Page 19 of How to Seduce a Slender

“No,” she rebutted.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?” He twisted, trying to scoop up her face.

Melody wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the petulant child in her or the desire to hide her face when she’d clearly fucked up…or the way he kept staring at her like that with his intense eyes and stupid television static aura. Either way, she swatted away his hands. Smith tried, over and over, till they were slapping at each other’s hands in the doorway.Slap, slap, slap, slap.Like cats duking it out, they swung and were buffeted by the other person’s paws until a pair of shadow arms ripped out of the wall and trapped her hands by her side. Melody glared at him only to realize how smug he looked.He’d won.She scowled, hard. It scrunched up her whole face.

And she shouldn’t have. She knew the consequences. They’d had a pinkie promise.Thankfully they’re not legally binding.Melody stomped a foot and stuck her tongue out at him.

Smith immediately snatched it before she even realized what she’d done.

Her eyes exploded open. Both of them froze. The hands holding her palms against the fabric of her skirt disintegrated into ash. White static filled the room, crackling and scratching her ears as she saw the Slender version of a blush cover his throat and blurry face. Inch by inch, Smith released her tongue from his fingers and removed his arm from the situation. Melody had to wiggle her tongue about in her mouth to re-wet it as it had dried in the panicked few seconds it was trapped outside her mouth. Then, with a sheepish purse of her lips, Melody broke the silence first.

“You’re not going to break my pinkie now, are you?” she whispered.

“I feel the consequences to your actions were already dished out, Ms. Deathless. And may they serve as a reminder to keep one’s tongue where it belongs.”

No…don’t.She’d already pushed her luck. She’d already gotten her tongue pinched and her system rebooted. She’d already learned her lesson.Or had she?

Melody slipped just the tip of her tongue out of her lips. Smith’s face twitched, like it was stuck between channels and the reception was coming out of a garbage can six streets over. He lurched, which made her bolt. Melody had never, in her life, enjoyed being chased.As far as she could remember.There was something stomach churning, something heart-stoppingly terrifying about being chased.

And yet, the biggest, wolfiest grin covered her lips as she grabbed up the front of her skirt and bolted for the grand staircase.Big mistake.Melody skittered around a bend, cackling at the sound of Smith sliding a good foot further down the hall as she booked it up the steps. She’d, unfortunately, not considered how exhausted her body was or how little she climbed stairs at top speed. Smith caught her damn near immediately. She was several steps up when large arms whisked her off her feet and planted her firmly on the second floor.

Melody thrashed, giggling the whole time as she tried to free herself.

“Melody!” he roared, just as breathless and bursting with laughter as her. All it took was one jerk of her legs and the pair went tumbling down. Her cheeks were burning hot as she panted for air, fighting through a thicket of slender parts till she was sat against the banister…still laughing. Smith sat up, staring right at her. “Ms. Deathless, what ever possessed you to run from me?”

“I dunno,” she wheezed, hands around her already panging sides.Cardio, I need more cardio.The world spun, leaving her brain deliciously woozy. Her body didn’t feel connected to her in the least. She floated in the cold air of the manor. “Maybe I knew you’d catch me?”

“You ran just so I’d catch you?” He panted for air, shoulders drooping in defeat.

“It’s nice when you want the thing chasing you to catch you, you know?” She beamed. “You’re so fast. I don’t know why I ever thought I was gonna get away. I don’t think I did, I think I knew…but I wanted you to chase me. Lot of good it did, cause now my thighs are burnin’ like a roast pig but…that was fun.”

Smith just stared at her. Their mingled panting filled the void of the empty hall. Melody couldn’t remove the smile from her lips even if she wanted to-even if she needed to, not when he chuckled. Not as he climbed to his endless legs and dusted off his suit. Not as he crept up to her and offered a hand to her. “You utterly baffle and amaze me, Melody Deathless.”

Melody giggled breathlessly only to squeak as an arm scooped her up from behind the knees andyoinkedher off the ground in a graceful swoop. “Hey! What are you doing! Let me down!”

She kicked her feet, playfully beating at his chest only to have her wrists entangled in a wispy shadow tendril. The air in her lungs evaporated. Her muscles went still. Watching the smoke dance around her wrists like it was lighter than air but she felt it tighten around her wrists. Melody’s attention darted to Smith’s face, finding a shark’s mouth full of swirling teeth smiling back at her through the static. “I cannot do that, sweet girl. You see, you might run, and I’ll have to chase you. And as much as I enjoyed that, you are due for rest and being hunted down isn’t conducive to your healing.”

The words tumbled out of her lips like the traitorous butterflies beating at the lining of her stomach, fast. “But once I’m healed?”

Who are you?

Werewolves aren’t prey. Werewolves are the hunters. Werewolves are the scary things lurking in the woods.

But you’re not a werewolf, are you? Not anymore…what’s a werewolf without a wolf?

Melody couldn’t help the flutter in her chest when Smith opened the bedroom door with a singular swoop of an arm. He flashed her those predatorial teeth once more and she shouldn’t have enjoyed it. He set her on the bed and crouched before her once more. Hands still bound in her lap, his gloved ones cupping hers, she tried to find the air in her lungs as he finally spoke. “We can discuss that when you’re able to outrun me for more than a few moments.”

“Is…is that a deal? I hear?” She turned her ear towards the air in a faux listening style before smirking down at him.

“I will not pinkie promise you a single thing till you can keep the one you’ve already made,” he huffed, climbing to his feet. The tendrils slipped away from her wrists.

“What! That’s hardly fair!” She scoffed, moving to stand up only to be firmly sat back down by strong hands with even longer fingers. Melody scowled up at him, “What kind of lawyer doesn’t hand out deals? Huh?”

“The kind who don’t want you to pass out while running away from him in heavy fabric up a flight of steps.” He cocked his head an inch to the right.

“Pfft.” She flushed as lava burned through her veins. A sheepish laugh followed. “I knew I should have hooked a left; the stairs were a bad idea.”

“Averybad idea. Advantageous for me, a learning experience for you. Now, let me grab Agatha, and I expect you to get a full night’s rest. And no wandering down to the library and staying up reading. You need to rest.”

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