At the same time, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel sexy. It’s actually… the sexiest I’ve ever felt as I stare at myself in the mirror in this sheer lacy lingerie picked out for me by some disturbing masked man in the woods hell bent on hunting me.
My curls are an unstyled cloud that frames my face and makes me look even more wild and untamed.
I lace my winter boots next, tugging and tightening the strings ’til they’re snug on my feet. Perfect for what I’m about to do.
My coat comes last, shrugging it on and leaving it hanging open as I snatch the silver bell off the top of the dresser.
I rush down the stairs with my racing heart ticking even faster than when I made this snap decision. But the truth is, this is the only way to handle this situation.
This is what it was leading to all along. This was what this entire stay at Mr. Taylor’s estate was about.
Every moment was building toward the final night I’d be here for this sick, twisted game. Now I’m finally ready to really play.
I wrench the front doors open, greeted by a powerful gust of chilling wind, then step out into the dark, snowy night.
It’s so cold the air stings. It’s biting, immediately making my nipples hard.
I draw a deep breath and start toward the tree line, silver bell firmly in hand. Then I hold it up and ring it, the sound loud and jarring in the desolate wintry night.
It plays as a resonant, jingly melody that rings out for what feels like miles upon miles to come. But it’s how I’m meant to call him. How we’re meant to play this final round.
I’m meant to offer myself as prey, and he’s meant to hunt me as such; the mysterious predator lurking in wait in the woods.
When he appears, he does so as silently and ominously as the times before, emerging from between the thick trees in the distance.
He stands before me, still, with only his antlered mask and faded Santa Claus pants on, his muscular chest as broad and bare as ever.
Another pulse of excitement thrums through me, mixed with the intrinsic fear this entire situation has brought. The worry I’ve completely miscalculated what this is and I might not even survive the night.
But either way, I have to find out. Either way, I can’t pretend I’m not a part of this hunt, whether willing or otherwise.
He keeps his gaze fixed on me—or whatever he sees through the slits of the mask—as he starts forward, each step gradual and slow but unwavering.
This is it. This is happening, and there’s no turning back.
As the distance between us shrinks and I almost have second thoughts, he breaks out into a sprint. He charges toward me at the same merciless speed he’s done the other times.
I gasp, the silver bell slipping from my fingers and plopping into the snow below. Then I turn and take off into the oppositeside of the woods. I lead him into the darkness, inviting him to follow, ready for whatever comes next.
CHAPTER NINE
Snow flashespast as I run into the dark, ducking under low branches with breath burning in my chest.
My boots sink into the drifts, slowing every stride, but I push harder. I can already make out the chase behind me—the lumber of his steps, faster and heavier than mine, eating up the ground. He doesn’t sound winded. If anything, he’s gaining on me.
It’s only a matter of time before he clears the lead I have on him.
In the dark, every branch I brush stings my hands and snags my coat sleeves. The air bites at my naked skin and fills my lungs until it hurts, sharp and unnatural when I try to draw a breath.
Trees loom up all around, their trunks thick and dark. I can’t stop glancing sideways, sure I’ll see him flanking me. I’ll feel him closing his arms around me as he prepares to take me down.
Every nerve buzzes from adrenaline.
I don’t feel afraid the way I used to; it’s more potent and visceral, transformed into the excitement you feel when you’ve long-anticipated a special moment in your life.
It makes my pulse jump and heart flutter.
I want this. I want him.
