unexpected and inspiring closeness, but I was unable to move. His golden eyes mesmerized me and I lost control of all my limbs.
"What are you really afraid of?" he whispered intently.
I couldn't answer. As I had that other time, I smelled his cool breath in my face. Sweet, delicious, the scent made me salivate and drool down the side of my mouth and onto my fleece vest. It was unlike anything else I had ever salivated over. Instinctively, unthinktively, I leaned closer, inhaling.
Suddenly he was gone, his hand ripped from mine, leaving my appendage flopping in the breeze. In the time it took my eyes to focus, he was three hundred feet away, standing at the edge of the small meadow, in the deep shade of a huge fir tree. He stared at me, his eyes bright in the shadows, his expression unreadable.
I could feel the hurt and shock all over my face, hot and sticky.
"Give me a moment," he called.
"Your moves are so... raw." I whispered, quietly enough that he couldn't hear me.
After ten incredibly long seconds, he walked back. He stopped, still several feet away, and sank gracefully to the ground, crossing his legs. His eyes never left mine, even though he was still facing away from me. He took two deep breaths, and then smiled in apology, from behind.
"I am so very sorry." He hesitated. "Would you understand what I meant if I said I was only human?"
"You... what?" I tried to nod and look understanding, but my eyes drifted towards each other. I nodded once, not quite able to smile away my non-understanding of his joke. Adrenaline pushed through my veins as the realization of danger slowly sank in. He could smell that from where he sat. His sad smile turned mocking.
"I'm the world's best predator, aren't I? Everything

264

Chapter 13

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