Incubus

Lara lay in her bed staring at the deep red velvet canopy that hung above the dark oak four poster bed she was attempting to sleep in. Outside the wind and rain whipped the window panes and shook them in their frames. The whole house seemed to move and creak as it was battered by the storm. She pulled the duvet up around her and rolled onto her side desperate to sleep. She never slept well away from home and it was made even harder in this old guest house with its hard bed and cold draughty rooms. High up on the Yorkshire Moors, it must have been hundreds of years old she guessed, with its low, beamed ceilings and dark rooms not helped by the small leaded windows, that were now shaking so violently she was worried they would fall from their centuries old frames.
Lara was unimpressed by all the history around her, she would have much preferred a modern hotel in a bustling city somewhere but this is where her best friend had chosen to get married and where tomorrow she would be performing her duties as maid of honour. She must try and get some sleep, she thought to herself. She didn’t want to be immortalised on the wedding photos with bags under her eyes!
It was at precisely that moment that the window flew wide open, its old hinges creaking loudly with the effort and the heavy red velvet drapes billowed into the room as if they were weightless. The blast of cold air hit Lara making her shiver and her skin goose bump. She felt her nipples brush against the cotton of her night dress as they hardened in the cold wind. She began to sit up in bed, preparing to brave the wind and rain that was pouring in to go and shut the window. As she did she saw, through the darkness, a small shadow come rushing in from the storm and flit silently across the room towards her. But as it slowed to a halt beside her bed, the shadow rapidly grew until in the darkness beside her bed she could see the outline of a man. Lara froze, her blood running ice cold as she let out a piercing scream, but it was carried away and lost on the winds of the storm that now swirled and filled the room. The figure leant slowly forward and softly placed his lips to Lara’s throat, and with that she lost consciousness.
Slowly Lara began to come around. The first sensation she gradually became aware of was the gratifying warmth of the air on her stone cold skin, it wasn’t just her skin that felt chilled, she felt bitter throughout her flesh, deep into her bones.
Under her back felt cold and unrelenting. At her slightest movement she felt the coarse surface grate at her flesh. The realisation that her shoulders and hips ached caused her to attempt to bring her arms and legs in close to her, but as she drew them in she felt a sudden tightening around her wrists and ankles as her limbs came to an abrupt stop and she felt a sudden panic rise within her as she realised she was restrained.