“So you’d better be certain before you rush off, wee lass. You can walk away, and we’ll not talk anymore about it.” He sounds matter-of-fact, but I can see a line of tension at the corner of his mouth that says it would cost him. “But if you run, I’ll be coming after you for what I’m owed.”
6
JAMES
If she wants to arouse all my base instincts, she’s going about it the right way. The need to claim Mia thuds through my body. Claim, have, fuck, breed.
I stare down into her eyes, trusting, but also glittering with challenge. She’s so much. My lass deserves everything good in life and if that includes a very grown-up game of chase? I’d rather she did that with me. In fact, the thought of her with another man makes jealous fury ignite my chest. No. Absolutely not.
It’s a good thing I didn’t know how beautiful she has become or I’d have kidnapped her, consequences be damned. She’s mine.
I want her, and I don’t want to hold back anymore. Unless she tells me to stop bloody soon, I’m going to pin her down and get my tongue on that sweet pussy and make her come. I can almost taste her arousal; my mouth is watering.
I cup her bottom and indulge in kneading it a bit. She’s soft and the right amount of firm. Then, holding her to me, I rise to my feet in one smooth motion. Mia didn’t expect that, and squeals, clinging to me.
Although she’s just there, arms around my neck, chest flushed to mine and blue eyes taking me in, I don’t kiss her. Instead, I allow her to slip gradually down my body until her feet touch the snow again. And I’m certain from her expression that despite the layers of fabric she felt my erection every inch of the way.
I don’t let her go until I’m sure she won’t wobble. Shifting backwards, putting space between us, I stare down into her eyes. She’s a clear sky on a stormy day. But instead of reducing the tension, the gap increases it. Like elastic being pulled out tight, I can feel the tug that will bring us back together. Faster. Harder. Violent.
“What do I get if I manage to evade you?” She blinks up at me, all faux artlessness and saucy tilt to her chin.
“Anything you want,” I reply.
She slants a sceptical eyebrow and my answering huff of laughter is wry. Her doubt is proof of how sweet and untouched she is. Any other woman would already have seen right into how much I adore her. How I’m building into being obsessed. I’d give Mia everything. My ill-gotten gains and my heart on a plate, if she’d bemine.
“Think about what you want, Mia. If you evade me, you can claim your heart’s desire. But if I catch you…” If I grab her, I’ll indulge my need, and damn principles, what her father and my best friend would have thought, or the opinions of the far-away world about a man twice her age being with an unsullied angel like her.
“If you catch me…” She smiles, cheeky and light.
“Go on then.”
She’s waiting, tension in every line of her body.
“Run.”
She sprints, coat flapping, and I watch her shapely calves in those leggings. A grin spreads across my face as she casts a teasing glance over her shoulder as she sends white powder in arcs from her heels.
I don’t wait. I take off after her, my longer legs eating up the distance. She makes for the barns that I showed her around earlier, full of cars, machinery and dozens of nooks to hide in.
Canny, so clever, my lass. Blood throbs in my veins and pulses in my cock. I was already erect, but the pursuit of the one who will be mine sends more blood there. I’m running for the savage delight of the burn in my legs and chest.
I’ve done this before, of course. Chased someone down. But not for three years, and never without a gun in my hand or with a hard-on solid enough to use as a baton. It’s unique. This thrill of the hunt. I hadn’t realised I had missed this aspect of being a mafia kingpin.
Some mafia bosses are more hands off, letting their underlings take all the risks. But being untouchable has its own gamble. By sending young men off to do your dirty work, you might create resentment, not loyalty. And that’s what gets you a bullet in your forehead.
That or having a jealous brother you’re too kind to dispose of.
I pause at the corner of a barn and listen intently. The snow muffles all the sound, but it also means she can’t move without a crunch as her feet sink in.
Nothing.
“You can’t hide. I’m going to catch you, Mia,” I call out.
She giggles, and I dive to the right just in time to see her dash out of the other side of the barn. I run after her and get to the door as she rounds the corner towards the house.
Everything feels familiar but new with Mia, fresh after years of tinned food. With her it’s all the good aspects of the past, with a delicious sheen of novelty.
The snow hampers both of us in running, making it hard going. I relish the burn in my quad muscles thrashing through the thick snow. I wonder if she’s tiring, especially in all that cutely oversized clothing. That makes me push harder, to close the gap between us so she doesn’t get exhausted.
