ᴏᴋ ꜱᴏ ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴏꜰꜰ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱ ᴋɪɴᴋʏ ꜱᴍᴜᴛ. ɪ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴋɪɴᴋʏ ꜱᴍᴜᴛ. ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪɴᴋʏ ꜱᴍᴜᴛ, ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ. ɪᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇꜱ ᴀ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴋɪɴᴋʏ ꜱᴍᴜᴛ. ɪ'ᴍ ɴᴏᴛ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʟɪᴇ, ɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ɪɴꜱᴘɪʀᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴀᴜɴᴛɪᴇ ᴋᴀᴛᴇ'ꜱ ꜱᴇʀᴠᴇʀ.

Bringing myself down from the loss of Maeve proved harder than I would have once thought. That absence from my life left a hole in my heart, one that was growing larger and larger by the day. As much as I wanted to believe that she was just on holiday and would be back soon, a part of my mind tore at the possibility that she would be gone forever.

Taking all but three days to get our ducks in a row, my family would be leaving for Greece. Where? I had no idea, Aro had been very cryptic about the whole adventure. Claiming that it would be good and that I shouldn't worry did nothing to ease the growing anxiety pooling in my mind.

Anxiety was something I dealt with on a daily basis back before I met my mates. God, it was a horrid feeling, and now it plagued me wherever I went. Torrents of negative thoughts flew into my mind and refused to leave, deciding to take personal residence in that pretty little head of mine. Was it pretty? Am I pretty?

I hated negativity, I really did, but I couldn't help but feel so awful. No matter how much time my mates spent with me, it seemed that nothing was helping. Words of encouragement did not help. I wanted Maeve back, and I needed her. I felt worthless, powerless, and alone.

"Il mio amore." Aro ran his hands through my long brown hair. I had decided to keep it long, having it now grown past my butt. "Are you going to get off the plane or will I have to carry you again?"

Mumbling incoherent words in various languages under my breath, I got up, rubbing my eyes. My raven-haired mate smiled, kissing the top of my head. Kissing his cheek, we left the private jet, which was our most commonly used form of transportation. The Volturi had so many vehicles that I couldn't name them all in one sitting. Then again, I couldn't stay still or sit for long. Ah, to have an overactive brain.

"We got a house by the beach," Marcus informed, wrapping his arms around me, "I know you like the water. We can go swimming whenever you want."

I hummed in response. My brown-haired mate frowned. Looking at him, I kissed his cheek next, hoping that it would make him happy. Unfortunately, he saw through my facade, sending me a worried look. "Tesoro, how are you feeling today? Did something happen?"

"I'm tired," I said, forgetting that vampires can't be physically tired.

"Anna... we're worried about you," Caius piped up, his usually stone cold face softening, "You know vampires cannot tire. What's been going on with you, cara mia?"

"I miss her." My mates knew who I was talking about. "I just miss her so much."

"Perhaps she is waiting for the right time to reappear. This could be for your benefit." I hissed at the notion. Aro sighed and took my hand, kissing it gently. "Well, my sweet Annalise, you may have to wait some more time. I know it has been hard, and we will stand by you during anything, but I hope that this trip will bring you some joy."

"Is our son staying with Anora?" Aro nodded. "Well, we should have some time to ourselves then."

Free time. Right. This was a vacation. I've never been on one of those, not to this extent. Five weeks of nothing but Greece and summer sun.

Perfect day for fun with mates, I guess.

____________________________________________

Marcus' POV

Coming down from the plane, I watched as my mate held onto Aro's arm for dear life. She just looked so sad. Not being able to make her happy burned my heart in ways I didn't know how to fix. I wanted nothing more than to make Anna happy, but she was heavily depressed after the loss of Maeve.

Her sweet smile has been missed. That toothy grin, her soft hands running through my hair, I missed it all. The Anna that I knew had regressed into an Anna that didn't know what to do with herself or her life.

The worst part was that her mates wanted her happiness, and would've put her before anything else in their lives.

Anna now spent most of her time trying to make sure our son was happy. I think he's been catching on to her sadness, that depression she's been hiding from him. Helios is a smart boy.

