Page 96 of The Hunt

My heart pounded as I met his cold gaze, my eyes widening in a strange mix of fear and anticipation. He pressed the tip of the knife a little harder, and I felt a sharp sting, followed by warmth as beads of blood welled up and trickled down my neck in a thin line.

Fear coursed through me like a tidal wave, but beneath it, something far more twisted stirred. My body was betraying me, heat pooling low in my belly despite the sharp bite of the knife at my throat.

Oh, god…

I was actually turned on by this.

What the hell was wrong with me? How could I feel this way when I was staring down death itself? It was insane. Literally fucking insane. And yet… that all-too-familiar rush of exhilaration was pulsing in my veins anyway.

I had to snap out of it. This wasn’t some dark fantasy in my head, happening in the safety of my bed. This was real. The pain was real, the blood was real, the blade digging into my throat was real.

“Please,” I said in a broken whisper.

The corner of Rhett’s mouth lifted. “Please what?” he said, pulling the knife ever-so-slightly back.

My eyes flicked up to his neck as my mind whirled through Cheryl’s self-defense advice.If you end up in close hand-to-hand combat, the eyes, throat, and groin are effective targets. No need to worry about playing fair in a situation like this.

It would be risky, but I could snap my hand up and chop Rhett right in the throat. While he was in that split second of surprise mixed with gasping pain, he’d probably drop the knife. Then I could make a run for it. It would only take me a few seconds to sprint back to the safety of the blue circle around the hatch, and he couldn’t touch me there.

My gaze flicked back to the knife, calculating. Even if Rhett didn’t drop it after I hit him, things could still work out in my favor. He’d pulled the blade just far enough back to give me a bit of breathing room, so as long as I ducked immediately after I hit him, he wouldn’t be able to slash or stab me with it. If he tried, it would probably lodge in the boards behind me instead.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my trembling hands. Could I really do this? Would I be fast enough, or would he recover from the blow and sink that knife into me before I even got a chance to try?

Fuck it.

I had to try. If I was going to die today, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

I snapped my hand upward to aim for the center of Rhett’s throat. Before I could even graze it, his free hand shot out, grabbing my wrist in a bruising grip. He twisted it with startling ease and slammed it back against the wall, pinning it above my head. I cried out, tears of frustration instantly springing to my eyes.

“Nice try, baby,” he said, voice dripping with amusement. His face was so close now that I could feel his breath fanning over me. It was warm, but it sent shivers down my spine anyway.

I gritted my teeth, trying not to wince at the pain shooting through my arm. “Let me go,” I hissed. I was trying to sound strong, but the tears were already spilling down my cheeks, betraying my terror and hopelessness.

Unbelievably, my demand worked. Rhett dropped my pinned hand and took a step back, lips spreading in a cold smirk. “You know what, princess? I’m going to give you one shot.”

I blinked. “What?”

His smirk widened, and he lifted both hands in mock surrender. “You obviously want to fight, so I’m giving you a free shot,” he said. “I’ll let you hit me, as hard as you can.”

“Bullshit,” I whispered. He would never allow me to get a punch or slap in. This was all part of his sick game.

“I’m not lying. You can hit me.” His smirk widened. “But if you take me up on the offer, you better be ready to run afterwards, because I'll be chasing you down and fucking all that fight right out of you.”

Something swooped in my belly again; that same treacherous mix of fear and arousal that blurred the lines between pleasure and danger.

“Unless that's what you want,” Rhett went on, lifting a cocky brow. A spark of interest was flashing in his eyes. Or was I simply imagining that?

He lifted the knife back up, taunting me as it hovered mere inches from my face. “Tell me, Everly,” he said in a low voice. “Tell me what you want.”

Fuck you,I wanted to hiss as I stood there, chest heaving.

I hated him. Hated that he was right. The thought of him chasing me down and pinning me to the ground to viciously fuck the fight out of me…oh, lord.The thrill it sent through me was intoxicating, making my head spin as bolts of electricity shot between my thighs.

Stop it.

I gritted my teeth, begging my brain to take back control from my reckless, treacherous body. Every part of my mind was screaming at me to fight, to resist, but Rhett’s cocky, infuriating smirk, along with the dark allure of his words, held me frozen.

“Go on,” he said, stepping back just enough to tempt me. “Make it count, princess. I’ll even close my eyes if it helps.”

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