To Put A Leash On The Master

A Game Of Lovers

Hearing Hunter's voice in reality for the first time is like having an initial conversation with your celebrity crush. Or maybe more than that.

The sound is thrilling and exotic; lodges between my ovaries, creating butterflies and their dancing sensations. Anyone would fall for the man without setting eyes on his gorgeous physique.

"Take her? For what, Brother?" Saturn's annoying tone spoils the moment. Could someone beseech the girl to be quiet, even for a second? Her screeching voice is taunting as well as the dead silence that befalls the room as I strain my ears to hear Hunter's response.

It doesn't come on time. But when it does...

"You," he says, almost in a whisper. "Look up."

I feel a force compelling me to obey, raising my eyes to meet Hunter's gaze fixed on mine. Yes, that there is it—the look I needed to see! Though it's still blank, I can recognize 'Want' whenever I see one.

There's this glint in his eye... a pure embodiment of the word seduction—mind the hair and the eyepatch, even the brow piercing and how his lips are parted to create a small slit as if he'll blow an air of arousal any moment from now, not as if that air hasn't already been blown.

He's approaching me with a steady gait, his head cocked, footsteps echoing in the silent room.

As his presence dominates me, each footfall stealing a beat of my heart, my body tenses, chin tilted up to lock his stare.

He stands in front of me, and I feel a jolt of nervousness. My knees tremble, my stomach churning when his majestic height casts a shadow over me. And his scent hits me so hard that I feel dizzy.

Now, I'm looking for something of a distraction so I'm not too nervous or teary in the eyes—something like what kind of scent this man has.

I can tell there's a hint of leather. But the prime smell... it— it's heady and musky like... It has this spicy and sweet smell lingering around a strong woody aroma. I think that's it. Or I'm just rambling. But I love the scent. It's something I want to envelop my senses on a cold and rainy day... during sex.

'Ah! Snap back to reality, Heidi! Hunter's bloody in front of you. And until moments ago, it had been your damn dream to stand before him like you are now. To feel his breath on your face, touch his arms, and embrace him.'

But now... now as my heart urges me to reach out, my mind's filled with doubt. I can't seem to shrug off the feeling the look in his eye gives me. Fear. That's it—raw fear.

I feel like I'm staring a villain straight in the eye, and I'm the main character he wants to devour. That in the next second my life would be taken... by him. That's why as his hand rests firmly on my shoulder, the unexpected contact makes me shudder.

My heart's beating so fast that I might collapse, my chest heaving from the effect. Tickles are coursing in my veins, and the hair on my nape has risen. And for what? This man before me who now, thankfully, shifts his gaze to Saturn.

"From now on, she is mine," he says in a low voice, rather too casual as if he's pricing a commodity. Or, as if he's reading an unimportant list of which each word spoken is an item. "Father." I watch him flick his eye toward Dad Griffin. The latter nods before Hunter brushes past me.

I don't turn to see whether he's leaving the hall, but I know he's gone. His presence is gradually fading. Even my pulse rate is slowing down. Except I'm left in a labyrinth of emotions, my mind a chaotic dwelling for its contrasts.

I don't know if to feel anger, confusion, or fear. And Hunter's words leave a lasting trail on my mind that I can't erase.

Just hours ago, he acted like I didn't exist—as if he wasn't the fucking sweet guy who I exchanged texts with.