“Wanna play a game?”
My mouth goes dry. “Probably not.”
She pouts. “I could make your life much more exciting.”
“Ditto, baby girl.”
Her eyes flash, the challenge sparking into flames. “We should race. Whoever wins gets to choose a prize.”
I snort. “The odds are heavily in your favor.”
“Are you gonna let that stop you?”
“I don’t make a habit of fighting to lose.”
“That’s a shame. I thought you’d never quit following me.” She’s pulling the strings and I’m all too aware.
“Go on then.” I lift my chin. “Take the lead.”
She tosses her long hair. “Finally gonna eat my dust, Cowboy.”
“Just the way I like it.” Although, I’d prefer if she stuck to the Stalker endearment.
When she turns to face forward, my gut clenches in preparation. Luna begins to prance and I imagine Bianca gave her some sort of cue. In the next instant, they take off at a fast pace. She doesn’t glance backward to see if we’re catching up. That gives me ample opportunity to plan an attack of my own.
“You can run and try to hide, Princess,” I call to her quickly retreating form. “But I’ll always find you.”
Wind howls in my ears from Luna’s speed, making it impossible to hear the thunder of hoofbeats. The beautiful scenery is a blur through my watery vision. I tip my head to the sky, soaking in the blissful freedom. There’s nothing quite like running full speed on a horse.
We race for about a minute and it’s obvious our competition is no match for us. It was risky to leave Colton behind, but I trust Bandit to take care of his rider. They’re probably loping along at a cautious pace. I wouldn’t expect anything faster from the safety police.
Luna begins to slow when I sit back in the saddle. A smile naturally appears—from the thrill of the ride and our win. I twistaround to spout about our victory, but the boasting dies on my lips. They aren’t behind us.
“Shit,” I breathe.
The liberating vindication sours as concern twists my stomach into a pretzel. I turn Luna to retrace our path, my pulse kicking into a trot to match the mare’s bouncy stride. The land in this section is flat and open. Only a few trees interrupt the grassy expanse. It should be incredibly easy to spot them, but they’re nowhere in sight. That doesn’t stop me from scouring the field as if they’ll magically appear.
“Colton?” My voice is loud, but doesn’t carry. I cup a hand around my mouth and try again. “Colton!”
Only the squawk from an agitated bird replies. Not a peep from my so-called stalker. It’s quiet and still and alarming. My heart thumps wildly to drown out the silence. Luna’s ears flick back and forth, which has me searching for the noise I can’t hear. She flinches a second before I’m yanked out of the saddle from behind. The world spins as I’m clutched and spun in a pair of strong arms. My back gently meets the ground in the next ragged breath.
Luna takes the opportunity to bolt, abandoning me to fend for myself. Meanwhile, I’m stunned motionless. My shocked state allows Colton to effectively pin me beneath him.
“Gotcha,” he rasps.
This mountain of a man lowers, covering me like an avalanche. He blocks out the sun and my ability to comprehend how I got into this position. I should be crushed under his weight, but he props himself on a bent arm to avoid annihilating me completely. His upper body hovers above mine while our lower halves press tightly together. That allows me to feel how much bigger he is.
My eyes go wide when an unmistakable bulge pushes into my pelvis. Holy shit, Colton is hard and definitely not hiding it. Thesolid ridge is just as impressive as his ability to sneak up behind me. It’s only logical that his dick is huge to match the rest of his imposing size. I bet he fucks like a maniac on a mission. Images assault me and I squirm against the unfortunate pressure that throbs between my legs. He grunts and gives me more of his weight to fully trap my hips.
“Well,” I huff. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Not until I allow it.” The gravel in his voice scrapes over me and I shiver.
Colton tilts slightly to block the autumn chill, but I’m not cold. Heat rolls off him to blanket me through our layers of clothes. It’s almost comfortable except for the fact that I’m held captive between two unforgiving surfaces.
My heaving chest meets his with each labored inhale. It’s difficult to breathe with him so close. All I smell is him invading me. It’s smoky and thick—a forest of dense pines that’s impossible to escape. I drag in another lungful of the addictive scent before refocusing on my predicament.
“You planned this.”
