Page 71 of Below the Shadow of the City

Suddenly, a force stops me. It reaches around my shoulders and holds me firmly in place. Claws dig into my skin and I forget how to breathe. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone, or anything, else down here. I catch my breath and without a millisecond of hesitation, I scream. Loudly.

A rough hand covers my mouth to stop it and claws brush against my cheek. Fear floods every vein. Then, a familiar scent wafts into my nostrils while the assailant’s other arm spins me around. Maddox is standing in front of me, biting his lip trying to not laugh out loud. He lowers his hand from my face and I playfully smack him in the chest. My hands do little against his broad muscles stretched underneath a black long sleeve shirt.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, asshole!” My voice echoes down the empty hallway.

“I wanted to surprise you?” He shrugs with a stifled chuckle.

I gently smack him again, “you scared the shit out of me! I thought I was about to get kidnapped or killed!”

“Now, you know I would never let that happen,” his voice lowers.

“Right, because the only horrible creature lurking down here is you.”

He replies with an eye roll, and in silence grabs both my shoulders again and pulls me in for a kiss. Work has been busy, it’s been days since I’ve been able to see him. And god, he’s ravenous. He’s practically inhaling me. I manage to wrap my arms around his waist while our mouths mingle. His fangs brush against my cheeks while his diaphragm rumbles.

My purse slides off my shoulder onto the ground and he pushes me against the wall behind me. Our bodies are pressed together and heat radiates off of him.

“I could rip that dress clean off you right now,” he growls into my clavicle. His claw traces up under my skirt and I immediately clench. There’s a heat spreading between my legs, even his lightest touch causes me to completely come undone.

“Absolutely not this one,” I shakily exhale. “It's one of my favorites.”

“You expect me to be a gentleman when you look like this?” His hand grips my waist, each of his fingers holds me in a vice grip. It’s safe, familiar now.

“I expect you to at least take me out to dinner before devouring me yourself,” I reply. He relents and pulls back with a huff. I place a hand on each side of his face and pull him in for a final prolonged kiss.

Once we part, our eyes meet and a crooked smile spreads across his face. “Then dinner you shall have. But you know, sometimes I have these more…primal…instincts. Things that generations out of the forests have tamped down that our bodies haven’t forgotten completely.” He looms above me, a strand of my hair is curled around his index finger and loops around his claw.

“Oh?” I raise a brow at him, there’s a heat blooming between us, I feel a pressure from between his legs pressing into my hip. I wrap my hands around his waist and pull him closer to me, a few layers of fabric separate us.

“Right now, Sigrid, you’re prey. And I really do desperately need to sink my teeth into you,” I tremble a bit with fear, he notices my eyes widen and extends a wink. I visibly soften, and a sly smile spreads across my face.

“I need you to do what any good prey does.” He speaks and runs his tongue across his teeth, lingering on his gleaming white fangs.

“And what’s that?” I tease.

He wraps his hand around my neck and pulls me in closely, my heartbeat quickens as I feel his hot breath creep up my chin and across my hairline. I’m taking short shallow breaths.

“Run,” he growls into my earlobe, and I act on instinct.

I take off down the hallway, towards his side of the building. It’s long, there are plenty of alcoves and doorways to slip through. I can hide away unnoticed. That is, if I’m fast enough. My heeled boots aren’t necessarily the ideal running shoe, and their clacking makes my location all the more obvious.

My heart races, instinctual fear and arousal meld together in an intoxicating cocktail coursing through my limbs. I duck into a hallway, one I’d never noticed before, and a shadow runs past. It’s a regular Scooby-Doo villain scene. I pause for a moment and catch my breath.

There’s a flash of movement from the corner of my eye, one I recognize. My mind flickers to the memory of him looming in the alleyway, if only I’d known then how invigorating it would feel to be chased by that creature. The little light that shone down the hall is blocked by a massive figure. Just beyond where I stand it fades into the darkness.

I have two choices, relent, or risk whatever lies beyond. He and I are having a brief standoff, and it’s clear what my answer is. I sprint off into the dark. A growl echoes down the hallway and reverberates across the cinderblock walls and into my chest. His footsteps grow closer, and my legs are growing heavier. There’s a swipe at my dress, I barely escape his grasp.

“Rip it and I’ll fucking kill you before you can get even a taste of my skin,” I breathlessly shout over my shoulder.

“I’d like to see you try,” he laughs as he bounds after me. “It might be best for both of us then if you take it off.”

I slow my running and duck into another alcove to slide my dress over my torso. I cast it off behind me and wince at the thought of it landing in a murky puddle or becoming a home for a family of spiders. It’s cold down here, not as chilly as the November air outside, but certainly not warm enough to prance around in only a bra and underwear.

The heat of the chase and the thrill of him almost literally nipping at my heels quickly warms me.

My shoulders are jerked back in a swift motion as I slow down. Thick leathery palms grip my skin and pull me towards the beast I’ve been running from. A satisfied growl emanates from Maddox’s chest now that he’s caught his prey.

He wraps his arms around me from behind and pulls me up against his soft chest. I realize his shirt has also disappeared in the thrill of the chase.