But he clicks his tongue and places a finger under my chin to tilt my head up, forcing me to face him.
“Becauseyou’rewhat I want to play with. My ‘fun’ involves you, whether you want it to or not.”
I swallow around the lump forming in my throat, my voice breathy when I ask, “W-what do you mean?”
“You’ll find out soon enough, pet,” he murmurs, using that infuriating nickname while tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. My breath catches in my throat.
I don’t have time to question him before he leans down, his mouth only an inch from my ear, and his low voice turns to a growl. “Run.”
There’s such an urgency in that one word that my feet are carrying me over twigs and damp leaves before I even realize I’ve moved. I don’t know why I’m running, but I’m certain I don’t want to get caught.
The forest swallows me whole.
Branches claw at my arms like grasping fingers. Theshadows seem to slither between the trees, stretching unnaturally, as if the very night is alive and complicit in his fucked up game of cat and mouse. I don’t dare look back. The beating of my feet against the ground and my blood pounding through my head is enough to drown out any sound behind me. I have no idea how close he is, unable to tell whether the crunching leaves and cracking branches are from my own steps or his as I run deeper into the forest.
My lungs burn with every ragged inhale, but I can’t stop. Adrenaline courses through me, pushing me deeper into the darkness. Yet alongside the fear sparking inside me, there’s something else that I refuse to acknowledge—a dull ache between my legs that pulses in time with my pounding pulse.
He's hunting me.
And I can’t help but wonder what he’ll do to me if he catches me…
The trees blur together, the darkness broken only by moonlight slicing through the gaps between the leaves.
My ankle catches on a root, and I stumble, barely managing to stay upright. My lungs scream. My legs ache.
But I don’t stop, because I can feel him.
Not see him, not hear him, butfeelhis presence like electricity crackling in the air.
Low, amused laughter resonates behind me, and my muscles burn as I push my legs to run faster.
This is a game to him. He’s toying with me.
He’s going to catch me. It’s inevitable, but I’m not about to make it easy for him.
I veer off to the right, off the deer trail, hoping the undergrowth will slow him. Thorns tear at my jeans and scrape my skin, but I don’t care. I push harder, ducking beneath low branches, half-blind in the dark.
A hand latches onto my bicep, and I scream.
He yanks me back so quickly that my breath rushes out of my lungs just as my back slams against a tree trunk.
The bark is rough, even through the fabric of my shirt, and a hand clamps over my mouth before I can scream again.
I look up to face my captor, my predator. His expression is feral.
“Just not fast enough,” he says, drawing out the words in a low taunt.
My lungs burn with the need for more oxygen, and my chest heaves as I breathe through my nose.
“I’ve wanted to catch you for a long time, my pet,” he purrs, twisting me in one swift motion so that my back is against his chest rather than the tree. I have a feeling he isn’t just talking about this chase through the woods.
I whimper, unable to speak with his hand still clasped over my mouth. The few seconds of silence, of waiting to see what his next move is, feel like an eternity.
Finally, he moves, and my breath catches in my throat when Ambrose’s palm trails around my waist and across my stomach, sliding lower and lower. Despite the terror burning through my veins, my stomach somersaults with his touch, and there’s a throbbing between my legs that I desperately wish would go away.
Ambrose’s hand is splayed across my lower abdomen, and he presses it firmly into me, forcing my torso against his body even more.
That’s when I notice his erection pressing against me.
