Intelligent Seductions I: Cat's Game

by Nathan Hays

On into the night the cat's game runs with neither gaining the other. Aroused and hackled they circle the room, their eyes locked in fervent tension. Ten hours since an innocent brush of their hands had uncorked the cask of desire, the mounting dance has spiraled. Over are the coy glances and testing smiles. The requisite enjoinder has held sway for a time, but vacuous and fallow it does not sate the growing hunger. Now, hearts racing in pheromonal exertion, their circle tightens. Shackled in the agony of brittle restraint, he steals a darting glance to her poised form. In perfect rhythm, she falls ever so slightly closer, held only by a precarious virtue. Though crouched apart, they draw each other's heat while adrenaline demons chip and hack at their bonds. Desperate for fate to throw them together and relieve them of cause, they remain at bay. Suddenly, by intent or caprice, the light above them fails. In the darkness there is movement and by ironic chance, their hands brush again. The end game has begun…