Noctuary: Noc"tu*a*ry\ (?; 135), n. [L. noctu by night.] A record of what passes in the night
Hey guys! I'm really sorry it took me so long to update... you know how the holidays are! anyway, I really hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!! Review!
The night was sticky hot outside and the air was still and as Eva and Eric walked out of the house, Eva stopped short. "Where's the car?" Eva asked, her eyebrows knitting together as she looked up at him. Eric's smile was devilish as he looked down at her and her mouth dropped open. "Really?" she squeaked, shocked. "Really?" It was all she could say. Eric threw his golden head back and laughed a real, true laugh. It was the first time she had actually heard him laugh and the sound was like music and she loved to be the reason behind its melody. When he finished laughing, Eva's face was smiling at his humor and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Close your eyes, Evalina," Eric whispered and after a moment of stillness, she complied, shielding her pewter orbs from view. After a couple of minutes, Eva found herself getting antsy and she was a touch nervous that she couldn't see. Just when she was about to open her eyes on her own free will, Eric spoke.
"Open," he told her gently and she willingly opened her eyes. A shocked scream escaped her lips and she grabbed Eric's collar in her hands so tightly her knuckles were turning white.
"Eric, we're flying!" Eva nearly yelled, her cheek pressed against his chest. She felt a gentle vibration ripple through him as he chuckled at her surprise.
"Very observant," Eric joked, wrapping her closer to him as she wriggled herself impossibly tighter to him. "Don't close your eyes. We'll be there soon and it really is spectacular from up here," Eric said calmly and Eva took a deep breath, opening her eyes. Eric was right; the view was breathtaking. All the lights from below shone like bulbs from a Christmas tree stand in yellows, whites, and oranges. The breeze blew through her hair softly and actually cooled her on the hot Louisiana night while they flew through the air, suspended by nothing. She had never been so terrified and captivated at the same time in her whole life. For some reason, she felt safe here in Eric's arms, snuggled securely against his marble chest. She wondered if Eric felt a little like God up here, floating above humanity, completely untouchable. He sure looked like one.
She raised her head up to look at him and found him staring intently down at her face. He traced her expression carefully, watched the way a silent reverence shrouded her beautiful features. And when she looked up at him, he saw in her something he had never seen in his long, long life. She, a human, a young, beautiful, imperfect human, was falling in love with him.
"This is amazing," she told him, her eyes sparkling with excitement, her cheeks rosy and alive. "I never knew vampires could fly," she murmured softly and Eric smiled.
"Not all vampires can. I'm very old. I have my tricks," Eric said, waiting for the smile to grow on her face. She didn't disappoint.
Soon, too soon, their feet were firmly planted back on the pavement. Instead of entering through the back employees entrance, they landed safely at the front door. Reluctantly, Eva untangled herself from Eric's arms and stepped back, adjusting her black dress. Eric watched her and smirked as she reached for her wind-blown curls. Eric's hand caught her wrist before she could comb her fingers through her black mane and she furrowed her brow at him.
"Leave it. It will give them something to talk about," Eric almost laughed and pulled her along, toward the front door.
Pam was standing at her normal spot near the threshold, her fist on her hip and her face not in the least bit amused-until she caught sight of Eva and Eric.
"Well, don't you look…had," Pam commented off-handedly, a playful smile ghosting her perfectly red lips. Eric winked at her and reached lower down Eva's arm for her hand, pushing back his ruffled hair. Eva huffed next to him. She allowed him to lead her into the bar and stiffened a bit as all eyes fell on them in a hushed sort of awe. She balked at the attention but Eric ignored it, walking her straight up to the bar and sitting her down. The music blared loudly and after a couple of seconds, conversations resumed around them. He didn't seem to notice any of this. With a quick flick of his wrist, he summoned the bartender.
"Keep an eye on her. I don't know how she does it, but she always seems to be where trouble lurks." Eric eyed her pointedly and she rolled her eyes at him dramatically. "Stay put. I won't be long," he told her, still looking cautiously at her out of the corner of his eye, almost like he was worried about her well-being. She sighed, crossing her legs and leaning in toward him.
"I will do what I want," she told him proudly. Eric's lips twitched in an almost smile. He picked up a stray lock of her hair and twirled it around his finger.
"I won't be far. Don't let her out of your sight," Eric said to the bartender without looking at her. Before she could argue, he was gone and the curl he had been idly twirling had fallen back to her shoulder. She heard the bartender's amused laughter behind her ad she swiveled around on her stool to glare hotly at him.
"He loves to ruffle your feathers," the bartender laughed, sliding her a crystal glass of brandy. She grabbed it and downed its contents in a few gulps.
"This place is going to turn me into a raging alcoholic," she muttered, sighing as the bartender filled up her drink again. This time, she milked the drink.
"Don't go anywhere. I'll be right down the bar," the bartender warned her sternly, waiting until she finally nodded her head. "That's a good little human," he said and blurred across the bar, away from her. She lifted the glass to her lips and grumbled into it before sipping heartily.
She saw them coming from across the dance floor and she eyed them skeptically. A group of young girls, younger than she, and dressed to impress, came strutting pointedly over to the bar, battle faces on. Eva leaned back against the bar in anticipation of their arrival and sipped her drink casually. Her night just improved beyond her wildest expectations.
The group of four or five seriously pissed off girls came to a halt in front of her and she smiled, finally figuring out why they would possibly harbor ill will toward her: one man, two syllables, and one pain in the ass vampire.
"Can I help you, ladies?" Eva asked, her voice sickly sweet.
