Chapter 82
Seth
Abetter killer than me, huh.
I fucking love her so much.
I have to admit, she’s made progress fast, faster than most people I trained with ever did.
She runs like she means it. Her boots pound over the forest floor in hard, even hits.
Her ponytail snaps behind her with every stride, cutting through branches.
This isn’t play. This is muscle, adrenaline, and survival fused together.
Every movement says the same thing. She doesn’t want to be caught.
But I know she does.
I keep my distance at first. Close enough to keep her in sight, far enough to let her feel that pulse of fear climbing up her throat. I don’t make a sound. Just shadow and breath. Watching. Stalking.
Her body moves like a weapon, cutting through the trees, agile as hell, but I know her rhythm. I know the way she’ll veer left when the slope dips. The way her footwork falters when she's thinking too hard. I track every pivot, every staggered breath.
She has no clue how close I am.
The night air is thick with pine and earth and the faint scent of her perfume.
I watch her duck under a low branch, and hear the scrape of bark against her sleeve.
She picks up speed on the hill, boots kicking up wet leaves.
A fallen log comes up ahead and she vaults over it like she has done it a thousand times.
God, she is fucking fast.
But not faster than me.
I pick up speed. Branches lash my arms. Mud kicks up onto my jeans. I don’t care. All I see is her.
The way she moves like she wants to escape but knows she won’t. I let her go a few more seconds. Just long enough for her to think she might make it.
Then she slips.
Her boot hits mud at the wrong angle and she loses speed. It isn’t a full fall, but it is enough.
I lunge.
One hand catches her hip and the other locks around her waist. I yank her back into me so fast it knocks the air out of both of us. We hit the ground hard, dirt and wet leaves spraying out around us.
She gasps, sharp and breathless.
I pin her with my weight, knees braced on either side of her thighs, one hand spread over her ribs. She shifts beneath me, not fighting outright.
I lean close. My voice stays low. “I got you.”
Her eyes flash up at me and she smiles. “Or did I get you?”
I glance down.
Her hand is between us.
A knife is angled up at my stomach, close enough that I can feel the cold of the blade through my shirt. She kept it hidden until the last second, tucked tight against her body where I wouldn’t see it until I thought I already won.
I go still for half a beat.
Then I laugh once, breathless, because of course she did.
“Clever girl.”
She keeps the blade steady and her eyes stay on mine. “You told me to keep my knife on me, even when I’m with you.”
My hand slides to her wrist, not forcing it down yet, just holding her there, feeling the strength in her grip. I keep my weight careful so I don’t press into the blade.
“So everything I drilled in you finally stuck.”
She smiles wider. “Yeah, but you can always drill more.”
My throat tightens. The mask is still on my face, but I can feel my grin under it.
I lean closer until my breath hits her mouth. “You’re asking for trouble.”
Her knife doesn’t drop. Her body still arches, chasing contact, daring me to do something about it.
I lift my hand to the mask and pull it off, because I need her eyes on mine. I need her to see my face and understand this is real. I drop the mask into the dirt beside us.
Her knife stays between us, angled up at my stomach. I reach down and grab the blade. The edge bites into my palm and splits skin. Blood slides warm over my fingers.
I don’t flinch.
Her eyes widen, just a little, and her breath catches hard.
I close my hand tighter around the knife, forcing it away from my body. Then I bring that same bloody hand up to her mouth and trace across her lips with my thumb.
Down her chin. Down her throat.
A red trail follows my touch. She swallows under it, pulse jumping against my fingers.
I keep my hand at her throat, not squeezing, just holding her there.
I lean in and kiss her. Hard and deep, like I am claiming the moment back. The taste of my blood hits my tongue. She makes a sound into my mouth and it turns into a shiver through her whole body.
I shift my weight and roll her with me, taking her hand and pinning it above her head. Leaves stick to her hair. Damp earth smears her cheek.
Her breath comes fast. Her eyes stay locked on mine.
I press my mouth to her ear. “I’m going to drill everything I’ve got into you.”
Her laugh breaks out, breathless and unsteady, and her body softens under me like she is already saying yes.
My hand slides down her abdomen as I hold her beneath me, but she stays on her back with her eyes locked on mine.
My weight presses her into the forest floor, keeping her exactly where I want her.
