The lion had smelled the fawn in the forest, and he’d come for her blood.
“Oh, sweet Blair,” he taunted. “You shouldn’t wander into the dark, looking for trouble.” He didn’t speak in my ear this time. He said the words loudly and dominantly, like a judge delivering a death sentence. “You never know what’s hiding, waiting tosnatch youright up.”
I ground my teeth as saliva pooled in the back of my throat, hating the way my name rolled off his tongue. He said it like a word he blessed and damned.
He whipped me around to face him and slid his fingers beneath my chin, forcing my head upward while keeping his other hand clasped around my neck like a leash. I attempted to shrink away, to twist free, but failed.
Dread seeped into my bones like a malignancy. Predators only showed themselves if they planned for their prey not to make it out alive.
My eyes locked with the narrow slits of menacing ones.
His eyes were a violent storm, his irises burning like embers in the darkness. They were the only part of his face I could see. The rest was hidden behind a skull mask.
It wasn’t one of those cheap Halloween masks. The white part—the bones—glowed eerily in the dark, like a neon sign in an empty diner window. The hollow eye sockets cast shadows across his face, making him look less like a person and more like a killer.
A dark hoodie covered most of his hair, though a few messy strands had escaped, falling across his forehead.
I gawked at him, lost for words, lost for screams. His long fingers wrapped around the nape of my neck again, squeezing hard, like it was his favorite fucking hobby. I winced as he pushed them so deep into the muscle that it hurt.
Bile bubbled violently inside my stomach as I cried out in desperation.
“But you’re in luck,” he said callously. “I’m here to show you the way.” He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Though don’t get your hopes up. I’m not showing you to safety.” His glowing mask tilted slightly. “I’m about to show you exactly what you came out here looking for.”
I didn’t want him to show meanything. I wanted him to let me go.
My fight mode returned, and I swung my elbows in every direction, trying to hit anything I could.AnyoneI could.
“Please,” I pleaded. “Let me go.”
His shoulders shook as he laughed. “I love it when they fight. You have no idea what kind of monster it brings out in me.” His voice lowered. “How hard my cock gets when you try to escape me.”
I’d never heard a voice so sinister.
I stilled, not wanting to provide him with anything heloved.
At that, he released my throat. I took in a mouthful of air.
But the relief didn’t last long. He lifted one hand and slowly shoved a finger into his mouth, pulling off the leather glove with his teeth. His bare hand returned to my throat, gripping it tighter, showing me how much control he had.
My breath scraped out of my lungs like gravel.
“I’ll break that fight out of you, sweet Blair,” he continued with the tone of a thousand demons. “And the more you resist, the more fun I have.” He ran the tip of his cold finger along my jawline before making a slicing motion across my neck. “Fight me. Curse me. Hit me. I feed on it like a starved man.”
“Let me go,” I pleaded.
“Let you go?”
“Please,” I whimpered, hating how weak I sounded. But I was fucking terrified.
This man had killed Clarissa. I was sure of it. He’d have no problem doing the same to me.
“Since you asked so politely.”
I almost lost my balance when he shoved me forward. I stumbled, nearly losing my footing as I crashed into another body.
Another solid chest that belonged to a Greek god, not a college kid.
My head spun, and I now realized we had never been alone.
