Page 33 of Devious Secrets

Something stubs my toe, and I fly forward face-first into the dead leaves and dirt on the ground. A root tripped me. At least I didn’t twist my good ankle.

“Five seconds!” His bellow blows through the trees. More leaves fall in the darkness and land on my head.

Looking around, I try to find a place to hide. There’s nothing but trees as far as I can see. Maybe I’ve gone the wrong way.

A fallen tree trunk isn’t far away, so I crawl to it as twigs bite my knees. Not changing out of this damn dress before embarking on my escape is yet another bad decision among a mountain of other bad decisions I’ve made recently.

Climbing over the thick trunk, I flatten myself against the ground. I take long, deep breaths trying to get my heart to slow. It’s beating so hard; I’m sure Alexander will hear it in the silence of the night.

Counting in my head, I hit the number five, then ten, then thirty. Where is he?

Focusing all my energy on listening, I try to place him, but there’s not a sound. No leaves crunching, no twigs breaking, nothing.

Could he have given up and gone back inside?

Silently, I count the seconds. But the sound of my own panic bubbling in my ears makes me lose my number and I have to start over again. Only when I’m confident several minutes have passed without any sound from him do I chance taking a peek.

The bark of the fallen tree is rough against my palms as I use it to push up just enough to see over it.

Nothing.

He probably realized I’m more trouble than I’m worth, a note I’ve been given more than a few times in my life, and went back inside. More than likely, he’ll assume I’m going home and he’ll just catch up to me at my apartment.

Sighing with relief, I sink back down behind the trunk and roll over to my back.

A set of dark eyes shimmer with the little light from the moon peeking through the tree branches. Before I can scream, he slaps a hand over my mouth, crouching in front of me.

“Naughty, naughty girl.” He scoots closer. “I told you to come back, but you wanted to run.” His breath is hot against my cheek.

Beneath his hand I try to shake my head.

“No?” he huffs. “But you did run, Megan. You wanted me to chase you, so I did. And now you’ve been caught.”

Pushing against the ground, I try to shove away from him, but my hand slips with the leaves and I nearly hit my head on the trunk of the tree. He catches me, cradling my head in his hand.

“Hmm, there are so many ways I’m going to punish you.” Coming even closer, he inhales, probably sensing my fear. A man like him probably gets off on other people’s terror.

His lips spread wide in an arrogant grin.

“I’m going to pull my hand away, and all you’re allowed to say is ‘Yes, sir’ or ‘No, sir.’” He pauses, waiting for me to respond, I guess, so I nod beneath his hand.

Gingerly, he peels his hand away and I lick my lips, tasting him. Again, I try to scramble back from him, but the tree behind me is blocking me. There’s nowhere else to go, and he’s still glaring at me.

“Now that I’ve caught you, what to do with you?” He tilts his head a little. It’s not a question; he’s just trying to freak me out.

It’s working.

Trailing his finger down the side of my cheek, he pushes away my hair, tucking it behind my ear.

“You have a cut on your cheek.” He sounds angry about it.

Just wait until he sees my ankle, and what a mess my knees probably are from the twigs and my fall.

“Yes, sir,” I say quietly when the time ticks by, and he still hasn’t said anything else.

He glances down the length of my torso. There’s a tear in the dress where I got caught up in the bushes after landing on the patio. He pokes at it, slipping his finger through it and skimming his fingertip along my stomach.

“You shouldn’t have ran.”

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