The Lioness

She doesn't say anything, but I can see that the arrow I shot was sticking. She is trying to hide the mixture of emotions but I can see them in her eyes. Shock, then hurt, then anger. Then nothing.

"Now I'm fucking done," I say finally.

She tilts her head to the left and then right, closing her eyes and rolling her neck back. She takes a deep breath in and starts softly laughing. The sound sends a shiver down my spine.

"Who," she says, her voice is low, she opens her eyes and looks back at me, "the absolute fuck," she pushes off the counter and takes a slow step foward, "do you think you are talking to?"

Quickly the anger starts to sizzle inside me, my heart dropping in my chest. I take a step back instinctively as she takes another slow dragged out step towards me. The regret sets in along with the fear. What was I thinking. Oh god. What did I just say to her.

"I think I need to remind you, little girl, who it is that you are speaking to," she says, her voice cold and dripping with danger, taking a final step infront of me. I am looking up at her now, my breath caught in my chest, her eyes are almost black, "because you will never, ever speak to me like that again."

She begins to walk around me and my head turns to follow watching her, my stomach flipping. Her hand grabs my lower face and sharply turns it forward, making me freeze.

"Do not look at me," she snarls, stepping behind me, her hand slips from my face, her nails dragging across my jaw and around the back of my neck, hand slipping up through my hair. She makes a fist and pulls my head back roughly, making me gasp, frozen in her grip. I feel her breath in my ear.

"We are going to have a serious conversation after this about the nature of our relationship and how we are going to navigate this going forward," her voice is suddenly soft and gentle, "however I think there is a little too much sexual tension between us we both need to get out of our system. What are your safe words, Lenora?"