I dart between trees, branches brushing my arms, the smell of pine and damp moss all around me. My heart hammers in my chest. Not from fear. Not this time. This isn't like the running I've done before—away from pain, away from Darius, away from everything I couldn't face.
This time I run toward it—toward surrender.
Because I want to be caught. A predator's game, but I'm not just prey. I'm the willing prize.
The hem of my skirt flutters with every step. I know they'll scent me in the air. I can feel the tingling warmth between my thighs—evidence of what they did to me in the car and what they haven't finished yet.
I glance back for a split second and don't see them, but I feel them. They're close.
The ground is soft beneath my feet, the forest floor blanketed in leaves and needles. I push harder, my breath sharp now, chest heaving. My hair catches on the wind, whipping around me. A part of me hopes they let me run longer. Another part hopes they don't.
Then I hear it. The snap of a branch.
A low curse.
A rustle too loud to be the wind.
They're behind me.
Close now.
I can't stop the smile curling across my lips, because this is what it means to be alive—to be hunted by the only ones I'd ever let catch me.
I veer left, down a narrow path, slippery with old leaves, and laugh, sharp, breathless. The forest blurs around me, greens, grays, the flicker of fading sunlight through the canopy overhead.
I'm flying, weightless, legs carrying me faster than I thought I could go, barefoot.
A sharp turn. A breathless laugh. And then—
I nearly slam into him.
"Asher—!"
He steps out from behind a tree as if he's materialized from shadow, solid and still. I skid to a halt with a startled gasp. His hands catch me by the waist in that unshakable grip.
"Caught you," he murmurs, voice low and infuriatingly calm.
Before I can react, before I can shove him, kiss him, or dart away again, another set of arms wraps around me from behind.
"Oh, hell no. She's mine," Kayden growls into my ear as he yanks me backward with a wicked laugh, his body pressing flush against mine.
I yelp and try to twist, but it's no use. I'm sandwiched between them—Asher in front, Kayden at my back. Both are solid heat and tension. Their arms move fast, playful but firm, pinning me lightly as I squirm between them like a trapped fox.
"You set a challenge, sunshine. Did you really think you'd win?" Kayden breathes against the back of my neck, his grip tightening just enough to make my breath hitch.
"You're fast," Asher says, his hands roaming down my hips, pinning me in place as I writhe half-heartedly, "but notthatfast."
I huff, breathless with laughter and arousal. "It was worth a try."
"You like being chased," Kayden says, voice all sin and shadow behind me.
Asher leans in, lips brushing the shell of my ear. "But youlovebeing caught."
I shudder. They feel everything—every tremble, every throb of heat low in my belly. I'm not hiding any of it. I don't want to.
"What now?" I ask, the question slipping out on a breath that's already turning into a moan.
Asher's eyes glint. Kayden's teeth scrape lightly against my shoulder.
