“No,” I interrupt with a challenging smile. “I’mnota good girl, Santi. You want to claim your prize? Then you’re going to work for it. Because this kill was too pathetic to simply give up my bodily autonomy for.”
Santi’s nostrils flare and his fists clench at his side. There’s a pinkness to his cheeks as indignation, or maybe outrage, pours into him. Even his brows begin to creep together, a sign that fun-Santi is definitely gone. I’ve never seen him scowl before.
It’s kind of hot getting him worked up.
So I do it some more. With a petty little wave, I turn and dash away, jumping over the body still lying on the ground as I head for the trees.
“You’re going to regret this,” Santi promises, his voice carrying over the growing space between us.
He’s probably not wrong. There’s a thousand reasons I shouldn’t be entertaining an enraged man who just finished brutally killing someone. It’s just… I’m havingfunand I don’t want it to stop. Not yet at least. Reality will come rolling back soon enough. The threat hanging over my head will still be there, Dad’s absence will still ache, and the unsettling feeling of being unable to find my footing in my new life in Caddawalk will all be there when this is all over.
I want to take tonight and just throw caution to the wind. Consequences be damned.
And damned I am. With how quickly Santi’s footsteps are approaching, I can tell he’s not playing around anymore. If he gets his hands on me, I have a feeling I'm going to feel them there for days. The speed with which he took after his earlier prey is nothing compared to the drive he has to capture me now.
There’s a throb starting up between my legs that almost makes me want to make this easy for Santi. I’ve never felt so painfully aroused.
My pride, however, says to make this as hard as I can.
The latter wins and I take a sharp left, then head up the steep incline. I duck, slowing as I do to slip into thick, gnarly bushes then get on my hands and knees to crawl beneath them. I pop out a safe distance away and risk looking over my shoulder. There, with a large distance separating us is Santi, glaring at me over the thicket of bushes. I laugh, flip him the bird, then take off again, running steadily up the incline while having a mental battle of wills.
My pussy screams for a different type of vigorous exercise but my mind says to keep going.
“I’m coming for you,cariño,” Santi’s voice calls.
The sudden nickname throws me for a loop. Sweetheart? Me? I smile. Santi’s going to learn soon enough there’s nothingsweetabout me.
“And when I do…” His voice sounds further away now. “I’m going to make. You.Scream.”
There’s a wicked laugh that carries through the darkness. It sends chills down my spine and spurs a deep tug of desire between my legs. For a second, I lose my breath and my footsteps falter.
This is both terrifying and thrilling.
I make it to the top of the steep incline a few minutes later, out of breath and shaky. Slipping behind a tree, I give myself a moment to compose myself. Once my breathing is under control, I strain to listen for any signs of Santi. There’s nothing. Not even the sound of bugs or wildlife reach my ears.
When I’m absolutely sure Santi isn’t around, I creep out from around the tree to look around. Where am I? I should move back, closer toward the cabin. Maybe if I’m lucky, I could sneak inside and hide in there, or maybe even into the cab of the truck. That would be a win for me, of course, since he’d be unable to find me.
It takes willpower not to snort out loud. I’msureSanti won’t see it that way. The Santi that’s out hunting for me now, isn’t a rational man.
I decide that circling back is probably my best bet, given Santi is probably still coming this way in search of me. I head in the direction I think the cabin is in.
It takes a bit of time before I spot it through the trees. The slow, quiet progression was made all the more difficult with the hammering of my heart. I could’ve sworn the sound wasbouncing off one tree to another—alerting Santi to my presence. Yet, if he hears it, there’s no sign he’s following the sound.
I bite my lower lip to stifle the snicker as victory comes into view.
I’m about a hundred yards away from the house when I hear the sound of a twig snap. Sound certainly carries through the woods, but this? This soundsclose. Too close. Rather than turn around to figure out where Santi is lurking, I make a break for the cabin, forgoing all pretenses of trying to keep silent.
His laughter bursts forth from the darkness—it’s a maniacal cackle that raises the hairs on the back of my neck.
And dampens the panties I’m wearing.
I make it to the back door, manage to fling it open, and get one step inside before a hard body slams into my back. The unexpected, unrestrained tackle practically throws me the rest of the way inside. I land on my stomach hard, the force knocking the breath from my lungs.
“Finally, you’re all mine,” Santi growls over top of me.
I squirm beneath him, trying to fight his hold on me. Santi has an athletic build but he’s not bulky, not like Wes or Ledger. Just because he doesn’t have the pounds of muscles on him, however, doesn’t mean he’s not strong.
“Stop it,” he snarls. “Stop fighting me, Blair.”
