The sound of my bare feet slapping against the hardwood floors echoed through the quiet house. But soon there was another sound. The harsh clash of the Beast’s boots on the floor.
As I ran past the living room door, my heart threatened to beat out of my chest. At the same time, a pulse of arousal resonated in my core. I ducked into the kitchen and made a beeline for the walk-in pantry. After shutting myself inside the darkened room, I tried regulating my breathing so the Beast wouldn’t hear me.
Trembling from both the exertion of running and my excitement, I listened for any sound of him. When I heard his bootsteps, I grimaced. As they grew closer to the pantry door, I stepped back from the door. Feeling my way in the dark, I crept over to a corner and pressed myself against it.
When the door flung open, I pinched my lips shut to keep from gasping out loud. As light poured in from the kitchen, the pantry must’ve appeared empty because the Beast turned around, closing the door behind him.
Slowly, I crept back to the door. Just as I reached the threshold, I knocked into something propped on the side, causing a loud commotion to echo through the room. As a broom knocked into my shoulder, I quickly grabbed it.
Before I could put it back, the door jerked open. “Well, hello.”
Since I wasn’t ready to let him win so easily, I smacked him in the face with the broom. “Oomph,” he muttered as his hands came up to shove the handle away. His distraction gave me just enough time to squeeze past him and run away.
“Oh, you’re in so much trouble, my little prey.”
Although I should’ve been scared, laughter trilled from my lips as I ran down the hall past the living room. To my dismay, the hallway ended in a game room with floor-to-ceiling windows without covers. My frantic gaze bounced around to see if there was any exit.
“Shit,” I muttered as I realized I’d reached a dead end.
When I whirled back around to try to escape, the Beast appeared in the doorway. “You have been a bad girl.”
As he started advancing on me, I started backing up until I bumped into the antique pool table. “How should I punish you?”
When I didn’t respond, he tsked at me. “This is the part where you’re supposed to say ‘However you like, sir.’”
“We’re not officially in a scene,” I countered.
“Are we not?”
I shook my head. “We didn’t sign any contracts.”
“I would assume our contract from this weekend is still good.”
“Not after we leave the scene of the hunt.”
“Now I see why Maksim wanted you so badly. He likes that big brain of yours–the one that is immersed in the fine print.”
“As a woman, you have to read and memorize the fine print. If not, you can get hurt.”
“Sadly, you’re right.” Tilting his head at me, he reached his gloved hand out to cup my cheek. “You’ve never had a Dom hurt you, have you?”
“Thankfully no.”
With a gentle squeeze, he replied, “Good. I’d hate to take more on my busy plate by hunting them down and gutting them alive.”
A shudder rippled through me at his brutality. “You would do that to someone just for hurting me?”
“Since I don’t believe in hurting subs, I’d do it for any woman, especially for you.”
At him referencing killing, I wondered if that was what he did for Maksim. “Are you akrysha?”
He chuckled. “Someone’s been doing a little Bratva research.”
With a shy smile, I replied, “I’ve had a little time on my hands.”
“While you work on Maksim’s speech, maybe he can work on your Russian pronunciation.”
I rolled my eyes. “You didn’t answer my question.”