I would hate the day that our son realizes that his mother hasn't been truly happy.

"Marcus," Caius' voice cut off my thoughts, "How do we help her? The bonds-"

"Our bonds are still strong, Caius, but she is depressed. Much better than myself, but I fear she will get worse if we don't do something for her soon." Caius hissed under his breath. "Do you have the ring?"

"Obviously," his sassy voice rang through the area. I hoped that Anna did not hear us. "I would never forget that pretty thing. I really hope she says yes."

"We all do, Caius."

____________________________________________

Anna's POV

Hands trailed down the edge of my spine. Caius' sturdy fingers set my body on fire on any normal day, but today I was truly burning on the inside. Just the traces of his touch sent a hit of calm through our bond.

Equally cold fingers hit every spot on my back that set me alight. I turned around, sick of his relentless teasing. "You're touching me."

"Am I not your mate, cara mia?" He whispered huskily, now trailing my jawline. I sucked in a deep breath of air as he traced my neck. Pulling a near moan out of me, my mate smirked at what he could do to me. "Look at you, Anna, melting under my fingertips. That little quiver your lip does tells no lies, mia cara."

"I..." trailing, I flexed my body up into his touch. He chuckled at my small response to his sensual touch. "Why do you do this to me, Caius? What have I done?"

"Been my beautiful mate," he said, making his way above me. Kissing me with passion, I melted further, wrapping my arms around Caius' neck. "The most beautiful woman in existence. Putting Aphrodite to shame every single day. How I'd worship you until the end of time, make you mine over and over again if you'd let me. My one true love."

My heart fluttered at his words. Caius knew how to set me alight, how to make me weak at the knees. I would bend, but never break. The perfect match to my own innocence was his pure lust and drive. We could go at it for hours and still not be satisfied. Now, we have all the time in the world. Well, a few months of time to test our limits.

"Cara mia, look at me," his commanding voice was still laced with love. He pulled my chin up, forcing me to gaze into his black eyes. "That's it, baby, look at me while I touch you. Let me see your eyes as I make you come. Watch as I spread you open and enjoy you for the goddess you are."

His commands littered with affection only made more arousal pool at my nether regions. Caius' hands slipped under my panties before he ripped them off, letting the sound ring throughout our bedroom. My mate smirked at the way he made me flinch. A kinky bastard through and through, Caius Volturi, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Caius slapped the inside of my thigh, making me moan. A growl left him as I bucked my hips up, wanting him to give me more. A steady hand on my leg, my mate didn't let me roll my hips up any longer, keeping me as still as he could with my strength. He slid a finger inside of me with his free hand, making loud moans spill free without any restraint on my part. This only seemed to fuel his growing desire, as Caius slid in two more fingers without warning.

"Mio re!" I called out for him, panting heavily as he hit me in just the right way. "Please, please."

"Aw, mia regina, what are you begging me for? Use your words, Anna darling." I snarled as his grin grew. That stupid smile of his made me want to smother him, but I was also so damn horny. The way he could make me like this with a few simple touches...

I tried to come up with some snarky response, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was a stream of whines and moans. He still wouldn't let my hips go, increasing my desperation. He wasn't moving fast enough to build up my release, teasing me mercilessly. I craved more, yet I had given myself and my control to my loving mate, whose eyes were a pitch black, a sign of his growing arousal. He wouldn't be able to hold onto himself for much longer. I would just have to wait out his torturous love.

The emptiness that came with the removal of his fingers was even worse than the lack of buildup. All I could do was choke out a sob as Caius removed my dress. A few cracks formed on my wrists as he pinned me down on the bed. My mate growled, taking off all of his clothes within a second.

"Look at me, mia regina," he crooned, grabbing something from the night stand. My eyes widened as I realized what my mate had brought out. A single click and my wrists were cuffed to our comfortable bed, ceasing any chance at movement. Of course, I could break out of these things if I wanted to, but after what happened the last time I tried that...