"So, you're Eric's new plaything now?" the head bitch said, crossing her arms standoffishly. Eva decided it was both best and more entertaining to refrain from answering and instead took another sip of her drink. "I can't see why he would choose you," she said, disgusted by the idea. Eva's lips twitched in their urge to break her restraint and smile.
"And obviously you're superior to me," Eva almost laughed, angling her head to one side condescendingly.
"Don't make me laugh. Of course I am. Besides, why would he want a trashy slut like you when he could have me?" Eva was literally taken aback by the woman's obvious adoration and malice. She knew the man was sought after and put up on a pedestal, but seriously? And unladylike grunt of laughter escaped her lips.
"Judging by those oh-so discrete little holes in your neck, I don't know who hasn't had you." The girl's face grew bright red in embarrassment and she picked up her drink and threw its contents in Eva's face. Before Eva could react, the woman had actually slapped her across the face-hard. "You bitch!" Eva yelled and lunged her body toward the woman but was confused to discover that she wasn't moving.
Eric was grasping her arm tightly in his hand, holding her to him so she couldn't throw herself at the girl. Besides, the girl wasn't going anywhere. Pam had her by the throat, her eyes sparkling subtly with excitement but her pretty face uninterested.
The woman's martini was soaked into the front of Eva's hair and seeping through the strands slowly and torturously. Her face was wet from the alcohol and her bottom lip was bleeding from the blow she received. Every time she was at the bar, someone wanted to beat the shit out of her.
What are you doing, Evalina?" Eric sighed, turning her around to see the damage to her face. When he saw the trickle of blood from her bottom lip, Eva heard a feral, dangerous growl escape his throat and she shrunk back. He looked up to the detained girl and her now terrified friends. Eric situated Eva in front of him, wrapping an arm securely over her chest and gripping her opposite arm with his hand.
"What do you have to say for yourself, human?" Pam hissed, raising a blonde brow.
"Eric, I can give you more than she ever could," the girl growled angrily and Eric stepped closer, restraining Eva easily but noticing her struggles against him.
"Let me make one thing perfectly clear to you. You were nothing but a walking bag of blood. Suffer no delusions, I keep no pets," Eric told her calmly, pushing his golden hair back with his free hand. "Pam," Eric said and Pam nodded, yanking the young girl toward the door.
"I suggest you little girls follow your friend out willingly or suffer the same fate," Pam called to the cowering brood of women coldly as she walked.
Eva struggled out of Eric's grip-only because he let her-and began to walk away, toward the back door to the employee area. Eric followed.
"Where do you think you're going, sweetness? This is my bar," Eric reminded her lightly as she stormed through his office door. Once he walked in casually behind her, she rounded on him.
"Is that all I am to you, Eric?" Eva asked suddenly and Eric stood still, ready for her storm of emotions. He had felt them building and knew it was only a matter of time before they were unleashed and he thought it best to keep quiet for the time being. "A walking bag of blood?" she spat, pushing her wet, black hair out of her eyes. He watched her eyes scan his quietly, suddenly full of hurt and confusion. "Because if that's all I am, then I don't need you. I don't want you!" She was surprised at the effect those words had on her, and so was he because her devastation mirrored his own. "I have lost everything, so what's just one more loss?" she was nearly hysterical now. Vampire or human, he never did know what to do with a crying woman. "But why even get close to me then? To watch the human's hurt live in person when the time came?"
She visibly sagged as she stood, her anger draining away only to be replaced by hurt and sorrow.
"Sit down, Eva," Eric told her. She scoffed meanly at him and he began to feel his own frustration rise. "Fine, then stand. But you will listen to me either way." Eric's voice was serious now and he took several steps closer to her. She stood her ground, showing him she wasn't afraid at him, and raised her chin to look at him. Her brows were knitted tightly together and her lips were pursed into an angry line but her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled with her impending rage. She was beautiful and Eric almost lost what he was about to say.
"I'm very old, Evalina, over a thousand years old. Not much gets past me, no one betters me." He paused then, unsure of how he would continue. "If you think that I would show that needy little thing half the kindness and hospitality I showed you then you're not as sharp as I thought."
"What's that supposed to even mean, Eric?" she moaned, wiping the still trickling blood from her lip. He blurred over to her and took her chin in his grip, steadying her eyes on him.
"It means that there is quite a difference between you and some over-eager fangbanger." Eva's eyes shot downward in an embarrassed manner. When she looked back up at him, he was staring hungrily at the blood on her lips. In a moment of spontaneity, Eva reached her hands up and cupped Eric's face, pulling it down to hers. Their lips closed on each other's passionately and Eric reacted to her touch instantly, pulling her against him until her small body was molded against his. He was gently sucking on the open cut on her lip and the rhythmic pulling of the skin was enough to make her weep with pleasure.
Her lips parted and a low moan of bliss escaped into his mouth. She felt him hum appreciatively against her and struggled to close the sliver of space between them. His lips on hers were mesmerizing and they moved against hers in the most natural way thinkable. His teeth nipped and tugged gently at her bottom lip, still bleeding thanks to his constant sucking.
Her fingers tangled themselves in his hair and she ran her tongue over his razor sharp fangs. She never thought about Eric's fangs until now and she found herself suddenly curious. She pulled away from him and looked at those perfectly white fangs. They looked so oddly natural in his mouth, like they were always meant to be there, like he was born a vampire. Her eyes flitted up to his and she saw him staring down at her with hungry eyes. Her hands were still braided in his hair and she could feel the coolness of his body through her little black dress and all over her body. It was like he was everywhere on her, touching every single crease and line.
"Pam will close the bar tonight," Eric told her suddenly, pushing his hair back and releasing her waist only to grab hold of her hand to lead her out the door.
Hope you liked it, let me know. I love the feedback.
-Kate