Page 26 of Hunting Her
But then, booming footsteps.
I exhale sharply as they echo through the old, ramshackle house. It might not be my hunters. It could be anyone, maybe the owner coming to check on her property during the night when this place is most at risk for vandalism. Maybe a couple of teens looking to cause some chaos.
It’s possible the demons haven’t found me.
The heavy footfalls grow closer, coming up the stairs. They’re on the same level as me now.
I hold my breath as they stomp, heading past the hidden door that leads to my hiding place.
They missed it. I haven’t been discovered.
I don’t dare move—I won’t until dawn breaks—but I let myself breathe again. Wiggle my toes, even. Not anything drastic enough to shift the material, but a movement to remind me that my toes exist.
There’s a bang like a gunshot when the door slams open, hitting the wall. I gasp and then freeze, anxiety holding my body in a vise grip.
“I know you’re in here.” It’s Brellan, his words ripping my hope out through my chest.
How did he know I was here? And why didn’t I hear him backtrack? He wanted to lull me into a false sense of security, and I hate him for it. Their little cat and mouse game is getting really fucking old, and I’m not coming out willingly.
He can drag me from beneath this inflatable pumpkin.
“You’re good at running and hiding,” he comments.
The floor creaks as he crosses the space, but he doesn’t come for me. Through the translucent fabric, the room lights up in flickering orange. He’s lighting candles.
Brellan must intend to claim me here. How is he going to exploit my loss? I’ve experienced Izoran and Lorcan’s kinks—will the impassive demon’s desires be harder for me to satisfy, or easier?
They told me my pussy is off limits until Damek, so does that mean my poor throat will end up used again? My hands, maybe? My breasts?
I shiver, fighting down the unwanted arousal from my imagination’s conjurings.
A shadow hovers over me, lit from behind. It’s clear he’s known my exact location the whole time he’s been in the room. But I’m still not going to give in and reveal myself, even when it’s obvious I’ve been found.
My heart races as seconds tick by. He’s waiting, probably wanting me to give up my hiding spot before he forces me to, but he’ll be waiting a while.
With a heavy sigh, Brellan yanks the pumpkin off my huddled body and grabs me by the arm to pull me to my feet. Head spinning, dizzy from the abrupt change in position, I try to push him off. He holds firm, staring into my eyes.
“You should have come out on your own.”
I kick him in the shin, and he doesn’t even flinch.
“Since you obviously like hiding, I’ll give you a good place to hide.”
Holding my arm in a bruising grip, he reaches over and opens the door of the large bird cage beside my hiding spot. My lips part, gaze darting between the cage and the demon. He’s not going to make me…
He yanks me and I stumble forward. “You’re not going to go in the cage willingly, are you?”
It’s a rhetorical question, but I answer anyway. “I’mnotgetting into a cage!”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Brellan pushes me down. I thrash, fighting against his manhandling, but I’m no match for a demon. He easily shoves me into the cage, my arms brushing against the frigid metal of the bars, and slams the door shut.
Before I can turn around and try to scramble back out, he’s snapped on a padlock, trapping me.
Slamming my palm against the bars, I let out a short scream. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Brellan doesn’t say a word. He crosses his arms over his chest, staring down at me. He’s looking at me like I’m a weakling, but I don’t give up, shouting and cursing at him as I shake the cage.
