CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ESSENCE
When I woke up, my hair was all tangled and North's fingers were caught in it. His legs were entwined with mine and his face was planted in my boobs. I had to laugh at that. I reached down and stroked his messy hair. His eyes opened and he smiled at me through the sleepy haze. Aw, so sweet.
"Morning." North whispers, rubbing at his eyes. He takes his head off my chest. "I thought they were pillows… Wow… Um…" I blush.
"Hey sleepyhead." I chuckle. North slides closer to me and presses his lips firmly against mine. Mmm… That's good… When he pulls away, I feel the familiar tug in my chest to grab him and kiss him even harder. North runs his hand over my hip, picking at the band of my panties.
"What time's it?" North grumbles, sitting up in bed and stretching his arms above his head.
"7:15…" I reply, glancing at the clock on my nightstand. "A.K.A too fucking early for the sun to be blinding us!" I flop back against the pillow. North nods and rolls over on top of me, pinning me to the mattress with his body.
"North… Nooooorth… Nooooooooooooorth…." I groan. "What are you doing?"
"I don't know. Keeping you in bed with me. You can't escape. Rawr." North says, biting my lip gently. I laugh and wrap my arms around him. North picks me up from underneath my arms and tosses me back onto the bed roughly. He puts one hand on my chest, pinning me down. His eyes challenge me.
"What? You wanna go? You wanna fight me?" I tease, ruffling up his hair further. North grabs my wrist gently.
"Not like you'll win. I wrestled for a while, you know." He growls, straddling my waist. My heart leaps to my throat.
"It's on, baby." I growled, pushing North off me forcefully. He lays on his back, staring up at the ceiling. I pounced on him, sitting on his chest and holding him down for a few seconds. He grabs my wrists and flips me over. I squeal as I hit the mattress again and he starts tickling me everywhere. As I try to wriggle away, he yanks me by my feet and pulls me closer.
"Give up yet?" North laughs. I shake my head, giggling hysterically. He shows no mercy for me. I thrash around against the bed, laughing my ass off.
"I just… Got… Started!" I said in between laughs. I flipped him over and straddled his waist, tickling him right back.
"I'm not ticklish! That's… That's not gonna do anything!" North insisted, his face turning red. He squirmed underneath me and I smirked.
"Everyone's ticklish…" I tease. Eventually, North started cracking up and trying to fight against me.
"Essence!" He growls, playfully shoving me away. I land on my ass and he pins my back up against the headboard. This is nice. Just North and I alone, wrestling and rolling around against the sheets, ignoring the fact that there's anyone else around. It's our own little world. He kisses me softly and tugs on my shirt teasingly. I reach my arms out to him and he pulls me into his lap, tickling me again. I squeal and reach around behind me, hitting him over the head with a pillow. North gapes at me for a moment mischievously.
"Oh? It's that kind of fight, huh?" He purrs. I feel a tremor run through me and North grabs a pillow, hitting me in the side. He starts grabbing a bunch of pillows and attacking me. I cry out in protest and try to fight back. North chuckles and biffs me with a pillow again. We start rolling around and wrestling once more, rolling over the pillows and rustling up the sheets, laughing and smiling the whole time. North grabs the comforter and drapes it over ourselves. I find his lips in the darkness and adrenaline runs through me like electricity. North's hands wander all over my body, desperately feeling underneath the fabric of my shirt, dangerously close to my panties, and over my skin. All of the sudden his lips leave mine, trailing farther down my body, underneath my shirt, kissing my slim stomach. I sigh gently as he kisses me there again. Perfect.
"You give up now?" North asks breathily. His lips and tongue dance over my inner thigh now. Whoa. When did that happen?! Ooh, that's really nice.
"Yes, just don't stop. Don't ever stop. Please." I murmur, shutting my eyes.
"But I have to…" North says, pulling away.
"What? Why?" I ask, my lip trembling. He puts his hand on my face, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip as I did to him last night. He replaces his thumb with his lips and kisses me roughly, ravenously, like he was starving to death. His arms locked around my torso and I felt myself getting swept away. He pulls away for a split second.
"Because I wanna do that." North smiles, starting to kiss me again. But this time, he was rougher. It was clear he wanted me, I was fueling the fire in his heart. We lay down under the covers, kissing hungrily and giggling and teasing each other until the door opened and we heard Derek's voice carry into the room.
