Chapter 20 #2
I glance at the dead man then sigh dramatically. “Okay, fine. I suppose you did kill him—even if you did cheat to get it done. So, now what? Is there a prize or is it just gloating rights?”
The feverish twinkling in his eyes shifts.
Beneath it is a darkness that only emphasizes the glint sparkling in his gaze.
His face is flush from the excitement of the night and his hair, tousled, has a few leaves trapped in it.
He looks wild and full of life, the air around us brimming with energy spilling from him.
I feel trapped in it, absorbing the energy he’s eluding and feeling just as giddy.
Reaching out, Santi touches my face—cupping my cheek with his palm.
My breath catches in my throat. While I’m not used to soft touches—I’ve grown used to the way Santi just bulldozes through personal boundaries.
With him, it's like I'm a marble statue coming to life—everything around me becomes bright, new and exciting.
I love the connection.
So used to feeling like an outsider no matter where I go, I’ve grown used to living on the outskirts of life. Yet, when I’m with Santi, I’m the center of his world and it’s a beautiful thing. My heart races at dizzying speeds and laughter is just a few words away.
Santi’s head dips. Before I can process what he’s doing, his soft lips press against mine. Shock doesn’t even have a chance to register, before he pulls just far enough away to whisper against my lips.
“The winner,” he starts, then stops to let out a dark chuckle. “Gets to pick which hole they want to cum in.”
I jerk my head back with a gasp. I’m not sure if it’s a gasp of horror or excitement. My heart is at a full gallop, slamming against my ribs trying to break free. A million thoughts race through my head but they’re being tamped down by the flare of desire, so strong I can hardly breathe.
“Now that we’ve killed alongside one another,” he continues. “Sin has soldered our souls together. It’s only right to finish the binding. You’re mine tonight, Blair.”
You’re mine tonight, Blair.
Wanting Santiago more than just a friend isn’t an idea I’ve allowed myself to entertain.
Which, given how last night went with Wes and Ledger, seems pretty wise.
I don’t know what I’m doing. I already adore Santi.
He makes things so easy and given how hard my life has been, easy is exactly what I crave.
Taking our friendship to a physical one will only make this more complicated.
But now that I’ve seen Santi at his worst, and he’s seen me at mine, it’s clear we’d be great together.
In fact, we’d be perfect together.
As I stare up into Santi’s face, I note the glossiness to his eyes, which are void of much emotion other than hunger.
Gathering in his body is a tension that hadn’t been there seconds ago.
There’s a hardness to his face, erasing the boyishness that he usually carries.
The man bending down over me isn’t Santigo, it’s a stranger pretending to be him. Unease slithers down my spine.
Standing before me is a dangerous man who’s won a prize and expects to enjoy it.
This is the ugly side of Santi. The deranged, unpredictable, killer he wanted me to see.
I shouldn’t feel exhilarated at the stranger staring back at me. My thighs shouldn’t clench together at the disgustingly possessive tone of his voice, and I certainly shouldn’t be trembling with desire. Something is definitely off about Santi right now.
But then again, there must be something wrong with me because my body is responding in heated waves at the danger Santi presents. He means it. He’s going to try to use my body to celebrate his victory. There’s something so primal, so filthy about this that it makes my mouth dry and pussy drip.
I’ve never been afraid of danger. Yet, it’s definitely never made me feel like this either.
Could there be harm to exploring this depravity with Santi?
It’s not like me to take risks without calculating what my advantage would be.
I don’t know if he would hurt me in this state, but it’s not like I’m defenseless.
I’ve already thrown caution to the wind.
There’s a dead body on the ground to prove it. What’s a little more risk?
“You can’t be serious…” I start as I reach up and brace my hands on his hard chest. Beneath my palms and through his long sleeve shirt, I can feel the rapid beating of his heart.
It matches the pace of my own. “If you think I’d just let you have your way with me.
Not when you didn’t win fair and square. ”
I give him a hard shove that he doesn’t expect. It forces him to take a few steps back in surprise. That surprise quickly morphs into a scary grin.
