Page 54 of The Commander

There wasn’t time to argue with herself that there was no rescue from this predator, not when her instincts were screaming at her to run. Run. Run!

She climbed up the shell of an old truck and fell off with a crash to the other side, clumsy with urgency, then climbed up the bank of a rut to a smoothed out cleared road.

She’d gotten all turned around and gone the wrong way. The open was the last place she wanted to be.

There was something ahead of her. Smug. Tall. Powerful. He was far enough away that she couldn’t see his expression. A flash of white teeth? No clothes? Not human. None other than her captor, walking casually toward her without a care in the world.

She gave him her back and went in the other direction; even if she wanted to stay still, she couldn’t. Every freaking nerve in her body screamed move. So, she moved.

She didn’t hear anything but the wind in her ears and silent fury in her heart. But something hooked her around the waist and swung her into the air.

She screamed.

Legs still kicking, the most outrageous thing popped out of Cara’s mouth. “Let me go! I thought you were done with me!”

CHAPTER 18 - CARA

He sat her down, bending over her mouth near her ear. “Done with you? Not at all, pet. Were you going for a walk without me? You only needed to meow and let me know you wanted to go out. That is how it works, right? Or was it another treat you were looking for?”

Cara aimed an elbow at his ribs. It did nothing. She tried to scratch at his skin, but he didn’t notice. “Let me go!” she demanded.

He did.

She fell forward, caught herself, and crab crawled back toward the side of the road, veering off in a panic. What should she do? There were no weapons. No escape. Maybe find a branch to bash him over the head? It wouldn’t help, but it was something. At least he would get the message that she wanted him to leave her alone.

He laughed at her as she slid down the bank. Laughed. It was a marvelous, deep sound that tickled the bottom of her pelvis. Something inside her squeezed with delicious anticipation.

She had to find something she could use to puncture that thick skin. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Why hadn’t she prepared? If she still had the big knife,thatwould have done the trick. One mistake after another was going to get her fucked. Again.

She moved, crashing forward in the clearest direction she could find. All her intentions were set to hide or fight. She was past tired—out of breath—giving up still wasn’t an option.

If he followed, he was soundless.

Keeping an eye out for defense options, every weapon she saw was too big to lift. She came across branches twice her size. A random car door tangled in vines. A rock the size of her head nearly made her trip again, but she didn’t have time to dig it out to make it useful.

There were no easy places for refuge that she could see, either. All the trees that she could climb had lower limbs that looked too weak to hold her weight or were too high for her to reach. She put distance between herself and the road, running blindly deeper into the murky dark of the woods. The next time she stopped, she was in an area where the trees were wide with age.

Where was he?

With a tree trunk behind her, she blinked the sweat from her eyes and tried to catch her breath. Think. She had to think. Control her breathing. Set a pace. Make a plan.

This was no good. She was making more sound than a tax truck stuck in the mud. Just her huffing would tell him where she was.

“Perfect spot, Kitten,” he said, casually stepping out from behind a tree as if he’d been waiting for her.

Too late for a plan, then.

Her heart was trying to burst from her chest as she screamed, sprinting to the right. He was a huge, terrifying creature, appearing out of nowhere. One second he was on the road. The next, he was in front of her, catching her and setting her down against the tree. Pinning her in place. How did he do that?

“Let me go.” Aiming a fist at his chin, he caught it.

She tried to knee him. He took the blow. Didn’t bother to sidestep. It was like kneeing a boulder. He captured her other wrist, brought them together, and twisted something—a rope—tight. She was tied. Captured.

“What are you doing?” She dropped her weight. Anything to get away. Fighting him with all she had. He was too strong.

Using the rope as a leash, the bastard dragged her to another tree with a lower branch. He threw the rope up and over it until she stood on her toes and twisted by her wrists.

It felt good to fight. Her feral, angry animal side took over and resisted with all she had.Don’t let him win and dominate her again.She couldn’t permit that melting, sweet pleasure to steal away all her rage, cover up her fear, or rob her of her revenge. “Don’t touch me, you monster,” she growled out the words like taking bites of his skin.

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