I’drun.
Why the fuck did Irun?!
Alfonzo had warned me of what would happen if I ran from him. He’d chase me, and goddammit, I’d done it anyway. I’d let my fear drive me, and I’d taken off into the woods. Woods I was unfamiliar with, where roots were everywhere, ready to trip me up. Tree branches slapped at my face and tore at my clothes. Briars ripped through my pants and tore my skin, leaving tiny bleeding cuts all over my body.
My lungs burned with every painful breath I sucked into my lungs. A stitch was already stabbing through my ribs, and my legs trembled beneath me. I wanted to stop, to rest. I just needed a moment to catch my breath, but if I stopped, he’d get his hands on me, and then what? What the fuck was his plan if he didn’t want to kill me yet? Would he torture me? The mere thought of being tortured had vomit rising up my esophagus.
I tripped, sprawling over the ground. My hands scraped along a rock in front of me, cutting my palms up and immediately turning them bloody. I made to push myself up to continue running, but a heavy boot planted itself between my shoulder blades, pushing me back against the ground. Every muscle in my body tensed, and my heart threatened to flop right out of my chest onto the ground. My bloody fingers curled into the forest ground, and I squeezed my eyes shut, swallowing thickly.
How long had he been this close to me? I hadn’t even sensed him. He truly was a predator.
I’d never been trained for this shit. In this regard, Anatoly and his men had failed me. If I died, it was alltheirfucking fault. I was one hundred percent placing the fucking blame on them.
“So unaware of your surroundings,” Alfonzo mused, almost mockingly. He made atsking sound that chilled the blood in my veins. He almost sounded disappointed in me. “You’re not even a challenge, mouse. Anatoly truly thinks so little of me, doesn’t he?”
“Fuck you,” I hissed, thankful my voice didn’t shake.
He snorted, then removed his boot. Crouching beside me, he wrapped his fingers around the back of my neck, then tugged me up onto my knees. I tried yanking myself from his grip, but he just gripped tighter and forced my head up so our eyes connected. His head was cocked to the side just the slightest bit, and the way he studied me with those dark eyes unnerved me.
“Whydid he send you after me?” he mused, his brows furrowing. “Surely he knows this job is above your level. And I’ve done my homework on you, Maksim.” I decidedly didnotlike the way my name sounded coming from him. Not after he’d been calling memouse since our very first meeting. And I refused to focus on why his use of my name bothered me so much, especially when itshouldn’t. “None of this makes sense to me.”
“You think I fucking know?” I growled. “You think I wanted this fucking job, Aguado?”
He grunted and released me. I quickly stood to my feet and brushed my ripped pants off, barely biting back a wince when pain pulsed through my palms. Turning on my heel, I began heading back the way IthoughtI came. Fuck knew where the road actually was. I had no idea how long or how far I’d run, and it wasn’t like I’d tried tracking what direction I went.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, mouse?” Alfonzo asked, his voice low. Dangerous. A chill raced down my spine, and every alarm rang in my head, blaring so damn loudly, I was surprised my ears didn’t begin ringing. Red flags began waving in my mind, warning me I was in extreme danger.
“Home,” I snapped. “I’m not doing this shit with you any longer tonight. And I’ll be sure to let Anatoly know you think I’m no match for you and you’rebored?—”
I sucked in a sharp breath when he suddenly gripped my arm and spun me around to face him. A grunt pushed from my chest when he roughly slammed me back against a tree, his dark eyes narrowed on my face. “I didn’t fucking say I was done, now did I, mouse? I warned you there would be consequences if you ran. I told you I’d give chase. And now that I’ve caught you…”
His voice trailed off, and at the same time, my heart skipped beats before tripping over itself in its rush to begin racing double-time. I trembled, sweat beading along my skin.
“What…” I croaked before roughly clearing my throat. “What are you planning, Aguado?”
A slow, cold smirk tilted his lips. “I’m taking my prize, mouse.”
Then, his lips met mine in a kiss that was hard, bruising, and punishing…
And all at once, everything inside of me fuckingmelted.
Chapter Seven
Alfonzo
Kissing Maksim was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. He was a drug. An aphrodisiac. One hit, and I knew I’d never be able to quit him. My fucking entire world flipped on its axis, and something inside my brainsnapped.
I had toownhim. Make himmine. I wanted to slice open my skin and bury him inside my ribcage so he’d never be able to escape me.
My fingers slid behind his neck, and I gripped him tightly, kissing him harder. Deeper. Fucking attempting to devour him. When he sighed and his lips parted, I dove inside, tasting him. Learning every curve of his sweet, addictive mouth and memorizing it. He was soft and warm, everything I never could be. And when his tongue tentatively touched mine, I growled, my fingers turning bruising in their pressure as I held him tighter.
“Fuckinghell,” I snarled, forcing myself to pull back for a beat so we could both suck oxygen into our lungs. Maksim’s lips werekiss-swollen and red, glistening just the slightest bit. Unable to help myself, I stroked my thumb over his bottom lip, my stomach tightening. My cock flexed behind my zipper.
I needed to have him. To be inside of him. To mark him as mine so the rest of the fucking world knew who he belonged to.
“What…” he breathed, blinking up at me with those big blue eyes that I was quickly becoming entranced by. They were such a startling shade of blue—like a frozen lake in the middle of winter. So icy yet welcoming at the same time. A sure sign that despite the world he’d immersed himself in, there was an innocence to him that could never be eclipsed.
It was an innocence I planned to protect… all while I fuckingwreckedhim.
