Chapter 7
SEVEN
CASEY
We both sat completely still, silent and watching, as our girl walked to the tree line.
I had to swallow down my grunt.
Our girl.
God, that did things to me, and it was only just the beginning.
There was absolutely no telling how feral I would become for this beautiful woman as time went on.
From her crystal blue eyes to her black, pin-straight hair, all the way down to her French tip painted toes we had seen in a mirror selfie recently.
Aiden may have been the caveman when there were two of us, but I feared that girl would be dealing with two cavemen very shortly.
Because, regardless of how tonight went…PetalstoFangs was our girl.
Aiden waved his hand in front of my face—the asshole—to snap me out of my thoughts.
I turned to look at him with an exasperated eyeroll and raised my brow, considering the balaclava hid any other part of myself that could be interpreted as an answer, such as my mouth.
Good thing, too, or else I would have stuck my tongue out at him.
His face, however, wasn’t masked up like mine was, and the stern glare and set jaw that followed my petulant eyeroll was quickly anchored toward me. He raised his hand again, using two fingers to show where our girl had entered the forest, and I hissed under my breath.
Go-time.
As silent as the night, I stood and began trekking after her.
My footsteps were light and precise, unlike the man behind me who somehow clomped around like a beast unless he was careful.
But even if I was the stealthy one, Aiden was the hunter, and it was more than useful.
In duty, it was the exact same way. We might as well have been treating the beginning of that night as if it were a mission.
It was why he had the night vision headset on instead of the concealing mask I wore.
I smirked at the thought.
Our little doe really didn’t realize who she had gotten involved with.
She would soon, though.
Even without the night vision headset, picking her out of the dark was exceptionally easy. Somehow, her hair was so dark that the moon’s light bounced off it, and it almost looked like she had a halo. And she was mere feet away.
I swallowed roughly and planted myself behind a tree, hidden from her sight, before I spoke. “You really didn’t hide as well as I thought you would have, darlin’.”
The yelp that came out of her throat at the sound of my voice was intoxicating.
Her voice trembled as she spoke. “I didn’t know we were playing hide-and-seek.”
“We’re not, but that does sound very intriguing for next time.”
“N-next time? Where even are you?”
Ignoring her first question, because—yes, next time—I picked up a small shell that had somehow gotten to the tree line and tossed it. I moved my head slightly from behind the tree, just to see where it had hit, and smiled gleefully when it landed at her feet.
She stared down at the shell. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
My tone was full of mock-pout. “Awe. I guess it doesn’t. Tell you what…how about we play the hot-or-cold game before the real game begins. If you win, you get to tell us how the rest of the night is going to go. But if you lose, then you’re ours to do whatever we want with. Yeah?”
I bit my lip as I watched her mull it over. She crossed her arms, rubbing them from the chill before nodding. “Okay. Yeah.”
Satisfaction coursed through me. Good girl.
Even if I wouldn’t let her win.
“Go on,” I urged. “Start walking. Follow where the sound of my voice is.”
She did just that, and I had to bite back my laugh as she walked in the complete opposite direction. She was going to be so much fun.
I trailed after her so my voice wouldn’t carry too much and ruin the game. “Warmer.”
She paused, shifting to the left.
“Colder.”
She immediately huffed and went to the right instead.
I smirked as I watched her stomp around the woods.
The October leaves crunched around her, and like clockwork, the light sounds of Aiden’s footsteps followed as he entered the tree line with us.
When I felt him right next to me, I called out to her again, eager to frustrate her now. “Colder!”
Aiden turned his head to look at me with a smirk.
Being a brat was exceptionally useful when it came to other brats.
We watched as she threw her arms up and started walking right back toward us. “I have a feeling you’re not playing very fair, Wraithe.”
I laughed. “How’d you know it was me playing the game?”
I watched as her head turned quizzically, noting where my voice was actually coming from, before she began tiptoeing toward me.
Our little doe thought she was sneaky. It was adorable.
She poked her head around a tree. “You’re the one who calls me darlin’. Wolfe calls me pretty girl. Where is he in all of this?”
Aiden spoke for me that time, and the smirk coating his voice was beyond laughable. “Oh, I’m here, pretty girl. We really gotta talk about your wardrobe choice for running around in the woods, though. A t-shirt and shorts? You’re gonna be walking out of here bloody.”
I bit my lip to stifle my groan.
Hot.
Her head poked around another tree, and I signaled to Aiden to stay put as I began setting up the real trap. Thankfully, he knew exactly what I was going to do without me saying it, and he smiled thankfully.
Impatient man.
Our doe spoke again. “Maybe I want that.”
I spoke next. “We know. Doesn’t mean you won’t walk away with a red ass for the choice.”
She stuttered. “Y-you’d s-spank me for that?”
“Yes,” I stated. It wasn’t even up for discussion.
If anyone was going to make her bleed, it was going to be us.
Not the underbrush of trees and dead bushes.
“You’re getting a nice version of us tonight, though.
We’re not going to make you run—just yet.
We’re not going to punish you, either. This game is a good starting point. Alright?”
“Ye-yes. Okay.”
Aiden spoke next. “Warmer.”
She nodded to herself and took a few more steps toward his voice.
She was within two yards of him when he spoke again. “You’re so warm, pretty girl.”
My own dick twitched at the warmth coating his tone. That was the tone that had me calling him Daddy, and it made me want to hear her call him that, too.
I shook the thought out of my head.
The absolute last thing I wanted to do was leak in my own camo before the fun had even begun.
I had to get control of my thoughts.
Going off of that, I slowly unclasped the dagger from my belt and watched as she got even closer to Aiden.
Taking a deep breath, I walked toward her stealthily, and my gloved hand covered her mouth seconds later.
She screamed against me as I raised the knife up to her line of vision, only to lower it and cut her shirt right down the middle.
She thrashed around me slightly as I did so, forcing me to nick her soft skin, and I cursed under my breath.
Blood didn’t scare me in the slightest, but that didn’t mean I necessarily wanted to make her bleed…
Yet.
“Easy, darlin’. You’re safe. It’s just us.”
My words soothed her slightly, and her thrashing stopped. Only to turn into trembling.
I kept my hold on her firm all the same.
Aiden walked out from behind the tree until he was in front of us, towering over her as he spoke. “You’re on fire, pretty girl.”