"What the hell is going on in here?!" Derek asks.
"Go away!" I giggle. "And calm your man-tits, it's just a kiss!"
"Didn't sound like it!" Derek laughs. "We heard banging on the wall and squealing… You know where I'm headed with this?"
"I was wrestling her." North says. "Can you get out now?"
"Nope…" Derek snickers.
"You act like you wanna walk in on us having sex or something!" I protest. Derek snorts.
"No. That's the last thing I wanna see. But fine, I'll go." Derek sighs, slamming the door.
"Now, where were we?" North sighs, moving in closer again.
"I don't know. I forgot." I smile.
"Well, I remember. We were doing a little bit of this..." North says mischievously. He grabs me roughly and his lips crash into mine. He slides his tongue into my mouth and I moan softly. He grabs handfuls of my hair and grinds his crotch into mine.
"Mmm…" North groans. He's tangling his legs into mine. There's another knock at our door and North throws back the blanket, storming over to it and yelling in Myrah's face.
"WHAT?" North snaps.
"It's the news…" Myrah says quietly. "You have to come see for yourself." North looks at me and I whimper.
"Essence? Come on, everything's alright. It's okay." He soothes. I walk over to him and clasp his hand tighter than I ever have. We walk down the hall and turn into the living room. We lean against the doorframe and North holds me close. Myrah unpauses the T.V. and the overdressed and overly made-up reporter starts talking. She's standing in front of our school. It's snowing outside and she's shivering in her thick winter coat. Pussy. There's nothing but police tape and reporters and fire fighters and detectives surrounding our frozen school. I swallowed hard. North squeezed my hand comfortingly.
"2,000 dead students. 37 dead teachers. 5 missing teens. Parents of children who attended Boston Middle School were worried when their children didn't return home yesterday. Multiple calls to the school were made, but never went through. When parents resorted to going directly to the school, they were greeted with an unpleasant surprise." The reporter says. My heart is pounding up against my ribcage, trying to break free.
"The five teens missing in this case could either be suspects or survivors. This is almost too frightening to think about. The possibility that Manipulators could still be around. The last known Manipulator case was in 2007. It was another murder." I let out a strangled, tortured yelp and North put his arms around me.
"Shhh… It's okay… It's okay… Breathe… Essence… I'm here…" North soothes. I shudder and glance at the T.V. again.
"The five missing teens are Alyssa Nicole Neva, Derek Sean Olwen, Myrah Elle Aspen, North Jackson Aster, and Essence Aria Eirwen-Aurora, who just so happens to be the daughter of the Manipulators who were tragically slain in 2007." Our school pictures flashed on screen briefly. North stiffened up and kept hugging me. I felt my vision double, and I felt seriously light-headed. I swayed side to side and North looked at me worriedly. Alyssa shut down the T.V. and glanced at me.
"Essence? Essence, what's going on? Are you feeling okay? Baby?" North asked. His voice was far away and echoey. His face was all distorted and blurry. My head felt fuzzy and like it was stuffed with cotton balls.
"Whoa. Essence, you don't look so well." Derek said nervously. "I mean, like you look really pale." I nodded. I knew what was about to happen. I heard a ringing noise in my ears, my vision turned white at the edges and the world closed in on me.
"Essence!" North cried out. My legs buckled and I fell against his chest, the waaaah noise louder than ever. My cheek slid across his skin. North laid me down on the carpet, calling out to me. Through the haze, I heard the others rushing to me, panicking and ready to help. North was freaking out more than anyone. I completely fainted, feeling nothing at all.
I didn't know what time it was when I woke up. All I know is that North's sweatshirt was underneath my head, neatly folded. There was a wet washcloth draped over my forehead and North was grasping my hand. My vision slowly returned and my ears crackled and popped. The others were surrounding me, anticipation in their eyes.
"Essence! She's waking up… Sweetheart… Oh, my poor little—" North started.
"Essence? Are you okay?" Alyssa squeaks. I try to focus on her face. Everything comes into focus finally. North looks so relieved. The others do too, but not as much as North.
"Oh thank God you're alright!" North whispers, squeezing my hand to his chest. I swivel my head around, trying to examine my surroundings. I felt flustered and stressed out.
"What happened?" I asked, confused. "Where am I?!"
