Beastly Desires

Chapter Thirty-Five

"Yes," Sébastien said, weakly.

Colette didn't think the pose was that difficult. Yet, from the sound of his voice Sébastien seemed a little winded. She did have him sitting most of the time and now he was kneeling and she knew it could become a strain on the hamstrings after a while. She would try to draw this pose quickly, but she found herself taking her time, mesmerized by the candle light streaming down the contours of his back.

She had never seen such broad shoulders before. Even though they were covered in a fine layer of fur, she could see the bulging muscles that bunched and overlapped his shoulder blades and neck. They ran down on either side of his spine, curving out and back in along hips before smoothing down into his trousers and building back up into two shapely mounds.

Colette stared unashamedly at his lower backside. Sebastian was facing forward and would not see the enjoyment she was sure was written all over her face. She would let herself have this one small pleasure. The man was unaware of the power his body had over her sometimes. She came to understand that it was not fear he evoked in her but something... entirely else. Curiosity perhaps. Of course, she would never dare to voice that out loud. There would be no reason to. She was to leave in the next two days. In keeping her fathers promise of her.

"Are you comfortable?" She asked, sketching the curves of his shoulders.

Sébastien looked over his shoulder at her and she caught the spark that danced along the corner of his eye. It stirred something inside of her and she smoothed her tongue across the bottom of her lip again.

His eye widened before he rolled his shoulders, readjusting himself. "I don't have an answer to that question."

"Does that mean you don't wish to answer the question?" Colette wasn't sure what provoked her to challenge him.

He huffed and his shoulders arched and dropped from the sound. "You make me feel... uncomfortable."

Colette stopped drawing the panes of his back and looked up at him with bewilderment. "I make you... uncomfortable?" She wasn't sure if she should be offended. If anyone made anyone uncomfortable it was certainly him. He was the odd one. The beast. Everyone knew better than to provoke him, let alone make him feel uncomfortable.

He sighed heavily and his back sank further. The gesture deepened his kneel in the sofa, pushing his backside further out. Colette tried not to gawk.

"Every time you lick your lip it makes me... uncomfortable." He admitted with his face turned towards the wall.

Out of pure habit, she licked at her bottom lip again and surprised herself. "I- I didn't realize I made you feel that way. I don't do it intentionally. It's out of habit." When she felt uncomfortable.

"Do you feel uncomfortable now?" She asked, quietly.

"Right now, I feel uncomfortable in..." he paused to consider his next words. "... certain areas."

She gulped and went back to drawing his back, shading in his fur. "Areas." She repeated, while slowly developing the darkness of his fur.

"I would assume you wouldn't reveal to me where these areas are that I make you feel uncomfortable?"

She focused harder on bringing the shadows of his back down into the dip of his backside.

Sébastien shifted again, widening his knees some more. "I think we should conclude this evening before I become any more uncomfortable."

"Oh?" Colette shrank in her seat. She felt warmer than she had been a second ago. That feeling deep below surfaced and she found herself wanting to clamp her thighs together to relieve some of the tension.

"It would be best for both of us if we bid each other goodnight." He gritted out.

Oh, no. She made him upset. He was upset. She made him feel uncomfortable and he was beginning to get upset now. She knew the signs. His breathing had gotten heavier, faster. Even his body seemed to emit a heat that reached her across the table. He was right and she should leave.

"Alright, then." She spoke. Sébastien did not move from his position. "You no longer have to stay in that pose," she said, concern creeping in. Maybe his muscles had locked up from having him kneel for too long.

"Do you need help standing?" She sat her board down and started towards him but stopped immediately when he let out a low growl of warning.

"Stop. Just go."

Colette fisted her skirt in her hands."Did I do something wrong? Have I upset you?" At those words, Sébastien stood abruptly and turned to face her.

"Go. Before I lose control. Now." He breathed.

Everything inside of Colette turned molten at the evidence of his discomfort, so clearly noticeable. She licked her lip and immediately sucked in a breath of regret.

Sébastien's eyes darkened and the fur on his shoulders stood up. There was nothing but pure hunger in his eyes. His whole body seemed bigger, sturdier. Ready. Waiting. Like a predator. And she was the prey.

"I..." Colette couldn't find the words to apologize for what she unknowingly had done to him. He desired her. It wasn't rage that rushed through him. It was pure, unadulterated desire. For her. She didn't know how to process the sudden realization.

That nagging, internal feeling that washed through her and down her had her clenching her thighs again. It was distracting and unsettling. If only she knew how to relieve it.

She took a step back, putting the table between her and him. Sébastien didn't bat an eye as he reached down and shoved the table away. Its legs scraped across the floor. The platters of food rattled and crashed into each other, some spilling onto the floor between them. Colette flinched and stumbled backwards, falling into her chair.

"S- Sébastien." She stuttered. She wasn't scared, only concerned for him. He stalked towards her slowly, before coming to kneel at her feet.

"W- what are you doing?"

He looked up at her with such vibrant eyes. Smoke curled around his face as he exhaled deeply. He then took a deep breath, leaning his head back and his eyes fluttered closed in such a sensual way Colette felt a flood of wetness down below.

His eyes shot open and he brought his face back down, lower, close to where her knees were pressed together beneath her skirts.

"I smell you. You want me. Don't you?" Not an ounce of uncertainty in his voice.

Was that what she was feeling? Sexual desire? What she briefly felt with Gregorie. What she felt when she heard Aarav find his release. Was the dampness between her thighs the evidence of that feeling, just as the large bulge in Sébastien's trousers was his?
No. It couldn't be. Why would she desire him and in that way specifically? He was a beast. He wasn't entirely human. He was going to let her father die in a cell. He mared Aarav's face. He stole Celeste's maidenhead. There were plenty of reasons to hate him. Fear him. To run from him. But...

"Tell me to stop. Tell me to go. Right now. I need to hear you say that you don't want me. That you never want to see me again. That I repulse you. That I don't make you as uncomfortable as you do to me. That the damning evidence between your legs is not the same as mine. That you don't find me attractive. That it isn't fear that's keeping you from running for your life. Because you should." He took a shaky breath. "You should run and never come back."