In the darkness of the night, Alastair crawled into her bed again.
"I know you're awake, little Siren," He whispered hoarsely and caressed her toes peeking out of the covers, gaining a shiver from her.
Aaliyah had the covers to her neck as if she would completely slip inside at any time and it would protect her from him, "Why...do you do this?"
This time, she felt him bite her big toe and stifle the rush of electricity that pulsed up her skin.
"Don't worry...," He replied, biting a little harder, "I feel... nothing,"
Of course, he didn't! She was the one on the receiving end here.
"Will...you stop?"
"No,"
"Will...you do this every night?"
"I don't know..."
"Why are you here today?"
"I don't know,"
Heat coursed through her veins when he licked what he had bitten, his tongue warm and wet, sliding up and down her skin she never imagined to be this sensitive, "Please...Stop...," She cried, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Hmm," He hummed down his throat, "You... like this,"
"No, I don't!" She pulled her legs back into the safety of the covers but instantly shoved his hands in and dragged her legs back out.
"Yes, yes you do,"
"No! I said, No!"
"You lie,"
Truth was, Aaliyah did not know whether she liked it or not. It made her uncomfortable though, and she did not entirely want him to stop. Thinking about that had her biting her lips.
She did not... entirely want him...to stop?!
"Here!" She threw an arm in his direction, "Touch my fingers instead,"
"Why? Because you like it and you do not want me to see the wounds you have there?"
"And why do you care?"
"I told you already, I don't,"
"Stop talking then,"
"You are in no position to tell me what to do. I'll keep feeding on your misery,"
She sighed, "You're a very cruel and odd man,"
"Am I? I've forgotten,"
"You're egotistic, you're arrogant, you're vicious, you're unyielding, and you look like a madman!"
"I am?"
Aaliyah pushed herself to a sitting position, the covers slipping down to her legs. Just like last time, she could only see his eyes in the darkness. They had lost so much color, looking almost like he was sick...and lifeless.
"Were you...," She quickly held back her tongue. The last thing she wanted to do was get to know him better, his name was enough for her. But then, she had an impossible task on her Shoulders to take on...and from the looks of things, he can only have a good conversation whenever he's like this.
Also, she was curious herself.
"Were you born like this?" She inquired, "Your... eyes. Is that why you cover your face with your hair?"
He didn't say anything.
"How long have you lived here? Do you have a family?"
Nothing. He remained silent and continued to caress her toe.
"I don't have a Family," She shrugged, "And I stopped caring a long time ago. The Nuns didn't tell me anything and from the way they treated me I know they're not my family. I had nowhere else to go, so I stayed. I stayed so they could torture me in secret, and smile at the people like they were the nicest of beings. And Pastor Ramus...!" She stopped there, "Anyway, I didn't like the church,"
She looked into his eyes again. If not that his hands were still moving on her leg, she would have said he wasn't breathing anymore with the way his eyes remained incredibly still as they stared into hers.
"Your name is Alastair. You lived in this old mansion alone... but, with me now...your...wife. You're probably in your thirties, and you're two different persons day and night. I love the night version of you better, though. You do a lot more talking than pushing," She grinned this time, still enacting no reaction from him, "And apparently, I only have twelve days to... uh, make you softer,"
She would have sworn she saw him blink when she said that. As if to confirm her suspicions, he gripped her leg hard.
"Don't worry, Don't worry," She quickly added with a heave, "I plan on doing absolutely nothing like that. I only pretended I had agreed so he would stop talking and leave faster. You know...we both wanted him out of here, right?"
His grip did not loosen.
"Oh! Oh!" Aaliyah tried again. The last thing she wanted was the spell suddenly breaking and he goes back to his daylight self, "You know, I really like your voice. It's just... something,"
Aaliyah wanted to punch herself in the face. Why wasn't she smarter than this?
"Let me make something clear, little Siren,"
She bit her lip and calmly waited.
"I... don't...care,"
"Why don't you care?"
