ORPHEUS

Chapter 14

One moment Katherine was fumbling to tie the strings on the oversized shirt, thinking about all the questions she wanted to ask him, and in the other she found herself staring breathlessly into Orpheus' dark orbs. He was so close, too close for comfort. Her pulse was racing and her hands were clammy. Dear Lord... he was just beautiful. His dark orbs were roaming her face intensely, as if he couldn't get enough of her, as he caressed her jaw. She was almost panting due to her nerves. She wanted so badly to touch his face, as she slid her hands from his forearms to his hands feeling the smooth soft cotton until she reached roughened warm skin.

Peering into his eyes, as she gazed at his supple lips then back to his eyes, she uttered the only word in her mind at the moment. Her voice was husky, almost croaky as she whispered his name.

Then as if something snapped inside him, he growled, his eyes becoming almost feral as they slowly changed color. It must have been sunset beacuse he had started to transform. His eyes going from onyx black to golden orange and his hair darkening. She watched him, mesmerised. She could not decide whether he looked better before sunset or after, she couldn't bring herself to care, he was still her Orpheus. She watched as his glowing eyes became hooded, felt his chest brush against hers as they inhaled. He stepped impossibly closer, crushing his body to hers, making her squeak as she staggered a few steps back until she felt the door of the bathroom pressed aginst her back and Orpheus against her front. She could smell his warm scent as he crushed himself to her. One of his hands slipped from her neck, slowly down her body, to her hip as the other lovingly cupped her cheek. He lowered his head and Katherine could feel her bottom lip quiver in anticipation. Her eyes fluttered shut as she felt his warmth creep closer towards her, goose bumps spread over her skin. She did not know if he was deliberately torturing her with this speed, or time had just slowed down.

Then she felt it, his lips on her skin.

He slowly pressed his lips on a closed eyelid, then the other. Then her peppered slow, sweet kisses all over her cheeks, she could feel the slight curve on his lips, he was smiling. Katherine felt like giggling from the flutter she felt in her stomach due to his actions. But soon she felt him delicately kiss her cheek so close to her mouth, that it touched the corner of her lips. She let out a small gasp at the sensation. It was as if an electric current zinged through her, his slightly bee-stung lips were firmer, but at the same time softer than she had anticipated. And yes she had anticipated, she had dreamed about how they felt against hers, and now that she had, or at least partially, she was over the moon, her heart about to burst in her chest.

Too lost in her thoughts, her eyes still shut as she let out out a soft sigh, she did not expect it, when he finally pressed his luscious lips on hers, muffling the small gust of air she let out, taking it in. Oh... She was not over the moon- no, she was floating in Nirvana. She had died and gone to heaven and back as she felt him moving against her lips. She had been to shocked to react, but the fact that she did not know what to do what so ever, also contibuted to her freezing up. As if sensing her unease Orpheus' hand started to kneed the back of her neck, relaxing her shoulders and simultaneously pressing his lips harder agianst her, coaxing her to respond. Her hands, that had fallen limply to her sides, wound around his neck as she tentively returning what he so generously gave her. Another spark of electricity flowed through her causing her to shiver and Orpheus to groan against her lips. She felt his chest vibrating against hers. Oh Lord Katherine moaned.

But then amidst her bliss, Katherine felt something slither onto the skin on the nape of her neck. It felt as soft as the most luxurious silk, light as a feather as it caressed her neck. Katherine gasped into his lips. Her mind recollected what the demon's hair felt like as it squeezed the life out of her.

She wretched her lips away from him, pushing him away.

"What was that?!" she squeaked as she held her throat with her hands."It felt as if her hair was twining around my throat again"

Then as her gaze focused on him, she saw little black designs moving around his body. She saw them slither around his big hand that held her nape earlier.

She gasped in astonishment. Was she getting delirious? Had she hit her head during the attack? Because she could vow that she saw those black swirls move along his skin, like snakes maybe. She felt like shrieking at their slithering. Orpheus inched closer to her, his hands before him, as if to reassure her that nothing would happen. Had she not endured what happened today she would have already ran off, but she knew he wouldn't hurt her. Though she wasn't partial to those snakes on his skin.

"It's alright Kathy, I promise" he said in a hesitantly, his chest still heaving from their previous activities. "I won't hurt you. They won't hurt you."

She gazed at him, shrieking in bewilderment "They?! What are They exactly"

"I will tell you, I swear" he pleaded "just calm down, Angel"

He gestured for her to take a seat. She righted her self, pulling down her-his shirt a little, as she glided to the bed. She flushed, remembering why she needed to fix herself in the first place.

She fired up the question again once she touched the bed. Orpheus had yet to answer as he was pacing rapidly infront of her.

"Please don't be frightened" he said, his voice shakey "I don't know how I'll explain this to you, but I will try my best"

"Calm yourself Orpheus, I'm still here" she soothed, feeling a little sympathetic as he heaved a frantic breath. She patted the space next to her, beckoning him. "Sit"

He dragged his feet and plumped down on the bed. He started fidgeting with the sheets, eyes roaming everwhere but not meeting her gaze. Katherine was compelled to laugh at his nervousness but restrained herself.

"They're called shadows" he began. "They are a part of me, you can say, like another limb"

"Oh" she let out a breath, gazing at his shadows. "What do they do?"

"They protect me" he said a little calmer than before. "They are my greatest weapon"

"Like the witch?" She wondered.

"Yes, like the witch" he said grinning. "Except I they dont sear the flesh."

"What are you Orpheus?" She asked."I have little to no knowledge when it comes to mystical beings"

"I am what humans call a Ghoul" he said with apprehension.

"Ghouls? But I was told that they were hideous, slimy monster who were created after the death of diseased humans." She said with wide eyes, scanning him up and down. Orpheus was anything but hideous and slimy. She could his ears reddening under her inquisitive gaze.

"Well those are Ghouls, but something had gone wrong while resurrecting them." He said with a wince, rubbing hus hands accros his neck. "We prefer to call them the undead, since they couldn't be returned to life fully."

"So what you mean to say, is that you have been returned from the dead" she asked nervously biting her lip. "You would not harm me would you."

He shot towards her, causing her to whiper involuntarily. He grasped her shoulder and shaked incredulously. "I would never hurt you!"

"Of course" she squeaked.