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Staring straight ahead, I keep running.
I don’t know what else to do.
Please don’t let it be men sent by my father. I’d been so quiet. The study door was closed. They were all drunk and engaged in whatever they were talking about. Surely, they didn’t hear me leave.
There’s the whirr of the motor of a window rolling down. My body goes tight, as rigid as a wire drawn taut from two ends. I keep running.
A low voice comes to me, rumbling through the night. “Little girls should be safe at home. Don’t you know the kinds of men that prowl through these woods?”
Ice flows down my spine.
“Yes,” I say, keeping my eyes forward and my voice steady. No one knows I’m gone from home, but this man doesn’t know that. “My brothers prowl these woods. They’re terrifying.”
I keep my pace, one foot in front of the other, trying to ignore the hammering of my heart he caused.I can feel his eyes heavy on my body as I move.
To my horror, the SUV pulls to a stop.
There is no other choice. I take off. My legs burst into an all-out sprint. I listen for footsteps, but the only sound is my feet slapping against the pavement. I don’t look back, pulling heavy breaths into my burning lungs.
Hairs stand on the back of my neck, perspiration prickles at my underarms. How many times has my father warned me not to come out here? How many enemies has he warned me of, telling me they’d love nothing more than to deflower the Accardi princess?
Now the footsteps come, heavy with determination.
I glance at the thick, dark woods to my left. They’re my only hope. I can’t afford a backward glance over my shoulder to see if he’s gaining on me. I dart off the road, my feet hitting the soft earth.
Strong forearms dig into my belly, knocking the wind from me. No! My assailant holds me tighter, my back pressing into his chest. I can feel the muscles beneath his shirt shifting.
His arms lock around me, creating a prison around my ribcage.
“What do you want?” I hiss, grabbing at his arms, trying to push them away.
His mouth finds my ear, his breath hot against my cheek, and it tickles my skin, making the bits of hair that loosened from my ponytail flutter. “To teach you a lesson.”
It’s the same deep voice that reprimanded me from the SUV.
His hard palm runs over my trembling midriff. My cropped shirt rises, his hot skin caressing my cold torso. My muscles constrict, my belly going hard as a rock. Fear and remorse fill me.
What have I gotten myself into? What is he going to do to me?
One big hand presses into my belly, holding me against him, pushing my ass against the tops of his hard thighs. I dig my fingers into his forearm, a feeble attempt to dislodge him.
Heat from his body travels through his clothing, warming my skin. The clean scent of him hits me, cedar and man. This is the closest to a stranger I’ve ever been. My mind goes to my mother’s other collection of books, the ones that hide under my bed. The spicy romance novels that I’ve dog-eared, re-reading my favorite scenes time and time again.
Is it the cool night air or the feel of his body that has my breasts heavy, my nipples tightening against my sports bra? A shiver tears through me, making me shudder and as I do, my hips roll, my ass accidently circling his lap.
WhoamI, responding like this? I’m acting like one of the women in my books, wanting this and fearful of it all at the same time. My body is at war with my mind.
He lets out a low groan. The hand on my breast becomes his pinning hand, the one on my belly changing position, sliding up around my neck. He holds it lightly in his hand, his mouth so close to my ear now, his lips are touching my skin.
“What,” I say again, my voice shaking, “do you want?”
“I told you.” He drags his hand upward, smoothing over my curves, the pad of his thumb brushing ever so slightly over my traitorous nipple. “I want to teach you a lesson.”
“I’m all good on lessons, thanks.” Why is my ass pushing harder against him? My hips moving with a mind of their own… What is wrong with me?
“There are bad, bad men out here. Men that would take an innocent little girl like you and destroy her.” He cups my breast in his palm, squeezing. “Let me tell you what you’re going to do now…”
Is he one of the men my father warned me about…?
