Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 131: In his arms

Chance went slow as per Silas’ command. The sun had disappeared behind the hills, passing the torch along for the moon to shine instead.

As for the breeze, it had turned cooler similarly to almost every other night.

Arabella enjoyed the winds caressing her face and playing with her hair all the while basking in the warmth that Silas’ proximity provided.

Their hearts had long since synchronized to the same beat, leading their breaths to dance to a unique rhythm. One that perfectly married the flow of the gusts that glided about.

"You are not too cold, are you?" Silas leaned slightly forward and spoke with a buttery smooth voice.

"No," she smiled, "The fresh air is just sweet on my skin," she shook her head, eyes browsing her arms where the hairs did not stand.

Silence snuck in with the wind between them, but only momentarily.

Arabella quickly broke it, "I hadn’t even realized how much I’ve missed this,"

The young woman had her back against Silas, but he was sure that stars filled her eyes right then, judging solely by her relaxed tone and frame.

The vampire wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d simply started melting in his arms.

"Riding a horse?"

"Yes," she kept her hands on her lap.

"When was the last time you did?" he matched her serene energy.

"Fourteen years ago,"

"Was it daytime or at night?" he gently tugged on the reins, prompting Chance to stop.

"It was daytime,"

They halted at the very top of a mound from whence KasselMoon’s lights shone bright. The colorful firework demonstration ascended high in the sky before descending back, leaving but the reminisce of the hue in their wake, the booms traveling to Arabella’s ears as mere little crackles.

"Was it a special day?" he brought her attention to himself.

"Very," her word was followed by a hearty chuckle.

"Would you tell me about it?" he asked. frёeωebɳovel.com

"Perhaps another time? May we not talk about it now?" the fingers on her right-hand sort of curled a little tighter around her left one.

"We may," he said simply.

The breeze carried more than fresh, breathable air to his senses. Lavender held the strongest hint; the rest were balmy undertones that banded together to make each other less distinguishable.

Every whiff of her soft hair brought more and more of it that the vampire could no longer look elsewhere.

The dress she’d picked for the day was green. A shade that only suited her splendidly, drawing the life out in those gemstones that served her as eyes.

From where he stared, her emerald pendant rested precisely at the center, right above her breasts.

That thought dragged yet another as Silas wondered why animals loved to bury their heads in those fatty cushions so much. First the squirrel then the horse.

They sure looked warm and comfortable and squishy and...

"Is everything alright?" her voice pulled him out of his... Cozy contemplation.

"Yes. What is it?" he spoke with a voice he wanted confident.

"I am sorry," her head leaned back, further relying on his chest for her curious little face to peek upwards at him, "It is simply that your heart started beating faster all of the sudden," the shade around her cheeks deepened.

It was odd to have her make note of his heart rate instead of the other way around for once.

But he’d been right, her eyes harbored thousands of sparkling stars orbiting the bigger luminous ball that was the moon at the very heart of her irises.

"Well, I thank you for your concern, but I am indeed alright,"

Silas craned his neck up to avoid her gaze under the pretenses of admiring the moon for a smile painted his face. Why wouldn’t he allow her to see it? Even he couldn’t tell at that moment.

The man had always been under the odd impression that a smile was as intimate as sharing a bed with someone, in the sense that other people around him described it, that was, since he’d never shared a bed with anyone. He’d never needed a bed, end of story.

Perhaps that was the reason he detested the way Arabella beamed around Edgar.

By the time he looked down, the young woman’s attention had already fallen back onto KasselMoon.

After a while, her heartbeats had slowed before settling into a, sort of, predictable tempo, their tiny thumps barely knocking on his chest.

Her muscles had relaxed considerably more than they did before, but Silas was not alarmed until her hands split apart, falling on one side of her each.

When he leaned backward, Arabella’s upper body did not hold its own weight and followed along before eventually falling onto his arm. It was then he’d finally gotten a glimpse of her face.

Her eyes were shut as her chest rose and dropped with every breath. She seemed to be in no pain, her demeanor translating a carefree soul that slept soundly. From time to time, a deeper inhale would infiltrate the periodic rhythm, but things would quickly return to normal after that.

"Arabella?"

He lowered his voice the closest he managed to a whisper. When no response came, Silas gently moved her back onto his chest then signaled at Chance to turn around and walk back towards the property.

Once in the arena he swept Arabella off the saddle and let the wrangler take care of the horse.

In almost no time, he stood in her room, pulling the sheets down to lay her among them without breaking a sweat.

Upon tucking her in, his face came so close to hers, full on receiving the warm puffs of air she exhaled.

His diamonds studied every inch, every little trait on her... His hand rose, neared her cheek and merely hovered, sensing the warmth emanating from her body. In the end, his fingers pushed a stand of raven hair away from her face.

The chandelier candles had barely had the time to ignite that he was already out of the room.