25
990 Words
“Yeah.” She nibbled on her bottom lip as her thoughts drifted to the place she called home. “I spent many years there when I wasn’t working. I love it. I’d say you would fit in rather well on the streets of New York— very dog friendly, you know.” She giggled as if she found herself enormously funny, and the sight of her laughter was almost more intoxicating than the wine. Her cheeks had flushed with color, and her childlike laughter was ridiculously endearing. She lifted her hand to cover her mouth, and without thinking, I reached out to pull her hand away. “Don’t hide your smile. No reason to hide that beauty from the world.” My fingers lingered on hers as though I was powerless to sever our connection. I wasn’t sure what had come over me. Was it her unexpected display of disarming innocence? Our proximity and varying degrees of undress? Perhaps it was my own acquired need for physical touch or the rapid change in my life’s circumstances. Then again, it could have been the wine. Dear God, let it simply be the wine. OceanofPDF.com Chapter Ten OceanofPDF.com MORGAN KNIGHT’S WORDS created a vacuum that sucked every ounce of air from our small refuge. Only the fire continued to breathe as it popped and crackled beside us. My eyes stayed glued to his, transfixed by his bright amber irises, made even more dynamic as they reflected the dancing orange flames from the fire. At that moment, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t have given to know what he was thinking, but as confident and accomplished as I was, I couldn’t force the words past my lips to simply ask. Perhaps I didn’t actually want to know, or perhaps, I was scared of the answer. Ever so slowly, he pulled back, and his eyes broke our connection. As I took in a long, steadying breath, there was a flutter inside my chest I hadn’t experienced in centuries, like a bottle of champagne had been uncorked in my stomach, and the little bubbles now coated my insides. The sensation was exquisite and frightening all at once. When I glanced up to see if Knight had been similarly affected, I froze as an icy chill skittered across my exposed skin. His eyes were ablaze with rapt intensity, muscles coiled at the ready, hand snaking out to take hold of my knife. As he lifted the long blade between us, I attempted to clear my intoxicated brain and summon a plan. My reflexes sluggish, I never had the chance. Knight stabbed out with lightning speed, the knife plunging into the dirt wall beside my head. I screeched and dove to the side, rounding to hunch in a defensive stance. The knife stuck straight out from the wall where it impaled a spider-like creature, body the size of a large potato, just inches from where my head had been. I spun around toward the open air of the forest and took deep breaths to help keep my rebelling stomach from unloading its contents. “It’s a Kaché,” said Knight from behind me. “Nasty buggers if they get their claws in you, but perfect for dinner. Hunting doesn’t get any easier than that.” I whipped my head around and gaped at him. “You can’t be serious.” He smiled up at me, eyes dancing. “Hell yeah, I am. Those things may be deadly, but once the pinchers are removed, that baby will be delicious.” I threw my hand over my mouth to battle against gagging. I should have known Snoopy’s palate would be less than discerning. Hell, dogs ate their own s**t. There was no way I would trust his opinion on food. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.” “Who said I was sharing?” I rolled my eyes and huffed out a laugh. Thirty minutes later, Knight had cooked off the fine hairs from the carcass, removed the legs and pinchers, then skewered the body to rotisserie over the fire. Once the creature had been reduced to a chunk of meat on a stick, I had to admit, it wasn’t altogether unappealing. At least he was cooking the thing and not tearing into it raw. I cringed at the mental image. “You cold?” he asked in a deep rumble. “No, just tired. I suppose I had more wine than I realized. Plus, it’s been an eventful day.” He pulled the skewer off the fire and sliced into the Kaché fillet. “Perfect,” he mused to himself. He pulled off a section of meat and sucked it into his mouth, huffing to keep from burning his tongue. The creature had been surprisingly fatty, dripping juices into the fire as it cooked. When he sucked the meat into his mouth, it left a glistening sheen of moisture on his lips that reflected the firelight. I had a sudden overwhelming urge to lick the substance from his full lips. My own lips parted, and he must have misunderstood my look when he peered over at me. He took off a small sliver of meat and blew on it to cool it. Then he extended the morsel between his thumb and fingers until it was a breath away from touching my lips. “Go ahead, try some. You’ll never know if you like it unless you try it,” he offered in a sultry murmur. As if I was his to command, my jaw fell open. I accepted his offering, closing my lips to suck on his thick fingers as he slowly pulled them away. The intensity in his gaze brutalized my independence like a storm raging against a lighthouse. I could feel his unspoken need for me to bend to his will, and somewhere deep inside, I rejoiced at the prospect of turning over that control.
- Writer
