Page 67 of How to Seduce a Slender

“I’m not sure, but I would assume with a mirror?” Smith cocked his head a sliver to the left.

“Well, that’s kind of the thing, isn’t it? Mirrors mean risking seeing my wolf behind it and the last time I shattered one. Not great track record…I’m not even sure what my face looks like. In my head I, well, I kinda have a you face where mine should be.”

Smith snorted, “Well, I can confirm, you do not. It’s a lovely face.”

“Oh is it?” she teased, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow softly.

“Would you like me to describe it to you?” The candle broke through the darkness of the kitchen. Three candles danced in the air, bursting to life as Smith passed underneath them with the candelabra. He sat the metal holder on the table. A romantic, hushed ambience fell over the whole house. Amber light tickled the walls. The flames flicked left and right, leaving waltzing shadows on the ashy walls.

“Not if you’re going to just say I’m pretty. I need real details, Smith.” She gave him a faux glare that had no weight behind it. The smile growing on her face was too broad. Smith sat her down in a chair in front of a steaming plate of food. Roasted pork belly with a spice rub, mashed potatoes with glazed carrots, filling the room with herby delight. Smith poured a goblet full of water and sat it in front of her. Then he sat across from her.

“For starters, you have wonderfully full eyebrows, they’re arched but I like how they have soft points in the middle.” Smith folded his hands over the table.

Melody picked up her fork, scooping up potatoes. “I’ll accept that.”

“Will you also accept that you’ve got round eyes?”

“Acceptable.” Melody nodded along. It wasn’t long till she was halfway through the plate and pulling the notebook she’d been using to make the art for inside the pocket watch. Smith made sure to give her ample time to eat chunks of food before proceeding with more features. The curve of her lips he even drew on the table with his fingertips to demonstrate. She was practically licking the plate clean by the time he helped shape her jaw.

And Melody stared at a woman she vaguely knew. It felt like her. She looked familiar. But Melody could only see the fractured glass in her head. A shattered mirror with a thousand versions of herself. Yet, as she slid the paper free of its binding, the cracks began to mend. No more spidery veins.

“Is this what I look like?” Melody passed the paper over to Smith.

“Like looking at a photograph,” he breathed, turning the paper left then right. The paper disappeared into the darkness. “I’ll have it put in the watch you left on the desk, was that the one?”

“Probably, I’m not sure where anything went, if we’re being honest. It all happened so fast.” She tossed back the last gulp of water. “How’d you know it was there?”

“I told you, I see everything.” He rose from the table, rounding it. The candelabra floated into the air next to him. His hand broke through the shadows and helped her up from her seat.

He saw everything? Even as Melody ducked her head away. A hand tugged her chin to look back up at him. Cloaked in inky oblivion, his hand left hers and slid into the small of her back. The one holding her chin kept her gaze on his face, the only other light in the room as the candles from above went out with a hiss. His thumb brushed her bottom lip.

“I am sorry I was not here today,” he breathed, his body brushing up against the satin of her dress.

“You’re here now.” Her eyes fell closed as his face neared hers. Their lips brushed as the candelabra went out. Nothing but the hazy smoke as a reminder it was even there. It seemed like not even the moon was out. Melody was engulfed by the darkness as Smith kissed her. He backed her away from the table till her back pressed into a wall. It started soft, tender touches, the stroke of his fingers against her jaw.

Then her fingers wrapped around the fabric of his shirt and yanked him even closer. Smith groaned against her mouth. He pressed into her, making everything else disappear. His hands moved about her dress, clenching it, tugging at it, until he was able to get to her legs. She shivered as his fingers ran up the back of her thighs. His teeth grazed her bottom lip before he pulled away with a husky growl, “best not to…be tempted here.”

“And where should I tempt you?” Melody blurted out, drunk off his kiss.

“I should get you to bed, it’s been a long day…”

“But...” She grinned wickedly, tugging him back. His lips crashed into hers. Both of them moaned against the other’s mouths. Her hips found him in the dark, messily bucking against him for any semblance of friction.

Then a strange sensation filled her as she realized there weretwofirm mounds pressing back.Either he’s hiding a lumpy snake in his pants, or…

Smith tugged away again, taking her away from the wall. “But my office is much closer.”

Melody needed no other motivation or persuasion. Not as she grabbed his hand with giddy excitement and tugged him from the wall. The house was dim, lit up only every few feet by a low flame, but she didn’t need it. Not anymore, she’d practically memorized where the running carpet had a snag, where the staircase broke out amongst the walls, and where the sharp turn to the safety of his office was. Especially as, in the dark of the house, she ripped around, shoved Smith into the door, and closed it with him. Smith grunted from the force as she slammed up against him. Their mouths clashed again. Over and over in a dizzy waltz that left no air in her lungs. His hands worked something near her back until she felt the dress over her slip go slack.

“Too many layers,” he groaned against her lips as he tugged the dress down her frame, over her hips, and stomped it onto the floor beneath them. Melody was danced away from the door, hands clinging to him for support.

“I was worried you might tear it off me,” she giggled.

“Agatha would have my head.” Smith grabbed her by both cheeks and kissed her hard. When he broke free, he’d backed her against the desk. Hard wood pressed into her ass while Smith ground himself against her. Lust pumped through the air like heavy smoke. His touch was intoxicating as he ran those humming hands down her throat, across her arms, then down her sides. Melody only broke the kiss to pant for air. Smith pressed that same hard kiss to her forehead. “Sweet girl, I apologize in advance.”

“For what?” Everything danced even though the only thing she could see were faint outlines. Until shadowy tendrils hooked the back of her knees and hoisted her onto his desk. They wrapped around her shins, spreading her legs and keeping them open.

“I am about to tear something off you,” he murmured, palms brushing up her thighs. “And maybe I should have taken you to bed. You deserve a romantic gesture. You deserve to be carted up those stairs and lavished with slow kisses and—”

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