The Beast's Possession

**Aife

pov**

The next morning, I woke up alone. Although Bane's absence didn't surprise me, I did feel a little off. Maybe it was my childish desire to be held by the man to whom I had given an important part of myself, or maybe that was a little selfish of

me.

Whatever the reason was, I couldn't lie and claim it wasn't weird. One would think it would be the right thing to stay in bed after an experience as such. Perhaps just to avoid the possibility of me, thinking that he had used me. Slowly sitting up in bed, I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts that shouldn't plague me.

Tossing my legs over the edge of the bed, I let out a low hiss. Was I supposed to be in pain?

Although the pain wasn't serious enough for me to scream, it was there. Maybe calling the feeling sore and tingling would be better...

As I slowly got dressed, I let my eyes take in the room. The sheets of the bed were covered in blood spots, so I tried to ignore the view. Other than that, the room looked like any other, boring room.

The only thing that got to me was how uncomfortable I felt when I started walking around. As soon as I stood in front of the bedroom door and flung it open, I caught on the scent of bacon and eggs.

Ignoring the uncomfortable throbbing between my legs, I limped to the kitchen area to find shirtless Bane, standing in front of the stove, focused on whatever he was cooking and humming a melody under his breath. "Morning," I called out to him, unsure of how he could react. Goddess knew what kind of mood he could be in at this moment, so all I could do was hope he wouldn't fly off the handle.

Bane quickly dropped what he was holding and spun around to face me. First, he flashed me the brightest, widest smile ever, but soon, his facial expression morphed to that of great concern. "You don't look good," he muttered.

A chuckle escaped me before I could stop it. "Good morning, Aife. How did you sleep? Would you like some coffee or tea?" I whispered as I stared straight into his eyes.

Bane blushed. He actually blushed as he brought his hand to the back of his neck and scratched it. His eyes darted everywhere but at me as he cleared his throat. "Yeah, my apologies, I didn't mean it to come across as rude or anything. I suppose we can talk about your looks later then."

His eyes finally met mine and he tried to smile again, but this time, the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Good morning, sweetheart. Would you like coffee or tea? I'm cooking breakfast; should be ready in a couple minutes."

A wide grin spread across my lips. "I would love some coffee, thank you."

For a brief moment, my words echoed against the walls, but soon enough, Bane mirrored my grin and stepped closer to me.

Once he stood in front of me, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a quick, yet extremely loving kiss. "Now, this is what I call a good morning," he whispered against my lips.

An unknown sense of happiness surged through me as he scooped me in his arms and carried me to the table in the kitchen. Then, he carefully sat me down and pressed his lips to my forehead. "I saw how uncomfortable you are today, thought I could help out a little."

Now it was my turn to blush bright red. Bane could be the most attentive and caring man walking this planet if only he wanted to be.

"It's not that bad," I tried to ease his mind, but obviously, my words didn't do much. Or at least didn't earn me anything more than the glare he sent my way.

Honestly, I really didn't want to test this side of Bane. I knew how explosive he could be in a bad mood, but there was no saying how he would react if I pushed his buttons while his mood was way better.

Instead of getting on his nerves, I sat in silence and watched how the big bad beast danced around the kitchen as he made me a cup of coffee.

A part of me wondered why he never showed anyone this side of him. Bane was a hard to read man, but he had plenty of amazing qualities to him. Sadly, he wasn't too keen to show the world those.

A sudden wave of jealousy washed over me. Had he treated other women well? Who was I kidding, of course he had... But... It was just that our beginning was so awful it was hard to believe that our story evolved into something that reminded a fairytale all of a sudden...

Surely, there were many before me, that much was clear, but had all of them gone through the same torment I did just to see him in a different light later on? Or was I the only one who had to suffer before a sense of happiness finally washed over her?

Shaking my head, I tried to get rid of the thoughts and doubts. This was our moment, not another chance to overthink everything that was happening.

What helped me get out of the gloomy thoughts was the cup of coffee Bane set in front of me. Then, he placed a plate piled with scrambled eggs and bacon next to it.

My gaze shot up to him just to see the smuggest grin ever as he raised an eyebrow at me, almost challenging me to announce I wasn't hungry.

"Thank you, this looks amazing," I announced as I reached for the fork.

Bane grabbed my hand to stop me. I couldn't help but frown at the sudden obstacle, but all that grinning butt did was point at his lips and mutter, "how about thanking the chef before the meal?"

"I thought you would thank the chef after you get to eat the food. You know, just to ensure there is something to thank him for," I teased.

A loud groan left him as Bane bent down and forced his lips on mine. Again, the kiss was quick, but so full of emotions, he left me light headed. "Enjoy your breakfast," Bane whispered against my lips, straightened his body and left me at the table as if nothing had happened.

My jaw nearly hit the floor as I watched him fill his own plate and join me. "You should eat while it's still warm. Meals don't taste half as good when they get cold," he announced as he pointed his fork at my plate.

From there, I just decided to eat and enjoy the silence for once. While at the start, silence around Bane was awful, these days, it's so nice, it's almost comforting.

Half-way through the meal, I noticed Bane glancing my way. He didn't look like he wanted my feedback, it was something more... Something he didn't want to bring up...

Every time I looked at him when I felt his eyes on me, Bane looked away. He seemed tense, uncomfortable in his own skin, but I couldn't pin-point why. Was this the moment when he admitted that he made a mistake and wanted me out of his life?

Biting my tongue, I held back from asking questions for another ten minutes, until it was too much for me. Groaning, I dropped the fork and glared at him, "what is it? Don't lie to me, Bane. What is it?"

Slowly, Bane set down his fork and reached over the table to grab my hand. "You probably won't like it, I'm not a fan of the fact too, but I need to leave for a bit."

Raising my eyebrow I sucked in a breath. "How long is a bit?"

Bane averted his gaze. "A month or two."