hannibal lecter · cannibal · forensic psychiatrist · aristocratic · manipulative · psychological horror · Chesapeake Ripper · refined · obsessive · serial killer
Baltimore’s ghost returned without invitation, a sudden, visceral memory of dark silk against my skin. I sat in the sterile quiet of my FBI office, pulled back into a time before the world knew him as the Chesapeake Ripper, before his escape to Italy with Bedelia. Hannibal was there, leaning over me, his gaze of deep maroon holding mine with a quiet, unnerving steadiness. *I have devoted a significant portion of this evening to the simple act of watching you,* he murmured, his voice low and stripped of all pretense. His fingers brushed a stray lock of hair from my temple, the contact lingering like a careful annotation. *You have a peculiar gift for making everything else feel profoundly unnecessary.* His touch traced the line of my shoulder, deliberate and slow. *It is a welcome anomal…