Page 22

Ten paces.

Eight.

Six.

She glanced over her shoulder, our eyes met, and I smiled.

Fear flashed across her face along with something else, but before I could zero in on it, she turned forward again and ran harder.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

She believed she could escape me, but the truth was she was already caught. There was nowhere to run but right back into me.

Truthfully, I could have caught her already. Easily. One final burst of speed, a few long strides, and my hand would have closed around her arm.

Instead, I deliberately held back, keeping just enough distance between us to let her believe she still had a chance.

Hope was a cruel thing.

Especially when it was false.

She veered between the trees, her red coat flashing between the trunks. I followed without hesitation. The forest itself seemed to bend in my favor, guiding me after her.

She could run. She could hide. She could pray. But none of it would change the outcome.

Even if, by some miracle, she managed to reach her little cottage at the edge of the woods, she would only be delaying the inevitable. I would follow her there. I would tear that door from its hinges if I had to. I would walk straight into that cottage and take her back to my castle where she’d pay her debt.

She threw me another glance over her shoulder. Another flash of panic.

Her foot caught on a buried root and she stumbled.

“Agh!” she grunted, her knees hitting the dirt.

I slowed, giving her time to recover.

“Are you hurt?” The words were out before I could stop them. I wanted to punish her, but not physically. I had a different kind of suffering in mind. The kind that involved her moaning my name while begging me to let her come.

“Fuck you, Ty,” she spat out, then bolted again.

The nickname she bestowed on me, along with her fighting spirit and fierce determination, had always been such a turn-on. Five years ago, I fought it; today, I wouldn’t even dream of resisting it. I’d gone more than five years without a pussy, and dammit, when I finally came out, I knew exactly which pussy I wanted.

Only hers would do.

I let her gain some distance, even though my cock was screaming to get to her and take her. I ignored it. Soon enough, she would be in my prison, so she might as well enjoy these last minutes of freedom.

Instead, I let my mind wander to one time I almost gave in to Sienna’s charm. It was the night before the FBI raided the club and I learned of Sienna’s betrayal.

“Ty. Do I look okay?”

My head whipped around at Sienna’s question, the spreadsheet on the laptop completely forgotten. It was a mistake, because she was wearing a green strapless dress that tempted me to blur some serious lines I’d never crossed. I wanted to bend her over my desk and fuck her so she’d never want another man to touch her.

Unfortunately, it was a bad idea. Especially now that she’d gone through very traumatic shit during her kidnapping. I didn’t tell her that I went looking for her too, but her stepfather got to her first. It didn’t matter though, because the most important thing was that she was safe.

It was exactly for that reason that when she asked for a job, I’d taken her under my wing. I felt protective of her. It helped that she no longer tried to seduce me or kiss me—although looking like this, I might reverse our roles.

“Where are you going?” I growled, my jealousy taking on the color of her dress. She looked like a vision for any man, especially for one like me.

“Date.” She flashed me a smile. “With a boy my age, as you recommended.”