"You passed out. You're on the living room floor." Myrah says gently. North kisses my hand and clutches it close to his body. The news report flashes through my mind. My heart wrenches.
"They're gonna find us," I whimpered. My eyes felt hot and tears pooled in my eyes. "We're gonna get arrested and killed and we'll never be happy… We're gonna die… We're gonna die like my mom and dad and my siblings… We're all gonna—"
"Essence, don't say that!" North says gently. Myrah and Alyssa help me sit up. I slump into North's chest and cry. I don't want to and it's making my head feel like someone is tearing it apart from the inside out, but I need to. North's heart shatters and I can see it in his eyes.
"Please don't cry, Essence. Nothing bad's gonna happen to you now that you've got me around. I'll beat the shit out of anyone who dares try to hurt you." North singsongs. He kisses my cheek, scruffing up my hair.
"North's got your back, Essence. Plus, we're in this thing together. And you're really strong, okay? You're great." Derek says, pep-talking me. "Don't worry about all this shit. Nothing a few ice bombs can't fix, right?" He chuckles. I nod and rub at my eyes.
"Don't worry, Essence! We've got you!" Alyssa cheers. Myrah nods.
"Thanks guys." I snivel. North kisses me lightly and hugs me again. He runs his hands through my hair.
"You're gonna be okay. You can count on me. I'm here…" North murmurs. His embrace is the most comforting feeling ever. I nuzzle his neck, tears messily streaming down my face. He holds me out at arm's length, analyzing my face. His eyes turn me into melted butter inside.
"Damn those tears." North mumbles, wiping tears off of my red, wet face. "You look so pretty." He kisses the tip of my nose and gazes into my eyes. They're probably red and bloodshot as fuck.
"You're beautiful…" He sighs dreamily. "Even when you're upset." I smiled weakly at North and he gave me a warm kiss. The others watch us, clearly touched and thinking we're cute together. They're not wrong.
"We were waiting for you. We made pancakes, rather tried to make them." Myrah says, heading towards the kitchen and picking up a platter of pancakes.
"I made some of them." Alyssa says proudly. "With Derek's help."
So we sat down at the table and ate pancakes. Alyssa insisted on putting a shit-ton of sprinkles on hers and we all watched in amusement as she shoveled forkful after forkful of sprinkles, maple syrup, and pancakes into her mouth. North was holding hands with me under the table. When Derek saw us, he snickered.
"Are you two gonna go all 'Lady and the Tramp' with a pancake or something?" He teases. North grabs a pancake from the platter and holds it in his mouth, raising his eyebrows at me flirtatiously. Myrah and Alyssa burst out laughing and I lean in, taking a bite off the pancake. North chuckles and pulls the pancake away from his mouth. Myrah's laughing so hard she's crying. Alyssa can't breathe. Derek looks completely weirded out.
"I was joking! I didn't expect you to do it or anything! God!" Derek says. North makes a face at Derek and turns to me, kissing me. His lips taste like maple syrup.
"And why are you guys still in pajamas?!" Derek asks, pointing to our lack of clothing.
"We had a rude awakening." North replies, glaring at both him and Myrah. Derek looks embarrassed. "I guess we'd better go change then, because the great, all-powerful Derek said so. Right, Essence?" North singsongs. I raise my eyebrows at him.
"Sure." I shrug, pushing my plate away and taking his hand as we head back to the bedroom. We hear the others snicker and make dirty jokes as we walk away. North reaches over and grabs a handful of my ass once we're in our room. I yelp and glare at him and he smirks. I roll my eyes and start to get dressed. As I pulled my shirt off over my head, I felt North's eyes on me. When I turned my head to face him, he blushed and looked away.
"What?" I teased. North's face was deep red and, even though I shouldn't have been looking at that particular area, I saw he was "pitching a tent". I slid on a pair of jeans, making sure I took an extra long time buttoning and zipping them up.
"North? Could you help me with my bra? I have a hard time getting the clasp." I sigh. Okay, so sue me for trying to tease him a little. North looks up at me, eyes wide.
"Yeah… Um… S-sure…" He stutters, walking over semi-nervously. I scoop my breasts into the cups and North grabs the elastic band.
"Which clip do you want it on?" North asks shakily.
