Page 46 of The Huntress and Her Hound

My teeth begin to chatter, as I smooth my clothes out. Jude remains a foot away, and I can feel his gaze on me. Avoiding it, I slip past him, feeling myself on the edge of a fucking panic attack again—like the first time I truly encountered the man.

“Hey, wait,” Jude grabs my wrist. “This isn’t it. We can talk when I finish with Henry.” His voice is too soft. His touch, too gentle.

I’m going to be sick.

I rip myself from his grip and stumble out of the room, using the door as a means to block him from following me. The dampness of my underwear brushes my inner thighs, and I swallow the bile rising in my throat.

‘Do you really think Jude would want you if he knew what happened to you?’ the voice taunts me, breaking my heart as if I’m seventeen all over again. ‘He’d probably think you were disgusting. You are disgusting.’

A sign for the restroom flickers in my peripheral, and I make a mad dash for it, nearly tripping and falling on my face as I shove open the door to the women’s. I whip the stall door open and lose everything I’ve eaten for the day. The best thing I’ve ever experienced has just made me feel sicker than ever.

I’m so fucked up.

And someone needs to pay for it.

Chapter 17

The Hound

My cock is so fucking hard, it hurts, and the scent of Cher on my fingers only makes it worse as I weave my way back through the sea of sweaty bodies to find Henry. He’s pissed at me for muting my earpiece. He’s also obviously pissed I disappeared.

“Where the fuck were you?” he roars over the music as I find him off to the side of the bar.

“Taco Bell hit me hard,” I lie through the mask. Thank God for this stupid, hot piece of Halloween shit covering my face. Otherwise, I know Henry would see through my bullshit fib.

“Shoulda held it till we got back,” Henry snaps. “We already missed him. He left.”

“He left?”

“Yeah, with some chick in a rabbit mask.”

I shake my head. “When?”

“Just a few seconds ago. It’s not worth the chase. I was hoping we could slip him something, but clearly that’s not happening tonight. I didn’t even get eyes on him until you disappeared. He grabbed some girl by the dark rooms and then left.”

My stomach feels nauseous. “What’d she look like?”

Henry makes a face. “Like a woman? I don’t know. Dark hair. That’s all I caught. Dressed in all black.”

I nod, trying not to jump to conclusions or lose my temper. I didn’t follow her into the dark to put a fucking claim on her, but...fuck. Maybe being around deranged psychopaths has caught up to me. I don’t want to share her.

My fists clench at my sides. I know she has her secrets, but I have mine, too. She’s broken in ways that I don’t understand...yet. However, she toyed with me tonight, and she has no idea if she lets me in...

I’m going to take control.

I might’ve been normal a decade ago. I might’ve been able to let women come and go if that’s what they wanted, but Cher? I don’t think I’ll be able to release her back into the wild. I already haven’t been able to stop tracking her—obsessing over her. She gave me an inch tonight.

But now I want the whole fucking mile.

“We might as well head back.” Henry’s voice grabs my attention again.

“Yeah,” I mutter, pulling out my phone and the GPS tracking app. I check Cher’s location and breathe a slight sigh of relief as I realize she’s still here. “I think I’m going to stay a while longer.” I look up and meet Henry’s gaze.

He narrows his gaze. “I take it you’re into this shit?”

I shake my head. “No, but he frequents this place. It’d be good to get a layout of it. I didn’t finish. I won’t leave cameras.”

“Got it.” Henry blows out what I think is a relieved sigh. “I’ll see you back at the apartment.”

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