Today I have a tease from my contribution, Not Your Bitch.
The autumn day was sunny and warm, probably one of the last ones before the snow came. Zoe closed her eyes to listen to the rustling leaves, and the birds in the trees in the ravine behind the house.
When she opened them, Linc was standing a few feet away. She took a step back in surprise.
“I didn't want to interrupt,” he said with a smile. “You looked so happy.” He crossed the intervening space in two strides, his hand cupping her cheek and head. She was sure he was going to kiss her again.
He didn't. His eyes scoured her face and held her gaze when he finished. “I wish I could feel that serene. You looked...” He searched for the word. “Complete.”
She smiled and lowered her eyes. If he stared any more closely, he’d know exactly what she was thinking, what she’d been imagining a moment ago. He tipped her chin back up with his free hand.
“Please, don't be afraid to look at me.”
Her heart pounded in her chest and her stomach threatened to fly away with the birds and butterflies racing in it. “I-I'm not afraid.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I think you're lying.”
“No, I'm just not ready. Your eyes…” she trailed off and was compelled to touch him. Her hand rested on his face, his angular cheekbone, the stubble on his jaw. “It feels like you're going to eat me alive.”
She trembled when he growled at her. It wasn't angry, it was hungry, like he really would eat her.
“I could devour you,” he told her. His hands moved down, one on her lower back, the other lower. The butterflies turned into bats or birds; doubly fast and huge. “I would gobble you up like the big bad wolf.”
Her trembling intensified and her knees turned to jelly. A wolf. Hadn’t she imagined him pulling her down like prey? Unlike when Elliot was predatory, she wanted to succumb to Linc’s hunger.
