Even in a grief-filled forest after being marched by my killer, my body reacted.
My breasts swelled, my heart kicked, and my traitorously wet core clenched with vicious hunger.
His hand swept from my cheeks to my nape. He pulled me down, down to his mouth.
I folded over him.
I licked my lips, every part of me tingling, thankful, hopeful that this was the moment where I saved both of us. Where he finally gave in to accepting something existed between us. Something neither of us was looking for nor wanted, but something that couldn’t be denied.
I want him.
And that scrambled my mind because how, why, what was I thinking?
You’re not.
You’re in shock.
It’s time to go, Gem.
Power siphoned down my arms. The handle of the shovel grew heavy, coaxing me to use it.
Do it.
Do it now.
This is your last chance!
His mouth grazed mine.
My heart lurched in a way it had never lurched before. Ripping free from arteries, kicking away veins as if they were ropes holding it within me, ready to commit treason by choosing him.
The horror that I could want someone who’d treated me so cruelly made common sense rush back like a tsunami.
No way!
Joshua. Home. Normalcy.
I have to go.
I can’t do this.
I refused to be swayed by sex and stupidity.
His breath drugged me as his fingers tightened around the back of my neck, tugging me the final distance to kiss me deep.
And that was it.
If he wouldn’t end this...
I will.
I would never be able to live with myself if I didn’t.
He sighed as his eyes turned soft and trusting. Drunk on our proximity, his shields shattered, his pain nullified.
I’m sorry.
Wrenching backward, I broke his hold and swung my arms up. The metal of the shovel glinted, sharp and ready to strike.
My swiftness took him by surprise as desire fogged his reactions. He blinked as if he couldn’t compute that the first moment of connection was the moment where all connections died.
“What—” He struggled to push himself up.
I had a precious second to choose him or me.
Live or die.
I choose me.
Swinging the shovel, I brought it down.
I whacked the blade against his head.
The clang vibrated through my arms. The heavy thud made my stomach turn over with nausea.
And...it was over.
His body went instantly lax beneath mine. His arms splayed sideways, his palms facing upward, his eyes drifting closed with a groan.
I scrambled off him and stood on shaking legs. My belly tried to retch as I looked down.
Oh, God, what have I done?
Blood trickled from his forehead where I’d struck. His lips stayed parted, still glistening from his tongue. His scruff and long hair made him seem adopted by the wilderness. Leaves trying to blanket him, shadows doing their best to claim him.
I stared and stared, waiting for some sign he was alive.
Nothing.
Throwing the shovel away, I ducked to cup his cheek.
Don’t!
Don’t you dare be like those stupid girls in movies. You’ve just thrown away your weapon. Do not waste this opportunity.
Run!
I froze with indecision.
I’d wanted this. I’d waited for this exact moment. Yet now that it’d arrived, I felt sick with guilt. Something had happened between us, no matter how much I could argue. Something that shouldn’t have happened between two strangers who’d met when they shouldn’t.
I didn’t belong in his world, and there was no way in hell he would fit in mine.
He was going to kill you, Gem!
My hands balled.
I nodded with determination.
It was him or me.
I did the right thing.
But if I left him here alone, he might die. If he’s not dead already. I might’ve caused brain damage. I would be sentencing him to an excruciating end, lying alone in a forest unconscious.
He groaned, his legs twitching.
See, he’s not dead.
He’s coming to.
RUN!
His bruised hand opened and closed; his eyes squeezed together as he twitched.
He’s fine, see? SEE?
Josh popped into my head. My adorable baby brother who would never forgive me for wasting this escape. I owed it to him to return. I owed it to my mother, to me, to the blessed luck I’d enjoyed all my life.
Time to go.
Drinking in one last look of the man who’d made my body sing all while he’d twisted my mind, I imprinted him.
The wild hair, the muscular chest, the thousands of silvery scars. The pain, the shame, the history that’d carved him from a boy into this hard-edged desperately lonely creature.
My heart broke for him.
My body wept for him.
My socked feet backed away.
And then, I turned and bolted.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I HALF RAN, HALF STUMBLED.
I saw double and crashed to my knees. Shaking my head, I snarled at my messed-up vision, demanding it to sort its shit out. Thankfully, the queasiness and vertigo faded a little, giving me a few precious moments to charge ahead, following the tracks of my prey.
When I touched my forehead, my fingertips came away streaked with blood.
She’d struck me.
She’d made me bleed.
She’d left me for dead.
She’ll pay.
I ran faster.
I didn’t know how much of a head start she had or how long I’d been out. The sun’s location hadn’t changed much by the time I’d blinked back the wash of achy blackness and come to. It couldn’t have been that long. Then again, it’d been long enough to ensure her presence in my valley was gone. She’d left behind an emptiness, a cavern that threatened to keep expanding until it swallowed me whole.
That almost kiss.
It’d been...electrifying. Confounding.
The most dangerous and painful thing I’d ever done.
Ever felt.
And look how it ended.