"Last one." I reply. North does just that and then leans in and kisses my neck, using tongue. I moan softly and lean back into him.
"That bra looks amazing on you." North murmurs. "Really goes with your eyes." He starts kissing down my neck gently. I gasp softly and North sticks his pointer finger into my mouth. When he pulls it out, he sticks it in his own mouth and walks away. I pull out a blouse from my drawer and slowly do up the buttons, keeping my eyes on North the whole time. He absentmindedly pulls on a tight shirt and pair of baggy jeans. I watch him as he winds his belt through the loops slowly. There's just something so mesmerizing about it.
"What you looking at, Essence?" North purrs.
"Oh… Nothing… Um… No… Nothing…" I stammer, struggling to finish my buttoning. North shakes his head and smiles. Once we were both dressed, I went into the bathroom and looked out the window. Snow was coming down hard. I could barely see anything past the woods behind the house. When I glanced at the thermometer, it read 20° Fahrenheit. It was dropping quickly.
"What if they find us?" I ask North. He enters the room, closes the door, and locks it. I gaze up at him nervously and submissively.
"They won't, and if they do, I'll fight for you until they've been defeated." North says, grasping my jaw and kissing my cheek.
"What if someone comes after us? Like police? Or… Or the Black Ice?" I whimper. North grabs my waist and pulls my back up against him.
"See previous answer." North replies. He strokes my hair, layering it over my shoulders gently. "I'm not giving up on you. Ever."
"But I'm scared. I really want this. I just don't want to get caught." I murmur. North shakes his head.
"We have more power than all of the police or whatever combined. Trust me. We're gonna be okay. All of us." I nod and North hugs me.
"I love you." He whispers. His breath brushes against my ear and he nuzzles my hair gently.
"I love you too." I sigh dreamily, leaning back into his chest. The words were unfamiliar and strange on my lips. I've never said them to anyone before. North spins me around to face him and smiles. His eyes sweep over my face lovingly and he chuckles.
"You're so pretty." He murmurs. He closes the space between us. I feel my knees go weak. My stomach tightens.
"Am I allowed to ask why you… You know… Locked the door?" I asked, my throat feeling dry. North smirks, running his hands over my body. My arms, my chest, my stomach, my hips, my ass, and down to the back of my thighs. I watch his hands as they descend downwards. He raises his eyebrows and in one swift move, hoists me up. I gasp and wrap my limbs around him as he supports me from underneath. His grip is strong and firm. I feel my heartbeat in a place I've never felt it before. My heels skim over the back of his legs. I'm sorta towering over him now. The air around us is thick.
"So no one else sees that." North whispers, brushing his lips against mine gently.
"North!" I cry out. "How are you doing this?" According to my last doctor's visit, I was hovering right around the 109 pound mark. North carries me over to the sink and sets me on the counter, kissing me fully on the lips. Wow. He's stirring up this amazing feeling inside of me. Outside, the wind whips up louder and stronger. When I look, the snow is coming down harder than it was before. I shrugged it off.
"I told you, I did wrestling. Piece of cake. You're tiny. Petite." He replies confidently. I flick his shirt up a little and feel his stomach. North watches my hands as they touch his skin.
"You've got the muscles for it." I chuckle. Just as he is about to kiss me again, we are scared shitless by a bunch of pounding on the door. Alyssa, Derek, and Myrah giggle.
"I know what you're doing in there! You're giving your boyfriend some of that coochie…" Myrah squeals. North shakes his head in disbelief. Derek bursts out laughing.
"Am not!" I protest, pushing off from the counter and unlocking the door. When North and I step out of the bathroom, Myrah gets all up in my face.
"Well, then. You were about to! We heard you guys in there!" Myrah laughs. "'Oh, North, I love you so very much. I'm scared. Protect me, my baby. I'm so weak. Oh, your muscles are sooo good. Kiss me, North. Mwah, mwah. Oh yeah. That's good.'" Myrah mimicked me, making puckering sounds with her lips. I fume. My eyes burn with tears. North looks at me with concern.
"Are you gonna cry because it's the truth? Because you're kinda acting like a—"
"Don't say it." Derek warns. Myrah goes on anyway.
"Slut." I feel like someone's punched me in the gut with brass knuckles. Tears run down my cheeks unchecked. North growls and stares right at Myrah.
"I'm not afraid to hit you." North spits.
