“Rose? I asked you a question,” he murmurs, moving his hand from my belly to cup my breast and teasing my nipple through the thin material of my sports bra. My whimper is muffled by his hand, and I uselessly grind my ass against him in an attempt to alleviate some of the fire burning between my thighs.
Keeping three fingers over my mouth, he pinches my nose closed with the other two, and my body convulses for entirely different reasons as I’m slowly starved for oxygen.
“I’m not a patient man, little rose. Answer the question.” His voice is a dangerous growl, one I am all too willing to get lost in. I nod, desperate for air and to continue this dangerous game we’ve been playing.
Satisfied with the answer, he releases my nose. I suck in lungfuls of precious oxygen as he chuckles darkly, dipping hisother hand beneath my sports bra. He rolls my nipple between two fingers before applying a fierce pressure that causes me to gasp against his hand, my head tipping back as I’m lost to the delectable mix of pain and pleasure.
“Did you like your gift, little rose?” he murmurs, releasing my nipple and massaging the pain away. “Did you like the pretty X I left him with?”
I’m so lost in him, it takes me a few seconds to realize what he’s talking about. When I do, it’s like someone dumped a bucket of cold water all over me, and I attempt to pull out of his hold.
I shake my head, tears coming to my eyes as the terror of what I experienced that day coming back tenfold. His chest shakes with a dark laugh, and he leans forward, licking the first salty drop that falls to my cheek.
And then I’m struck with a whole new kind of terror.He’s not wearing his mask.
“It was your fault, Carlotta,” he whispers, a malicious tone coating every word he whispers into my ear. “Because you aremine,and you allowed him to touch you.“ He snaps his hand up, cupping my throat and squeezing hard enough to bring stars to my eyes. “Since the moment I laid eyes on you, you’ve belonged to me. And anyone who touches what is mine, will die by my hand.”
It’s wrong, but also the hottest thing I’ve ever heard. But also…oh, God, he could hurt Landon.Of course, it’s been months since he’s truly touched me in that way. But still…
He releases my mouth for a moment, just long enough for me to breathe out one simple phrase. “You’re insane,” I whisper, fighting weakly against his hold on my throat. “Fucking insane.”
“For you, my treasure,always,” he says, leaning down and nuzzling his face into my neck. He takes a deep inhale, and a moan shudders deep in his chest. “You smell divine. Good enough toeat.”
There’s a scraping noise, and then teeth are sinking into my flesh, right in the center of the X and causing the wound to reopen again. I cry out in pain before his hand is slapped across my mouth once more.
“We had a deal. You broke it,” he snarls, ripping my arms behind my back. He wraps something that feels like twine around them before doing the same to my ankles. Then, he bends me over, pressing the outline of his rock-hard cock against my ass as he fastens my wrists to my ankles.
I whimper when he finally takes his hands from me, and his dark laugh fills the still forest air.
“I’ll be back for you, my rose.Two days.”
And then he’s gone. Leaving me with a belly full of want and no way in hell how to get out of this cursed position.
Sometimes, being chased by a masked man fucking sucks.
CHAPTER FOUR
It takesme the better half of the day to get out of the contraption Zay left me in, and by the time I get back to the townhouse, Landon is gone. With a deep sigh, I head into the kitchen and grab a banana before heading into the living room and turning on the television.
A rotting day sounds great after the hell of the past two days.
A yawn tears from my mouth as I lie on the sofa, grabbing one of my fuzzy blankets and pulling it to my chin. It’s a gloomy day in Moriton, as usual, and if I don’t sit up, I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep before too… too…
My eyes close, and when they reopen, the sun has set. I jerk up in alarm, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I look at the clock blinking on the oven. 11:15.
Did I really fall asleep for that long?
I stand from the couch and pad over to the bedroom, peeking inside and frowning when I notice Landon still isn’t home. With a huff, I head back to the living room and grab my phone from the coffee table, my scowl intensifying when I notice a single message from Landon.
I went to the woods.
I go to type out a message and pause, my mind reeling. What the hell does he mean he went to the woods? Landon hates the outdoors more than an asthmatic, which can only mean…
Oh, God. Zay has Landon.
I’m not sure how, but I don’t have time to figure it out. I don’t even put on shoes before I’m sprinting out the door, my legs taking me in the direction of the Moriton Forest hiking trail. What if he’s dead already? What if I’m too late?
Why the fuck do I care so much?