“Are you going to be a sore loser?” he taunts. “That seems a bit beneath you. Why not be a good girl for me and help me decide where my cock should be nestled for the night? Should it be between your pretty lips? I know my dick would look so fucking good with them stretched over it. Or maybe—”
“No,” I interrupt with a challenging smile. “I’m not a good girl, Santi. You want to claim your prize? Then you’re going to work for it. Because this kill was too pathetic to simply give up my bodily autonomy for.”
Santi’s nostrils flare and his fists clench at his side. There’s a pinkness to his cheeks as indignation, or maybe outrage, pours into him. Even his brows begin to creep together, a sign that fun-Santi is definitely gone. I’ve never seen him scowl before.
It’s kind of hot getting him worked up.
So I do it some more. With a petty little wave, I turn and dash away, jumping over the body still lying on the ground as I head for the trees.
“You’re going to regret this,” Santi promises, his voice carrying over the growing space between us.
He’s probably not wrong. There’s a thousand reasons I shouldn’t be entertaining an enraged man who just finished brutally killing someone.
It’s just… I’m having fun and I don’t want it to stop.
Not yet at least. Reality will come rolling back soon enough.
The threat hanging over my head will still be there, Dad’s absence will still ache, and the unsettling feeling of being unable to find my footing in my new life in Caddawalk will all be there when this is all over.
I want to take tonight and just throw caution to the wind. Consequences be damned.
And damned I am. With how quickly Santi’s footsteps are approaching, I can tell he’s not playing around anymore.
If he gets his hands on me, I have a feeling I'm going to feel them there for days.
The speed with which he took after his earlier prey is nothing compared to the drive he has to capture me now.
There’s a throb starting up between my legs that almost makes me want to make this easy for Santi. I’ve never felt so painfully aroused.
My pride, however, says to make this as hard as I can.
The latter wins and I take a sharp left, then head up the steep incline.
I duck, slowing as I do to slip into thick, gnarly bushes then get on my hands and knees to crawl beneath them.
I pop out a safe distance away and risk looking over my shoulder.
There, with a large distance separating us is Santi, glaring at me over the thicket of bushes.
I laugh, flip him the bird, then take off again, running steadily up the incline while having a mental battle of wills.
My pussy screams for a different type of vigorous exercise but my mind says to keep going.
“I’m coming for you, carino,” Santi’s voice calls.
The sudden nickname throws me for a loop. Sweetheart? Me? I smile. Santi’s going to learn soon enough there’s nothing sweet about me.
“And when I do…” His voice sounds further away now. “I’m going to make. You. Scream.”
There’s a wicked laugh that carries through the darkness. It sends chills down my spine and spurs a deep tug of desire between my legs. For a second, I lose my breath and my footsteps falter.
This is both terrifying and thrilling.
I make it to the top of the steep incline a few minutes later, out of breath and shaky.
Slipping behind a tree, I give myself a moment to compose myself.
Once my breathing is under control, I strain to listen for any signs of Santi.
There’s nothing. Not even the sound of bugs or wildlife reach my ears.
When I’m absolutely sure Santi isn’t around, I creep out from around the tree to look around.
Where am I? I should move back, closer toward the cabin.
Maybe if I’m lucky, I could sneak inside and hide in there, or maybe even into the cab of the truck.
That would be a win for me, of course, since he’d be unable to find me.
It takes willpower not to snort out loud. I’m sure Santi won’t see it that way. The Santi that’s out hunting for me now, isn’t a rational man.
I decide that circling back is probably my best bet, given Santi is probably still coming this way in search of me. I head in the direction I think the cabin is in.
It takes a bit of time before I spot it through the trees.
The slow, quiet progression was made all the more difficult with the hammering of my heart.
I could’ve sworn the sound was bouncing off one tree to another—alerting Santi to my presence.
Yet, if he hears it, there’s no sign he’s following the sound.
I bite my lower lip to stifle the snicker as victory comes into view.
I’m about a hundred yards away from the house when I hear the sound of a twig snap.
Sound certainly carries through the woods, but this?
