Page 65 of The Hunted
It terrified her just as much as it excited her.
Silva licked her lips and let out a shaky breath. “We’re just sparring.” She made her way to the showers. She ran the hot water and stripped quickly, putting her phone on top of her clothes in case he called and needed to be let in.
“Nothing is going to happen between us.” She sounded sure. “A little fighting and maybe some food after. That’s it.” She needed the reminder to cool her overheated skin.
Silva stepped underneath the hot spray, groaning as soon as the water hit her body. Her shoulders instantly dropped, the water rinsing off the day. She used her hands to massage her overworked muscles. She started out at her shoulders and the side of her neck, letting her hands travel down her chest. Her mind started to wander, imagining Santino was in the small stall with her. It was his hands teasing her skin.
Her breath hitched when her fingers brushed against her nipple. She should have kept her hands moving, but she brought them back up to teasing herself.
“I shouldn’t do this,” she whispered as her head fell back. She kicked her feet open, tweaking her nipples, feeling Santino’s rough hands on her.
She gasped. Her stomach dropped and her core throbbed. She needed more. She wanted him to physically be here with her, touching her in ways she enjoyed, and new ways she hadn’t thought of.
Her hand made its descent down her belly while her other hand wrapped around her throat. She couldn’t remember the last time she touched herself. She didn’t masturbate often and if she did, she had a strong vibrator set to the highest setting. She put it against her clit and climaxed in a matter of minutes. She usually went to sleep or about her business after. She never toyed with herself like this, never played with her air supply or gently stroked herself like she was doing now.
A low moan left her lips when she tightened her grip on her neck. Her other hand teased her clit and her core throbbed to the point it was almost painful. She felt empty, unsure if she’d be able to climax without her vibrator or something else filling her, but she kept going. She kept hearing Santino’s voice in her ear. He was encouraging her, calling her princess and telling her how good she was doing—how pretty she looked wet and writhing for him.
“God,” she groaned, feeling a tingling sensation shoot across her back. She knew she didn’t have long. Santino would be here soon, but she didn’t let up rubbing her clit, while she squeezed her neck harder.
The way she wanted him knocked her off her axis. She thought if she found her release here in the shower, she wouldn’t want him so much. Her body wouldn’t open up to his so easily.
Silva kept going, praying she could make herself climax around her fingers so she could find a way to concentrate when they sparred. Hoping this would be enough to finally push him out of her system.
Santino yawned as he walked up toward the gym. He was exhausted and a little hungry. Surviving off coffee and protein bars used to be enough when he was younger, but now that he was nearing forty, his body was craving something more to keep him upright and his mind working.
“Should have gone home for a quick power nap.” He yawned again.
After dropping Silva off he drove around looking for that Mark character. It was a wasted effort, he knew it the second he dropped her off, but he couldn’t let go of the driven need to find him.
Failing to find Mark only made him antsy and annoyed. Even as he stood in front of the gym, he wanted to get back in his car and keep looking. His online search didn’t narrow down his findings either, but there hadn’t been much to go on. There were a lot of Marks in Nova Springs, and not one of them looked like who’d been at the park this morning.
And my spotty memory wasn’t helping either.
The thought frustrated him. He hadn’t a care for what happened to him before his guardian found him, but now he was regretting not knowing.
And why hadn’t she pushed for me to find out?
The thought had kept slipping into his mind every time he thought about the Reaper. He didn’t think anything of it when he was younger that his guardian didn’t push for him to unlock his past. What had she been so worried about him finding out that she almost guided him to forget?
Who did I leave behind?
The hidden parts of his past held the key to unlocking who the Reaper was and why they were coming for him. If he had remembered or knew about his time before his guardian took him in, looking into Mark’s face would have told him if he was the Reaper or not.
He rocked back on his heels, feeling the weight of the possibility of Mark being the Reaper. He’d been too close to Silva.
His chest tightened, and it was getting hard for him to breathe. He clenched his jaw and flexed his hands, wondering how today would have gone had he not shown up at the park.
Would Silva had been the next body he found with a taunting note?
Her body broken and discarded for him to find—for him to see how close the Reaper was to him.
Santino closed his eyes, slowing his breathing down. He tried to listen to his surroundings, waiting for the gentle caress of the breeze to seep underneath his shirt, but it never came. Nor did the feeling of someone watching him, even though the street hadn’t been completely empty.
He opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder at the couple passing him. The guy pulled his girl closer to him and angled her so she walked a little ahead of him as if to keep Santino out of her reach. He smirked, thinking the gesture was unwarranted but didn’t miss the way the guy was sizing him up with what looked like intrigue.
Was he the Reaper trying to blend in with his surroundings?
“And I’m becoming paranoid,” he whispered.
