22. Camilla
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CAMILLA
E very breath makes my chest ache. The mix of panic and adrenaline beat down on me as I dodge past trees and duck behind a log toward the back of the property.
The only edge I have right now is the fact I know this yard. This is where I grew up, where I spent my summers playing and exploring. Kovu is the definition of a predator, but I’m not going to make it easy for him.
“Camilla,” Kovu calls through the quiet night, but he doesn’t sound close. If I stay here long enough, one of two things will happen. Either he’ll keep moving and I can circle back to the house before he notices, or he’ll find me crouched and at his mercy.
But the worst part of this game he’s got us playing is how little I hate it. Even the thought makes my cheeks heat. Why would I like being chased? Like being hunted down like an unsuspecting deer. I’ve spent my whole life learning how to not be vulnerable, and yet here I am.
Perhaps it’s just the knowledge that Kovu won’t kill me that makes it more exhilarating, but nonetheless, I’m not going to let myself analyze any of it right now. I have bigger things to worry about than why I like being chased by the man who killed my father.
His footsteps fade away, and I chance a peek over the edge of the log, surveying the quiet night and the trees beyond. Part of me wonders if it’s better when he’s close because at least I know where he is, whereas right now, I’ll be running blind.
I swallow past the lump in my throat and stand slowly, keeping my eyes on my surroundings as I quickly move back the way we came. I don’t think I’ll be able to get back to the house without him noticing, but if I can make it to the other side of the yard, he may not think to look for me there.
My bare feet protest against the rough foliage, but I ignore the pain the same way I’m ignoring how fucking cold I am. My skin is cloaked with goose bumps as I wrap my arms around my middle and flick a look over my shoulder into the dark trees.
Once I’m sure he’s not following me, I turn back around and stop dead in my tracks.
Standing in front of me is Kovu, his hood dropped back so I can see his face in the dim moonlight. His wild eyes lock on mine as a manic smile tugs up the corners of his lips.
“Got you, Little Lamb.”
He lunges toward me, and I stumble backward, slamming into the tree behind me. The rough bark bites into my skin, and I cry out as he traps me between his hard body and the unforgiving wood.
He presses into me, and even with all the self-defense training I’ve done, I’m not going to be able to overpower him. Not when he has a foot and at least a hundred pounds on me.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, not trusting my voice to remain even under my heavy breaths.
“Did you think you’d be able to outrun me, Camilla?” He tilts his head to the side, staring down at me with an intensity that should terrify me. And maybe it does on some level. But there’s something to say about a man staring at you with this much obsession in his eyes. It’s a heady feeling.
“You should have known I’d never let you go.” He drops his face until his lips are trailing across my cheek and a shiver of need vibrates through me. My body is betraying me the same way my heart has time and time again when it comes to these men. But I’m smarter than this. I know better than to let myself get caught up in my emotions.
“Kovu,” I warn. “If security catches you, they’ve been instructed to shoot to kill.” Just the thought of it makes my stomach do an uncomfortable flip-flop. The idea of one of them being hurt, of pressing my weight against a gunshot wound the way I did Crew just a couple of weeks ago, has bile climbing up the back of my throat.
He chuckles. “What makes you think they’d catch me, Camilla?”
I tremble beneath his touch as he drags his tongue down my cheek, and it’s only then I realize I’m crying. Tears of fear and need and anger all meld together until I can’t hold them at bay any longer.
“Your tears taste almost as good as your blood does, Little Lamb.”
He drops a hand to my bare thigh and slowly brushes his fingers up the inside of my leg until he reaches the sleep shorts that are doing very little to protect me from the elements. I need to dress more appropriately when I leave my bedroom, just in case anything like this ever happens again.
He pushes them and my panties to the side until cool air brushes over my pussy, and I gasp at the sensation, drawing a chuckle from his throat, closely followed by a growl when his fingers move over my embarrassingly wet pussy.
“I think my little lamb enjoys being my prey,” he murmurs, dipping his head so his lips are just a breath from mine. His fingers press down on my aching clit, and it’s then I realize just how wet I am.
I can’t like this. It’s wrong. So fucking wrong. And yet I’m writhing against the rough bark at my back, desperate for more. More of him. More of his touch. More of his brutality.
“Kovu,” I breathe, but it comes out more of a whine, which just makes the smug son of a bitch smirk.