This sounds close. Too close. Rather than turn around to figure out where Santi is lurking, I make a break for the cabin, forgoing all pretenses of trying to keep silent.
His laughter bursts forth from the darkness—it’s a maniacal cackle that raises the hairs on the back of my neck.
And dampens the panties I’m wearing.
I make it to the back door, manage to fling it open, and get one step inside before a hard body slams into my back. The unexpected, unrestrained tackle practically throws me the rest of the way inside. I land on my stomach hard, the force knocking the breath from my lungs.
“Finally, you’re all mine,” Santi growls over top of me.
I squirm beneath him, trying to fight his hold on me. Santi has an athletic build but he’s not bulky, not like Wes or Ledger. Just because he doesn’t have the pounds of muscles on him, however, doesn’t mean he’s not strong.
“Stop it,” he snarls. “Stop fighting me, Blair.”
I jerk my hips up into him, trying to get my knees beneath me for some real leverage. The movement causes my butt to press into his erection.
Holy shit. Santi is packing.
A fresh wave of hot, achy desire ripples through me and I bite my bottom lip to keep from moaning. I buck my hips back up into his. The answering deep rumble that vibrates through his chest sounds just as desperate and needy as the one I just choked down.
He struggles to grab my arms as I attempt to elbow him. “Stop wiggling! Fuck, you’re going to make me cum in my pants again!”
I go limp with surprise. “Um, again?”
Santi takes advantage of my shock and flips me over swiftly so I’m on my back looking up at him.
“Yeah, again, Blair,” he confirms as he sinks down to lay his full weight against me.
I let him grab my hands and pin them against the floor over my head. With his free hand he grabs my neck. I gasp in surprise. Santi grins darkly down at me, his pupils blown wide as he stares into my face.
“The first time we wrestled,” he growls out. “Was when Rhett and I caught you following us. Remember that night?”
How could I not? I nod in response.
“Yeah, well, I remember it too.” He lets out a dry laugh. “You got those perfect fucking thighs around my face and I was a goner. I made such a mess that after we made it to the truck I had to change into our spare clothes.”
I think back to that night and I remember Santi had said he’d been more than good when Rhett had asked him if he was okay. I shouldn’t, but I can’t stop the laughter that bursts forth.
“Oh my god!” I say between gasps of air. “You’re ridiculous, Santi!”
The hand around my neck tightens, cutting off my laugh. My amusement falls away as I tense, confused by the intensity of Santi’s dark gaze as he stares down at me.
“Ridiculous?” he repeats quietly, no hint of teasing or playfulness.
“No, it’s not, Blair. It just goes to show how much of an impact you have on me.
My soul has been aching for someone like you in my life and when it got a taste of yours, as close as we were in that moment, it felt so fucking good I lost control of myself. Just like now.”
I stare up at Santi as his thumb caresses the skin over the pulse in my neck.
There is terrifying earnestness in that dark gaze that stares back at me.
My heart hasn’t stopped racing since we started this new game between us and while I’m excited, I’m equally as scared.
Bending down, Santi gently places a kiss on my lips.
“This is me, Blair. All of me. Can’t you see how well you fit in my world?” he asks against my lips. “You’ve seen me at my best, at my ugliest, and now at my most desperate.”
Isn’t this what I’ve craved in a partner? To be seen completely, stripped of lies I had to use as masks in order to pretend to fit into the world? I wanted a partner where I could be me and now there’s someone who wants the same.
“Can you hear the wail of my soul as it begs for you?” Santi continues. “It’s a haunting song that won’t stop playing in my head.” He plants a kiss beside my mouth, then against my cheek, then another one on my jaw. “Please, carino… Please.”
A hard shiver rushes through me and my nipples harden.
“P-please what?” My question comes out breathless as I turn my head and allow Santi to plant kisses down my neck.
“Let me have you,” he breathes against the crook of my neck. “Let me fill you up and make you scream. Whatever holes you have in your soul, let me fill them with pieces of me. I can make you whole.”
An embarrassing squeak of need slips past my lips. Rationality flies out the door and I find myself nodding.
“Alright, Santi. I’ll be your prize.”