An addict

For a brief moment, Gwyneth felt her soul leave her body. But then, she closed her eyes and let out a scream of frustration. "Why don't you listen to me?!" 

Sirius nibbled the tip of his tongue. Not amused by her reaction. 

He pushed himself away from her and stood up straight with his hands in his pockets. "I do not want to repeat myself, Sunshine."

Gwyneth sprang open her eyes and began to breathe heavily, both in terror and fury. Slowly, she rose to her feet, quaking as she averted her gaze and made her way to the bathing room.

She spent a long time cleaning herself. The water in the tub was heated, but her whole body was shaking. And as she waited for what felt like an eternity, she tried to clear her mind of the images of Albert's head being severed from his body.

She lowered her body into the water, shook her head slowly, and emerged gasping in terror.

"How did my life come to this?" Her fingers quivered as she pushed her damp hair out of her face.

They only dropped dead or lifeless. She had grown accustomed to that. It was a bad thing, but at the very least...

Albert was assaulting her, but she was not sure if he deserved such a death! If he had ever imagined he would die like that.

"You have been in here for an hour, Sunshine," Sirius walked into the bathing room. His voice calm but brimming with the impatience his words unleashed. 

Gwyneth threw her arms around her chest quickly, her breathing as unsteady as her whole body.

Sirius was standing behind her, staring at her bare back that was covered with her wet platinum white hair. Her fair, dewy skin shimmered in the bathing room's light. And every shudder her body produced elicited a faint flicker in his eyes.

She was horrified.

"Come out of the water, darling."

Gwyneth's eyes widened, her fingers twitching. "No."

Her voice, full of impending rage, came out miraculously steady.

Sirius smirked. "Would it please you if I entered and pulled you out?"

Gwyneth could not believe her ears. Her body was still trembling with fear, but she turned to face him, her arms still covering her chest. 

There was no blood on him, and his clothing was different from before...

How did he...

"Why are you gaining from doing this to me?" She gave him a fierce, disgusted glare. 

"Your alluring presence." Sirius answered with a small smile stretching across his crimson lips. He could see every nuance of the anger, hate, and fear that were leaking out of those mesmerizing midnight blue eyes. 

She was cleansed of that filthy blood. Beautiful.

His eyes flashed ominously. "Come out of the water. Now."

"You are messing with my life again!" Gwyneth screamed, her eyes welling up with tears.

Sirius smirked at the words. Then he squatted down and gripped the tub tightly, biting the tip of his tongue. 

"I am trying to make it clear to you that you are entirely mine to own. Am I wrong to do that?"

Shocked, Gwyneth pushed herself to the center of the tub. "Wrong? You believe you are doing nothing wrong?! Is that why you killed my parents and sister?" 

"Oh? Are you still disturbed by that?" Sirius arched a naive brow. "My apologies. Taking their lives was truly not my intention."

Gwyneth's eyes twitched, shocked beyond belief. "What?"

Sirius pursed his lips. Kieran had certainly made things difficult for him. This was really aggravating.

"How dare you?!" Gwyneth suddenly screamed. She threw herself into the water, barrelled towards him, and launched a massive water splash to the face.

Snapping his eyes shut, Sirius tensed up at her sudden move.

Gwyneth, on the other hand, shot back towards the center of the tub and stood up, her hands clasped over her chest. "Take a hint, and stay away from me! You do not own me! You will never own me!"

Sirius got to his feet, wiping his face with his hands. "What makes you think I will listen to your words, my fruity sunshine?" And he licked lips, walking into the tub without care.

Gwyneth froze for a moment, watching him dive into the tub without batting an eye. However, as he approached her with a maniacal smile on his face, she began to flee in terror.

"No, no no! Stay away! Stay away!" She shrieked. But then, as she felt her back brush against the tub wall, her entire body grew cold. Before she could fully process her situation, Sirius appeared in front of her and chuckled at her horrified expression.

His large frame enveloped her, and he was extremely close, looking down at her with his flaring eyes through the dark strands that laid asleep on his forehead. 

"There is no hiding place for you in this world. Certainly not if you intend to flee from me."

Gwyneth hugged her arms close to her chest, holding her breath. Closing her eyes, she looked away from him, struggling to remain upright on her quivering limbs.

It was then that she truly became aware of how much she was trapped. Albert's death did not reveal that! The fact that he dressed completely to meet her in the tub while she was completely nude and had her little arms wrapped around her still-visible breasts... 

She chose silence. Not because she was embarrassed or terrified, but because she had no idea what to say.

What could she say to counter the words uttered by Death himself?

Sirius's smile faded. His fingers slowly entwined themselves with her damp strands of hair. With a heavy sigh, he let them go, observing her trembling body with his eyes.

"Be at ease, my Sunshine. I don't bite. For as long as I live, nobody can harm you."

Gwyneth snapped her eyes open, hardening them with tears. "But, you let them burn me. You ended my life!" She swatted his hand away.

His eyes widened. He let go of her hair and closed his grip on her wrist. 

Did she recall their meeting prior to her rebirth?

Gwyneth looked directly into Sirius's eyes, rage and fear coursing through her veins as she quickly covered her bosoms with an arm.

"You are completely mistaken if you believe that ending my life protected me from everyone who desired my demise."

Sirius's eyes flashed. "Your death was inevitable. Your existence had come to an end. I may be death, but it is not my responsibility to decide the end of one's life."

"What about those you have killed? My parents, Imogen? Did they arrive at the end of their existence?" Gwyneth, unwavering in her suffering, questioned.

Sirius quirked his lips. "I may be death, but it is not my responsibility to decide how your life will end. I only have concern for you. I have no use for other souls."

Gwyneth frowned deeply in response to those words. "Taking the agony of being burned to death does not equate to caring about me."

"I did not say it is, darling." Sirius smiled, leaning close to her. "Come out of the water."

She averted her gaze, her eyes widening in fear. "Stop telling me that."

"Hmm?" Sirius unwrapped her wrists and observed her appropriately covering her fair, milky breasts. He titled his head, caging her between his arms.

Gwyneth pressed her back harder against the wall, looking at his face which was dangerously close to her.

He was staring at her with great intensity. Intensity that made her body heat up. Almost surpassing the heat of the water itself.

She really couldn't deny how breathtaking he was. How his ominous gaze commanded her.

Sirius smiled. "What are you staring at me like that?"

Gwyneth turned her head away, closing her eyes shut. "I am not."

"Beautiful." Sirius breathed, raising his fingers to her cheek. Trailing slowly.

Gwyneth gasped, slapping his hand away again. "Do not touch me." She glared at him.

Sirius let out a low chuckle, highly amused. "Soon, darling, you will beg for my touch. You will grovel to have my hands on your body. To caress every inch. And I will turn you into an addict. Just as I am to you." Then, without saying another word, he smiled, turned away, and vanished.

Leaving Gwyneth gasping for air as she attempted to comprehend everything that had happened. 

Worst of all, she knew he was coming back.