The Night Rider

Chapter 78

My eyes close as Noa moves through the corridors. I am exhausted but still alert, my body is tired but my head seems as awake as ever. The burning pain seems to have subsided a little, something I am more than happy about. I listen to the sounds around me, the sounds of servants working, the sound of doors slamming and Noa's shoes sliding on the floor.

The sounds are peaceful, almost put me to sleep. I don't want to think about tomorrow, about the next eighty years. I want to enjoy Noa's warmth at this moment, the simple things around me and, oddly enough, the burning sensation in my veins. I have lived with this pain for so long that I no longer know what it is like to live without it, it has become the part of me I never wanted. I don't know how I'm going to get back, maybe I'll lose all the magic I have now. Maybe it's a form of saying goodbye, goodbye to what I know and not knowing what the future will bring.

Noa pushes the door of my bedroom open with his back, kicks it shut with his foot. I keep my eyes closed, purely because I don't have the strength or inclination to open them. As soon as Noa stops and a few seconds later I feel my back sink into the mattress, I open my eyes. I only now realise that Noa is no longer touching my skin and I don't have to gasp in pain; it hurts, don't get me wrong, but not as much as before.

My eyes slide over his black clothes, his white skin and his tousled hair. He opens the zip of his long black coat, a black blouse appears. He lowers the fabric of his arms and throws the jacket on the floor. He kicks off his shoes and once again runs a hand through his hair. All the while, I sit mesmerised by his movements. He smiles and puts his hands on the mattress.

He leans forward and looks straight into my eyes, in silence. I want to get up and pull him on the bed but he beats me to it. He puts his knees on the mattress. I expect him to lie down next to me, but he doesn't. He grabs the covers and pulls me to his feet. He grabs the blanket and pulls it over both of us before opening my legs and lying half on top of me. His blue eyes look straight at me, the combination of his body heat and the blanket make me drowsy. I let my head sink completely into the pillow and close my eyes.

I follow the movement of Noa's hand, which slides over my skin, under my shirt. His fingers glide over my sensitive skin, up over my ribs. My breathing is calm, completely relaxed. What they have done to me, what I have in my body, I have no idea. It makes me completely hazy, like I'm under drugs. My whole feeling is severely amplified, while the pain seems far away.

I find the effort to open my eyes, looking deeply into Noa's blue eyes. 'What...was...injected...into me?', I ask softly. Before Noa seems to answer, he pulls my shirt over my head. I let my gaze fall to my body. The black veins are there, my skin around them is red. My right arm is covered in blood. 'St. John's wort and a few additions'.

A quick kiss is pressed to my lips. Noa runs his lips over my skin to my neck. His soft lips press against my hypersensitive skin, making me reach for his hair at that small touch. I can feel him grazing my skin but I don't care at the moment. When he gets to the place of the bite, a sigh of pleasure leaves my lips.

'Sensitive, isn't it?'. I pat him on the head, feeling him smile against my skin. He continues kissing the spot of the bite and starts sucking my skin softly, I bite my lip to keep myself still. I'm so distracted, by the pleasant sensation all over my body, that I don't realise Noa has unbuttoned my trousers. He pulls away from my skin, almost making me push him back.

He knocks the covers off us and pulls my trousers and socks from my skin, only my lingerie concealing my body. I want to get up to take Noa's blouse off but he stops me. I expect him to take off my last clothes, to take off his own clothes but neither is true. He gets off the bed, I look at him in amazement. Again his arms disappear under my body and he lifts me up.

Within seconds I realise that he is lifting me towards my bathroom. 'Let's wash the blood off your skin first'. Slowly, he sits me down on the edge of the bath and turns on the tap. He stands in front of me and starts to open the buttons of his blouse. I immediately shake my head and grab the bottom, pulling him closer. Noa takes a step forward so that I can reach it better and open the buttons one by one.

The clatter of the water, Noa's soft breathing and the silence calm me down. As soon as I reach the last button I push the fabric from his shoulders, the fabric falls to the floor. My fingers slide over his chest and down his stomach to his trouser button. I undo the button and push his trousers down his legs. He steps out of the black fabric and finally takes off his socks. We don't say anything the whole time, it's not necessary.