A Game of Cat and Mouse

F O U R

Holy. Fuck. She was beautiful.

The girl was wearing a mask but even that couldn't hide the simple fact that she was absolutely beautiful. Elio's breath hitched when he looked at her, staring into those dark brown eyes that looked like they had stars within them. Little specks of grey floated around, gazing at him with timidness and confusion. Did she like what she saw as much as he did? Elio had never been one to be self-conscious but fuck, he'd never met anyone so utterly breathtaking either.

Elio wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around that head of brown curls. Actually, that was a lie. Elio really wanted nothing more than to take her by the waist and kiss those full, parted lips until he was dizzy and gasping for air. Bloody hell, he didn't even want to fuck her. He wanted to grovel on his knees until she found him worthy of her—which he never would be but he didn't give a fuck about that. Please, he would say. Let me love you. Let me be yours. Merlin. He had it bad already.

You say your heart is 'un-snarable' but you just haven't found the woman worthy of having it... One day, Elio, you are going to find a woman who takes your breath away... You will find someone who will make you feel like you are on top of the world, a woman who has hung the stars for you, who brings out a better man inside of you.

Oh, Elio Nott was eating his words. To be fair, he hadn't expected to heed any of their warnings because he hadn't expected to find a woman. Up until now, no woman was this divine. Elio was quite certain he had just asked an angel to dance with him. Women didn't look like this. They weren't heavenly, ethereal beings with faces carved by the gods but that was the only way to describe his mystery girl. Heavenly. Ethereal. Divine. Beautiful.

"H-hi," Elio stuttered breathlessly, still mesmerized by her eyes. How could irises possibly look like seas of nights with glittering stars inside of them? He spent his whole life thinking eyes were just boring little balls inside someone's head when he could have been staring at these. Elio was so distracted by her celestial irises that he hadn't even noticed that he stuttered, something he never did because he was always the most confident man in the room.

"Hi," she said softly back. Could it be possible that her voice was even more beautiful than her eyes? It was like a melody drifting on a quiet breeze, faintly combing through the flowerbeds and grasses until it reached his unworthy ears. He could hardly hear her over the loud music and chatter of the room—she was very quiet and soft, which he absolutely adored. It made him treasure the sound even more.

Elio cleared his throat. Confident. You're confident. You're Elio fucking Nott. "Um, thank you for dancing with me."

She studied him, never smiling, never giving him any indication of what she was thinking. "Why?"

"Why am I thanking you or why am I dancing with you?"

"Dancing."

Elio's cheeks reddened. How was he supposed to explain to his literal dream girl that he was avoiding a blonde he fucked yesterday? Fuck, he couldn't ruin things this early. Why had he ever gotten with a woman before? Stupid bloody idiot. "Well, it was because I was avoiding a girl who didn't seem to take 'no' as an answer." 

It wasn't a lie. It just wasn't the full truth either. Elio had never cared about others' opinions but he had also never seen a girl like this. Every part of her called to him. The large lips that he just wanted to ravish. The stunning eyes he could get lost in. The high cheekbones that were hidden behind a mask. The brown hair he wanted to grab. The small waist that was just the size of his hands. Her pale skin just waiting to be covered with his kisses. And Elio was a guy. He would be lying if he didn't say that her breasts were practically calling out to him from behind the white fabric. Perfect and round, a little bit small but still bloody perfect. Everything about her was perfect.