayla was whether the two men in the apartment were on her side or not.
Could she trust the men standing on both sides of her?
If anything, she could trust them more than the man who was walking through the stores and streets of the town below.
She had a warm, safe place to lay her head while they kept her away from these massive men.
It couldn't hurt to truly trust the duo, for now.
How many times would they have to prove themselves to her?
Plus, in the daylight, her enemies aren't so hard to spot.
The only question that stood on Ayla's mind was how he got so close, and where were the other two?