Page 62 of Hide and Seek
Instead of heading to the right, I make a hard left. That wasn’t someone accidentally kicking a rock or dislodging it as they ran. Myles either threw it or purposely kicked it in the opposite direction to try and confuse me.
That makes me smile. He isn’t going down easy, and he isn’t giving up.
Ignoring his attempt to throw me off his trail, I focus on my surroundings and listen for any signs of him.
They’re faint, but I can hear the echo of his footsteps ahead of me. He’s still running in the general direction of the cabin, and I follow him at another easy jog. I can’t hear him anymore or see him thanks to the rapidly darkening sky and the soft slap of my own footsteps, but the slight disturbances on the forest floor and the occasional broken branches and torn leaves from someone rushing past them point me in the right direction.
About fifty feet from the cabin, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and the sensation of being watched settles over me. Instead of whirling around to see if he’s behind me, I slow until I’m walking at a leisurely pace.
I can’t hear him, but I know he’s there. Rather than give him any indication that I’m onto him, I crouch next to an exposed tree root and poke the ground a few times like I’m doing something and not just trying to look like I am.
Covertly, I turn my head and glance behind me. A flash of something dark moves against the backdrop and disappears behind a large tree.
Gotcha.
This time, I don’t play any games and jump up, immediately taking off at a full sprint. I might not be a distance runner like Myles, and I don’t have anywhere near as much stamina as him, but I’ve been doing speedwork for as long as I’ve been working out, and I’m damn fast over short distances when I want to be.
Myles doesn’t even pretend to keep hiding and lets out a little squeal of surprise as he darts out from behind the tree, but his foot slides over a raised rock, and he stumbles. The few seconds it takes him to right himself are all I need to catch up to him.
Myles’s eyes are as wide as saucers as I close in on him, but there’s a fire under his shock that flares to life when I grab his arm. He immediately twists away and wrenches it out of my grip.
I’m grinning as he takes off again, but this time I’m hot on his heels as he’s forced to slow his pace thanks to the slippery ground under his running shoes. The hiking boots I’m wearing aren’t made for sprinting in, but they have incredible grip, and I’m able to keep up with him as he tries to race away.
My blood speeds through my veins, and my heart pounds in my chest as I chase him. He’s just out of reach, but that doesn’t matter. The chase is just as much a part of this as catching him is, and every terrified look he tosses over his shoulder ramps up my excitement. The same as the cries of surprise and gasps of fear he lets out when he sees that I’m still right behind him.
The sun has almost set now, and the forest is dark. The ground is hard to make out, and Myles is forced to slow his pace again when one of his shoes skids over a long, jagged rock and nearly causes him to go sprawling.
That’s all I need to close the gap between us, and I hook my arm around his waist as he tries and fails to dart away from me.
His cry is laced with fear as I dig my heels into the ground and bring us to an abrupt stop. He stumbles and pitches forward, but I keep my grip on him to keep him from face-planting. The sudden backward momentum causes him to crash back into me, but I lock my arms around him and lift him right off the ground so we don’t go tumbling to the forest floor.
“Eeeek!” he shrieks and grabs my arms, holding on instead of trying to pull them off him.
Using his body weight as a counterbalance, I swing him around so he’s between me and a large tree.
“Oh shit,” he gasps when his feet touch down.
I let go of him and bump my chest against his back, giving him a little push.
“Fuck,” he grunts as he falls against the tree with enough force he has to put his hands up to stop from crashing into it.
I throw myself against his back and pin him to the tree with my body.
He immediately starts writhing as he desperately tries to wiggle out from under me. The soft grunts and heavy groans he lets out as he pushes against the tree and bucks back against me are hot as fuck. He’s not holding back, but I’m at an advantage, and I use my strength to pin him against the tree until he runs out of steam and sags against it with a defeated cry.
We’re both breathing hard, and I lean closer and put my lips next to his ear.
“Gotcha.”
15
MYLES
Hot breath ticklesthe side of my face and fans over my neck, making a shiver of both fear and arousal dance up my spine.
Goddamn, he’s strong. It’s like pushing against a brick wall as he pins me to the tree and grinds his hard cock against my ass.
I left my room having no idea if he saw my challenge or not and spent the first part of my run hyperaware of my surroundings and trying to find any sign that he was nearby.
