Page 83 of The Prey
He shoves off the leaf-covered ground in one smooth motion, nothing like me scrambling to get my legs beneath me.
“Yes, and that explanation is that you’re all in desperate need of psychological help.”
Even as I say the words, my heart hammers against my ribs, nervous energy zinging up my spine. But mixed with that nervousness is a deep-seated arousal. Is it fucked up of me to want him like I do? To be taken in such a way that mimics the exact scenarios I found myself in with Yanov?
“Oh, we all need psychological help, Little Prey. Even you, since I know what you’re thinking right now, even without asking.” His voice is low, dipped in danger.
Shit. I take one hesitant step backward, and he cocks his head to the side. I can almost hear his unasked question in my mind.
Have you made your decision yet?
“Think it through because if you run, I will chase you, and when I catch you—and we both know I will—there will not be a single thing to stop me from claiming you. Do you understand, Ely?”
“What if I want you to stop?” I whisper.
He grins, and it both terrifies me and excites me. “I doubt you’ll want me to stop, but if you do then say the word red.”
I nod and swallow down the fear and hesitation.
I’ve made my decision. We both know it.
“Are you sure about this? I need to make certain that you understand the consequences. Are you ready to be chased, captured, and fucked?” His words are still slow and enunciated, like he wants to make sure I understand.
I can't explain it. Why? Why is this urge rushing through me? I want it. I want him to hunt me down and fuck me in the woods until there is nothing left of Ely, until I'm his little prey and nothing else. I want to break free of the hold Yanov has on me. I want to learn to love myself, to trust, and I can’t do that if I continue to hide behind the person I used to be.
It’s now or never.
“I trust you, Sebastian,” I tell him because I need him to know I’m giving up my power and control.
“You really shouldn’t say things like that.” He takes a predatory step toward me, and I can see the hunter lurking beneath the surface, waiting to come out and play.
“Why?” My voice wobbles.
“Because men like me take your trust, break it, and then shove it back at you. We eat fragile girls like you for breakfast and spit out the bones. Is that what you want me to do to you?”
“I don’t think you’re the monster you want me to believe you are, and even if you are, I could never see you like that.”
“Maybe it’s time I let you see the real me, let you feel what it’s like to be broken in two.”
“That’s the problem, Sebastian. I’m already broken, and so are you, but maybe there’s still hope for us. Maybe we can break free of the chains trapping us in who we used to be. Maybe we can be whole.”
With one last, devastated look, I turn my back on the old me, and I run. Not like I did before, like I was trying to escape, but like I'm running toward something.
Racing away from the death of the woman I used to be. That's what he can give me. The ability to take it all away and make me into someone else. Someone who deserves to be touched and looked at the way he touches and looks at me.
I race through the dark, only tiny lanterns casting light here and there as I go. Adrenaline drives me higher and higher. I hear his footfalls crash behind me a second later. He's fast, even in his suit. It makes me smile before I feel the ghost of his hand near my back. Shit.
I burst forward, quickening my pace, trying to stay ahead of him, jumping logs and shoving branches into his line of path.
Air burns in my lungs, the organs aching, but it feels good at the same time. I barely notice the chill on my skin as my body warms from the inside out from the exercise and the memory of his hands on my body.
It started as fear, but now it's different. I quicken my pace but startle when something to my left catches my attention. A man has a woman pinned to the ground while he fucks her from behind, almost like he hates her. She mewls, panting and pushing back against him. It’s erotic and puts the porn I’ve watched to shame.
Distracted by the sex taking place mere feet away, I’m not surprised when his hand closes in around the back of my neck. His grip is hard, and I scramble to get away, but he's got a good hold on me.
Without releasing me, he turns me in his arms to face him, and I’m greeted by the eerie mask of a fox. The usual panic returns, but I stare into his eyes through the holes, reminding myself that this is Sebastian. That I’m safe, and all I have to do is say the word and he’ll stop.
“Little Prey,” he says, his voice low and dark. “You have no idea what you've just done. Running from me. Making me chase you.”