Page 47

I drop my gaze, taking in the way her hands are trembling at her sides, the way her eyes are frantically scanning the dark corners of the barn for an escape route, for a weapon, for anything to fight me off.

We both glance at her hunting knife lying in the straw next to my foot; the fire dancing across the length of the blade.

“And if I wanted you dead,” I continue, my voice dropping into a deadly register as my gaze returns to hers, “well... there have been numerous opportunities throughout the night when I could’ve finished you off. In the dark behind the livestock barns. In the mirror maze. In the car.”

She sees me as a monster out for blood, a shadowy specter executioner standing between her and the rest of her life.

“Then what is this really about, Ryder? What do you want from me?” Her voice cracks under the sheer pressure of the suffocating psychological game we’re playing.

I slowly push myself off of the beam, standing at my full height.

Reaching down, I grab my black boxers from the ground, pulling them up over my thighs and waist without breaking eye contact with her for a single fraction of a second. Once they’re secure, I step into the full light of the fire, my bare feet making no sound as I stalk toward her across the dirt.

Her eyes dart toward the open expanse of the barn floor, calculating distances in a fraction of a second.

She spins on her heel and bolts toward the entrance, her boots kicking up dirt and dry straw as she makes a desperate, blind break for the double doors.

She isn’t fast enough.

A sinister, eager glee wedges tight in my chest at the thought of chasing her. Of punishing her once I catch her. And I will catch her.

I move like a shadow, taking two massive, bounding strides that close the distance instantly.

Before she can even clear the roaring fire, I cut off her path, stepping directly into her space with a wall of solid chest and shoulders.

Harmony gasps, skidding to a sharp halt. Without missing a beat, she pivots left, trying to weave around the heavy central post to reach the far workbench where her keys are sitting.

I anticipate the dodge before her weight even shifts, lunging sideways and grabbing her upper arm.

She twists violently, her hand flying out to claw at my face, her nails tearing a thin, burning line across my cheekbone.

I don’t even flinch. I just grin through the sting.

She should know pain just makes my dick hard.

“Get the fuck off me!” she screams, shoving her palms flat against my chest with everything she has.

The force staggers me back a single inch, giving her just enough room to slip beneath my arm.

She lunges for the post, grabbing the wood to swing herself around toward the barn’s side door, but I reach out and snatch the heavy knit of her sweater from behind.

I yank back hard.

Harmony’s eyes widen as I move with frightening, hunting speed.

She stumbles backward into my chest, her heels dragging through the straw. She uses her momentum to throw a backward elbow straight into my ribs, catching me with a dull, heavy thud that rattles my breath.

Before she can pull away again, I spin her around, wrapping an arm around her waist to lock her against my chest, my dick stabbing her in her lower back.

She fights like a feral cat—writhing, kicking her feet out, trying to drive the back of her head into my nose. Every movement is pure survival instinct, a desperate, breathless dance against a monster who knows every move she’s going to make before she makes it.

“Let me go!” Her nails dig into the skin of my forearm, trying to break my iron grip.

“Not a chance, pretty girl,” I growl against her ear before spinning her to face me.

Using my weight, I drive her backward, marching her steps straight into the main support beam until her back slams hard against the solid wood. Before she can duck low or slip away, I plant both hands flat against the timber on either side of her head, trapping her in a wooden cage.

She isn’t going anywhere.