There I was thinking that I could use my newfound knowledge of the secret room to my advantage, but he was always a step ahead.
I preen as the thought of his broad body hovering over mine hits me, my eyes snapping closed as the memory of his soft calloused touch against my inner thigh has me shuddering—the phantom sensation caressing my skin even now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CARA
The forest clearing has an ominous feel about it without the sun shining overhead. The whipping sound of the swaying Himalayan lilies in the distance to my right. I nudge a few loose rocks with my foot, watching them scatter across the dirt path marking the start of the winding trail. The further my eyes trace the descent, the denser the foliage becomes, swallowed by the deep, inky shadows of the surrounding trees.
Stepping forward, I lean against the dilapidated wooden gate just as a sensor light flickers on above me. The harsh autumn breeze bites at my skin. Instant regret that I forgot to cover up before heading out here, I rub at my bare arms, hoping the friction will incite the warmth I need to stop my teeth from chattering. The light above does little to cut through the darkness, like I’m alone on a stage, my audience vanishing into the void the longer I stand here.
I glance back at Blackwood—stoic, dimly lit, ominous. For the first time since arriving, even while cold and slightly creeped out, I feel like I can finally breathe. My lungs expand greedily, and I drink in the crisp night air with a wide-mouthed inhale. The crinkle of Ezra’s note between my leather glove boundfingers as I reread his instructions brings me some comfort, but the quiet of the great outdoors also allows my brain to second guess my choice to meet him out here—alone—where no one would be able to hear me scream.
You’d happily scream for him.
A shuffling in the distance ahead of me makes me edge back, every muscle coiled, ready to bolt if needed. Ezra may be dangerous—no one gets the nickname ‘the beast’ on a whim—but at least I can seem to reason with him. Whatever else lurks out there in the dark—not so much.
The sensor light fizzles out with a pop, unease skittering up my spine as I chew nervously on my bottom lip. I contemplate running, but my gut is the decider, and I stay where I am.
A warmth at my back alerts me to his arrival. I don’t need to look behind me to know it’s him. His towering frame shields me from the brutal wind, his familiar cedarwood scent mingling with his natural musk that curls around me protectively. I fidget with the buckles on the gloves he made me, fingers desperate to rake through his hair as I hold him to me. The pregnant pause stretching out between us should be uncomfortable for how long we stand like this, staring out into the abyss as our bodies reconnect on another level. But this close, the air between us hums, charged with an energy that caresses my skin like a length of the finest silk.
“Cara. Beautiful, unassuming, naive, Cara.” I don’t correct his assumption of me because it’s the persona I’ve worked hard to adopt. You don’t survive the life I have without a little theatrics. “Your…” he pauses, dipping to run his nose through my hair, “proclivities…” He grins wickedly. I don’t need to turn and see the twist of his lips for myself; its presence is heavily implied in his tone. “They run a little darker than you let the world see, don’t they, sweetheart?”
It’s impossible to disguise the hitch in my stuttered breath as desire snaps low in my belly like a tautly pulled rubber band stretched to its limit. Unable to form the words I need, I opt for a head nod in agreement. I don’t know if I can trust anything that comes out of my mouth where he is concerned. I’d have sold my soul to the devil the moment we met if he asked it of me. This should scare me, being inextricably entombed within my own mind by a man I know nothing about, but I can’t reason with the part of me that longs so deeply for Ezra Wolfe—a part that doesn’t question what it might mean to have him own her so completely.
Heavy panting breaths, puffs of white expelled from my shaking lips, I lean back into him, his finger tracing the line of buttons on my dress down my centre. I’m no longer affected by the cold but rather his proximity.
“I have spent every night wondering what it might feel like, burying myself inside you, bruising your flushed skin with a brutal grip. Once I have you, Cara, there’s no going back.”
I want to slap myself as all I can muster in response is another feeble nod of my head. Everything about this man cripples my senses.
“Just by coming out here, you’ve agreed to my rules, so now we get to play. I’m going to give you a ten-second head start before I hunt you down.” His gravelly voice is resolute, my belly jostling at the idea of him giving me what I want and stalking me through the forest like a defenceless animal.
“And then?” I stutter, finally finding my voice.
He laughs gruffly, a jolt coursing up my spine as a shudder rocks my body. Swaying on my feet, Ezra leans in, his arm winding around my waist to hold me to him, his lips inches from my ear. “And then I will tie you up and tongue fuck you to the point you’re begging me for more.” The curve of his slick smileghosts over my neck, and my core throbs accordingly when he adds, “And rest assured—you will beg, sweetheart.”
Anticipation of what his mouth on me again might feel like has my nervous system frazzled; the thought of being so entirely owned by this man without the block of pills has me wet between my thighs and more than ready to play his game.
Trussed up and at his mercy, I’ve had worse nights.
“Lost for words there, Red?” he chuckles darkly, hitching up the hem of my dress as his fingers dig into my skin. His chest heaves at my back as his grip around the fabric tightens, his fingers drawing invisible swirls on my inner thigh teasingly. A lusty whimper tumbles from my lips at the contact.
“You certainly are sure of yourself, aren’t you?” I remark, managing for now to hide the tremble in my voice as the brat in me resurfaces.
“Be careful sassing me, sweetheart. I won’t hesitate to adjust your attitude while buried to the hilt inside that tasty pussy of yours. How chatty do you think you’ll be when I’m holding you down by your throat as I fill you up?” His voice is barely above a whisper as his full lower lip caresses the shell of my ear.
“I…I…” The single stuttered word feels too heavy for my mouth as I imagine what that scenario might look like, feel like. I’d only need him to pinch my clit once, and I’m sure I’d come here and now with very little effort. I’m wired and ready to explode. I’m well aware he likely knows exactly what he’s doing to me when his hand firmly cups me between my legs and squeezes. The pressure only increasing the throb of neediness at my core. My eyelids involuntarily flutter closed as my back bows, his even breaths warming my cheek as he tightens his arm around me.
“I own this and don’t you forget it. Now run, Red.” His command leaves no room for misinterpretation as he steps away and releases me.
My eyes snap open, and I take off like a whippet.My boot heels sink into the wet mud between jagged rocks the further I get down the incline. I glance back, but Ezra isn’t where I left him—he’s gone. No lights reach this far down the hill. When I stop to catch my breath, I tip my head back, but the sky is nothing but a tangle of branches, limb-like fingers and rustling leaves blocking out any starlight that might be trying to creep through. At the fork in the road, the rational part of my brain votes left—denser forest, more places to hide, a real Bear Grylls’ experience. The reckless part? It cracks a joke about a missed opportunity for an actual fork sticking out of the ground. This side of my brain should never be left unattended because while I’m picturing the irony of an oversized dinner fork holding a sign, Ezra is probably already circling me, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.
Sure, the idea of him hunting me down, pinning me against a fallen tree, and fucking me until I see stars of my own has me thrumming with anticipation, but I’m not about to make this easy for him.
To the right we go.
Off the trail, tucked away in the distance is a fenced off building. The Blackwood brochures depicted it as a stunning leisure centre used by the patients back in the day. To look at it now with its crumbling brickwork, overgrown garden, and weatherworn patio, I’d bet it hasn’t seen life in years. I’m sure there would be somewhere for me to hide in there. I want Ezra’s punishment, but my competitiveness to win and outsmart him is too strong to contend with right now. I’m equally turned on by his promise to fuck me as I am by the thought of pushing him to the brink as he searches for me.
