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“We have not done it like this before,” I said uneasily. He lifted my rear up, setting me on his mouth, his eyes never leaving mine. I whimpered under the touch of his tongue.
“All the better to try it on our wedding night,” he purred, moaning with approval as he sucked on the bundle of nerves. I gripped the bed frame in an attempt to stay up, gasping for air which seemed to do little good. His tongue moved so expertly against me, lapping at my core. I ground against his face, building my climax higher and higher. His hands found my breasts, his mouth absolutely devouring every drop of me into oblivion.
Throwing my head back, his tongue speared my center, and I shattered, my body spasming against him. The wave rolled for what seemed like ages, my cry of ecstasy too loud, I knew, but utterly uncontrollable.
William chuckled darkly, lying me down on my back with ease. His face was one of pride while I lay limp on the bed, watching as he dropped his pants and crawled on top of me. Anticipation built once more.
He kissed me, letting me taste myself on his mouth while he slid gently inside me.
***
I tossed and turned, unable to find sleep despite William’s enthusiastic love making. The pit in my stomach grew deeper, more acidic with every tick of the clock on the mantel. I watched as he slept, his features relaxed and his breathing shallow. Sometimes it seemed he stopped breathing entirely.
I wondered where we would be going, if Noel could be outsmarted. Whatever William was, there were clearly more of him. A violent creature with sharp teeth, pale and fearsome.
It hit me hard, barreling into my mind like a flash of lightning. I rose gently from the bed, tiptoeing for my dressing gown on the chair beside us, so quiet as not to wake him.
Piecing it all together, I remembered Noel tossing a book, saying someone had suspected something. What was the book Father had been reading? As I turned the doorknob, a cool hand came over mine. I jumped with a start.
“Where are you going, beloved?” he asked, kissing the side of my neck. I shivered under his lips, the way his tongue drug across my skin.
“I was going to the library, I can’t sleep…”
“Hmmmm, then come back to bed, please,” he murmured in my ear, running his long fingers down my neck, under the collar of my robe. “I can send you right off to dreamland with a little trick of mine.” I gently took his hand, removing it, kissing the tips of his fingers.
“Darling, I do not think I have it in me for more,” I said weakly. He pulled away, a small smile on his lips.
“I’ll come with you.”
I cursed internally watching as he threw on his own dressing gown, somehow guiding me in the blackened corridors to the library. There, he lit a fire in the hearth, casting a warm glow throughout the stacks.
“What are you in the mood for reading, dearest?” he asked. I hesitated, browsing the shelves while William grabbed his ledger and began working on the settee. I remembered the specific design of the spine, the gold lettering, the crimson of the cover. I scanned Father’s most read books carefully.
There it was.
I cleared my throat and grabbed Polidori’s short story,The Vampyre, from its place. The title had my stomach flopping.DidFather suspect something, as Noel had suggested?
I made my way to the chaise, lounging as naturally as possible. His eyes burned into me like a brand. William watched me closely with longing in his eyes. I offered him a light smile and began to flip the pages to the beginning of the story.
He was suddenly beside me, gently extracting the book from my hands. A scoff left his lips.
“What’s this?” His eyes were guarded. “Light reading?”
“I-I just grabbed something. I’m not even sure what it is–”
“Rosemary, I promise you whatever idea you have in your mind will not be solved byThe Vampyre.Truly.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I whispered, ashamed I’d been caught.
“The Vampyreis such an exaggeration, it only gives humans hope that what they fear the most has a weakness which somehow gives them the upper hand. They want to feel validated, to feel powerful against their fears, against what they are not familiar with. When in all actuality, their fears are more terrifying than they can imagine; more dangerous than they can ever know. Hiding in plain sight before them, no guise, no weakness, barely a subtle difference. And they’re all too blind or stupid to notice.”
His face was sullen, as if he’d lived a thousand lives and all of them had drained him. I touched his cheek, wanting to provide some kind of comfort despite my own chagrin.
“Please, carry on with your reading. Let me know if it inspires you in some manner.” William dropped the book in my lap and returned to his ledger without another look my way. I could no longer bring myself to delve into the book, crying softly on the chaise until sleep took me.
***
Sometime later I was woken by Mary, shaking me to rise and ready for the journey. I blinked feverishly as I became oriented to the room, bright now with morning light, and chillier than before.
