Noctuary: Noc"tu*a*ry\ (?; 135), n. [L. noctu by night.] A record of what passes in the night
Here ya go guys, I hope you enjoy and as always, thank you thank you thank you for the awesome reviews!!
Days went by and Eva's sleep cycle remained horribly awry thanks to a single, blue-eyed vampire and now she needed to entertain herself until she got tired. Somehow, at one in the morning, Eva decided that, finally, after months of avoiding the subject, it was time to get rid of her family's belongings. She had moved to Shreveport and demanded they be taken with her against everyone's-including her own-better judgment. She had stubbornly and stupidly shelled out eight hundred dollars to transport the twenty-some unnecessary boxes to her new home in Shreveport.
So, at one in the morning, Eva pulled her hair back, pushed up her sleeves, and opened the first story window so the cool night air blew in and cooled her off. It was time to move on.
There were great pains taken to make sure the boxes remained closed. They weren't taped shut yet because that felt too final. They weren't open because the mere sight of her family's trinkets and possessions made her weepy. The flaps were folded messily over each other, successfully shielding the contents from view.
The boxes were heavy and she had discarded her sweatshirt, lifting and moving the boxes in only a sports bra and the sweatpants that Pam hated. She had taken almost half of the boxes out to the front door in an hour and she was still looking at another half. She thought about calling it quits but she damn well knew that if she stopped now, she would never return to the job. Bending over, she yanked the top box off a pile of two high. When she took a step back, her heel caught on a box behind her and she struggled to keep her balance. It was no surprise that the box was far too heavy for her to efficiently keep her balance and she fell over, the side of her forehead clipping one of the sharp corners of a box.
Dejectedly, she lay on the carpet, groaning at the pain that ebbed and flowed in her head. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the box had fallen open from being dropped to the floor during her fall, its contents spilling out. She sat up quickly and as the dots disappeared from in front of her eyes, she eyed the objects that were splayed out in front of her. With a shaking hand, Eva reached out and picked up her baby brother's blanket.
Before she knew it, tears were spilling from her eyes, down her face, running in streams over her chest, and dripping onto her legs. She could feel her insides ripping apart, her heart stutter painfully in her heaving chest. This pain was much more acute and defined than being nearly killed by a ravenous vampire.
"Evalina," a voice called her name tightly, borderline angry. Eva's head snapped up toward the open window, her vision blurry from her tears but the sight in front of her was unmistakable. "Invite me in, Evalina," Eric ordered, his voice still icy.
"Come in," she stuttered, trying to control her gasping breaths, as Eric appeared right in front of her, kneeling down to her level. His big, stony hands gripped either side of her face firmly but gently and held her still as he inspected the bleeding gash on her forehead.
"What happened? Who did this to you?" Eric demanded roughly. His voice suddenly took on a dangerous, angry note that he had previously been trying to mute. Eva had no doubt that if someone had actually attacked her, Eric wouldn't think twice about hunting them down and killing them. But the sad truth was that she had been clumsy and slightly fatigued and tripped over a box.
"No," Eva whispered, taking a deep breath and grasping Eric's arms as he held her face firmly. She tried to shake her head but Eric was keeping her very still. "No one did this to me." Eric's face suddenly became confused as he lifted a brow.
"Are you telling me that you did this to yourself?" His voice was not all that surprised but his tone had finally lost that dangerous, vicious edge. Eva sniffled and had the grace to look guilty.
"I didn't intentionally do this to myself, no, I just tripped." Eva shrugged a bare shoulder and Eric shook his head, closing his lake blue eyes.
"I see that now," Eric purred, his eyes opening and fixing on the bleeding gash on her forehead. Quickly, he bent her head down so her forehead was to his lips and he gently ran the icy tip of his tongue along the length of the gash. A small gasp escaped her mouth but she allowed him to lick her forehead, temple and cheek clean on her blood. When he pulled his face back, he licked his pink lips hungrily. "Would you like me to heal that for you?" Eva's eyes widened but she nodded her head. The pain from the headache was making her woozy.
Eric bit casually into his wrist and held it up for her before the blood could drip onto the carpet. She touched her lips to his wrist, smelling the tinny scent of the blood before she actually tasted it. A few draws from his wrist later, he was pulling it away, chuckling throatily. She licked her lips clean of the blood and cleared her throat.
"That's all you need," Eric said, running a thumb over the clear patch of skin that used to be blemished by a gash. Eva hummed, nodding and smiling up at him as the pain in her head completely disappeared.
"That's twice you've healed my wounds now," Eva said as Eric dropped his hands away from her face. Eric straightened up and fastened a button on his suit coat, pushing his blonde hair back.
