Page 54

The metallic taste of his blood hit my tongue as I ground into him, my hands curling beneath his shirt.

My nails clawed at his back as a whimper escaped me.

I needed more. I always needed more, and he never gave it to me.

This fucking man.

I pulled away and pushed at his chest, though my legs were still wrapped around him and he was still holding me up. “Why haven’t you fucked me?”

“Because I am trying to be respectful. You were nearly rap⁠—”

“Well, stop,” I interrupted. The rest was the last thing I wanted to hear. “Don’t fucking respect me. In fact, please do the opposite. I’m insecure and going crazy because you won’t have sex with me.”

“I don’t fuck you because you matter so much more than them.” He nipped at my jaw, kissing along it. “You have and will always mean so much more than them.”

“Then fuck me like you mean that.”

“Do you know what you are asking of me?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Fine.” He set me on my feet. “Then run, little dandelion, and when I catch you, you will have a hard time walking the next day.”

Warmth spread through me. Did he mean it?

“Run.”

I ducked under his arm and bolted into the forest toward the lake.

The wind kissed my cheeks as I dodged through the trees, remembering the same tactic I'd used to escape the assassin during the Gauntlet. It might work here, too. In a straight fight, Severin and most men would always be faster and stronger.

But I could be more cunning and agile.

Unfortunately, Severin was both too fast and too smart for his own good.

And he had nearly caught me.

His fingertips grazed my hair, but I ducked beneath a low branch and slipped between the bushes, knowing I would always be more agile than him.

Branches scraped my arms, and leaves and twigs snapped beneath my shoes. Somehow, I always wore the worst shoes for this activity, but at least this time they were sandals, not heels.

Sandals I could work with.

Excitement pulsed in my chest, anticipation burning through my blood. I never imagined I’d like being chased, but I loved it.

I loved not knowing when he would catch me—or what he would do when he did.

Would he rip off my underwear and plunge inside me in one thrust? Would he pin me down and force my legs open? Would he taunt me and circle me like a tiger?

The uncertainty exhilarated me.

He exhilarated me.

Beyond the woods stood a weathered boathouse, half-hidden among the trees at the lake's edge, where moonlight spilled across the black water, glittering like onyx.

I sprinted toward it, knowing Severin would catch me there.

But it felt like the perfect place to lose one’s virginity.