Rude (Choose Your Own Adventure)

Chapter 26

You quickly use the bathroom. In the mirror, your face looks flushed with desire, and your eyes are wide with something like fear. Your heart is beating so fast that you feel weak. You think about the voice you heard, but then you decide it must have been your imagination. Hannibal's proximity is making you feel all sorts of crazy things.

You go back to Hannibal's bedroom. He is waiting for you, lying on the bed, the top buttons of his shirt open but the rest of his clothes intact. You think about removing them, layer by tailored layer, to reveal the man beneath, and your mouth starts to water.

'Join me?' he says, and you lie beside him on the bed.

You kiss his cheekbones, his sharp jawline, his full lips. You let your hands explore his clothed body: his broad shoulders, strong chest, lithe waist. He strokes his hand up the length of your clothed body, too. By itself, your body arches towards him, desperate to feel him on you.

The corners of his mouth tilt up at your eagerness. 'You are hungry,' he says.

'Starving,' you reply. In answer, he rolls over on top of you. His body is heavy and wonderful on yours. There is a distinct bulge in the crotch of his trousers, where it is pressed against your upper thigh. You moan and begin kissing him again, wildly.

You feel a strange vibration on your hip. For a second you don't know what it is, but then you hear the ringing, and realise it's Hannibal's phone.

'Sorry,' he mutters roughly against your mouth. He pulls the phone out of his pocket, glances quickly at the screen, and frowns. Then he puts the phone, still ringing, on the bedside table on top of some sketches, and carries on kissing you.

The phone stops ringing. Within a few minutes, it starts ringing again. Hannibal swears under his breath in a language you don't know.

'I apologise,' he says, and sits up and takes the phone. He answers it. 'Yes, Will. As you can imagine, I am rather busy at the moment. Yes, I thought it was Jack Crawford. I know. Give me a minute.'

He disconnects the call, and looks at you with regret in his eyes. 'I'm so very sorry, but I have to go out for a little while. Will you wait for me, until I get back?'

If you decide to wait, go to Chapter 24.

If you decide to go home and have him call you later, go to Chapter 25.