"That's twice you've managed to damage yourself. God forbid you trip and fall at noon," he only half joked. Eva wrinkled her nose at him. He was looking around the dull room, taking in the scene. "Go make yourself presentable, you'll come to the bar with me tonight," Eric told her, still running his eyes over the room.
"Eric, I have things to do here," Eva argued half-heartedly, sweeping her arm over the room and cringing at the thought of being left alone now.
"Yes, well, this isn't a job for you," Eric said, bringing his head slowly toward Eva. "You're too invested in this to be able to perform the task at hand. By the time you return, these boxes will be properly taken care of." Eric's voice was cool and matter-of-factly as he straightened his coat. Eva just stared up at him like he was speaking Hebrew. "Now go upstairs, Evalina, and change those clothes. I do remember Pam promising there would be hell to pay if she saw you dressed in sweats again." Eva rolled her eyes at him and allowed him to pick her up under her arms and point her in the direction of the door. "You have fifteen minutes starting now." With that, she was heading upstairs before she really knew what she was doing.
Once again, Eva found herself in her closet; scanning her clothing options and convincing herself that she had absolutely nothing to wear to a vampire bar. Her arms were crossed and there was something of a scowl on her face. It was nearly two in the morning and she was letting Eric drag her to a vampire bar, which also happened to be the last place on earth she wanted to be.
In a moment of curiosity, she pricked her ears up and listened carefully. The man was like the wind; he made absolutely no noise at all. She couldn't hear anything, not even the sounds of his wingtip shoes on the hardwood or the subtle rustle of fabric from his suit. Either he was standing perfectly still or he had left the house completely. She simply saw no other reason why he made no noise. She let her arms drop to her sides and quietly walked out from her walk-in closet. Her feet padded quickly across the carpet as she made her way to the bedroom door, closed to keep the vampires out-ha.
"Going somewhere, my little teacup human?" Eric purred, his voice laced with a condescending edge.
"You're still here." Was it him, or did he really detect relief and something along the lines of happiness flood through her? Strangely enough, her feeling warmed him.
"You're still half-dressed," he noticed, letting his eyes run up and down her exposed torso and arms before they reached her eyes.
"I have nothing to wear," Eva mumbled wearily and Eric's brows rose in feigned surprise.
"Somehow, I very much doubt that," Eric purred, pushing her ebony waves of hair back behind her shoulders so her neck was exposed to him. The warm scent of her skin and the red well flowing beneath the thin layer sang to him and it took nearly every ounce of self-control he possessed to ignore the melody. That certainly didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the tune. To his immense surprise and pleasure she allowed his gesture and didn't even balk at the touch.
"Well, start doubting," Eva grumbled and rolled her dusty, pewter eyes as a cool breeze blew past her. When she looked back up, Eric was gone. She felt a moment of panic when she couldn't find him anywhere in the hallway. As she turned back around toward the room, she suppressed the urge to scream again. "You're going to stop my heart if you scare me like that again," Eva scolded, her hand covering her rapidly beating heart. Eric disregarded her complaint and handed over a hanger heavy with a little black dress and a pair of bright red pumps.
"I think this will do just fine," he murmured, holding the dress up until she swiped it away. He pushed back his blonde hair and glanced at a wall clock. He situated himself on her bed, reclining casually into her pillows like it was his own bed. As she remained unmoving in front of him, he unbuttoned his suit coat and smiled mischievously at her. "You'd better hop to, sweetness," Eric hummed at her and she furrowed her brow when she realized he wasn't going anywhere. Well, fine.
Since his legs were sprawled out on her bed, long and lean, and crossed at the ankle, she laid her dress over them while she shimmied out of her sweatpants. His eyes were locked on her and she tried her very best to ignore the immense weight of those glacial blue orbs, just like the first time she saw him. So, she spoke to break the unbearable sexual tension.
"So, why all black again? Is there some kind of rule against colors at your bar?" Eva half joked, obviously struggling with the zipper behind her. Eric moved slowly this time as he stood and pushed away from the bed. He disappeared behind her, swatting her hands gently away as he took up with the zipper. She dropped her hands willingly. His hands moved gracefully, like a maestro's, as he brushed back her hair over her shoulders. His long, cool fingers lingered on her neck a moment too long but she closed her eyes at the wonderfully cold touch against her neck. He pulled the zipper up slowly and turned her around to face him.
"You look good enough to eat," Eric said, smiling slightly at his own joke. Of course he would love to absolutely devour her. "Time to go, my little teacup human," he purred, his hands falling from her shoulders. She sighed and stepped into her shoes, shaking her head and smiling in defeat. Eric always got what Eric wanted, and little by little, he was winning her over.
That's that! Hope you guys liked it! Let me know what you think.
-Kate
