Bloodsucker ; T.R

²⁴ Le crainte

"How dare you," the snake—Ivory, said, a hissing drawl now evident in her voice.

It slithered on top of him, her voice stopping his attempt at casting any spells on her. Strangely, Tom was sure that she wouldn't hurt him.

"You can't hurt me," he hissed back, a hand outstretched to shield his face.

The reply made the snake stop, most of its body now resting atop his chest. And just like the last time, with a blink of his eye, the snake transformed back into Ivory. She was now the one sitting on top of Tom, both her hands on his chest and her legs on each side of him, subsequently pinning him down. Her figure covered the moonlight as he looked up at her face, confusion evident with her furrowed brows.

"You understood me." Ivory's voice no longer sounded akin to a snake, now back to its melodic tone.

"I..." Tom started, unsure if he should tell her, "I can speak to snakes. I'm a Parselmouth."

Ivory stared at him, brown eyes wide. Then, she laughed. Not the maniacal laugh that sounded as she fell from the tower, but a joyous one. A laugh that sounded genuine and filled with amusement. Like he had said something funny that made her giggle.

"This is quite the turn of events." Ivory said, a smile still lingering, "Were you scared?"

"No, of course not." Tom briefly replied, his chest growing heavy.

"You're lying," her voice turned humourless, inching closer to his face, "You can't lie to me," Ivory whispered into his ear. Petite hands traced his jaw slowly, down to his neck, and rested on his chest. "Ever since I set foot in this castle, I could smell fear off of everyone. No matter how measly it was, they still felt it. Except you..." 

She rested her head against his chest, listening to how his heartbeat.

"You were a mystery. The only emotion I could smell off you was anger. Disgust. Pride," Tom stiffened again as her other hand reached up to his neck, pushing against his pulse, "But now... Now you're bathing in it. You're afraid of me Tom."

A shiver shot up his spine as he felt Ivory's cool lips touch upon his bare neck.

"I may have vowed to spare your life, but a little bite wouldn't hurt right?"

This was it. Tom did fear her, in that moment at least. He felt the magic in his wand tingle like it was telling him to defend himself. But Tom couldn't do anything, he felt heavy and powerless. Like hope—if he even hoped—was no longer in him, he felt like this was fate. She was threatening to sink her teeth into him. It won't be enough to kill nor enough to harm him greatly, but enough for her to be satisfied. Would she even be satisfied without leaving him dry? Would he feel his blood leave his body as she drained him?

He didn't know and he never would, because her piercing fangs never came. Instead, she laughed. Again.

Just like minutes ago, her amused laughs filled the tower, hand no longer on his neck and chest, though she was still straddling him. The vibrations from her laughing had Tom heat up from where she was sitting.

"Oh Tom, you should've seen your face!" Ivory clutched her stomach as she tried to catch her breath, "You really would have let me bite you?"