"You can't do that. I'm a girl." Myrah says matter-of-factly. "Also, that'd be child abuse."
North laughs. "One, it's 2016. Women are equal to men now, right? And two, we're both minors." Myrah clamps her mouth shut. I storm out of the room, down the hall, past the kitchen and dining room and back hall, and out the backdoor. The snow comes down hard. The flakes that are falling part like a curtain as I walk out into endless forest of white and silence. Snow accumulates on the branches of the pine trees. I walk farther away from the house and deeper into the backwoods.
"Essence! No! Essence?" North's voice cries. It fills the silence of the morning and echoes through the neighborhood.
"Come back! I'm begging you!" North calls again. I ignore him. I just want some time to myself. I need to clear my head.
"I'm coming for you! Don't go too far! Please! I'm coming, baby!" North's voice is closer now. He's really trying to find me. That feels good. But I still need to be alone. I start running, feeling tears smear my vision. I slip on the snow and go tumbling down the hill, screaming and yelling for North to help. The snow around me flies up as I tumble. I hit something hard. Oh no. The pond froze over. I hear the ice crack as I make contact with it. The water hugs my body and fills my nose. I thrash and try to scream. No sound comes out of my mouth. I can't swim. I feel like I'm moving around in molasses. An awful burning pressure fills my chest as I start to sink to the bottom of the pond. I hear panicking from above me and I try to scream again. A pair of hands dip into the water and I feel myself getting pulled to the surface from under my arms. Water streams off me, dripping onto the ground below. North gasps as he pulls me into the safety and familiarity of his arms. North was breathing heavily and rocking me back and forth in his embrace. He hugs me tightly and I choke and splutter. My nose burns. I cough, and it sounds more like a wet bark. North strokes my hair and gazes into my eyes.
"Essence, are you okay?! Baby! Can you hear me? Essence, tell me! Please! Are you okay?!" North pants. I whine and rub at my eyes.
"No!" I feel like a little kid again. "No!" North brushes the wet, clingy hair out of my face and assesses me from head to toe. I scream in frustration, feeling helpless.
"Essence! It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay! How did this even happen?!" North tries. I cough and choke.
"I tripped and just rolled." I murmur. North brushes his fingers over my cheek and gives me a kiss. He rocks me in his arms gently.
"My poor baby…" He whispers. He kisses my cheek gently and footsteps come up from behind him.
"Essence? Oh my god! Is she okay?" Myrah panicks. North glares at her and Derek passes him his sweatshirt, which he proceeded to wrap me in. I whimpered and the snowstorm whipped up. North pulled the hood over my head and picked me up, carrying me in his arms safely.
"We gotta get you dried off." North murmurs, resting my head in the curve of his neck. I inhale the smell of cologne and nature as he carries me up the hill, away from the forest, back to the safety of the house. I hear Myrah crying from behind me. Serves her right. I felt exhausted and heavy and miserable. My white blouse was clinging to my body and showing my blue bra. My jeans felt sticky and restraining. I groaned, feeling overwhelmed. North noticed my stress and he kissed my nose gently.
"It's okay. You're gonna feel better soon..." He assures me. I press my hand into his chest and feel myself calming down. He kicked the back door open with his heel and carried me into the living room.
"You've been put through the war today." North says, setting me down on the couch comfortably. "I'm gonna go get some towels, okay?" I nod and nuzzle his sweatshirt. It smells just like him. It's a little baggy on me, but it's absolutely perfect. I feel sexy in it. The others enter the room and Myrah chokes back tears. North comes back and sits down on the couch with me. He peels his sweatshirt off of me and wraps me up in fluffy white towels. He starts to undress me underneath the towels. I can't stop myself from blushing at least a little bit. My blouse comes off first and he sets it on the floor like it's no big deal. He starts taking off my jeans. His hands shake as he slides off my panties and unclasps my bra. Once everything's off, he pulls me closer, opening the towel a little bit so he can see me. The others watch from the doorway. North kisses me roughly and hugs me close, protecting me from anything else potentially dangerous. His kiss is comforting and I clutch the towel up against my body. North grabs it gently and pulls it away so I'm exposed to him again. The others leave the room, Myrah still whimpering.
"Why'd you take my clothes off?" I ask. North brushes a few strands of damp hair out of my face.
