When Sean and Claire had recovered enough to at last force themselves to break off that passionate contact, he still only moved to his previous spot beside her. There he continued lying on his side, facing her, his arm draped over her stomach as he placed several little kisses over her cheek and lips. This caused her lips to curl further into a contented smile that mirrored the one Sean still wore. He then looked into her eyes a moment as though he wanted to say something, but thought against it, considering Nicolas may very well still be near enough to make out their words.

So I didn’t let myself look that way, but I assume he was watching us? Sean’s thoughts broke into Claire’s mind as he just kissed her again, his mouth not having formed the words at all.

She appeared a little startled by his chosen method of communication, but easily understood the reason for it despite the fact that they were still lying there next to one another and could have easily just spoken to each other. In response she only let her gaze move to the door for a moment where she saw that Nicolas was still inside the door, though he was no longer peering through the crack at them.

He’s stopped looking now, but he is still in there. She returned her thoughts to Sean as she smiled up at him through another kiss.

So you did seem to rather enjoy my performance tonight. Sean’s thoughts reached her as he grinned down at her once more, allowing his hand to move up to caress her breast for a tiny moment before wrapping his fingers in her hair once more.

I had almost forgotten what it was like to have you do all those things to me before even making love to me. She smirked to accent her thoughts.

Good thing I got a chance to remind you then. Sean teased her once more.

And I’m pretty sure that you quite enjoyed the encounter yourself. Claire returned with another wry smile up at him as she moved to wrap her fingers in his long locks in return.

It was a very nice trip back in time to long held memories of our previous life together, and the way we made love to each other then. Sean smiled gently down at her as he placed another kiss over her lips.

Claire was silent for another long moment as she pushed Sean to his back and curled into his arms as she laid her head upon his chest. Wrapping her arms around his waist with a gentle squeeze, it was obvious that she was still being quite affected by their afterglow.

After another moment, she reached into his mind again, So, do we think this helped him at all?

Sean allowed a little sigh of his own as he squeezed her back; Again, it’s a bit hard for me to read thoughts when they’re in French.

Claire just scowled slightly at that response before responding, I wasn’t asking you to read his mind.

Weren’t you? Sean replied with another wry grin.

I guess the only way to know is to see how he reacts. Claire responded with another slight sigh. That was when they heard the muffled sound of footsteps finally moving out of the privy and back into Nicolas’ own room as the clock struck midnight. Once they heard the door close to his room, Claire looked back up at Sean once again, “So do you think I should go check on him?”

“Right this minute?” Sean returned with another smirk as he looked down at the two of them lying there without a scrap on.

“I’m pretty sure I meant after getting dressed” she returned his smirk as she tilted her face up to his.

“Well, if it had any positive effect at all, he might need a few minutes” Sean returned with a slight hand gesture to accent his words.

Claire just scoffed as she shook her head, “I somehow doubt he’s ever done that in his life. At least not since he met that man… which was when he was only fourteen if you recall” she reminded with another sad sigh.

Trying to push that dark reminder away, Sean spoke again, “I didn’t think you’d be in such a hurry to leave our bed; considering how badly I had you shaking only minutes ago” Sean teased as he placed another kiss upon her forehead.

Claire smirked again, and then her expression grew more serious, “I just worry about him. And I assumed you’d be in a rush to get back to your other duties, my Prince.”

Sean just shook his head at the title that he still hadn’t grown accustomed to even after thirteen years. “Do I appear to be rushing through anything tonight?” he asked in the same teasing tone.

Claire couldn’t help another smile, “well one male here definitely seemed to enjoy tonight.”

“It has been a while since we did make love; let alone how long it’s been since we did a lot of those other things that we did tonight. Maybe I’m feeling especially nostalgic” he grinned back down at her again.

Claire couldn’t deny the pull she herself felt toward their mortal lives after the encounter they had shared that night. In lieu of words, she simply smiled up at him, kissed his lips once more, and laid her head back upon his chest, curling even more tightly into his arms again.

Giving into her and Sean’s mutual desire to continue holding each other into the night, Claire decided she would also let Nicolas sleep through the night as well. She only hoped that perhaps his dreams and thoughts would be slightly less dark that night.

Though she did go in search of him after rising the following evening. It was after nine when she and Sean awoke and he grudgingly headed downstairs to attend to the duties of his post once more after ignoring them for almost the entire previous evening. Claire slowly moved through the privy chamber to find Nicolas sitting in silent thought atop his own bed that night.

“Evening” she greeted him softly as she took a few more steps toward the bed.

“Bonsoir” he replied, though his voice was nearly a whisper, and he did not yet bring his eyes up to meet hers.

“Bon means good, doesn’t it?” she asked with a small smile as she moved a few steps closer to the edge of the bed.

“Just an expression” he added in the same quiet tone.

“So, it’s not a good evening?” she asked warily.

“Confusing mostly. But that has been all of the day” he admitted quietly, still refusing to look her way.

“Because of last night?” she asked worriedly as she pulled a plush chair closer to the bed rather than risking startling him by taking a seat on the bed next to him.

That was when Nicolas’ cheeks burned red as he tried to further avert his eyes, “you said you wanted to show me.”

“And I did want to. I’m just trying to determine what you thought about what you saw last night” she assured him in the same gentle tone.

“Which part?” Nicolas asked at a barely audible tone.

