A Game of Cat and Mouse

T E N

Annie felt her breaths quicken as the hand over her mouth tightened at first—as if in shock—and then loosened. Black dots darted around the edges of her vision—a result of the panic that was beginning to blind her. This was all just too much. The ball, the boy, and now the kidnapping. She wanted to scream but it just couldn't escape for some reason. Annie inhaled deeply to try and avoid any more hyperventilation.

And that was when she smelled it. Woods.

"Shh, mia topolina," he purred and Annie cursed her body for reacting to his voice, arching into him as if on instinct. Even though he'd kidnapped her, all she wanted was more. More of his warm skin, more of his soothing voice, more of his tantalizing scent. It's official. You've gone insane. His front was against her back and she had a feeling that his strong body was practically the only thing keeping her upright even as the world tried to cave in on her. 

The boy removed his hand from her mouth before whispering, "You're alright, my love. I've got you."

Why did that soothe her? Why did that calm every aching nerve inside of her? Why did the feel of his deep breaths make hers slow down to match? Why did his steady heartbeat against her back make her feel safe? Why did this total stranger make her feel like this?

He's not a stranger. You've met in a dream. Before, Annie wasn't sure she would have been able to say that, not like he did, not as a pickup line. But after spending an entire day sleeping—her mind filled with ocean blue waves and the smell of a forest—she wasn't so sure.

"It's you," she breathed because all her mind could think about was him, even as the black dots danced further and further to the center of her vision. 

Annie felt her body go limp as her head emptied of everything. The mixture of fear, guilt, excitement, and even desire swarmed her just like the blackness. Too much... it's too much...

"Shit! Little Mouse? Little Mouse!" His voice was panicked, as were his moving hands. Annie felt herself being picked up into a warm, comforting embrace. She would have balked at the idea of being in someone's arms like she was now but she felt too out of it to argue. Her mind was millions of miles away.

"Don't worry, baby, I've got you. You're going to be okay." Is he trying to convince me or himself? His strong, steady arms were carrying her bridal style and even though she was hardly coherent, she leaned into his chest. The smell of dark woods soothed her, as did the heat from his body.

Soon, Annie felt him place her down on something soft—one of the sofas in the far corridors of the house perhaps. 

"Topolina, I'm going to need you to wake up," he whispered, fingers crawling down her cheek with each word. "Open your eyes for me."

"I... can't..." she replied because it all felt too overwhelming still.

The boy sighed. "I didn't want to have to do this but you leave me no choice." Because she could ask what he was talking about, a pair of warm, soft, and very familiar lips were placed on hers.

Annie's eyes shot open as she scooted away from him. "W-why did you do that?" Her voice was about as steady as her nerves, AKA not at all. Annie didn't think she'd ever be kissed again because she didn't think she'd ever see him again. Now, she wasn't sure her racing heart could take any more of his lips. Her body might combust.

He grinned. He was kneeling on the floor, the position allowing him to be slightly below her eye level. She had almost forgotten how tall he was... or how handsome. "Do you want the half-truth or the full truth?"

"Both."

"Because you weren't opening your eyes." Those deep blue irises stared at her like she was the most wondrous thing in the world. Is he blind? Annie never considered herself bad looking but she never thought of herself as pretty either. She was... just Annie. Sweet, simple, and a little bit boring. Just cute. Not beautiful or sexy or gorgeous. But this boy was looking at her like she was all of the above.

"And what's the full truth?"

The mischievous twinkle in his eyes let her know that whatever he was about to say would probably make her blush. "Because I've spent two days wanting nothing more than to kiss you again."

Yup. She was right. Her cheeks were distinctly warm. "C-can't you kiss someone else?" she muttered, holding a hand up to her face to try and hide the blush. The smile on his face told her that she was unsuccessful.

"I could," he replied simply. Well, she had to appreciate his honesty. "But I don't want to kiss someone else. I want to kiss you."

That made her eyes widen. "I'm not even any good at it." Well, she didn't know if she was or not. He was her first kiss in the garden and it wasn't like she had stuck around and asked for critiques. But kissing didn't feel like something she would be good at. Anything that involved interacting with another human wasn't something she was typically good at.

His mouth curled in a wry grin. "Want to bet?"

Now Annie was really blushing. She forced herself to break their eye contact, looking down and seeing that he was wearing something startling similar to her. Dark blue dress robes with a silver mask. "Are you stalking my wardrobe?"

The boy laughed. It was a low, rich sound that Annie couldn't help but like. It made the corners of his eyes crinkle with amusement, somehow taking his boyish charm and turning it manly with only a deep rumble. She had never considered herself funny before but there she was, actually making someone laugh. "No, topolina. Though I do think fate is trying to tell us something."

Her breath stuttered. "Like what?"

The way his eyes burned into hers made Annie wonder if there was something he was holding back. She couldn't help but shiver under the intensity of it. "Like..." he drawled, trailing his gaze up and down her body. "How incredible you look in blue. And how much like a goddess you look wearing it."

Annie blushed. "I look nothing like a goddess."

"Now, now, Little Mouse. What did I tell you? We must not tell lies." She looked down only to look back up when he started to play with a strand of her loose curls. Natural, just like her mother's, though a little bit smoother like her father's. A perfect mixture of the two of them. The boy in front of her stared at her, seemingly content to watch her get lost in her thoughts.

"What's running through that pretty little head of yours?" he whispered.

"Nothing interesting."

He smirked. "Anything you think of is interesting to me." She shook her head but he just laughed again. "I'm serious. You fascinate me."

"Why?" Annie breathed. Why was he fascinated by her? Why was he in the hallway with her instead of being in the ballroom surrounded by ladies who were easily much prettier than her? Why did he stay there for two days to find her? Why did he look at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the world?

"Because," he whispered back, one hand moving to cup her cheek gently. "I'm crazy about you, topolina. I would listen to you talk about fucking paint samples for hours if it meant I got to hear your voice. I would spend all day crawling on my knees and kissing your feet if it meant I got to touch you. I'm so damn into you, Little Mouse."

Annie shuddered voluntarily, both at his words and at his soft, warm touch. Her eyes fluttered close for a brief moment only to open and see his utterly beautiful blue eyes. Her own personal ocean full of waves of adoration. Waves that did nothing but soothe her even as her fear and anxiety from earlier threatened to swallow her whole. "Why me?" she whispered. "I'm no one special."

He smiled and leaned forward to nuzzle her nose with his. The simple gesture made the butterflies in her stomach go crazy. Heat flared up to her cheeks but Annie surprised herself by not pulling away. She surprised herself even more by realizing that she didn't want to. "You're special to me, love." 

And, for once, she believed him.

"Annie," she whispered so softly she wasn't even sure she had said it. "My name is Annie."

Aw, she finally told him her name! For our little Annie, that's a big deal. Ugh, I feel like I could nap for three days I'm so exhausted. Anyone else feel like that? I did too much this weekend and now my social battery is dead. But because I love y'all, I wanted to post this early <3

I hope you all are loving this story as much as I am! If you're new to my stuff, make sure you check out my other stories because in my not-biased-at-all opinion, they're great. xx