Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
I nod, cutting right through a dense thicket of brush, thorns tearing at my sleeves. Blood wells from a dozen tiny cuts, but the pain only sharpens my focus. I vault over a fallen log, landing hard, the impact sending shock waves up my legs. I remain upright through the sheer determination and will to find my girl.
A flash of color ahead catches my eye—a scrap of fabric snagged on a bramble. I snatch it up, recognizing the pattern from her shirt. She was meant for us, meant to be hunted and taken. I bring the cotton to my face, inhaling deeply, letting her essence fill my lungs.
A sound—the snap of a twig, followed by a muffled curse, interrupts my thoughts. I smile and change direction, stalking toward the noise with predatory focus. The rain picks up again, fat drops hammering down through the canopy and onto us.
“Why are you running?” I call out, enjoying the game now despite the urgency. “Isn’t this what you wanted? Both of us. Together.”
There’s a rustle to my left—she’s changing direction, trying to throw me off.
Smart, but futile. I’m too attuned to her now, too connected. I adjust my course accordingly, cutting diagonally through a stand of young pines.
“There’s nowhere for you to run. We aren’t leaving these woods without you, and no obstacle or person will stop us from making you ours. Not even you.” Arson’s voice comes from somewhere to the east, completing our pincer movement.
Her pace quickens, panic giving her a burst of speed. The sound of her footfalls grows louder, more careless. She’s abandoned stealth for pure flight now, crashing through the underbrush like a wounded deer.
“Liliannnn...” I call out, taunting.
I want her to be frantic when I reach her. Just like that day outside my cell. I push harder, faster, my heart hammering against my bruised ribs. The distance between us shrinks with every pounding footstep. I break through a screen of ferns and pause, the air in my lungs evaporating the moment I catch sight of her. There she is—just twenty yards ahead, weaving between trees, her golden hair wild and tangled with leaves and twigs.
The sight of her hits me like a physical blow. She’s magnificent in her desperation, all instinct and survival and raw life.
“Lilian,” I shout, my voice breaking with emotion. “We’ve got you now!”
She hesitates, half turning, and that moment of hesitation, of second-guessing herself, is all I need. I close the distance in three long strides, catching her arm and spinning her toward me. Her small frame crashes against my chest, and the impact catches me off balance. We tumble to the forest floor, leaves and moss cushioning us. I catch myself at the last minute and brace my arm against the ground to keep from crushing her with my weight. We’re suspended in time—her beneath me, chest heaving, her blue eyes wide and sparkling, not with fear but a lingering excitement. Rain soaks us both, plastering her shirt to her skin, revealing every rapid rise and fall of her chest.
Using my hands, I bracket her shoulders, pinning her to the ground.
“Look at what I caught.” I pant, triumph surging through me like lightning. “A little rabbit.”
She bucks against me, refusing to surrender. Her knee comes up, nearly connecting with my groin before I shift my weight to block her. The struggle is intoxicating—her strength, her defiance, even knowing it’s futile.
“Shhh,” I murmur, using one hand to brush wet hair from her face. “It’s time for me to claim my prize.”
I pin her wrists above her head with one hand, using the other to trace the delicate line of her jaw, feeling her pulse hammering beneath my fingertips.
“That’s what you want, isn’t it?” I question, lowering my face until we’re sharing breath. “For me to claim your ass, while my brother fucks your pussy?”
She struggles against my hold, but it’s nothing more than an act. I can see her nipples poking through the fabric of her wet shirt.
“Shhh, you don’t have to fight it anymore. You don’t have to worry about us fighting over you anymore. We want the same thing: you, and we aren’t willing to risk losing you again.” I whisper fiercely. “You’re ours, and we’re yours. Both of us.”
She relaxes against me, and I hear Arson approach, his deliberate footsteps announcing his presence. He appears at the edge of my vision, bruised and bloodied from our earlier fight, but his eyes are clear and focused on her. His chest heaves from both the run and at the way she looks so delicious and dirty for us.
“Looks like you’re the winner,” Arson says softly. “But that’s fine because while you claim her ass, I’ll worship her pussy.”
“Say it,” I demand, needing to hear it from her lips.
“No more running,” she breathes. “I’m both of yours.”