Saphira doesn’t fully trust the Marquis, yet she can’t resist his pull. She finds herself giving in to his advances, but this is no ordinary night in which they can just be together. Full moon sheds light on another one of the Marquis’ secrets, which proves perilous for the young woman.
***
The Marquis’ mouth closes on mine, soft and warm, while his arm curls around my waist, pressing me gently to him. His body feels stone hard under his shirt, and he smells young and manly and alluring. I turn to jelly in his arms, allowing him to stretch me on the bed under him with no resistance. His kiss makes me dizzy, and small stars seem to circle my head.
This feels very different from what happened last night, even though his passion grows in the same possessive way. His hands explore my body greedily as his tongue consumes me in deep kisses. My mind empties and I part my legs, ready to accept him, but he breaks the intimacy, bridging to distance with thirsty pecks on my lips.
He pulls away and stands, yet the expression in his face shows it’s not easy. His neckline is open, his hair a bit ruffled and his face so youthful and handsome that it hurts. He retreats as I scramble out of bed and advance toward him, wanting him so badly that I lose control and all sense of shame.
“Please,” I beg, losing my bra and letting my panties fall to the floor. I now stand completely naked before him, smeared with soot, my hair a messy blonde broom, hoping that I look depraved enough to stir the animal in him. I want him inside of me so much I barely refrain from touching myself.
His dark, hypnotic eyes wander all over me with a hunger that makes me moisten and lose a sigh.
“Please,” I repeat, but manage to keep in place.
“It can’t be, Saphira, not now,” he says, his voice low and husky. “Not tonight.”
“Why?”
“I can’t explain.” He retreats further, his white hand now on the doorknob. I see the skin patching into alligator leather, then fading into white human flesh, then pulsing into faint spots of leather again, and I realize he’s fighting to keep back the serpent.
My eyes find his just in time to see them narrowing, his black irises turning to slits. He makes a pained grimace and pulls the door open. The fight between human and serpent makes him bare his teeth, a pointy tongue slithering out and licking his upper lip. When he speaks, his slivery voice makes my hair stand on end.
“Trust me, Saphira. Please, trust me,” he hisses and throws the door open, lunging into the obscurity.
For moments I stand there, naked, stunned and with my heart pounding until Zed appears in the doorframe. His stony features are locked in urgency. He can’t help looking me up and down –I’m a naked person dirty with soot. I snatch the duvet from the bed and wrap it fast around me.
“What’s with the Marquis?” I inquire.
“It’s a bad night,” Zed says and throws a glance out the window. I do the same.
“Full moon? But, is that –”
“It has nothing to do with the occult or cheesy magic,” Zed explains in an even tone. “The moon has power on the inner workings of the Serpent as it does over the tide.”
He turns to leave, but then turns to me again on a second thought. “We have strong reason to believe your friend Vivien Grant is alive. The Marquis ordered us to find her and protect her. For your sake. Believe it or not, you’re high up on his list of priorities, and in a good way. You have every reason to trust him.”
“Have you been eavesdropping?” I breathe, getting the goosebumps at his words.
He looks me up and down coldly, but not without interest – more like curiosity – and he leaves without replying.
***
Enjoyed this? Stay tuned for a new episode on Tuesday and check out the prequel, Saphira, in the Christmas Story Book for Adults, available here.
Also please don’t forget tomorrow is the Meet and Greet day. If you have blogs you admire and consider relevant for the world (or run such a blog yourself), please leave a few words about it and a link in a comment. I’ll be very happy to read from you, and know that I always, always, always check out the recommended blogs and followers’ blogs. Can’t wait to read from you!
SO intense! I’m shamelessly cheering for the growing love between them. I realize it’s so wrong, but I enjoy how The Marquis is showing vulnerability and how he’s personally protected Vivien, too. I’m happy she’s not dead! The chapter with her mother and the burning down house was so sad!
Must read more! Looking forward to your next chapter. <3
Oh, thank you so much for sharing your feelings, dear Sara! Indeed, the Marquis has a vulnerable side that Saphira has always sensed, and she’s put it in the portrait she painted of him in the first story. It’s actually what drew the Marquis to her most, what made him fall for her.
So that was why he didn’t want anyone to see the paining – it showed his vulnerability. That’s pretty powerful. I love it!
Great combination of genres in one chapter- erotica then thriller then psychological struggle between man and inner beast.
Anne Rice meets Carl Jung and Jekyll & Hyde.
That is such a flattering combination, dear Chris! I should very much like to use your statement in a blurb later on in this writing career 🙂 Thank you!
That’s all right with me. 🙂
Another seductive scene. Saphira doesn’t shy away from the Marquis even as she witnesses his transformation and the Marquis engages even though Saphira is soaked in the sooty remains of her afternoon. Their need unrequited only means a more ravenous meeting later. It’s downright scary thinking about it. But then again, I like scary. Great work, Ana!
True, dear muse! It’s going to be all the more ravenous later, right after Saphira discovers something else about the Marquis (next episode). Something that, even though she expects, is not for the faint of heart and that will show her the Marquis from his strongest but also from his more vulnerable side.
I’m going to be twitching like ants in my pants until the next episode. 😀