“Does it scare you?” he whispers, his breath tickling my ear. “Or does it make your pussy wet knowing that I hold your life in my hands, and I allow you to breathe?”
Blood rushes to my head, and fear begins to pump through my veins. Just when I think he’s not going to stop, his hand loosens, and I greedily suck in precious air.
But he doesn’t let me breathe for much longer. He twists my body around and backs me towards the wall beside the T.V., smiling viciously as I stumble away from him and towards exactly where he wants me to be. When I’m a foot away, he grabs me and slams me into the wall, pressing the entire length of his body against mine. Before I can take another breath, his hand is once more encircling my throat, and his mouth is on mine.
Just like he said, I let him consume me. Tears burn the back of my eyes as his mouth tears my lips apart, feasting on my tongue without permission.
I can’t do this.
I can’t fucking let him do this to me.
Ripping my mouth away, I push him back, but he doesn’t move a fucking inch.
“Stop!” I snap, struggling against him. “I’m not letting you do this. You just murdered dangerous people, Zade—which means they have dangerous friends. It's like Max all over again. You’re a monster.”
The hand still wrapped around my throat tightens before he thumps my head against the wall, ceasing my struggles.
“And you’re the sweet little angel that I’m going to drag down to hell with me,” he rasps, his voice deep and husky as he whispers his omen into my ear.
“I hate you,” I spit, glaring with all the disgust I can muster in my body. He just won't fucking listen.
He only smiles, the gesture mocking. “And I will never let you fuck me again, Zade.” I’m not ashamed by the way my voice wobbles. Let him hear how serious I am. It’s not fear making my tone erratic, it’s the animosity bleeding out from my soul.
He presses deeper into me, a snarl forming on his face. He looks vicious and enticing all in the same breath, like the handsome devil sitting on a throne of bones.
“Are you willing to bet your life?” he asks, his smooth voice a stark contrast to mine. He grinds his pelvis against me, the hard, thick length of him digging into my stomach.
When I don’t answer, he smiles. “I think my little mouse is a liar,” he growls the last word into my ear, sending violent tremors throughout my body.
His mouth caresses my cheek, the soft flesh of his lips skating lightly towards my lips. His mouth skims against mine, eliciting electric shivers from every spot that our skin clashes.
I suck in a sharp breath, the ever-present fear and adrenaline still steadily pumping into my bloodstream, nearly drugging me with the potency and making me delirious.
“Yes,” I whisper, answering his question before I snap my leg up and knee him right between the legs. He manages to dodge the brunt of the hit, but it gives me enough room to slip from his grasp and run.
A loud, cruel laugh rings out as I nearly rip the door off its hinges before taking off into the night air.
Cold, wet droplets of rain splash onto my skin, soaking me immediately, but I don’t let the downpour deter me.
Terror pushes me forward, my legs kicking as I bolt off into the woods. My feet slip from the slickness on the porch, and it’s then that I remember I’m fucking barefoot.
Too late now. I forge on, gritting my teeth against the bite of rocks in my feet as I bolt across the driveway.
As a child, I had always wanted to explore these woods. They’re deep and incredibly easy to get lost in. My mother and Nana never let me step foot inside them as a kid. Somehow, that restriction carried into my adult life.
The warnings I received as a child subconsciously kept me from ever going into the woods and exploring. And now, I wish I had.
It doesn’t even take a minute before I’m completely turned around. The only light offered is from the moon, and even that is weak due to the canopies of trees clouding the sky.
I keep pumping my legs, harder and faster. Too scared to stop. Too frightened of the devil nipping at my heels.
Until I trip over a root, my body pitching forward and then crashing noisily into the ground. I land awkwardly on my hands, pain flaring in both wrists as they give beneath my weight. My toe throbs from where it caught on the root, my feet bloodied and abused from running barefoot in the goddamn woods.
I’m breathing heavily, heaving out panicked puffs as I roll onto my back. I have to shut my eyes from the onslaught of rain, blurring my vision and leaking into my nose and mouth.
Raising a hand to cover my face, I open my eyes and look around.
I can’t see him, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t close.
My chest is tight, and I work to calm my erratic heartbeat and take deep, long breaths so I can chill the fuck out long enough to hear if he’s coming.
The wind rustles the leaves on the ground, stirring up dirt and debris and drawing out goosebumps across my skin. The sound is ominous. Threatening. Like any moment, the wind will part the trees, and I will see my shadow standing there, watching and waiting.
My soaked t-shirt and leggings provide no protection from the unrelenting rain. The clothing molds to my body, trapping the cold beneath the fabric and allowing it to seep beneath my skin. My bones rattle from the violent shivers that wrack my body.
Sitting up, I suck in a deep breath and hold it, training my ears to listen for footsteps. It takes several seconds before I hear a snap of a twig. The sound comes from directly behind me.
I whip my head around, my eyes frantically searching the woods and my breath once more speeding up. Slowly, I rise to my feet, ignoring the pain pulsing in my battered hands and feet.
I need to hide.
Just as I take a silent step, I hear another snap of a twig. My heart jumps wildly as a foot appears in my field of vision. Like a demon rising from a fire pit, I watch him emerge from between two trees. My eyes widen, my mouth drying from the sight of a massive man stepping out from the shadows, a hood drawn over his face as he stalks towards me.
With that, I turn and I run.
I run with everything I have, pumping my legs and arms as fast as they will go. But in the end, it’s for nothing. I only make it ten feet before a hand is wrapping around my arm and jerking me backward. My body goes flying into his, crashing into his hard chest and knocking the breath out of my lungs.
I struggle against him, fighting like hell to get away, but he’s too big—too strong. He easily overpowers me, circling an arm around my waist and trapping me against his heated body.
Hot breath whispers against my ear a moment before his deep voice penetrates the haze of panic and terror circulating in my brain.