Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Her curiosity will be her downfall. I almost feel sorry for her that she’s never faced a true opponent.
When I catch her, she’ll learn.
I stride into the open field so she’ll see me. The sunlight blazes on my hair. Even at a distance, I can tell her expression goes from glee to shock, and then to horror.
I break into a run, charging like a bull toward her.
She’s frozen, staring at me long enough that I can see her eyes light with wild excitement.
Then she whirls and disappears into the trees.
Bella
* * *
He’s hot on my heels.
Getting closer.
I run, careening through the thick underbrush, and weave through poison ivy-covered pine trees. It would be a shame if Kaiser crashed into one.
I can’t stop the laughter bubbling out of my throat. I sound crazy. Maybe I am.
But this is the most fun I’ve ever had.
The sight of him, racing across the field toward me, sent a thrill through my nethers.
Am I scared or horny? Or an awesome, fizzy combination of both? Sc-orny!
I’m one hundred percent sc-orny for him.
It’s partially my fault. I primed the wrong neural pathways by picturing his face when I orgasmed.
I knew fantasizing about being murdered by him was a bad idea!
Now I hide behind an old oak, pressing into the poison ivy. My pulse pounds in my throat.
I hear a twig snap as he stomps after me. I wait, but he doesn’t appear.
He’s gone quiet.
Is he coming? Holding my breath, I peek out from my hiding place, feeling like the sacrificial blonde in a horror movie.
And there he is, staring back at me. “Boo.”
“YOLO!” I scream with delight and sprint in the opposite direction, straight into a bramble patch, but I’m small enough to duck and wriggle through a foxhole.
Kaiser tries to follow and bellows when the thorns tear his skin.
I drop to my belly and crawl the rest of the way. The back of our land ends with an overgrown orchard. Beyond that, there’s a long-forgotten graveyard bathed in evening light.
I’ve explored back here already. I looked up the history of the land, and apparently, it’s University property. I need to tell Honey; her advisor has her doing a huge project about the history of Unitas.
If Kaiser doesn’t kill me first.
My little obstacle course hasn’t deterred him at all. And instead of losing his temper, he’s even calmer and controlled. Makes me wonder what it would be like to let him catch me.
NO! BAD BELLA! Do not let him win!
He survived the gauntlet of the forest, and now he’s pushing through a patch of hogweed.
Bad call. That stuff will cause second-degree burns if he’s not careful.
I’ll be sure to tell him... Once I’m safely out of reach.
10
Kaiser
* * *
When I emerge from the woods, I look like I’ve gone three rounds with a blackberry bush… and lost. Because that’s exactly what happened. I’ve got leaves in my hair, mushroom spores in my nostrils, and scratches all over my arms from the briars. I can’t feel them, but I know the scratches are bright red.
Now I’m mad enough to charge through a patch of overgrown flowers. The Poisoner must be feeding them a crazy amount of compost because the stalks are as tall as me. I rip through them, no longer caring if I wreck a nice flower bed. These things have huge white flowers but look like weeds.
I’ve reached the final strip of lawn. It’s broken up by a few neat rows of trees with fruit growing on some of them. Tiny green apples. Bright red cherries. Yellowing pears.
I stroll through a ditch of rotting peaches and face a worn stone wall enclosing a graveyard.
There’s no sign of Bella, but I sense she’s close. It’s something in the air—the echo of her giggle, a whiff of her sugary scent.
I plant a hand on the wall and scale it easily.
Some people would be squeamish about trespassing on sacred ground. But I’m not. My soul was lost long ago.
I stalk between fallen gravestones and moss-covered statues, hunting my prey. She’s quiet for once. I move silently, waiting to catch more of her scent. I thought she just smelled like roses, but I was wrong. Her scent is sweet like flowers and those sugared donuts she inhales by the dozen. But when I get closer, there’s a tart edge, like lemon. It makes my mouth water.
I can’t wait to strip her down, scrub her off, and taste her. She doesn’t realize it, but that little chase through the garden of horrors only makes me want her more. Now I have an excuse to punish her. What’s more, I think she can take it. She’s stronger than she looks.
Most people are frightened by me. I get the sense that Bella’s thrilled by the fear. Like a kid going to a horror movie or a haunted house and enjoying the jump scare. It’s all a game to her, and she seems excited by it.