“Don’t presume to know what I would or wouldn’t dare.” Stepping closer, I pushed the blade into the thick fabric of his hoodie. He stood unnaturally still, his chest not even moving with his breaths.
“Nova.”
I shuddered at his low drawl, and my moment of temporary weakness was all he needed to slide out of my reach, a glint of metal appearing in his palm.
“I can play with knives too.”
Fuck. Throwing my body to the side when he lunged at me, I ran again, no longer sure of my direction, branches whipping me as I pushed myself until my lungs were burning and I was gasping for breath.
I ran until I couldn’t run anymore. But he was still there, coming after me until I admitted defeat, tears in my eyes as I tripped on an exposed root, my arms windmilling as I fell backwards with nothing to break my fall.
Then Jay was there, right in front of me, lunging forwards to pull me upright. I was still reeling when he tugged down my hood and peeled off my mask, throwing it to the ground. The moonlight illuminated his hooded, masked figure as he reached out, curling his fingers around my ponytail. He yanked, using it to spin me so he could press himself up against my back.
My chest rose and fell sharply as I panted for breath, my heart pounding from the adrenaline. What was happening?
“Caught you.” His knife slid up my stomach, the tip of the blade stopping just below my breasts. My own torch-slash-knife was lost somewhere in the woods, dropped during our headlong chase when my sleeve caught on a tangle of brambles.
“Wh-what do you want?” I gasped out. “A medal?”
“So fucking mouthy, princess.” He released his grip on my hair, and then he dipped his head, his breath hot on my skin. When had he removed his mask?My breath stuttered as his lips skimmed over the shell of my ear. “Let’s put that mouth to better use.”
The knife slid higher, and then he twisted it, the flat of the blade across my throat.
“Don’t move,” he warned. I swallowed against the knife, the metal warming as it pressed into my skin.
“What do you want?” I whispered.
“Things I can’t have.” His body shifted, and I suddenly became aware that the knife wasn’t the only thing pressing against me.
He was hard.
Fuck.
My mouth went dry.
“Jay…”
“Stop talking.” He curled his arm around my waist, pulling me back into him. He shifted again, his erection insistent against my back. There was an ache between my thighs, and I despised it.
“B-but you hate me.”
He dipped his head, his lips brushing over the side of my throat. “I really, really do. So fucking much.”
“Then why—” I could feel my cheeks warming.Why are you hard?I couldn’t say that out loud. Not to him.
“Fuck, Nova,” he rasped. I’d never heard him say my name that way before.
“Jay.”
The knife was suddenly gone, and then he was spinning me back to him, and his mouth was on mine.
He kissed me with an intensity that stole my breath, his arms wrapping around my waist to hold me in place. My knees were weak, my nerves alight with sensation as his mouth moved over mine. I clung to the broad shoulders of the man who hated me, my entire body shaking as I allowed him to take and take and take.
I tentatively kissed him back, my tongue sliding against his, mimicking his movements as his hot mouth moved over mine. An involuntary whimper escaped from my throat.
The noise seemed to break the spell. He suddenlyreleased me with a muttered curse, pressing something into my hand before he disappeared into the darkness.
I fell back against the rough bark of the trunk behind me, gripping his wrist torch in my palm. My shaking fingers touched my lips as a tear fell from my lashes.
