At the end of the hall, my bedroom door was ajar.
It was silent for a moment. The remaining liquid in my cup swayed from side to side, as did my posture. I confidently clasped the broom in my other hand, waiting for the sound to reveal itself again in the dark bedroom.
The door let out a pitchy whine as it revealed the room upon a gentle shove.
There was no use leaving the room so dim if I was to find anything in there.
I glided across the room to turn on a light by my bed. The lamp flickered when I turned the dial, the flame growing lazily.
Then, there was the sound again.Right behind me.
Not the scratching noise, but thatclickingfrom the shop.
Petrified once more, I listened intensely as if to convince myself that I could decipher what it was this time around. It was nothing like I had ever heard before. I had traveled the world in pursuit of exotic plants and animals, and nothing had ever come close to thisthingI heard.
As I turned on my heels, the noise stopped abruptly. No creatures were in sight. Just a dim, empty room.
I could have sworn that it had been a few paces away, but there was no evidence of anything to suggest such a thing. The only proof that remained was tucked deep into the corners of my imagination, accompanied by the buzz of my poison of choice.
4
THE CREATURE
Isn’t she just delectable?
Alina Lis, the savory arrangement spread out before me.
Her thick black hair was scattered across the silken sheets. From the looks of it, she could not keep from tossing and turning throughout the night. Maybe she could sense the presence of a certain predator stalking her cozy nest.
Clever girl, but not clever enough.
I just watched, promising myself that I would behave.Just this once.There was plenty of time for play. My hunger had only grown since I finished my last meal in preparation forher.
I was a gentleman. I liked to get to know my prey before I ate them. It was only polite. I worked so hard today, following her every move. I read up on her as well, conducting my own research on this fascinating new plaything of mine.
I deserved an up-close-and-personal reward, especially with the amount of walking this woman does. At least I knew that her circulation would be phenomenal with how active she was. I didn’t expect half of the things I discovered about my meal today.Miss Lis moved quickly, and some of her errands were hard to understand. There were so many peculiar rituals in her routine. Though the apothecary was an interesting development. I supposed she owned it, since she seemed to be the only one with the keys.
It had been so long since I had stalked anything worth the trouble. To get so intimate with a life ready for the taking. I would be disappointed if she made me work this hard only for her to taste bland. Flavor aside, I nearly forgot how exhilarating it was to chase. I would say the time was well spent. Memorizing her routine, her life, herscent. It was like she was mine already. The poor thing was just painfully unaware.
The body atop the bed beckoned me forward, closer to the bed. A delicacy reserved only for me.
The elusive creature’s beauty was like a witch must have carved her out from an ancient forest, haunted by spirits of old and harboring centuries of secrets. Not to mention her...uniquecoloring. It was like someone had spilled refined sugar across ground charcoal. Accidental and one of a kind, too much of a shame to waste.
She rustled under the covers and turned away.
Could she feel how close I was?
Close enough to take a bite.
Carefully lifting the silken fabric of the bedding, I hoped to see what she hid under her typical morose attire. I was disappointed to see she’d kept her nightgown on, but maybe it was for the best. After all, this feltwrong.
A naked body was no mystery to me, but seeing hers would feel sinful. One must not consume a delicacy with haste. It would be mannerless. Her hair snaked in loose curls over her pale skin all the way past her hips, as if they were drawing a map for the places I wanted to touch. Only the outline of her body wasvisible as the fabric wrapped around her. Somehow it still felt like I was peeping under a nun’s habit.
I tilted my head to the side as I peeked, not wanting to disturb her by lifting the sheets too far from her body. If only she would roll toward me. I wanted to see more. She was purposefully shielding herself from my gaze.Fine, have it your way, but only for tonight.
Her scent teased my nose, making me take in a sharp breath.
I lowered to my knees beside the bed, my eyes fixated on the bewitching affair before me. My fingers brushed the hair away from the back of her neck.
