Page 114 of Meet Me in the Dark: The Complete Series

I back away, my eyes widening as I look at him in surprise. "Run?"

Run where? Why? Although, the heat rushing through me tells me the why doesn’t even matter, only that I run so that he can catch me. And do whatever he wants with me.

"I'll give you a ten second head start." He leans a little closer. "But when I catch you, you're mine until I decide to let you go. If I let you go at all."

A shiver races through me as I slowly rise from the stool, trying to figure out where the hell to run. I have no idea where to go, where to hide, where anything is down or upstairs.

"Ten," Jackson begins counting, and I sprint out of the kitchen.

Adrenaline mixes with arousal as my feet make quick work of racing toward the living room.

"Nine." It's said from behind me, letting me know he really isn't chasing me yet, but it's still too close. And I know he can see me in here from the kitchen.

"Eight."

I pause in the living room, looking toward the couch, wondering if I should hide behind it. Too simple. My eyes dart to the coat closet near the front door.

"Seven." His voice has some amusement now. And maybe it's because, as it seems I need the reminder, he can still see me. Standing here, my head turning from side to side, trying to figure out where to go, like the stairs aren't right beside me. So,finally, right as he sayssix, I do the smart thing and sprint up the steps, two at a time.

"Five." I hear faintly as I reach the top stair.

The long hallway stretches out before me. I don't have much time to consider which room is best. I've got, I think, four seconds left, and then he'll come bounding up the steps after me. It's not like he'll have to search downstairs. I decide against going into the first room. He'll, of course, check there first. I look across the hall, through the open door into what looks like a library. There's only bookcases and single seats in there. Nowhere to hide. I close that door and the one to the first room anyway, just to make it harder for him. I continue on, passing the bathroom, a guest room, until there's only two doors left. Both of them closed.

I stand there, trying to decide which to go into, knowing I only have a second to choose.

"Charlotte," Jackson sing-songs.

Nope, not even a second, then. I open the door to the room right in front of me. I gasp at the darkness of it, only catching a glimpse of a large black bed and dark carpet before I quietly shut the door behind me. Then I'm surrounded by black.

I hear a door open in the hallway. It has to be one of the first two doors I made sure to close. I don't have time to stand here in the open. Taking careful steps, I feel my way toward where I know the bed to be, muffling a curse when I hit my shin against the bed frame. Now what? A part of me wants to just strip and lie on this bed that I'm sure is Jackson's, but an even bigger part wants the thrill of him finding me, of him taking my clothes off, of him making me get onto the bed.

Footsteps sound closer now, and not knowing what else to do, I go for the dumbest hiding place possible. Under the bed. I liethere, in the dark, trying to quiet my heaving, excited breaths. Footsteps again, and I look over to see the shadow of feet blocking out some of the light coming from under the door.

"Only this room left now," he says as he opens the door.

I lick my lips at the sight of him, what little I can see from under here, with the slight bit of light coming in from the hallway. His feet, the bottom of his sweatpants, his shadow cast across the carpet. The light almost reaches the bed, and I quietly move a little to the left just in case he can see any of me, but I still when he begins speaking.

"If you come out on your own, I'll take it easy on you. Fuck you like a woman I want to be able to walk tomorrow."

My lips curve up into a smile at his words, at the excitement filling me, at the lust flooding me. How can the things he says always evoke such a deep reaction from me, make me crave him like I don't already know the way it feels when he's inside of me? I don't even know if I believe him, if he knows how to fuck me like he doesn't hate me. And I don't want to find out. Because I love it when he fucks me like I'm a stranger, just a wanton woman for him to use and abuse. I love it when he drives into me like he doesn't care about the ache it will leave later on. When he leaves his marks on me, the imprint of his teeth on my skin and impressions of his fingers on my thighs and hips. So I stay silent, under the bed, intent on not making it easy for him, or myself, at all.

"But if you make me search for you..." He begins to close the door, making the light fade. Nothing has ever felt so ominous and so enticing at the same time. "If I have to find you in the darkness, I will do things to you that'll make the light turn away in shame. You choose."

He closes the door, and the room is once again plunged into utter darkness. My breathing seems too loud, and my heart beats so hard that I wonder if he can hear it, but I lie there utterly still, letting my inaction tell him everything he needs as an answer. The silence is finally broken by that dark, sexy chuckle that sends a shiver racing through me.

"Find you it is, then."

I only hear the barest of sounds as he moves around the room, not enough to let me know where he is, how close or far he is from the bed. But I'm sure he'll be looking under here any second now, reaching under the bed because he won't be able to see me. That also means he won't see if I move from under the bed either. Closing my eyes as I try to decide whether to stay or move, I finally here a sound that lets me know where he is, the sound of a door opening. It's either a closet or maybe a bathroom, neither of which I saw close to the bed when I got my quick look on the way in. Maybe it's safe to move.

I inch myself sideways, pausing every few seconds to make sure I don't hear anything that tells me he's coming closer. Finally, I'm free of the bed, silently crawling closer to the bedroom door, figuring I can run out of it before he’ll even know what's happening and find another place to hide, making him start the search all over again. Carpet quieting my knees and hands hitting the floor, I get closer and closer to the door. It's only when my hand lands on something that I can immediately tell is not the carpet that I know I'm caught. Jackson's words confirm it for me.

"There you are."

I stay utterly still, as if not moving will mean anything now that he already knows I'm right before him. I don't even take my hand off what I realize now is his foot. He was waiting for me bythe door, expecting me to try and run out of the room. And I fell right into his trap. Now that I have, what is he going to do with me?

"Came crawling for your fucking like the dirty whore you are." I feel him move and his next words are spoken right near my ear. He must have dropped to his haunches. "In the perfect position for what I want to do to you."

"No!" I exclaim as I push against a body I can't see.

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