His fingers travel downward until they press against my entrance. “Are you desperate for me, Camilla? Does my little lamb need me to take away the ache?”
“No.” I try to push him away, but it’s a feeble attempt and one I’m not sure why I bother with. He knows I want him. Despite everything he’s done, despite the blood of my own father on his hands, I still fucking want him.
Angry tears gather at the corners of my eyes as I force my hands between us and shove against his chest. “No,” I say louder.
His eyes flash with a hint of rejection, but then he’s on me. His lips descend on mine and even though I should push him away. I don’t. I allow him to pour everything into our kiss, the pain, the anger, the betrayal. It’s heady and intoxicating and so fucking addictive it’s wrong.
“You can tell me you don’t want this all you want, Camilla, but you and I both know the truth.” He bites down on my bottom lip until we both taste blood. “We both know that you’re just as depraved as I am. We both know you’re going to let me fuck your tight little cunt right here against this tree or in the dirt at our feet. And we both know you’re going to come so fucking hard, I’m going to be smelling like your sweet pussy for days.”
As if to punctuate his point, he presses two fingers against my entrance and pushes them inside me ever so slowly.
My hips writhe of their own accord, desperate for more, even if I should be pushing him away. How is it I had no interest in sex two months ago, and now here I am in the middle of the night about to get fucked against a tree by the man who killed my father?
Yeah, when I say it like that, it really is more fucked up.
“You’re dripping for me, Little Lamb,” Kovu groans as he buries his face into my neck.
He trails kisses along the delicate flesh, no doubt spreading my own blood as he goes, before he clamps down on a particularly sensitive piece of skin that makes me scream into the night.
“That’s it, baby, scream for me,” he murmurs as he laps at the spot he just sunk his teeth into.
I shift my hips, desperate for more, but he holds me steady.
“I’ll give you what you need in my own time, Little Lamb. After all, I should be punishing you for running from me.”
“Seems like you like to chase me,” I snap.
“Oh, I love to chase you, Camilla. But that’s not what I was referring to.” He brings his face to my level, the sight of my blood shining on his lips makes my pussy pulse with need. “I was talking about when we woke up this morning to you gone. No note. No idea if you were safe. No fucking clue where you were.”
The vulnerability in his tone does something to me, and I can’t help but feel a little guilty for how I handled things.
“You lied to me.” My voice cracks. “You all lied to me.”
“We didn’t lie.”
“A lie by omission is still a lie.”
He watches me for long moments, his fingers still moving inside me as he brings me to the edge and then carefully guides me back again. Over and over again, he lets me taste the release he’s holding at bay but never allows me close enough to fall.
“Kovu,” I whine.
“Maybe I should leave you wanting. Maybe that should be your punishment for scaring the shit out of me this morning.”
I glare at him. “If you did that, I’d just take care of myself.”
He chuckles. “It’s cute that you think I wouldn’t be watching you like a hawk to make sure you didn’t touch my pussy.”
I huff out a sigh, followed by a low moan as his fingers move against my G-spot. “Kovu, please.” I fucking hate myself for begging him right now. For giving him the satisfaction. But I can’t take it anymore. I’m desperate for more.
“Get my cock out, Little Lamb.”
He lifts his free hand to my throat, and I immediately clench around his fingers, earning me a knowing smirk. His touch remains light, a reminder that he can stop me from breathing any damn time he likes, and that thought only seems to bring me closer to the edge.
I shove at his sweatpants as best I can while being pinned against the tree, and when his cock pops out, I can’t help but stare. Before I met the Legion, I had never been near a dick, but fuck me, does he have a nice one. He’s rock-hard, and the veins and ridges are pushing against the sensitive skin.
“See how hard chasing you made me, Little Lamb?” he rumbles, tightening his hold around my throat.
I nod, my eyes rolling back into my head as his fingers pick up the pace inside me, driving me straight toward the edge. The pleasure mixed with the grip he has around my throat brings me right to the edge, and just as I’m about to fall, just as my orgasm is so close I can taste it, Kovu steps back and releases me all together.
My legs almost give way beneath me. What the fuck was that?
Kovu stands a few steps back, staring at me with a wild hunger that makes my stomach do flip-flops. His hand moves slowly over his cock as he watches me.
“On your knees, Little Lamb.”