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She spun and darted for the door, leaving it open behind her in her haste to make it to the tree line.
Luca bent down, sliding on a pair of jeans, Conor doing the same. They perched on opposite ends of the bed to put on their own tennis shoes.
“We’re really doing this?” Conor asked. “Chasing her down, pretending to be strangers, claiming her in the woods?”
“Don’t you want to?”
Conor sucked in a deep breath. “Maybe a little bit too much.”
Luca circled the bed, slapping him on the shoulder. “Time?”
Conor looked at his watch once more. “It’s been four minutes.”
Luca walked to a large chest by the front door, rummaging around until he pulled out an old jump rope. “Let’s go capture our girl.”
Conor was hot on his heels as they sprinted through the front door, leaping over the three steps that led off the porch. They ran side by side until they reached the edge of the woods, then Luca put his hand out, gesturing for Conor to stop.
The two of them were quiet as they listened, chuckling at how loud Harper was being. God help the woman if she ever truly had to escape an assailant. Luca made a mental note to start giving Harper some self-defense lessons.
Luca pointed in the direction of a loud crash, followed by cursing.
“Let’s split up. Circle around, box her in,” Luca suggested.
Conor nodded, jogging—much more quietly—through the woods to the right. Luca took off at the same pace toward the left. Harper must have realized her five minutes was up because she was quieter now. Perhaps that initial mad dash had been her attempt to put some distance between her and the cabin.
He walked at a brisk pace, careful to keep his footsteps as silent as possible, despite the abundance of sticks and leaves in the underbrush. He’d been trudging forward steadily, searching the area around him for ten minutes before he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Stepping behind a large tree trunk, he peered around it, watching as Harper emerged from behind another tree about thirty yards away.
She clearly hadn’t seen him because as she surveyed the woods around her, she chose her direction…walking right toward him.
She was only about ten feet away when a noise behind her captured both of their attention. Conor appeared, waving to Harper, who sprinted forward, intent on making him chase her.
Unbeknownst to her, she was racing right into their trap.
Luca stepped from behind the tree just as she was about to pass, reaching out to grab her around the middle.
“Got you.”
Harper flew forward over his forearm as he twisted her, pulling her back against his chest.
“No!” she screamed, clawing at his skin.
He didn’t give way. If she wanted to fight, he’d give her a fight. She had the safe word to protect her.
Luca kept hold of her with one arm banded around her waist. With the second, he pushed on the nape of her neck, forcing her forward.
The awkward position of being bent in half made it harder for her to fight, but that didn’t mean she’d given up. Their girl was twisting and wiggling, cursing and scratching like a wildcat. Luca suspected if she could get her teeth near any of his body parts, she’d sink them in and draw blood. He was tempted to offer his arm for just such a bite. He wanted her to mark him, to leave him with a physical reminder of this moment.
Conor stepped in front of him, his feet slipping into Harper’s downcast view. Her neck craned as she tried to look up, but Luca’s grip on her nape was unrelenting.
Her fight had started to wane for a second, but with Conor there, she struggled with renewed energy and determination.
Conor grasped a large handful of her hair, closing his fist around it. “Stop fighting, woman,” he warned, using a rough, sexy voice Luca had never heard from the man.
Conor pushed her head back down, forcing her gaze to the ground before winking at Luca.
She wanted strangers. That was what she was going to get.
“Get the rope.” Luca’s words caused Harper to still for a moment. She was panting loudly, the exertion wearing her out. He could feel the thudding of her heart against his arm, but he wasn’t sure if it was the running or the excitement of what was happening that had it racing so quickly.