"Mio re," my voice was low and teasing. If I couldn't move, I could tease. "Why don't you touch me, baby? Have I not been your perfect little mate? I'm so wet for you."

His growls got louder as he started to spread my legs once more, slapping my ass in the process. "You're a bad girl, Anna, using that tone with me, and bad girls get punishments from their king."

The small hitch in his tone turned me on further. My mate noticed this, uncuffed me, flipped me on my stomach, and cuffed me again. I whined at his incessant teasing, but cried out once a single hand slapped against my ass. The most common form of my punishments.

"Count for me, Principessa," Caius ordered. I nodded.

His hand coming down on my ass brought venom to my eyes. It hurt so good. "O-One."

I could feel Caius' smirk from behind as he brought another hand down. A single crack formed right above the place he slapped. "Two."

My mate cracked his knuckles. Three. "Three!" Four. "F-Four." Five. "F-Caius!"

He tutted, grabbing a fistful of my long hair. It was definitely a good idea to grow it out. Now he could just tug. "Cara, you know our rules. Being a naughty girl today will be your undoing." I gulped as I heard my mate grabbing his belt, which he had previously tossed somewhere in the room. "Now, I think that five will do. Can you take it, piccola?"

I nodded, but that wasn't enough for him. "Verbally, amore."

"Yes, I can take it mio re," I answered, just as he told me to. A loud crack could be heard as the belt collided with my bare, pale ass. Tears formed in my eyes and arousal pooled in my core, the perfect duality.

"Since you can't seem to control yourself, you have to shut that pretty little mouth of yours. If I hear even one moan, hiss, or whine we'll finally see a vampire pass out from exhaustion, and it won't be me." His threat forced me to shut my mouth and take it.

Even at the first whip of his belt I was nearly ready to give in to whatever punishment could leave me exhausted. I wanted to cry out, to beg him for more. My tongue left small cracks in my bottom lip, left unable to do anything other than bite my lip.

By the fourth whip I was on the verge of breaking, but I knew I could take more. Caius and I had done far more extreme things and I knew my own limits. A simple belt was nowhere near my limit.

"Ah, there's five, baby," Caius said as he kissed my cracked ass. "I think you've earned the right to see me as I fuck you open, don't you think? Do you want to see me as I fuck you senseless? Answer me, Anna."

"Yes, yes I want to see you as you fuck me senseless," I responded. Within seconds I could see my handsome mate's face. His pitch black eyes focused on me before he wrapped his hands around my waist, pushing me down.

Caius groaned as he thrusted his hips into mine, sheathing himself into my entrance. I moaned. He wasted no time, picking up the pace. In no time he was pounding me into the bed, with the handcuffs he placed one me digging into my thin wrists. His large cock hit places I could never dream of hitting myself or with a toy, bringing me closer to my release.

I cried out as Caius hit my g-spot. He angled his thrusts to hit it every single time, knocking the wind out of me. That wonderful feeling of potential release hit, eliciting moans from my puffy lips.

"Mmm, look who's already about to come," Caius teased, letting out a groan of his own. "You can come, mia regina."

His permission was all that I needed, hitting my high with a cry of pleasure. Caius' thrusts persisted, giving me no time to calm my overexerted nerves. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as he chuckled, cock still throbbing and moving inside of me.

My mate continued until I was on the brink once again. Burning coils of pleasure that were ready to snap took over my senses, making me unable to focus on anything other than my need for a release. With myself almost pained from the overstimulation, Caius started to get sloppy, not hitting my perfect spots every single time and rather once every few thrusts. His hips sputtered, on the edge of euphoria.

Caius came with a growl of my name, with my release following soon after. My mate uncuffed my wrists, but my arms just fell down, almost parylzed.

"You okay, Anna?" Caius asked, running a hand down my cheek.

"Mhm," was all I managed, still dazed from overstimulation. My mate chuckled before plopping down next to me on our bed, nuzzling at my neck. He kissed my cheek before wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me under the blankets.

What a wonderful way to start a vacation. Too bad Aro and Marcus were getting blood bags from Alexandros. Oh, who am I kidding, Aro will see this when he gets back.