Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Each time I touch her, she shrieks, screaming and cursing at me. I even catch the sheen of tears on her cheeks when she crosses paths with a lantern.
Finally, I'm getting her where I want her. The next time I grasp her hips, she spins hard to the left, rolling out of my grip and rushing off in the other direction.
I falter over a branch and recover quickly. As I give chase, she shouts over her shoulder. "What the fuck do you want? Stop messing with me!"
I laugh and keep up with her, matching her pace now. "I'm not walking away for anything. Don't worry, you'll get tired, or I'll get tired soon enough, and then we can stop for a while."
Her entire frame shivers, and she swipes tearstained cheeks. "Why are you such an asshole?"
I don't answer but grab her around the waist. Again, she twists away, and I laugh, continuing to play with her. She swats at me every time I reach for her. We rush through some trees, and it only takes her looking away for a split second to go down hard in the dirt like she did earlier.
I slow and approach her cautiously, watching her every move. Instead of standing, she lies there, her face pressed to the cool ground, her hand coated in dirt and dust. The crisp smell of nature and the intoxicating scent of fear fill the air.
I crouch near her head. "Playing dead already, little flower? We haven't even got to the best part yet."
"Fuck off,” she sneers.
I lick my lips and study the line of her spine and how it curves into the lush globes of her ass.
For a moment, I just look at her through the darkness, watching the way her back rises and falls in ragged gasps. Once she's had a moment to breathe, I reach down and haul her body up against me. Like I anticipated, she fights tooth and nail, striking out until I spin her and pin her arms down at her sides. Her fight threatens to make me lose control, and if anything is worse than being a predator, it’s being an out-of-control predator.
"Calm the fuck down," I snap and loosen my grip on her. "Your fighting turns me the fuck on, but it also makes me want to hurt you in ways that you aren’t ready for yet. So keep it up. Either way, I’ll end up with what I want.”
I barely register her hand pulling from my grasp or that she's slapped me until the sting of it blooms across my cheek. The muscles in my jaw tense. It’s not the first time I’ve been hit, and it won’t be the last, but it’s unexpected from her. Instantly, she tries to pull back, horror filling her delicate features.
“I’m… I’m sorry…” she mumbles while clutching her face in her hands like she can't believe she did such a thing. It’s strange how she apologizes, even when it was an act of defense. I remain silent, letting the emotions roll through her. There’s something about her, something real, something that makes me want to bottle it up.
Dropping her hands, she shakes her head in distress, and I notice a trickle of blood rolling down to her full upper lip. There’s a scrape on her cheek and the hint of a bruise already forming. I’m not surprised she’s hurt herself. I guess I’d be more shocked if she didn’t, given the terrain and the fact that she’s running in the dark. I gently swipe at the blood, and she belatedly bats at my hands.
"Stop. You've hurt yourself, little flower." She scowls, and it's so damn cute. Her glasses are askew, her cheeks burn pink, and her pretty green eyes shimmer brightly in the moonlight. I straighten them and push some of the golden hair out of her face to get a better look at her. "Let me look at you." Her legs wobble, and I place a hand against her hip to steady her. Even in the dim moonlight, I see her scraped knees and palms. "Maybe if you wouldn’t have run, then you wouldn’t have hurt yourself.”
The remark earns me another scowl. She curls her lip in disgust and tosses another insult at me. "And maybe if you weren’t a psychopath hell-bent on hurting people, I wouldn’t have had a reason to run in the first place.”
All I can do is smile. Her defiance is everything I could’ve hoped for and more. Her knees knock together, and I rub my hands up and down her arms to warm her. "Let me clean you up a little, flower."
I reach into my pocket for the small first-aid kit I always bring on nights like tonight. Most of the time, they go unused, but fortunately for my wallflower, I care enough to make sure she doesn’t end up with an infection.