Page 7 of Stalking His Prey

I hear the breaths of the man chasing me. They’re deep and controlled. This exertion is nothing for him. I might as well be trying to escape from a wild animal.

From my left, I hear the sound of rushing water and instantly alter course as my pursuer continues to close the gap between us. The sound grows louder and louder, and the ground beneath my feet grows rocky until suddenly I emerge from the trees onto the top of a cliff looking down over a great waterfall crashing down into a pool below.

The sheer height of the view gives me a slight moment of vertigo.

I already know it’s too high for me to jump, but what alternative do I have? If I don’t, the man behind me will capture me. That’s what the rope in his hand is for, isn’t it? And who knows what he’ll do to me once he has me.

My heart thumps harder as a rush of heat hits me and I glance over my shoulder to see the masked man emerge from the trees.

That’s it. No other options left.

I turn back to the cliff, look down at the water, and jump.

Just as my feet leave the ground, a pair of iron arms wrap around my waist and snatch me out of the air.

“Oh, no you don’t.”

My nose fills with the scent of man-sweat as I’m pressed to the ground, thrashing wildly and screaming.

But it’s no use. The masked man is enormous, his strength unyielding, and he pins me to the rocky ground with a single knee on my back.

“Easy, Penelope,” he growls, his breath hot in my ear. “Don’t squirm. You’ll only scratch that beautiful skin of yours.”

How does he know my name?

All of a sudden, a tingling sensation forms between my legs as the man grabs my arms and forces them behind my back.

Right now?

I’m blushing too. Is this the response most girls have when being kidnapped? I doubt it.

“Help!” I scream but am instantly silenced by a rag being forced into my mouth. He ties it off behind my neck, muffling any sounds I try to make.

Sweat drips down onto me from his naked top half. Then I feel the rope being wrapped around my wrists.

“This will make things easier,” the man says. Is that delight I hear in his voice as he binds my arms and legs? I look up at him as he rolls me onto my back.

From down here, it’s like staring up at a giant. He’s straddling me like the world’s most alpha alpha. My eyes, which I no longer have conscious control over, follow his v-taper down to the massive bulge between his legs.

His arousal is blatant as his pants tent over what he’s got hiding beneath. This man wants me, and now he has me.

He also knows who I am.

How could that be? Has he been watching me? Stalking me? And if so, for how long?

He leans down, and I take another deep breath through my nose, embedding the scent of his body deep into my lungs. His pheromones are strong. This man’s testosterone levels must be off the charts.

My back arches off the hard stone as he reaches for the zipper of my jacket and tugs it down, revealing my halter top beneath.

“Christ, look at those perky teenage tits. You truly are more beautiful than I’d imagined.”

The tingling between my legs soars to new heights. Even my fingers and toes are hot now. I simply do not know what to do as he reaches down, and with a single arm, lifts me up and hoists me over his shoulder like I weigh nothing.

“That was a fun chase, Pen,” he says, his voice low and bassy. “Now you’re coming with me.”

4

HAWK

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