Song: Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande
Despicable beings required despicable cunning. Deadly hunters could only be met with ruthless intellect and savage deception. They had to be kept guessing, dwelling on clues and decoding riddles written in foreign tongue to keep them aloof of the truth.
I felt that the library was the perfect place for such a game, of hide and seek versus my stalker. He pursued me doggedly, sure to claim his prize no matter the cost.
I danced lithely over an ornate balustrade, did pirouettes across carrels, and elegantly wound my body over plush winged armchairs.
A soft and deep growl dove over the edges of the towering bookshelves, bouncing off the arched cathedral ceiling to reach me like a prayer.
I laughed in response, letting my chime-like tittering fuel my personal predator. Visions danced behind my lids, guiding me. He tried to strike on my right, I shimmied to the left. He sprung for my front, so I twirled dizzying backward circles.
We waltzed this way for some time, nimbly striking and flexing in reaction to the other's moves. As I tripped blithely to sail across a chaise lounge, I allowed his hands to find purchase.
Sure fingers flexed, curling easily around the radius of my upper arms. They pinned me firmly beneath him on the lounger, carefully rough in their frustration. The temptation, the flighty tension of a tightly coiled spring, drove his fangs to skim the granite skin of my neck.
The tender caress elicited a sigh, slipped from my mouth in peaceful satisfaction. My passionate utterance spurred him on, his tongue lightly dragging across where his fangs had just threatened, yet his teeth were gentle as they moved to scrape my earlobe.
"My devious little minx, you should know better than to tease me so. And now, you're all mine." I gazed steadily into Jaz's eyes, full of certainty and love.
I arched my head up, rubbing my own teeth against his bottom lip. "I was never anyone else's."
A muted commotion drew our eyes to the left; Athenodora, Sulpicia, Corin, Aro, Cauis. Their cadre had entered, muttering quietly amongst themselves as they listed in our direction, searching for me as well. Slick as a snake, I used his momentary distraction to slither from Jasper's embrace.
He turned to stare at me, surprise and anticipation playing across his features and arched brow.
Wiggling my brows, I beckoned him with one hand, a finger pressed to my lips with the other. My beautiful hunter growled at me, quiet danger playing in the grin of his lips.
I loved that about Jasper - he was always game for whatever I needed or wanted, indulging my whims and trusting my visions unerringly. His cool realism was the antidote to my warm optimism, perfect other halves that complimented the whole. This sentence was endurable with him by my side.
Our game had evolved, then; Us hiding from and seeking the other, to one of duplicity and stealth, a game within a game. I darted away silently, once again twisting out of his steady hands, as we began our dance again.