Chapter 8
I could’ve snatched her right off my front lawn, but I froze. The terror in her eyes, the recognition of something horrific, held me in place, unable to comfort her like I used to. The world is a stranger to her, and so am I.
But it’s time to change all that. I can’t let her go.
The glow mask rattles against my face as I charge through the woods after her. Her fear spikes my adrenaline, awakening the most feral parts of me. I pursue her like prey. Like she’s an animal who needs to be caged.
She whimpers as she runs, the wind carrying the crisp scent of peaches in her trail. It fuels my arousal, my pursuit, as I break into a run myself. I won’t let her get far.
Between my mask and the rain, my line of sight blurs. She’s still recovering from her injuries, but deep down, there’s a part of her that remembers how much she loves the hunt. Her instinct is to let me catch her. Jill will always surrender to her Jack.
I take a hard right and loop around the shrubs, crossing the muddy terrain. Zigzagging through the wet leaves, I cut her off. She yelps as I slam my body into hers, forcing her back against the trunk of an old, white pine tree.
I cover her mouth with my hand. “Shhh, save your strength. You’re going to need it.”
Her chest heaves as her lungs reach for breath. I slide my hand down to her throat, allowing her to speak.
She gazes up at me, her eyelids fluttering, as raindrops streak her cheeks. “Punk… what… what have you done to me?”
I stroke her lips with my thumb, my cock throbbing. “Only the things you wanted me to. The things you begged me for.”
She swallows, and my cock tingles at the feel of her throat bobbing against my palm. I press in closer, relishing the way her nipples swell against my chest.
“Everyone thinks you’re bad for me. That the accident was a blessing. A way to get me away from you,” she admits.
I lift up my mask and press my forehead against hers. Her body shivers. “They’re trying to confuse you, baby. I’m the only one who can make you happy. I don’t try to dim your light. Or your darkness. I accept all of you. And they fucking hate me for it.”
She draws in a deep breath when her eyes meet mine. She studies my face, taking in every inch of it. “I asked for you when I woke up. They told me no. That you were too unhinged. But I can’t stop thinking about you. I want to remember…” Her voice breaks off in a whimper.
Fury rushes through my veins. I’ve never wanted to set fire to the world more than I do in this moment. How fucking dare they? Roxy belongs to me.
She trembles when I slide my hand over her breast and press it against her heart.
“Don’t you feel the electricity between us?
No one else matters except you and me.” This obsession is sick, twisted, and all consuming.
But it’s the only thing that makes me feel alive.
I crave her every single second of the day and night.
“But if I can’t remember, how can there even be an us? Your love scares me, Punk.” Her words don’t match the look in her eyes. And they definitely don’t align with the way her body arches toward me.
“It scares me too. But the thought of living without you is worse than fear. It’s non-negotiable, Roxy. One way or another, you will submit to me.” I unzip her pants. “Tell me to stop.”
Her breath hitches. “What are you doing?”
I keep my eyes locked on hers as I pull her pants down to her ankles. “Tell me to stop or lift up your foot so I can get these off of you.”
She looks around, searching for witnesses who aren’t there. The woods are dark, stormy, and barren. The only sounds come from us, and the wolves howling in the distance. “Punk… you’re still a stranger to me.”
She lets me untie her shoes and remove them. I lift up her foot, since she’s unwilling to lift it herself, and yank her right pant leg off. She still doesn’t resist when I do the same to the other one. “Your body remembers, Roxy. I’ll say it once more. Tell me to stop, or I will keep going.”
The choice is an easy one. Even as she trembles, I see the need in her eyes.
The longing. And I can smell her arousal from where I kneel between her legs.
I wait another beat before realizing she wants me to have the power.
To make the decision for her, so she doesn’t have to say it out loud.
There will be a time when I need to hear it.
But for now, I will accept this as her submission.
“Good girl,” I praise as I drag her panties to the side. Fuck. She’s glistening. I spread her pussy open with my fingers and run the length of my tongue up her slit. “Mmm. I fucking missed the way you taste, pretty girl.”
She lets out a soft moan and grabs the back of my head. Her instincts are always to draw me closer. Even when she tries to push me away with her words, her body holds me firmly in place.
I inch my tongue inside her, humming as she throws her head back against the tree. The rain comes down harder, soaking us to the bone. But it’s me who makes her shiver the most. I lap at her flesh, massaging my tongue against her most sensitive nerves.
“Oh, fuck,” she cries. “You’re like a drug… A dangerous fucking drug… Fuck.”
Yes, thatta girl. Embrace your favorite addiction.
Remember how bad you need this to survive.
I throw her leg over my shoulder to stretch her open wider.
Her juices soak my face, dripping down my neck as I thrust my tongue all the way in.
I flick against her G-spot, my cock throbbing with every tremor she gives me.
Her moans are my carnal lullabies, a siren song luring me deeper into this sea of my obsession. It’s not enough to possess her. I need to own every drop of her arousal. Every single inch of her pleasure. Every orgasm that contorts her body like a rabid fucking animal.
And in return, she will have my undying devotion and servitude. I run my tongue up her slit until I find her swollen clit. I devour it like I’m starving for the brutal, yet gentle violence that it invokes in her. “Mmm, cum in my mouth, baby. Your screams are like my holy fucking scripture.”
“Damn you,” she says on a shaky breath. “Uhhh… no. Fuck.”
She cries tears of rapture as I destroy her. The louder she moans, the harder I flick my tongue against her bundle of nerves. “Yeah, just like that.” I rake my teeth down her slit and bury my face between her thighs as she grinds back against me.
When she finally stills, I lean back to admire the mess I’ve made of her. Grinning, I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “You didn’t tell me to stop. You could have, but you didn’t. Remember that.”
Her gaze darkens, turning from euphoric to angry in a matter of seconds. I chuckle as she staggers forward, almost falling over as she fumbles for her pants. “I don’t know why you have this hold on me,” she snaps. “But it’s disturbing and toxic as fuck.”
“You loved every minute of it, pretty girl. That’s what’s making you so angry.
And I’m here for it. Give me all your rage.
I’ll devour it like a fucking cannibal.” I pop up from the ground and tower over her.
She’s a cornered animal, her pride wounded.
She’d rather starve her pussy than ever admit she was wrong.
She pulls her boots back on before taking a giant step away from me. “Well, we clearly have issues. Maybe my memories should stay buried.”
I stuff my hands into the pockets of my hoodie, a sign of temporary retreat. She needs to process this before I make another move. “You hurt me when you say things like that, Roxy. I’ve done nothing wrong. All I want is you. I will never stop hunting you. You’ll have to kill me first.”
That flicker of excitement returns to her gaze. She’s just as unhinged as I am. “And all I want is to remember who I was before I met you.”
I let her put more distance between us, even though it’s torturous. “You were exactly as you are now—brave and beautiful but also lost and broken. Just like me. Then we saved each other. And we will again.”
Her breath hitches and something else hangs on the tip of her tongue, but she bites it back. I stand there, unable to utter another word as I watch her tear off through the woods. She thinks I’m letting her get away, but I’m only giving her a head start.