Predator

The rest of the evening was pleasant.

Alaric seemed to have dissolved into the crowd. But when I searched for him, he was easy enough to spot.

Surrounded by women.

They flocked around him. Clearly drawn by his beast, without ever being aware.

A predator is all the more dangerous if he can coax his prey to him. That immediately made me think of myself.

Am I any less prey?

The immediate answer was ‘no.’

Much time had passed since Alaric, and I had become secret lovers.

He wasn’t always vicious and possessive.

Much of the time. But not always.

Sometimes he was painfully sweet. And in many ways, that was even worse.

It was so hard to remember he was my enemy when we were connected at the stem and center. Warming each other. Finding pleasure in each other’s bodies.

Without even meaning to, I could picture his sleek body nude. Smooth, bronzed skin. Muscles