Chapter 33
Mia
Unspoken words hang in the air between us. I shouldn’t want a fucking Disciple. It’s been ingrained in me since birth to hate them and anyone associated with them.
It was easier to believe he was the villain before.
But now, knowing Aiden wasn’t the one who hurt Nic, I have nothing in me left to fight.
I shouldn’t want Aiden Foxx, but I do. I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anything.
My heart pounds at the idea of his chase.
Even with his unpredictability. Even knowing he could still kill me, the idea of running is making me ache for him.
“Running is a trap,” I say, trying to buy myself some time to figure out his plan.
Aiden closes the space between us. The humid breeze follows him from the open door, and I revel in the fresh air.
“I don’t know this land, but you do,” I tell him.
“Yes, I do, which is why I’m going to give you a head start.” He watches my face, analyzing my fear. Enjoying it.
“I won’t run just so you can play some sort of sick, sadistic hunting game with me and then kill me.”
He smirks, and I can’t help it—I swing and punch him square in the mouth. If I’m going down, I’m going down fighting.
A low, rage-filled growl fills him as he picks me up, walking me back and slamming me against the wall, pinning me with his hips. His hand comes down hard to cup my pussy, and I shift from rage to desperate need instantaneously.
“I’m not going to kill you, Rhiannon…not yet at least.” He grinds his palm against my clit, hard. This time, I can’t hold in my moan.
“If I catch you, I’m going to take what’s mine, and fuck this virgin cunt.”
He growls into my lips. “I’m going to fuck you any way I want, just like your body has been begging me to since the day we met.” He presses harder and I give in, quivering against him. “You owe me your life now, which means, Mia, this pussy belongs to me.”
I give up on reason entirely, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer, still unable to stop the truth from tumbling from my lips.
“Yes…maybe I have been begging,” I whisper, barely audible, “but I know your secret.” Fuck it. He’s the one who gave me this shit, so he’s about to get a dose of honesty.
“You didn’t have to take any drug for me to know, Aiden. You want me just as badly.” I kiss him lightly. “Maybe even more.” I kiss him again.
Aiden stiffens the moment our mouths touch, but I insist, forcing my way in, biting his bottom lip with a moan.
The moment I do, he surprises me, pinning me with his body as both his hands slide up, gripping my hair tight, not wasting time with niceties as he savagely claims my mouth.
His kiss is commanding, and full of deep, dark passion.
Aiden devours me like he can’t get close enough to me either.
I know now, no man will ever kiss me this way or drive me this close to the brink of insanity.
Aiden kisses me for so long I don’t know how long it’s been since my last breath, and I don’t care. If I took my last breath with his lips on mine, I could stay this high forever.
“Emilia…” he breathes, finally breaking our kiss as he tips his forehead to mine. “What the fuck are you doing to me?” The sound of my full name mixed with his desire almost breaks me. It’s an open moment. An honest one.
I fist his shirt and pull him close, kissing him again, meeting his tongue with mine as I moan into his lips.
He groans and tugs my hair right at the roots, and I wince in pain.
“Fuck,” he says under his breath. When his eyes lock with mine, they’re hungry and wild. He sets me down and backs up. His hands pull his hair back from his face, and his stance tenses as he nods to the door behind him.
“I’m only going to say this one more time, Emilia. Run. But when I catch you, I want you to fucking fight!”
I don’t hesitate or think. The idea of him chasing me and fucking me exhilarates and terrifies me equally as I bolt through the open door and run with everything I’ve fucking got.
* * *
I have no idea where I’m going as I run out under the clear, starlit sky.
The air is thick and humid, and I can hear the slow rush of the water when I take off, running as fast as my feet will carry me through the expansive property.
My heart races, pounding in my chest as I almost trip through the long grasses.
I quickly realize the only place I can hide effectively is near the water.
The grasses are shorter by the shore, blending with the sand, but there’s plenty of cover a little farther out.
I eye the shallows of the river. It’s sheltered by tupelos, willows, and river birch.
The idea that alligators, rattlers, and everything deadly probably lurks in every corner of this place isn’t lost on me, but I can’t dwell on that now.
I can see a good hiding place as I run, listening intently, all the while knowing my time is limited.
I lose my sandals as I run straight for the cover of the reeds and willows.
The water hits my ankles, but it’s cool and soothes my aching feet.
I’m drenched with sweat from being in the back of the van and in the cabin with no air-conditioning.
I duck behind every bush surrounding the water, trying to find the best cover as the crickets and bullfrogs screech in the night.
I haven’t quite settled into place when I hear him coming.
“Em-i-li-a…” he calls, drawing out my name slowly, taunting me from somewhere near the back of the house.
I stay deadly still, crouched down in the reeds in only a foot of water, and it slowly laps at me. The sandy bottom of the river settles under my feet. I manage to calm my breathing, trying desperately to stay quiet, shuddering with anticipation and adrenaline.
I hear his heavy boots trekking over the grassy path, and my heart feels like it might beat out of my chest. I’m terrified, but somehow also desperate for him to find me at the same time. The sound of his boots stops, and in turn, I stop breathing altogether.
“Mi-a…” I suddenly hear Aiden call again, more abruptly this time, and my heart stutters against my rib cage.
I’m dizzy and alive with adrenaline and need, an unspeakable desire for him.
I’m lost completely to the moment. I want him to catch me and make good on his promise to fuck me, to make me scream his name into the night.
My senses are running on overdrive, but the only sounds I can hear are the rustling of the reeds and the wildlife around me.
I feel everything, my clothing sticking to me, my hair blowing in the light breeze, and my heart hammering faster, harder.
What’s worse than hearing him coming is hearing nothing.
This is the moment my thoughts run wild.
I second-guess everything, suddenly questioning if he’s actually going to catch me and fuck me, or maybe this was just his way to get me out of his cabin, easier prey for the predators.
He’s a goddamn Navy SEAL. Did I actually think he wouldn’t come searching for me on silent feet?
That I’d be able to predict when he’d catch me?
Just when my breathing quickens to a speed where I feel like I might pass out, I see something in the deeper water to my left.
Just a glimpse in my peripheral vision, and then it’s gone.
I’m frantic now, searching the waters for whatever it is I saw.
Was it a gator? A snake? Or a different kind of predator?
Just when I’ve convinced myself that it was probably my imagination, I see it.
First the top of his head, then his face.
I’m frozen, completely still as he rises slowly from the river like the fucking devil himself, shirtless and dripping as the water laps around his thighs, and his ruinous icy eyes lock onto me.
A bloodcurdling scream, the likes of which I never knew I was capable of, leaves me and I’m up and trying to run, but my legs are so shaky.
I can’t go out the way I came because Aiden is there, so I dart off in the other direction. Only, the river bottom is uneven, and my feet hit deeper water, and I let out a garbled scream as it swirls around my legs.
Aiden’s strong arms wrap around me tight, and I slam back against his chest, hard.
“Caught you, my dirty little slut,” he growls just as the glaring yellow eyes of another predator catch my sight line, but I have no time to tell him.
My body is thrust into fight or flight when he suddenly shoves me under the water.