Page 135 of When the Woods Go Silent

Goddamn it, Ruby. Where did you go?

RUBY

I can’t find Torrence, and it’s been way longer than ten minutes.

I haven’t answered Rose’s text yet. I’m embarrassed to be out here - I know I shouldn’t have left the party, but he said he has a surprise for me out here. Why is he being so secretive?

“Torrence?” I call into the dark woods, following the trail I know by heart. The trees are quiet again tonight, but magic crackles through the air as branches sway in the sweet, early summer breeze. I should have just told Torrence he had to come to the bookstore. Why didn’t I do that?

Why do I keep letting him run everything?

I have to get my lady balls in working order, if I want to do more than just play at being on top. My cheeks heat as I remember being on top last night, his mouth pressed against my pussy. Ugh, that was so good.

A branch snaps behind me, and I whirl, scanning the trees.

Silence. Then, from mere inches behind me, “Are you afraid, kitten?”

A scream hurtles from my throat out of reflex and nerves, but I turn and find Torrence standing there in the wispy fog, and I sag into his chest, the scream dissolving into giggles that echo through the forest.

“That was so creepy,” I say, tilting my head back to grin up at him. “Let’s do it again sometime.”

His amber eyes flash dangerously at me, and his arm tightens like a steel band around my waist, pinning me to him.

“Again, and again, and again,” he whispers, his mouth drawing closer to mine with each word.

My eyes slide closed in anticipation of the kiss, but it doesn’t come. Another, tighter band draws around my thighs, something cold as ice pressing them together as my eyes fly open. What the hell?

“Stop that,” I snap at him, squirming against the magic. The ice is so cold it nearly burns against my bare skin, where my skirt is riding up. “Seriously, Tor. I have to head back. I’ve been gone too long already.”

“Back?” he asks, stepping slightly away so he can run his eyes up and down my sexy little cocktail dress.

“Back to the party. Opening night. It’s still happening - I just came out here to say thank you for the food.”

“You don’t need to go back,” he says, his voice like velvet as he tugs on the magic and forces me to spin on my toes, thighs still pressed together. I feel like a broken doll, twirling awkwardly, and I don’t like it at all. I reach out to smack at his arms.

“Let me go.”

He laughs, and something creeps up my spine. Something I would normally call fear, but I shouldn’t have any reason to be afraid of him. He’s had so many opportunities to hurt me, and he hasn’t. Tonight won’t be any different.

“You haven’t answered my question, kitten. Are you afraid?”

“Afraid of Rose, if I don’t get my ass back to the party soon,” I snip, stumbling a little as he continues to twirl me like a jewelry box dancer.

“If I let you go, would you run? You know what would happen if catch you, right?”

I giggle nervously. I’ve had a few dreams about that. “You don’t have to chase me for sex. Just wait untilafterthe party.” The ice bands seem to glow around me in the foggy darkness.Torrence only watches me with an unreadable look on his gorgeous face.

“You should be afraid. If I were you, I’d run.” He hisses the last word, yanking away the magical band of ice so quickly that I turn another two and a half times, stumbling almost to my knees as I fight to regain my balance.

“What the hell?” I snap, the words dying on my lips as I scan the woods and realize he’s gone. Like, completely vanished. This is so unlike him.

Run, Ruby.

The whisper comes from everywhere, all at once, and a streak of real fear finally flares across my chest. What game is this?

Run.

Something crackles in the brush nearby, the sound like icicles falling, and I skitter away, still trying to decide what to do. This was supposed to be a quick little sexy thank you, not a game of chase through the woods. We’ve played at this sort of thing, too, but never quite like this.

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