"Figured you… You wouldn't wanna sit around… In wet clothes…" North splutters. He eyeballs me again. "Yeah… Wet clothes aren't very… Aren't very comfy…"
"You just wanted me naked." I whispered. "Didn't you?" North blushed and nodded.
"Well, it worked. You're naked." North smiles. I feel shy and frail. North looks over me again, lust in his eyes.
"What're you gonna do to me now?" I ask. North's eyes boggle.
"Just sit back and watch…" He puts his hands on my shoulders. I gaze at him nervously. North presses his lips to my throat firmly and starts sliding down my body. His hands and lips drag down my front and trail down to my "hidden area". I whimper and squirm as he levels my thighs back and his lips just barely touch me there. I watch his tongue snake out of his mouth as he gets ready to please me.
"What the hell!" Derek cries. North curses and shoots apart from me. I pull the towel over my chest and pussy. Derek snickers and shakes his head. He and the others point to the T.V.
"Turn it on, now. Shit's all over the radio… This is big news!"
"O-okay?" North stutters. He presses a button on the T.V. remote and the T.V. buzzes to life. The news channel is still on from earlier. The newscaster looks troubled. She's standing outside, snow falling around her and she's in front of our school which is still frozen in ice.
"It seems that many were wrong about the developing situation." The newscaster murmurs. "The five missing teens that were thought to be Manipulators or were somehow involved with these attacks were confirmed dead just minutes ago." I gasp. North's eyes widen. What? How?!
"After interviews with the families of the victims, the conclusion has been drawn that they tried desperately to escape, but died just hours later. Their bodies were found encased in ice near I-95." North gapes at the T.V. in amazement.
Myrah's aunt's face popped on screen. Her eyes and face were red. "Myrah came home yesterday and she said, 'I'm scared. I'm scared. This girl at my school's been going crazy. I think she's gonna hurt me. She's been mean to everyone. She's gonna hurt me next.' I just thought she was being crazy or overly dramatic, but I guess she was right." I could tell she was lying. Her eyes were darting back and forth.
"Our condolences to the families of all the victims. The killer is either on the loose currently or has been eliminated as well. This is Kelly—" and with that, North mutes the T.V. and gazes at me.
"Oh my god." North murmurs. "Essence! Guys! We're free!" I wrap my arms around him and he squeezes me tightly. His lips find mine and he kisses me firmly.
"Mmm…" He murmurs. The others cheer and and dance around, squealing and hooting with happiness. North doesn't stop kissing me. Frankly, I don't care if he ever stops. His lips taste and feel amazing. All of the sudden, an image on the T.V. caught my eye. I pulled away from North and my eyes glazed over. Breaking News. Woman Found Dead in Her Home. Police Suspect Suicide or Poisoning. I felt my heart skip a beat. North un-mutes the T.V. and watches the news report unfold.
"50 year old Delilah Eirwen was found dead in her house a few hours ago. An autopsy confirmed there is an unknown and unfamiliar type of medication in her system. These pills, to be exact." The news reporter holds the bottle up. It's in a bag marked 'Evidence'. "An overdose has not yet been ruled out, nor has suicide. Despite all this, police are considering the fact that Miss Eirwen could have been poisoned. Something stranger? She's the grandmother of Essence Aria Eirwen-Aurora and the mother of Cassandra Eirwen, who are both dead as well. Are these cases linked somehow? The police found the fingerprints of Essence, Delilah, and another unknown person on the bottle of pills. We've had a busy couple of days, folks. A murder spree. A school frozen in ice, with the students and staff frozen inside. Five dead teens. A possible killer on the loose. A death in the family. Our condolences to the 2,044 people who lost their lives today and yesterday. One thing's for sure, the police will not stop until they get to the bottom of these tragic crimes. Thanks for watching. Hope you have a good day, everyone." Pictures flash on screen as the morning news signs off. A collage of yearbook photos. North, Myrah, Derek, mine, and Alyssa's school pictures. A picture of Delilah, smirking as if to say, I know what you did, bitch. My heart thunders. North turns off the T.V. again and glances at me.
"Essence, are you okay?" North soothes.
"I. Am. More than okay!" I cheer. "Your pills worked, North! You saved us!" I collapsed into him and wrapped him in a hug. I planted a kiss on his cheek.
