Page 102 of I Will Break You

And I crash into a wall of unmoving muscle.

Strong arms wrap around my back and lift me off the ground. My stomach lurches, and I scream.

“Eager little thing,” Xero says, his words choked with emotion. “You ran into my arms. Were you trying to get me on myback, little ghost? If you want to fuck me like a cowgirl, then you’ll have to beg.”

“Wait,” I ask through panting breaths. “How did you get here so quickly?”

“I knew your destination,” he replies as he carries me back out of the trees and back into the cemetery.

“Xero, let go of me.”

He pauses. “Ah, yes. Primal makes you horny. You want the sensation of being hunted, not trapped.”

Then the sadistic motherfucker sets me on my feet.

I stare up at him, my eyes wide. “What are you doing?”

“You have my permission to run back to the grave.”

“No.” I step backward, my gaze darting to the trees.

“As you wish.” He reaches for my shoulder, but I skitter out of range.

Xero steps forward with a low growl that hits me straight between the legs. I turn around and bolt.

This time, there’s no head start. I glance over my shoulder to find him advancing toward me at a steady stride. His legs are so long that he doesn’t even need to break a sweat.

With a scream, I run down the walkway, passing mausoleums and the occasional figure in black. My ears fill with Xero’s excited breaths. He thinks this is foreplay, but I’m running for my life.

The new rectory looms ahead, and it feels like I’m stuck in an endless loop of failing to escape. Xero hovers so close, his fingers brush the curls off the back of my neck. Every fine hair on my body stands alert and a scream rips from my throat.

His low chuckle goes straight to my clit. “You’re so excitable. I wonder how you will break?”

“Fuck off,” I scream.

“That’s the plan.”

A whimper catches in my throat. What the hell am I doing, allowing this fiend to run me ragged? Why am I playing a game I can never win? My terror is so acute that the shadowy figures appearing and disappearing around the graveyard evaporate into dust. Why would my mind conjure up phantoms when there’s a demon dogging my steps?

I reach the edge of the cemetery, and my feet carry me toward the path leading to the rectory.

“No,” he growls and tackles me onto the lawn.

I land face-first on the turf, my hands barely breaking my fall. When I shriek, blades of grass slip between my lips. Spitting them out, I roll to the side, trying to dislodge the heavy weight on my back, but Xero’s erection digs into my thigh.

Damn.

It’s as long and thick as the dildo, but burning with the heat of his arousal. Part of me wants to reach between our bodies to confirm it’s real, but I shake off that thought.

Using a dildo made from the mold of a murderer is one thing. Getting pummeled into the dirt by said killer is another. Hate sex with the man I love is a special level of depravity.

“Get off me.”

I elbow him in the ribs, but he only responds with a soft grunt. Using his momentary surprise as leverage, I crawl out from under his larger body.

Xero grabs my hip, but I scramble to my knees, making sure to kick him in the face on the way up.

“Fuck.” He reels back with a hand hovering over his nose.