I vault over a fallen log, land hard on the other side, keep running. My lungs burn. My legs scream. My heart goes into overdrive to keep up with the sound of their rapidly gaining footsteps.
And fuck if the thought of what they'll do to me if they catch me doesn't make my pussy throb.
Oh yeah. I'm fucking nuts alright.
I hear the sound of bodies crashing through the underbrush. They're closer now. They're herding me, I realize—Jinx to my left, Cyrus somewhere to my right, cutting off escape routes with the efficiency of hunters who've done this before.
Have they? Chased other girls through these woods? Other women who broke their rules and needed to be taught a lesson?
The jealousy that spikes through me is so sharp it actually makes me stumble.
That's when Jinx catches me.
Or rather, barrels into me from the side like a golden-haired missile, tackling me to the forest floor in a tangle of limbs and breathless laughter. We roll three times before momentum stops us, and then he's on top of me, pinning me down with his weight.
"Gotcha," he pants, grinning down at me with flushed cheeks and wild eyes, his hair forming a curtain as it falls around us.
My chest heaves, trying to catch my breath. Leaves stick in my hair. Dirt smudges across my cheek. And Jinx hovers above me, his body pressing me into the earth, his hips cradled between my thighs in a way that makes heat pool between them.
This is it. The moment I fight back. Knee him in the balls. Demand he get off me. Remind him that I'm not actually theirs, not really, just playing along until Todd's dead.
Instead, I choose a different strategy and go completely limp.
The change catches him off guard. His grip loosens slightly, confusion flickering across his perfect face.
"So what are you going to do with me?" I ask, my voice coming out deliberately breathless. I let my eyes go half-lidded, lips parting slightly. "Now that you've caught me?"
Jinx's pupils dilate so fast it's like watching ink spill across water. "Ellie..."
It's a warning. Or maybe a plea. I'm not sure which.
I roll my hips up experimentally, and… fuck. He'shard. Already rock hard and pressing against me through layers of fabric that suddenly feel way too thick. The pressure makes us both gasp.
"What's the matter?" I grind up against him again, slower this time, watching his eyes glaze over with pure want. "Thought this was what you wanted. Me caught. Pinned down. Completely at your mercy."
"Fuck," he breathes, and his hips drop down involuntarily, grinding his erection against me. He's fucking huge. My sweet, golden retriever ex-best-friend who used to borrow my Chapstick is packing a fucking tire iron in his jeans. Good to know.
And he's completely fucking flustered.
I always knew Jinx liked guys, but I guess there's part of him that likes girls, too. Or at least me.
His hands move to my wrists, pinning them above my head with enough force to make me gasp. But it's not pain. It's something that makes my back arch and my thighs tighten around his hips.
"You're playing a dangerous game, Princess," he mutters in a raspier voice than I've ever heard from him, but he's grinding against me now with intent, his cock hard as steel between us. "You have no idea what you're starting."
"Don't I?" I roll my hips again, matching his rhythm. "Seems pretty obvious to me."
He leans down, his mouth so close to mine I can feel his breath ghosting over my lips. "I could take you right here. Right now. Make you come on my cock before anyone could stop us."
The threat makes me clench around nothing, makes me wet enough that I'm sure he can feel it even through our clothes.
"Then do it," I challenge.
For a second—one perfect, terrifying second—I think he actually will. His eyes go dark, predatory, and his grip on my wrists tightens just shy of painful. I can feel him trembling with the effort of holding back, his whole body coiled like a spring about to snap.
Then Cyrus's voice cuts through the moment like a bucket of ice water.
"Jinx.Off."
