Chapter 44 Sloane #2
“Come with me,” he says, backing off the mattress and extending a gloved hand out to me.
I stare down at his hand, confused. When I don’t make a move, he sighs and reaches over to pick me up from the mattress.
He throws me over his shoulder like I’m the easiest thing he’s ever carried and takes off toward the stairs.
I slap his back, attempting to throw a tantrum so he’ll put me down.
He chuckles, slapping my ass before saying, “Save your energy, darling.” Once we’re back on the main level of his house, he continues walking until we reach the front door.
He opens it up, steps out, and puts me down.
I’m about to ask what he’s doing when he drops his head to look at me, grumbling one single word that has the hair on the back of my neck standing at full attention.
“Run.” He nods toward the forest. The same forest that we were in before. I swallow.
I blink once and then twice, searching his eyes for any trace of a joke.
Of course, I don’t find one, because he’s wearing a fucking Scream mask.
I laugh out loud at no one in particular, before stopping suddenly.
His head tilts as he withdraws the knife he had earlier.
My gaze shifts to the silver blade that’s shining under the bright glow of a full moon.
Where was he hiding that thing? I look back up at him as he stalks toward me slowly.
I back away, eliciting another dark chuckle from him.
“I said, run, Sloane. Now.” I bite my lower lip, stumbling backward a couple of steps.
There’s something so provocative about running through the forest while being chased by a masked man with a knife.
I mean, all book girls think that, right?
I second-guess my twisted desires for only a second before I turn on my heels and run.
I run through the opening of the forest as fast as my legs will carry me.
My very naked legs, might I add. I am running through the forest, naked and …
not so afraid. Okay, kind of afraid, but mostly turned on.
I sprint around giant redwoods, glancing back to gauge the distance between us.
I see Riven a few tree lengths behind me, walking.
This is literally how every girl in the horror films dies.
Running from the masked murderer while he walks after her.
And then he catches up in a few lazy strides before stabbing her to death.
The thought makes me giggle, my bare feet nearly tripping on an exposed branch in my path.
I giggle again, because falling face-first would be such a cliche right now.
Part of me wants to give up now, let him catch me, and have his way with me.
But the much more stubborn part wants to continue the game and see how far I get.
I stop, hiding behind a large tree to catch my breath.
I inhale and exhale slowly and silently, allowing the air to return to my burning lungs.
I focus on the sounds around me, listening for footsteps or small snapping twigs to let me know he’s close.
I don’t hear anything apart from an owl hooting in the distance and the high-pitched chirping of crickets.
I press my back firmly against the rough texture of the large redwood that’s concealing me, slowing my breathing until my pulse no longer echoes in my ears.
Where is he? He wasn’t that far behind me.
I listen intently, closing my eyes and resting my head back against the tree.
Suddenly, the forest seems to come alive as if it’s breathing around me.
I hear the echo of a howl somewhere far off in the distance.
I feel the warm breeze of the night air brush across my cheek, welcoming me.
I hear the rustling of leaves nearby, wondering if it’s the wind or him.
The bite of the bark presses into my spine as I dig myself closer into its comfort.
I hear a twig snap off to my right. My eyes shoot open, and my head snaps in the direction of the sound.
I’m met with only the darkness of the forest, illuminated in shadows by the moon peeking through the trees overhead.
I hear footsteps, slow and deliberate, and I think that perhaps I might be imagining it all.
My breathing hitches, pulse thrumming loudly in my ears.
And then his voice cuts through the darkness, low and distorted, sending a shiver straight down my spine.
“You can run, little nightmare, but I will always find what’s mine.” My head snaps to the right where the sound was amplified, only to face the darkness yet again.
I hear a deep chuckle to my left now. “Try again, darling.” I snap my head in the other direction, expecting to come face to face with the mask.
Again, I’m left staring into the darkness.
I’m frantically searching left and right for him, fear climbing up my body like the roots of the trees around me.
I step forward to run once more when a gloved hand shoots out and grabs my throat, pressing me against the tree.
I scream into the darkness, the jump scare claiming my entire soul.
I don’t know what terrifies me more, how much I want to run or how badly I don’t.
I see the silhouette of his cloaked form emerge from my periphery before he’s standing in front of me.
I look up into his mask, bathed in the fractured moonlight filtering in through the canopy.
It’s as breathtaking as it is haunting. My chest heaves against him at the sight of it.
He tilts his head slowly, his breathing a bit labored.
He brings the knife in his hand up to my collarbone, pressing it into the skin below it.
The slightest trickle of blood seeps past the tip of the blade and down my chest. I shudder, eyes watching as he does it again on the opposite side.
My breath catches on a hiss, and it comes out sounding far more sinful.
He watches as the blood from what he’s done to me trails down my chest and over my breast. His black cloak rises and falls quicker now as he watches droplets of blood drip from my nipples.