My fingers catch the waistband of her leggings, and I yank them down past her hips in one rough pull, exposing her legs to the cold night air.
The chill hits her instantly, and goosebumps rise fast.
She moans, breath shaking.
I stay over her, my chest hovering above hers, close enough to feel her warmth rise to meet me. I push her thighs apart with my knee and drag my fingers between her legs. Heat floods my hand, and her body trembles hard.
I undo my belt with one hand, spit into my palm, stroke myself once to line up, and grip her hips firmly enough to guarantee she will remember this.
Her body tenses beneath me.
I thrust into her fully, driving her into the ground.
Her cry tears through the trees, as her hands fly up to grab at my shoulders. She clutches my shirt, pulling me down, her legs falling open wider under my weight.
“Ooohhhh Seth,” she moans, voice breaking apart.
I cover her mouth with my bloody hand because I want to feel every sound she pushes out against my skin. Her teeth graze my palm, and her back lifts from the ground as she tries to take me deeper.
I growl and drive into her again, meeting her eyes the entire time.
She sobs into my hand as her body tightens around me with enough force to shake my control. Her legs wrap around my hips, pulling me closer, refusing to let go.
She tries to speak, but the words collapse against my hand.
I grab her hair and pull her head back slightly, forcing her to look at me while she arches for more, her entire body open beneath mine and completely at my mercy.
I start pounding into her, every thrust hitting hard enough to shove her deeper into the earth beneath us. Her moans tear out of her without control, like she can’t tell where the hurt ends and the pleasure begins. Her nails drag across my arms, searching for something to hold on to.
I release her mouth and catch both her wrists in one grip, dragging them above her head and locking them there. She gasps the moment I drive into her again, deeper and harder. Her back arches, her thighs shake around my hips, and her breath splinters with every impact.
She completely loses it.
Her entire body convulses under me, legs trembling so violently she can barely keep them around me.
Her breath cracks apart, her chest rising fast. When her orgasm hits, it slams through her with full-body force, shaking her from head to toe.
Her eyes roll back, her mouth falls open, and a broken moan pours out of her.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she gasps, voice wrecked.
I drop my mouth to her ear, teeth grazing her skin before I speak, my voice low and rough.
“Keep coming for me like that and you won’t be able to walk right in the morning.”
Her body reacts instantly, a broken moan slipping from her lips like that is exactly what she wants.
I don’t slow down. I chase my own edge with my hips snapping into her in a hard, relentless rhythm. Every muscle in my body strains for release, and when it hits, it crashes through me with the same force I drive into her.
I stay buried deep inside her, spilling into her while she still shakes beneath me. Her breath stays broken, her thighs trembling around my waist, her chest rising fast. I slide my free hand down to her sternum and press my palm over her heart, feeling it slam against my skin.
We stay like that for a long moment, bodies tangled, breathing hard, completely wrecked. The forest around us feels unnaturally quiet, almost aware of what we have done, like it stands there watching us come apart together.
I roll her over in one movement, shifting from above her to beneath her. Her gasp hits my throat as she climbs on top of me, straddling my hips with quick, hungry determination.
Her hands spread across my chest as she steadies herself.
Her breath comes fast, and her hair falls around her face in a wild, tangled curtain.
She reaches for the hem of her top and pulls it over her head, tossing it aside.
The moment her skin is bare, I see the blood from the cut on my hand smeared across her breasts, streaked over her neck, and staining the corners of her mouth.
The sight hits me hard. She looks dangerous, beautiful, and fully fucking mine.
I grip her hips firmly.
“Still think you’re the better killer?” I ask near her ear.
She laughs, rough and breathless.
“Maybe. But I know I’m the better fuck.”
My grin presses into her throat.
“Then round two better prove it.”
She lowers herself onto me, sliding down my length with a gasp that shakes both of us. Her thighs tighten around my waist as her palms drag up my chest. Every movement smears more of my blood across her skin, turning her into something feral and intoxicating.
“Fuck. Ride me, baby,” I grunt, my voice harsh with need.
She moves with purpose, dropping her hips and grinding against me in a rhythm that grows faster with every breath. Her nails dig into my shoulders for leverage. Her body trembles from the intensity of each thrust, and her moans rise louder as she loses control.