Page 23 of Reckless Covenant

My body begins to rock in the car seat, fingers tapping nervously on the steering wheel, and I’m running out of fucking air!

“I need to get out!” I need ground under my feet.

My brain… it feels like it’s on fire.

I slam my foot on the break, tightening my grip on the wheel to keep it from skidding as it comes to a stop. Before me, in the glare of the headlights, surrounded by grass and wildflowers, lies a crossroads.

Right here, in the middle of the forest, where I decided to stop, two roads cross, with four directions to choose from…

Before my mind can sink further into the panic of my hypothetical road ahead, I turn the music as loud as it’ll go, rip open the door, and rush out to the middle of this crossroads. The wave of panic slams into me from the inside out, and I fall to my knees, slamming my fist into the ground on a painful bellow. It bleeds from the pits of my lungs, shrieking until my throat burns, until the desperation that taints it eases.

They betrayed me… they all betrayed me.

I take a deep breath that finally fills my lungs enough that it cools the burn in my brain, and slow drum beats fill my ears as they echo through the forest around me. The song coming from my car lulls my nerves, guiding my body to stand. My feet respond too, my hips follow, the music carries me… it always does. I don’t know the moment my whole body listened to the song, but I’m dancing like there is nothing but me in this entire world. Mad southern sounds guiding me as I sway and spin, arms up in the air, hips rolling on every beat, the panic dissipating with every movement.

The damp smell of moss and wildflowers comforts my senses, as a breeze makes its way through the branches of the trees, their leaves rustling almost on the bass of the song. And I feel like I’m dancing with them, with the hypnotizing sweet scents of the forest, the breeze that wraps around my bare stomach guiding my direction, the softness of the soil beneath my feet, my mind losing itself in the heathen beats that echo through the forest. But the only heathen here is me. Wild and… free.

Here… I am free.

But am I alone?

* * *

VINCENT

It wasthe bass of the music vibrating through the trees that called to me, but her scream, the pain and desperation… that’s what summoned me. The last thing I expected to see when I found the source was the blur of wild red hair, whipping around as she moved freely to the dark music, the dipped headlights bathing her in a strange light.

Morrigan O’Rourke.

Those red locks I would recognize anywhere, but I certainly didn’t expect to see them on my run tonight.

I stand in the shadow of the trees, hidden from the headlights. Even if she looks in this direction, she cannot see me. And I don’t want her to.

She sways her hips, then rolls her body to a low bass, moving on light steps as she spins over and over in a hypnotic dance. I stalk through the shadows until I’m almost behind the car, my eyes glued to her luscious body swaying, every roll an exquisite shock to my cock, but I force myself to focus on the recklessness of this woman. Christ, anyone coming from behind those headlights is invisible to her. They could attack her. What the fuck is she thinking?!

But my mind is drawn back to that scream…She’s not thinking of that, she doesn’t care. Something happened.

I move behind the trees again and stop as her fingers run through her hair, pulling it up as her short t-shirt exposes the soft flesh of her belly, her body undulating on the heathen notes of the song.

I can’t help it, she lures me in. My steps crunch on the gravel as I come out into the light, slowly walking in a wide circle around her, close to the line of trees.

With my next step, as the song quiets, her muscles tense all at once, and her eyes dart open straight onto mine. I expect to see panic or fear in them, but I feel more like prey than the predator, with the fury so vividly painted on her features.

“Serpent…” she hisses, her shoulders falling when she realizes it’s me. The fury stays put.

Interesting.

I continue walking around her, taking slow steps as she turns my way, keeping me in her line of sight. No words exchanged. Not yet. She drags her gaze over me, head to toe, assessing my state, but she’s blinded once I’m in front of the car. I stand between the headlights, and the stubborn woman still forces herself to look in my direction, as with wild animals, dropping one’s gaze means submission. And that just won’t do for Morrigan O’Rourke. I can’t help but grin, because the fire in her eyes burns just as bright as her hair right now.

There’s something bugging me, though; she’s stubborn as a mule, strong and feisty to the point of self-destruction, yet she’s submitting to this arrangement her father made with her… fiancé.

It just doesn’t fit. There’s a story here, and I need to hear it.

A dark and moody guitar fills the forest in slow tones as I step toward her.

“What happened?” Finally, I speak, and she flinches.

“Don’t pretend to give a shit. It doesn’t look good on you.”

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