The same thought must find us both as we reach up simultaneously to remove the Scream mask.
It falls to the forest floor, and his mouth is on my right nipple in an instant, sucking the blood clean from it while moaning against my skin.
I grab a handful of his hair in both hands roughly, guiding his mouth to the other nipple.
He sucks the blood clean from that one as well before raising his eyes to find mine, searching for any notion that he might have gone too far this time.
The picture of him in front of me, like this, with my blood smeared across his lips, is the sexiest thing I think I’ve ever seen.
His opposing eyes are burning with desperation and desire, and he’s nearly growling with restraint.
The palpable space between us disappears within an instant, our mouths crashing together in a reckless need to devour.
He grips his cloak and rips it down the middle, exposing himself to me wholly.
Next, he discards the black gloves, tossing them to the forest floor.
My hands find his chest, running my fingers down his sculpted form until I find his pulsing erection.
I fist him in my hands, moaning into his mouth at the feel of him.
He bites my bottom lip in warning, nearly falling against me before bracing a hand on the tree above me.
He moves his other hand down my form, and when he finds my ass, he grips me hard and lifts until my legs circle him.
He pushes off the tree to spin us around until his back is against the harsh bark, running his fingers over the imprints that are now scattered across mine.
My hands once again find his hair, entwining my fingers in the damp strands.
His broad shoulders fall back into the bark with a thud as he watches me like a man on the edge of losing control.
He lines himself up to my entrance and pushes inside of me at an agonizing pace, releasing a low groan like he’s a worshiper crossing sacred ground at last. His head falls back against the tree as he uses his grip on my ass to guide himself in and out of me once more.
I moan into the night air. The feel of him inside of me, and the look of him coming undone, sends my nerve endings into overdrive.
It devours me whole like a sacred drowning, pulling me under with the kind of promise that feels like forever.
He drives into me now at a much faster pace, igniting a stinging pain that mixes so beautifully with the pleasure.
My head falls forward to rest in the crook of his neck, and without thought, I bite down hard enough to draw blood.
I immediately find his eyes to assess them for any trace of pain, but all I find is that dark desire that coils around my spine in the sweetest embrace.
I continue to give way to my unraveling desires, flicking out my tongue and licking the trail of blood until it disappears from his skin.
A low growl rumbles from his throat as one of his hands grips my jaw.
His eyes are wild and intense, staring into mine like I’m the vision he prayed for but never thought he’d get.
He pulls my mouth to his, kissing me softly despite the danger that charges the air around us.
This kiss is somehow unlike the others. He’s no longer a man ruled by desire, but one seeking to memorize something sacred.
Our tongues move in unison, dancing in the dark in a way that desperately seeks to draw us nearer.
He moves inside of me with precise ease, returning his hand to cup my ass as he walks us backward until we’re in the middle of a clearing.
He pulls back from the kiss, resting his forehead against mine.
His breaths are uneven, and I can feel his heart hammering against my own.
“I fucking love you, Sloane. So much that it hurts.” His voice cracks, the control he usually has over his emotions crumbling around us. A single tear falls from the void of his onyx stare, and it’s easily the most devastatingly beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed.
Tears well in my eyes, my own emotions rushing out to embrace his. “I love you, too, Riven. Every single part of you.” I cup his face in my hands, brushing my thumbs softly over his damp skin before placing a single, sealing kiss to his lips.
He kneels with me in his arms, and him still firmly inside of me, leaning back until he’s lying on the forest floor, and I’m on top of him.
I sit up, staring down at his shattered soul that is beautiful in his ruin and whole in his surrender.
He remains still inside of me, his palms resting on my thighs as he stares up at me in nothing short of wonder.
I roll my hips around him, rocking back and forth until he meets my momentum.
I throw my head back to the moon, gripping his hands and guiding them to my breasts.
I bring my hand down to the sensitive bud between my legs and start rubbing in slow circles.
When my gaze finds his face once again, there’s a devilish grin pulling at the corner of his mouth as he watches me pleasure myself before him.
“You are my goddess, Sloane. Bathed in moonlight and riding my cock while touching yourself like the good girl that you are,” he growls, thrusting up into me at a quicker pace that is sure to send me straight into the stars above.
“Yes, I’m so close,” I say, panting. I pick up my pace, rolling my hips and circling my clit. His thrusts grow more urgent, chasing his building pleasure.
“Come, darling. Scream my name into the shadows and let the trees bear witness to this offering.” His words are enough for me to give him everything that he desires.
So, I do.
With trembling thighs and eyes wide, I give him everything. His name spills from my throat like a vow, sending even the most terrifying creatures of the night fleeing. I come alive with him on the forest floor beneath us. And even in the darkness of the night, I’ve never felt more seen.