She reacted the moment I changed direction... but there were two walls in between us.
My delight grew.
The goggles on her face must provide her with additional sensory capability, perhaps heat or motion, I couldn't be sure.
That changed the hunt. It would no longer be a slow stalk as I crept up upon her and she fought me off. Now I had to go in hard and fast, or she would just spend her time evading me and striking at me from a distance, an ideal strategy for the difference in our body types. I darted back, towards the way she had gone to circle around me, making sure to avoid the small strings and triggers of her rudimentary traps. I didn't go at a leisurely pace. I ran, full out, and additional curses burst from her lips as I narrowed in on her position in seconds. She had barely enough time to bring her knife up before I knocked it from her hands, lifting her up and setting her down on her back on top of her dining table.
She let out a scream, kicking out at me.
I grabbed her ankles, moving to spread her legs so I could use my body to pin her down. She grabbed the vase above her head, where she kept the flowers I brought her, and swung it at my head. I didn't try to block it; it was only full of water.
It hit the side of my head like a bag of rocks, glass shattering.
I was momentarily stunned by the sheer surprise of the blow.
The rocks that filled the vase went flying around the room as she took the opportunity to kick out, catching me in thethroat, my reflexes forcing me to step back away from her with the motion of the blow, so it didn't cause any damage. She scrambled backward across the table, sliding down off the far side as she reached down to grab another knife from where it was taped to the underside. She flung it at me, and this time I didn't dodge fast enough, or she aimed with more deliberate intent, and the knife grazed the edge of my shoulder.
I let out a laugh as she ran.
I caught her in the hallway before she made it to the blade she had tucked behind a painting, lifting her off the ground. She kicked back at me, throwing her skull back to try to bash into my face. I carried my writhing mate up the stairs, my entire body aflame with desire as her elbow connected with my ribs. She let out a small whimper with the impact, and I used one hand to secure her arms so she wouldn't hurt herself fighting me again.
"You're mine," I growled in her ear, letting the rumble of my deep voice stimulate her entire body. I was rewarded by a moan and the fresh scent of her desire in the air.
"Prove it," she snarled back.
Her struggles intensified as I carried her up the stairs, but they carried a performative air to them. She kicked at me, lightly, her motions causing her rump to rub against me in an evocative way. When we got to her bedroom, and I threw her onto her bed, she grinned at me, licking her lips as she stared up at me with those goofy-looking googles. I put a knee on the bed, and she kicked out at me again, trying to crawl across the bed. I threw myself on top of her, pinning her body down with my weight, even as I was careful not to crush her.
I pulled the goggles to the side and set them down on her bedside table.
She continued to writhe under me, her hips bucking as she rubbed herself against me even as her fingernails cut small slices in my shoulder. I paused, grabbing her hand to look at it. Shehad sharpened her fingernails into points, making them into little claws.
"You are perfect," I said, kissing her fingertips.
She swung at me with her other hand, going for my eyes.
I pinned both her hands down above her head with one hand around her wrists as I reached down with my other hand, shifting my weight to free up her hips. She bucked at me again as my fingers found the edge of her silky nightdress. With all the preparations she had done, she had chosen to wear the flimsiest clothing possible, just a little nightdress and a thong. I tore the thong from her, leaving her glistening and exposed. I needed to taste her.
I grabbed her nightdress as I rose up to my knees, blocking a blow from her shin as I rotated her on the bed, moving her wrists closer to the headboard as I yanked her nightdress up over her face, blinding her momentarily before I pulled it up to her wrists. I used it to tie her wrists to the bedpost, securing her. She lay panting and trembling beneath me as I raked my eyes down her body, taking in the sight of her gorgeous curves.
"Peach apple smoothie," she said.
I stilled, the strange words cutting through the haze of my lust. It was one of the phrases from the contract, thankfully not the one that meant that everything had to stop, just the one that required a pause, to check in. It was painful to pull myself out of the moment, to untie her wrists and then take my hands off of her and sit back to look at her instead of forcing myself upon her captured form.
"What do you need?" I asked. She left her arms up, still in the position I had placed them, despite them being now free.
"I would like the light on," she said, a soft tremble in her voice. "You'll have to go flip the main switch in the fuse box in the laundry room."
"Is there anything else you need while I'm down there?" I asked, ignoring the urgent demand of my body to take her, seed her, breed her, make her mine. She wasn't me. Her needs were different from mine. It was a form of torture to fight against the thick drive of my violent biology, but only animals were unable to ignore instinct. It was the most important mark of sentience, the ability to decide whether to indulge in instinct or make it wait for the right moment or person.
"Just the light," she said. I turned, and she sucked in a breath. "Oh, and Porcha should be at the front door soon. Could you tell her to go get takeout?"
"You want your friend to bring you food?" I asked, startled that she would want another female intruding on our courtship. Humans were strange.
"Just tell her to get takeout, okay?" she said.
"I will do as you ask," I said.
I got up and went down the stairs. I already knew the fuse box she spoke of, and it took me little time to flip the switch she had used to cut the power to the house. While I was down there, I got a large glass out of her cupboard and filled it with filtered water from her cold storage unit.
