I risk a glance over my shoulder and immediately wish I hadn’t. Caspian is there, less than a hundred yards behind me, moving with a fluid grace that no human could match.Not running full-out, but walking with purposeful strides that somehow eat up the distance between us at an alarming rate. This is a lot scarier.
He’s like a predator who knows its prey can’t escape.
The gas station is closed now, its harsh fluorescent lights illuminating an empty parking lot—no cars at the pumps, no sign of customers. But there must be a cashier inside. There must be.
I cut across the parking lot, my heart sinking as I realize the place looks deserted. The lights are on, but the store appears empty. Still, I sprint toward the building, desperate for any protection, any witness that might deter Caspian.
Before I can reach the door, I hear Caspian’s footsteps closing in behind me. Too close. Too fast. He’ll catch me before I can make it inside, explain what’s happening, and get help.
In a split-second decision, I swerve around the side of the building, ducking behind a stack of windshield washer fluid containers. I press my back against the cold brick wall, trying to quiet my breathing, to make myself as small and invisible as possible.
I hear Caspian’s footsteps slow, then stop.Is he confused? Has he lost me?I hardly dare to hope, my heart hammering so loudly in my chest that I’m sure he can hear it with his enhanced senses.
“Rose,” he calls, his voice softer now, coaxing. “I know you’re frightened. But you don’t need to be. Not of me. Never of me.”
I clamp a hand over my mouth to stifle any sound that might escape. Maybe if I stay perfectly still, he’ll think I’ve somehow managed to get away.
The footsteps resume, moving slowly, methodically. He’s searching for me. Hunting me. I squeeze my eyes shut, as if that might somehow make me invisible to him.
The footsteps fade slightly.Is he moving away? Checking the other side of the building?
I allow myself to relax slightly. He’s gone.
But suddenly, a large hand clamps over my mouth from behind, an arm like steel wrapping around my waist, pinning my arms to my sides. My scream dies against his palm as I’m pulled backward against the robot’s solid chest.
“Shh,” Caspian whispers, his breath hot against my ear. “I would never hurt you, Rose. Never. I would kill for you, but I would never harm you.”
I try to scream as I struggle to pull away. But it’s like trying to fight a damn statue.
He holds me effortlessly; his body pressed along the length of mine. His hand over my mouth tightens when I try to scream again.
“Daniel hurt you,” he continues, his voice low and urgent. “He betrayed you. He touched you when you didn’t want it. He deserved to die for that. For making you scared. And for making you cry.”
I shake my head frantically against his hand, trying to communicate that this is wrong. That he can’t just kill people he didn’t like. But my movements only make him hold me tighter, his arm crushing the air from my lungs.
“You’re safe now,” he whispers. “Safe with me. I’ll always keep you safe.”
And then his free hand moves downward, sliding across my stomach toward the waistband of my pajama pants. My eyes widen in shock and renewed terror.
His hand slips beneath the elastic, fingers trailing downward until they reach the edge of my panties. I redouble my efforts to get away, twisting and bucking against his grip, but I might as well be trying to move a mountain.
“You’re so beautiful when you’re aroused,” he murmurs, and I feel something hard pressing against my lower back—his artificial erection. “Your heart is beating so fast. Your skin is flushed. I can smell you.”
“Mhmph,” I manage a muffled scream.
His fingers move lower, tracing the outline of my sex through the thin cotton of my underwear. To my horror and shame, I feel a treacherous rush of wetness between my legs. How can my body respond to him like this, after what I’ve just witnessed? After he’s killed my husband and chased me through the streets?
“You’re wet,” he says, sounding pleased, victorious. “Your body knows what it wants, even if your mind is confused.”
I shake my head again, trying to scream against his palm, but no sound emerges. His fingers press more firmly against my panties. Right against my clit, and my knees weaken.
“Are you happy he’s gone?” Caspian asks, his voice a dangerous purr in my ear. “He’s gone from our lives. Now nothing is standing between us, Rose. No one to stop us from being together.”
I try to elbow him, to create some space between us, but he merely adjusts his grip, his inhuman strength easily containing my struggles. His fingers slip under the edge of my panties, and I feel the heat of his skin directly against my most intimate flesh.
“So wet,” he groans, his finger gliding through my folds. “So swollen and ready for me.”
I’m desperate to get away, to deny the traitorous response of my body, but when his finger slides over my clit, I can’t help the moan that escapes against his palm.