“Any of it. All of it” she smiled over at him again. Seeing that he still seemed to be at a loss for how to explain his feelings about the previous evening though, she attempted to help clarify. “I guess I was wondering how you felt about seeing that Sean was aroused by the sight of my body, just like you were. And he wanted me to give him pleasure. But he didn’t hurt me, or make anyone else hurt me. He only touched me gently, tenderly, and gave me that pleasure also; before even putting himself inside of me to receive his own. And not any part of it was painful for either of us” she told him in the same soft tone. “So, do you see now how becoming aroused doesn’t ever have to mean you want to hurt someone? “

“You wanted him inside you? His fingers, his tongue, his… You wanted that?” he asked, finally casting the briefest glance her way to watch for her reaction to his question.

“I wanted it very much” she assured, then added, “because I knew he’d never hurt me. I knew it would only feel good” she finished pointedly. “That’s the way it’s always been meant to be. Not the way you learned that it was, but the way it truly is for people who aren’t sick like Donatien was.”

“You don’t think I’m sick like him? Even after…” Nicolas just shook his head again as tears burned behind his brown eyes once more.

“When you think about touching me; do you think you want to do the things that Donatien did to you and Madeleine, or would you rather do the things that you watched Sean and I do last night?” Claire asked him simply.

“I never want to hurt anyone the way he hurt us” he confessed as he forced back more tears.

“Then I think you just answered your own question, didn’t you?” she returned with another smile back at him.

Nicolas was quiet another moment as he wiped away more tears and looked back at her with the pleading expression, “so maybe I’m not completely broken inside?”

“Oh Nicolas” Claire whispered as she forced back her own tears and moved to wrap him in her arms again. He of course tensed at first, but a moment later she felt him wrapping his arms around her as well, clinging to her tightly as he buried his face in her long locks. That was when more tears poured forth from his eyes but for once they were not only ones of despair; possibly for the first time since he had met Donatien Alphonse François de Sade.

It was after ten when Claire once again poked her head into Sean’s office as he looked up from the various orders for shipments and sales. He greeted her with a smile, “good evening, lover” he couldn’t help his smirk.

“So, I’m not disturbing you?” Claire smiled back as she stepped into the room.

“The mere sight of you disturbs me” he assured her with another mischievous smile.

“Still feeling that afterglow, are you?” she returned as she took a seat.

“Or that nostalgia” he then added, “maybe both.”

After another tiny smile, Claire continued, “so, aren’t you going to ask?”

“Ask what? If I should strip you down and throw you across my desk right now, or if we need to wait on an attractive young man to find a spot to watch from first?” he teased.

Claire just shook her head with another small laugh, “you think that’s why I came down here?”

“Maybe I just hope it’s the reason” Sean returned with a slight lick of his lips as his eyes moved over her.

“You’re making it very hard for even me to remember why I came down here now” she scolded though with a lack of seriousness.

“Maybe that was my plan all along” he teased further.

“Oh, so you just knew that I’d come interrupt your plotting and planning for a second night in a row?”

“I am very perceptive” he grinned back at her, to which she only narrowed her eyes skeptically over at him, as that could have easily been a reference to his mind reading which he had indeed promised never to use on her if it were not absolutely necessary.

Though she forced her way past that worrisome thought as it was most likely not such a reference after all, considering his otherwise jovial mood. She then paused a moment before continuing, “I do think we helped him at least a little bit though.”

“Oh no, did Nicolas already beat me to my plan to throw you over a piece of furniture and have my way with you tonight?” Sean teased further.

“You must really think that what we did worked wonders” she couldn’t help another small laugh.

“It did for me” he returned slyly.

“Apparently” she laughed again, “you’re not even complaining about me keeping you from your duties for two nights in a row.”

“My duty was to you long before it was to this throne” he told her with a bit more seriousness to his tone at last; his mind obviously traveling back to the fear that their days may very well be numbered. Seeing that his tone did well to darken her expression as well, Sean quickly moved on, “so how did we help Nicolas ‘at least a little bit?’”

“He’s at least now opening himself to the idea that becoming aroused does not mean he has any desire to hurt anyone for his own pleasure. And he did assure me that he never had any desire at all to do any of those hurtful things, despite his arousal. So, he’s finally admitting that maybe there is hope for him to repair at least some of the mental damage that had been done to him, along with the physical” Claire informed quietly.

“Mental damage is actually much worse. I think we all know that by now” Sean admitted quietly. He then attempted to move on, “so how long do you give him before he wants a more personal lesson from you?” he smiled again.

“I doubt it’ll be any time soon” Claire returned with a shake of her head.

“I don’t know; that blood bond does make him want you very badly” he reminded her, which caused her to look down again, still feeling guilt over establishing that bond with someone as fragile as Nicolas already was when it came to notions of love and desire.

“I just wish…” Claire began, and then just let her voice trail off sadly.

“I know; you wish your blood didn’t force that love on others. You want it to be real. Which is probably also why you were so drawn to Kristofer” he finished her thought for her as she lifted her eyes to his warily. “At least you can always remind yourself that it was always real with me and you. And it always will be, no matter what” he assured her, hoping upon hope she would believe his words and possibly someday trust that she could share her dark secret with him willingly.

“For however long always is, anyway” she couldn’t help adding with a slight sniffle.