"There's no answer to your question here,"
She sighed again, "Alright then, so what were we talking about before I...,"
Before she could take her next breath, his arm delved into the covers and her dress and landed on her thighs. Aaliyah jumped, as an unfamiliar feeling flooded her senses following waves of sparks shooting through her.
This was new. This was very, very new.
And extremely discomforting.
"God, no...," She cried as she tried to move back but he was pressing down on her leg, "What are you doing?!" She glared at him.
She heard him draw in a breath. What was he thinking?
"What is it that you want?"
"I don't know," He replied.
"Are you Crazy? How can you...!" She grabbed his hand and tried to pull it away from her body, "Take your hands off me first, and let's talk properly, hm?"
The man began caressing her leg, and she bucked uncomfortably and pulled harder but she was only making him grip her even more...and his fingers riding further up. Aaliyah lumped in her throat, knowing the threatening memories might flood her head soon.
"How can you not know? You're old enough to know what you want!"
Then, Aaliyah recalled how he had placed her hand over his heart last night.
"I'm sorry, but I can't help you," She said, sincerely, "I don't know what you meant, and even if I did...," She laughed at herself, "I still wouldn't be able to help. Aren't we just both hopeless?"
After she said that, nothing was said between them anymore. As the silence dragged on, she felt him move closer to her. She stiffened at first, wondering what he was all about as he climbed and laid over her, his large body covering hers completely and forcing her to lay her back on the pillow.
Then, he adjusted himself till his head was resting on her chest and his arms were tightly around her back.
Aaliyah Froze, and resisted the urge to push him away. He was definitely two completely different people in the day and night.
"Alastair...," She uttered his name.
Her heart was beating so fast, and he was a heavy man. She could not move at all.
As time passed, she grew less uncomfortable but her heart wouldn't stop beating like a drum, and neither could she fall asleep.
He was lying directly on her chest, hearing the pumping beats of her heart. It was the only thing that made sense to him.
"Alastair?" She whispered.
No answer.
"You're burning hot," She said and looked down at his hair, "You should go to a hospital and get checked out. A person's temperature should not run this high. It's not normal,"
"I don't need your care,"
Aaliyah wanted to knock him, "Fine, whatever,"
Silence.
"Are you gonna become vicious and unapproachable again in the morning? If you do, I'm gonna remind you of this," Aaliyah whispered again.
"Shut it," He murmured.
This time, Aaliyah allowed the silence to reign for a long while. Her heart was still pounding, but she was a lot more relaxed now. She stared at his hair again, imagining how it looked like since it was too dark to see...
There was something swirling around this man.
He was Mysterious. He was Fearful. He was dangerous.
And yet...here he was hugging her, cuddling like he needed the touch, like he needed the attention.
This man here had married her out of the blue...Why her?
Aaliyah recalled the time she wore the dress and stared at her reflection in the mirror, telling herself for the first time that she was actually not much of a sour to look at.
And...when she had walked down the Altar.
Why had she just stood there like an idiot and let the wedding happen? Why did she make herself a coward and allow herself to be bullied and manhandled?
"You're so Ugly and Filthy!"
"Don't you think your mother should have gotten rid of you the second she laid eyes on you?"
"No wonder you have no one, they all left you to die,"
"Every inch of this church must be sparking clean...or else, I'll make sure you starve for the next few days!"
Aaliyah was sweating. It was a nightmare. She could feel the dirty cold water they had poured on her rolling down her face, his vision blurry as she fought back the tears.
"Rip Him Apart!!" A loud voice boomed in command, "On second thought...I'll do it myself!"
Aaliyah's eyes shot open, panting and gasping for breath. Alastair was still lying on top of her, and it took a few minutes before it hit her that she had her fingers entangled in his hair, and she was pulling hard.
What sort of nightmare was that? Nothing of that sort has ever happened between her and anybody?
The scariest thing about the voice was that....it belonged to her.