"My hero. Thank you." I shuddered. North pulls the towel over my chest and nuzzles my hair gently.
"Anytime." North smiles. The others watch from the sidelines, in shock.
"North? You did this?" Myrah gapes. North nods.
"Yeah. Took a bit of work, but it eventually worked out in the end."
"What are they?" Derek marvels.
"Cyanide pills dyed black." North says. My eyes widen.
"Where'd you get cyanide pills?!" I gasp.
"My brother knew a guy." North says, winking at me. The rest of our day was semi boring. We sat around, talking about the news reports and feeling thankful that the police were off our trail. When it was time to go to bed, I glanced out the window, where frost was rapidly forming. I knew by the time morning came, we'd be in for a treat. North came up behind me and set his hand on my back, close to my ass. I glanced at him and leaned my head back into his shoulder.
"I was just curious. Would you… Would you… Wanna take a shower with me?" North murmurs. "I mean, you don't have to, I just was wondering. I mean—"
"I'd love to." I interrupt. North breathes out heavily. I grasp his hand and we walk to our bedroom, locking the door. North flicks the bathroom light on and shuts the door behind us. He reaches out and forcefully yanks the white towel off me. I was too lazy to put clothes back on after the pond incident. North's eyes sweep over me and he sighs satisfyingly. I reach out and start stripping him of his shirt and jeans, and his underwear slowly. North gazes at me as I do so. I feel my heart rise up to my throat. Every inch of skin is exposed to me. And every inch is perfect. My mouth feels like it's stuffed with cotton balls. North grabs my face and forces my eyes up to meet his.
"My eyes are up here." He teases. I lick my lips and gaze up at him. He turns around and reaches behind the shower curtain to turn the faucet on. Damn it. I can't focus on anything except for his ass. I feel awkward now.
"Don't think I don't know you're staring at me." North calls over his shoulder. I clamp my lips shut. North turns back around and kisses me. When he pulls away, he grabs my hand and steps into the shower with me. The mildly hot water sprays onto my skin and I moan without meaning to. North gapes at me and… Ahem… The dark knight rises. Let's just say that, okay?
"I'm… I… I'm... sorry…" I murmur. North shakes his head and grabs a bar of soap from the soap holder. He puts his hand on my hip, pulling me up against him. He lathers up the bar of soap and drags it across my stomach. The vanilla-scented suds slide down my skin and I sigh dreamily. North spreads the soap all over my body.
"North…" I murmur. He gazes at me uneasily and slips the bar of soap down between my thighs. He scrubs hard. I cry out and toss my head back. What is this?! What is he doing?! It feels amazing.
"Essence… Keep your voice down, okay? I'm gonna keep going now." North whispers, lifting up my thigh and scrubbing harder. The suds build up, as does my pleasure. I softly moan and groan as North works on me. Finally, finally, the sweet moment arrives. My spine tingles, I gasp, and my knees buckle.
"North! North… Oh fuck…" I moan. I throw my head back as liquid heat pools between my thighs.
"North!" I scream. North crushes his lips into mine. I gasp into his mouth and writhe as he scrubs me down there with the soap bar. I fall back into him and growl.
"Essence…" North murmurs as the tremors leave my body. He pulls the soap bar away and I feel myself throbbing and dripping. North sizes me up and down in approval. He pulls me into another kiss.
"Thank you." I murmur when he pulls away. North winks.
"Anytime." He smiles. I wash the suds off of my body and North watches lustfully. I pass him the bar of soap and he drags it across his abs. There was something so mesmerizing about it. I couldn't put my finger on it. North raised an eyebrow at me and smirked.
When we went to bed, we were both too lazy to throw on any clothes. We snuggled under the covers, naked. North never wanted to stop touching me. I never wanted to stop touching him. I want him forever. Our skin practically melded together, his lips on mine all night, the smell of love hanging thick in the air, ruining the bed sheets, hitting the bed frame into the wall.
"Essence…" North murmured. He tangled his legs with mine. "I love you so much."
"I love you more." I murmur. North shakes his head and plays with my hair.
"Impossible." He laughs. I shake my head and he rolls his eyes.
"Goodnight, beautiful." North whispers as he turns off the light.
"Nighty-night, handsome." I whisper as we lay in the darkness, holding each other tight.
I'm never letting you go, I think to myself.