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He held back, and it was Hans who answered me.
“Katherine. Leave us, please.”
But no. I didn’t want to. I didn’t speak it aloud before Hans repeated himself, with a lower tone this time.
“Katherine. Leave us. Now, please. This doesn’t concern you.”
I knew from his eyes that there was no room for negotiation, so I backed away, feeling trapped in a corner. I had the urge to say something to Eliza, or to chase George down the street to make sure he was safe, but I got another shudder, and a sense of something deeper.
No.
I shouldn’t do that.
I stopped in my tracks on my way over to Eliza.
No.
I spun back and caught my breath to find Hans staring at me.
No.
I nodded silently, then turned my attention to an approaching Max and Stephan instead.
“What can I get you, gentlemen?”
The rest of the night was busy and bustling, and Hans was continually caught up in conversation with Frederick and Benjamin, who joined them shortly after. Every time I looked Hans’ way he would flash me a glance in return, with a smile always waiting to greet me, but there were no more words between us. Eliza was the one to serve them every time they had a request.
The hours passed, and my skin grew hotter. The minutes ticked by and the wounds under my blouse began to glow, sore, and with every second came an increasing feeling of desperation, until I was as needy as I’d been in the alleyway.
It felt like I was craving something. That’s the only way to describe it. As though I was an addict craving some kind of fix, and that fix was Hans and his teeth. I needed his teeth in my flesh.
If only I could tell him so, but I didn’t get the chance.
Hans, Frederick and Benjamin left the bar together at just gone midnight with nothing more than athanksandgoodnight.
Jeez, I needed the other clients to fuck off and leave me alone. Two more hours until closing felt like a lifetime. I was on a frantic mission as Eliza and I cleared the bar together, trying to get out of there as quickly as I could.
“Steady on,” she said when she saw me scrubbing like crazy. “You’ll take the veneer off at that rate.”
I tried to slow down, but it was hard. So, so hard. I had so many cravings, and questions, and needs. All of them piling up inside me like a squirming mess of sensations.
Hans.
I needed Hans.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, the bar was cleared and washed up and it was time to go. I got my coat on as quickly as possible, waving goodbye to Eliza before she’d even reached the coat rack, and then I was on my way, practically running down to Hyde Street and the cobblestones where I prayed to God Hans would be waiting for me.
As it turned out, I didn’t need to get that far. Hans was waiting on the corner before the cobblestones began, propped against one of the marble pillars by the banking chambers.
“You have questions,” he said.
“Yes,” I panted. “I have questions, and I can’t walk away from them, Hans! I can’t play ignorant. I just can’t!”
“I know that, little one. You are so beautiful in your curiosity. It’s one of the things I love about you.”
I love about you.
His words hit me like a lightning bolt, but it didn’t make any difference in that moment. I was shaking like an addict. His smile was so affectionate it gave me flutters, but I didn’t want his affection right then.