Once again, violence had been wielded against me. Pain had been given when all I’d offered was pleasure.
They’re all the same.
No one can be trusted.
Swaying, I caught a tree branch and kept running.
Anger gave me speed. Betrayal gave me power.
She couldn’t escape.
That isn’t how this story ends.
Shadows enveloped me as I reached the base of the cliff. Her tracks had been easy to follow. Her goal had been swiftness not sneakiness, leaving behind broken twigs, crushed grass, and a pathway that blazed with her direction.
Skidding to a halt, I spied something colorful and abandoned in the undergrowth. Kicking it with my bare foot, it rolled away, water oozing from a crack in the side. Was that hers? A water bottle that she’d left behind in her rush to escape, or had others been so close to my valley and I’d never noticed?
Pure fear shot down my spine.
The thought of others finding me. Of her telling society about me.
It can’t happen.
I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t endure that again. I would rather die.
Find her!
Ignoring my pounding headache, I began to climb.
Grabbing a branch, I stepped onto a plant-spotted rock, taking the first step out of my valley for the first time since I’d been brought here.
My muscles seized, and I almost fell backward. The thought of leaving? Of willingly stepping out of this sanctuary? It made the lump on my forehead ache in time with my galloping heart.
You have to leave. You have to catch her.
Forcing myself to d
o what was necessary, I reached for another branch and hauled myself up. I focused on the task of climbing toward the dying sun. I didn’t look at the canopy of leaves above me. I didn’t look at the river down below. I kept my attention firmly on my next handhold, next foot placement, and far away from the knowledge that men weren’t supposed to scale mountains.
One false move and I’d fall.
I’d most likely break something.
If I survived the plummet, I probably wouldn’t have the strength to gather enough supplies for the winter. I’d starve.
Focus.
Get her back and then worry about other things.
My breath came heavy as I climbed higher and higher. Occasionally, I’d see evidence of her path. A scuff on a rock. A crushed flower.
Birds suddenly squawked above me, spooking into a flock and circling something at the top of the cliff.
Her.
So her head start hadn’t been that great, after all.
Clinging to a boulder, I skirted around it until I found a helpful tree. I was approximately halfway up, and she was already at the top. If she had the stamina to run, she could put some serious distance between us.
She’s in socks. She’s probably not used to running without shoes. You’ll catch her easily.
Ignoring the fury unfurling inside me, I stayed focused and scaled the rest of the cliff. The closer I got to the top, the harder I found it to contain my anger.
She was the cause of all my problems, yet had she said she was sorry? Had she genuinely showed dismay at fucking up my world?
No.
She’d only been fearful of her own hide. Her apologies had been all about her. The way she’d looked at me in the forest when our lips had been so fucking close to touching, I’d believed...I thought.
Doesn’t matter.
She was a liar and a thief. She’d snuck into my home, pretended to talk to me, then stolen the precious sanity I had left.
She was worse than all the guests I’d had to entertain combined.
The worst because she’d made me feel.
Made me hope.
For some reason, a lump existed in my chest as well as on my forehead. As if she’d struck my heart as well as my skull with the shovel.
I hate her.
My fingers burned with the need to wrap around her little throat and finish this.
Her attempt at running was selfish and ill-advised. She thought she could outrun me? She thought this was over between us?
Only I had the power to decide that. And she would understand precisely how over it was when I got my hands on her.
I grunted and climbed faster.
Up, up, up.
It took longer than I wanted, slipping on rocks and scaling gangly trees. The godforsaken cliff grew steeper, harder, and my head kept swimming from her well-aimed attack. The world tipped and swayed, making bile roil and my mouth clamp tight.
By the time I crawled over the ledge and dug my fingers into dirt instead of stone, sweat poured down my back.
I was thirsty and angry, and adrenaline turned my body into a shaking mess.
My head continued to throb with agony from her strike. The ground wobbled beneath me, whispering how good it would feel to lie down...just for a second. To let go of this chase, to close my eyes, and let all of it be swept away.
Hell no!
This wasn’t the end.
This wasn’t how she left me.
When I wiped my face free from sweat, my palm came away red. Blood still dripped down my forehead, tracing my nose, staining my lips. Smearing the crimson on my dirty slacks, I ensured I’d never wear them again. They’d been soiled enough.
Just like me.
Clouds gathered rapidly above my head as I followed her tracks, thick and oppressive. A few minutes later, a loud crack of thunder boxed my eardrums, a friendly warning before a deluge of water tipped over the world.
Rain splattered on everything and everywhere, drenching me within seconds.
Her trail!
The tiny hints of her path, the hidden clues of her presence—they would all be washed away.
Run!
Throwing myself forward, I ignored the storm, my sickness, and the everlasting seduction from when she’d been on top of me. When she’d rocked over me. When she’d looked just as intoxicated as me.
None of that mattered.
The only thing that did matter was killing her before she got free.
My run switched to a sprint.
