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"Helping you up."
"Ah, hmm, okay." She grabs my hand, uses the leverage to haul herself up to sitting position. She lets go, then slides off the table.
"Take off your bathrobe."
She scowls and I fold my arms across my chest, "Don’t defy me."
She huffs, then shoves the bathrobe off. "Happy?" She props a hand on her hip, thrusts out her chest as I look her up and down.
"Not yet, Beauty." I bend my knees, peer into her face. "Run."
"What?"
"Run, Beauty. I’ll even give you a head start."
"What…what does that mean?"
"You heard me." I smirk. "Run now,Belleza.If I catch you…WhenI catch you, I intend to have my way with you…."
"And if I evade you."
"You won’t."
"So sure of yourself?"
"I am sure of…" I glare into her eyes, "the fact that you want to be caught."
"No, I don’t."
"Yes, you do."
"No."
"Yes." I snap my teeth and she jumps. I point my thumb toward the door, "Go, else I’ll take this as your giving in without a fight."
She sets her jaw, "No bloody way."
"Good." A chuckle rolls up my throat and I swallow it down. "Go."
She blinks.
I reach for her and she squeals, then pivots and takes off for the door. I can’t take my gaze off her pert, little butt as it twitches, as she bolts out the door. I amble over to the doorway, watch as she races down the corridor and up the steps. She flings the door open, bounds outside, and I follow.
I reach the doorway, leap down the steps. I glance around, and spot her running toward the back of the house. I take off in hot pursuit. I am not wearing any shoes…and neither is she. Only difference, I am used to running barefoot. It’s how I grew up on the streets of Palermo. Sure, my father was the Don, but my mother was happy to let us boys run wild. She believed it would toughen us up if we went barefoot outside. And so, we had, until my father had found out and put an end to the practice. But that early experience now stands me in good stead as I run around the perimeter of the property. Where is she? Where the hell could she have gone?
Above me, the sun slides behind clouds. The temperature drops suddenly. It’s late November, and while the weather is still pleasant, it’s also more unpredictable. Sure enough a few drops of rain hit my arm as I pause, getting my bearings… Which way could she have gone? I close my eyes, attune my hearing, trying to catch any sound that would give away her presence… I tilt my head, wait…wait… A slight thud… The sound of bare feet on mud reaches me.
I turn, head across the clearing at the back of the house and toward the treeline. Step onto the muddy edge of the forest that borders the house. The dirt and stones bite into the soles of my feet. I push aside the discomfort, head toward where the sound had come from. Past the first set of trees, deeper into the forest, down the path that leads into a small clearing. I pause at the edge, wait…wait… A tiny sound… Almost an inhalation of surprise…reaches me and I turn. Lunge in the direction of the large oak tree that stands at the edge of the clearing.
Its branches spread out overhead, shielding me from the rain that is turning into a steady drizzle. I reach the massive tree trunk, throw myself around it, and she screams, then darts away from me. The pulse thuds at my temples and adrenaline laces my blood. A growl rips out of me as I lunge toward her, bridge the distance between us as I tackle her around the waist.
She screams as we both go down. I twist my body, make sure that she lands on top of me. She wriggles, yells out, and I throw my arms around her. I roll over so she is on her back on the grass and under me. She tips her chin-up and stares up into my face. I take in her flushed features, her hair flowing about her face, so damn gorgeous. I lean in closer, wanting to sniff her, to lick her, to kiss those pouty pink lips of hers, then flinch when she lands her fist in my shoulder.
Pain shivers down my chest as the wound she’d inflicted on me protests at the impact.
She swipes out her fist again and this time I duck. "Stop that," I growl.
"No." She brings up her knee and I lean some of the weight of my lower body onto her, effectively arresting her in place. Which also means that my already swelling thickness lodges neatly in between her legs. She freezes; color smears her cheeks. Her chest rises and falls as she glowers back at me.
