The trees around me begin to thin in number and the canopy of leaves above me lessen, allowing moonlight to clearly light my path. Ahead is a clearing that could be the forest’s edge. The very thought of ending this nightmare has my steps quickening.
My breathing turns into wheezing that has me grimacing. My pulse hammers in my ears, each thump like a fist to my ribcage. I clutch my chest and pray I’m not having a heart attack.
Hope fills me the moment I realize I’ve almost reached the forest’s edge. A meadow stretches before me, offering safety from the darkness. The stars twinkle overhead, sparkling promises of freedom, making me smile.
Just as I’m about to burst through the final cluster of foliage, my sense of exhilaration fades.
Xavier stands there, arms folded, silver eyes narrowed on me.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t catch you?”
His deep, smooth voice has shivers dancing along my flesh. And warnings clanging in my head. I come to a hard stop, eyes wide and breaths ragged.
How can he be standing here when I left him behind with my foster brother?
I quickly scan the area, looking for him. “What did you do to Ben?”
My voice is shaky, fear coating it all over. Do I trust Xavier to tell me the truth? Do I even want to hear it?
“He’s fine.” Xavier waves a hand in dismissal. “Benjamin will be embarrassed when he wakes up because he got his ass handed to him, but that was inevitable. I’m not letting anyone get between us. Not even you.”
I squeeze my hair pin, finding little comfort in the bit of metal. Xavier has taken down two recruits in order to get to me. My chances of escaping him are laughable.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to give up.
“Come here, little raptor.”
Chapter 27
DELILAH
Idon’t move. I’m not sure I can.
“It wasn’t a request,” he says, his tone firmer than before.
“I’m still not coming.”
“You will be.”
He rips off his mask. With fear clawing at my insides, I dart to the side, attempting to slip past him.
Xavier moves with a speed that defies the laws of nature, intercepting my path effortlessly. Before I can process his nearness, he’s yanking my body against his, the hair pin flying out of my hand.
I slam into him, my back to his front, the scent of him flooding my nose. It’s like a secret in the dark, mysterious and alluring with a hint of citrus and leather.
The warmth from his body seeps through the thin fabric of my dress, his strength evident with every corded muscle that presses into my soft curves. He brushes his lips over the shell of my ear, and I stiffen in his embrace, preventing my body from melting into his. The traitorous bitch.
“You can’t escape me, no matter where you run,” he murmurs. “The Order can’t have you. And neither can your foster brother. You’re mine.”
His voice is a seductive purr. With each word, his breath fans over the sensitive skin of my neck, causing tingles to shoot through my body. He drags his hand up my spine until his fingers tangle in my hair, pulling my head back to rest against his shoulder. When he stares down at me, his eyes burn into mine, stealing the air from my lungs.
“Why?” I whisper.
“Because,” he says, his lips a mere inch from mine, “I’ve never wanted anyone more.”
With the moon hanging overhead and the stars as witness, Xavier sweeps his lips over mine. I tense, waiting for the brutality, for his kiss to be nothing more than a weapon. Instead, it’s an act of gentle persuasion, a subtle pleading that catches me off guard.
And it’s with complete reverence.