Find her.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
MY STOLEN CLOTHES CLUNG to me as I skidded into the small clearing where my trusty Jeep waited. Its Sahara sand paint glittered with raindrops even in the darkness.
How many hours had it taken me to get here?
Four? Six? Ten?
I’d jogged the whole way, ignoring the stabbing debris against my socked feet. Pushing away the stitches in my side. I’d caught myself when I’d slipped in the mud and forced my tired muscles to keep going, just a little longer.
I’d reached the campsite where I’d slept that first night a few hours ago. I’d navigated the best I could until I’d found the faded ribbons that’d led me to this disaster, and then ran as fast as I possibly could.
I hadn’t looked back.
I hadn’t stopped to rest.
I’d used every second to put as much distance between myself and that ivy-covered palace as possible.
And now, I was almost free.
I’d found my Jeep. My ticket home.
My knees buckled.
My body demanded rest.
My fear was no longer enough to keep me standing.
Don’t you dare. Keep going. You’re not safe yet.
Tripping forward, I gulped down air and tried to calm my tattered heartbeat. Running for that amount of time was different than climbing. My strength was great, but my cardio needed work.
My temples ached with dehydration, tempting me to go to the back of the Jeep and raid my supplies for water instead of the front to escape.
Drink once you’re far away from here.
Balling my hands, I trudged through the wet undergrowth. My soaking socks squelched in a tiny stream that’d appeared from the massive dumping of rain as I crossed the small clearing to my Jeep.
Another flash of lightning lit up the dark sky.
A cymbal crash followed shortly after, making me jump and look behind me.
Was he following me?
Had he woken before the storm?
Am I free?
You won’t be safe until you get out of this damn national park.
Hurry.
My fingers slipped on the clips holding down the Jeep’s hood. Circling the front grill, I popped the other clips and hoisted up the heavy metal. Bending forward, I reattached the battery cables, ensuring the engine looked untampered with and ready to race.
Shivering now I was no longer hot from running, I quickly resecured the clips before dashing to the tree where I’d buried my keys.
Where is it?
Rain continued to pummel me, getting heavier by the second. Each droplet was a grenade, bruising my arms and exploding with wetness upon my head.
Come on...where is it?
I squinted in the darkness, seeking the first ribbon tied in the undergrowth.
I can’t see it.
I skirted around the clearing, waiting for lightning flashes to peer into dark bushes.
It took too long. Far too long. I began to second-guess myself. I began to doubt the past few days hadn’t been a terrible dream brought on by sleep deprivation and food poisoning.
Surely, it couldn’t be real.
Surely, there wasn’t a man living alone out here...untamed and—
A-ha!
A bedraggled, soaking ribbon hung limply in the rain, pointing toward the ground and the small stone I’d nicked with my knife.
Pouncing on it, I dug with my bare hands, scooping away the dirt until my fingers closed tri
umphantly around metal teeth and a copper keyring of a climbing shoe, courtesy of my brother when I’d first hit online success.
Breathing hard, I pushed off from my knees.
I turned to rush to my Jeep.
Something huge and hard tackled me from the darkness.
Air was knocked out of my lungs; pain detonated from the impact as we fell together, splashing onto the rain-drenched ground.
In a sheet of white lightning, I froze as my captor pinned me to the mud and tried to once again wrap his hands around my throat.
His preferred method of murder.
His only focus to destroy me.
Our eyes clashed in the night. His long hair hung, dripping wet as he fought to keep me down. Instinct fought back. My hands tried to push him away. My hips surged up to knock him off. My skin once again sparked with unwanted electricity.
“You don’t get to leave me. Not you too.” He swatted away my hands, reaching for my throat.
I glanced at my Jeep, just waiting to carry me home.
I curled my fingers around my keys that were my ticket to safety.
And...I snapped.
I lost it.
He doesn’t get to hurt me anymore!
With a bolt of power, I knocked one of his knees out from under him, sending him tipping sideways. I rolled with him, pinning him beneath me, reversing our position.
I didn’t hesitate.
With my hands clutching deadly keys between my knuckles, I struck his face, his throat, his chest. “I curse you!”
Fresh blood bloomed where the metal bit into his skin, mixing red-black in the night with waterfalls of rain drowning us.
I added to his scars. His many, many scars. I would slice his damn throat if I could.
He grunted as I wounded him.
He raised his hands to protect his face as I slashed like a mad woman, no thought to my strikes just that I had to keep hurting him to hold him at bay.
“Stop!” he growled.
“Let me go!”
“Never.” His eyes blazed. “You’re mine to do whatever I want with.”
“How wrong you are!” I swiped harder, faster, driving his head into the mud.
“For the love of fucking God.” His hips shot upward, unbalancing me. “You little fool, you can’t win!” He tipped me.
It was my turn to roll sideways, moaning in pain as his heavy weight sandwiched me into the wet dirt.
Mud painted both of us.
Our hair was caked in it. Our eyelashes and cheeks, our throats and our souls. Every inch filthy and ruined.
Fable of Happiness Book One Page 17