Page 27 of Caught By the Bratva Beast

It's effortless to pretend that he's someone he's not, and maybe that I'm someone I'm not as we retreat to the forest, not speaking much to each other, the hare long forgotten.

It takes a few moments to untie the horses from the trees and convince them to stop grazing. But within a couple of moments, we’ve freed them, the heat of the day beating down upon us, sending loose tendrils of my hair sticking to the back of my neck with sweat.

The dew on the grass this morning is long gone. Pieces of grass scratch my legs as we walk along the trail, leading the horses behind us.

“Do you think it would be faster if we go back to the house by riding?”

“Sure, it would be faster, but are you so eager to escape me?”

“No. I thought it would be better for the two of us to ride. Maybe get a little sweaty,” I say, keeping my tongue soft and sultry, luring him in.

It works, lust burning in his gaze as he looks at me. “And here I thought I was the one who needs to be reminded about the contract.”

“Maybe I do too.”

“Or you’re playing games with my head because you think you can because you think that I’m like the other men you've gone out with who are nothing more than boring little fuckers. You believe I'm going to fall for the same tricks used on them? You're going to bat your pretty little eyelashes. Then you blush. Pretend that you're all sweet and innocent. Then you're going to hopefully get what you want. It’s just what you want from me I haven't quite figured out yet.”

“Well then, I would say that makes two of us. I haven't quite figured out why you want me here.”

“I told you, little huntress. I want to get to know you.”

“From what I've been told, that's an insurmountable task.”

Maxims opens his mouth about to say something when he stops and sniffs the air, his nose twitching, eyes crinkling. “Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?” I pause, tilting my face to the sun and sniffing the air like he does, trying to figure out what scent he’s noticed. It's only when the wind shifts and shakes more leaves on the trees that I smell it.

Smoke.

“There's a fire,” Maxim says, stopping his horse and getting on. “We need to get back to the house now.”

I swing up on Prancer’s back, holding tight to the reins and urging him to run fast as the wind picks up. Clouds of smoke choke the air, a bright orange haze starting on the horizon, barely visible through the trees.

The horses race, stretching out, trying to beat the fire as it's growing behind us. Glowing sparks fly in the wind, igniting the dry grass.

Ash burns my eyes, smoke climbing from the grass, lighting more fire around us. Flames spread quickly. The flickering grows. More sparks pop and dance as they land on nearby branches.

There's a gap up ahead between rows of flames that are starting to close in around us.

Maxim looks over his shoulder at me. “We're going to have to jump. You need to follow me. Don't take your eyes off me for a second.”

My chest tightens. It feels like somebody's punched the air from my lungs. Breathing is getting harder and harder with the smoke filling the air, but I do as he says, urging Prancer on faster and faster.

It feels like we're inside a fiery inferno, flames trying to lick at my skin even as we outrun the heat. It's only going to be a matter of time before we're caught, but just as we reach the edge of the fire Maxim jumps his horse and Prancer follows.

I glance over my shoulder, but the fire is growing quickly. “We need to keep going faster. Can we get to the lake? Or a river.”

“Good thinking. There's a river close to here. Follow me.”

Maxim guides his horse hard before sliding into a sprint again. I stay leaned forward in the saddle, stretching out along with the horse. My entire body hurts from trying to hold on while we gallop across the rough terrain.

“Just a little further!” he yells over his shoulder. “Just hold on for a little bit longer.”

My chest is rising and falling but I can't get enough oxygen in with the smoke and toxins choking the air. There's nothing that I can do, and I slow Prancer to catch my breath.

Maxim loops back around, riding beside me. “You need to keep going. Come on. We can do this; you just have to make it a little bit further. You can do this.”

Gritting my teeth together, I urge Prancer on faster and faster, doing my best to outrun the flames still flicking behind us.

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