Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
36
HARPER-RAYN
Itake off like a fucking bolt of lightning, a laugh tearing out of me and echoing through the woods as Knight waits behind, giving me a chance to get away. My heart booms in my chest, and if it pounds any harder, I don’t doubt it will lead him straight to me, and while I want to be a good little huntee and at least make it hard for him, I also can’t wait to be caught.
“Ten,” he calls from the shore.
Oh shit. I get a countdown.
“Nine.”
I push myself faster, skipping over the twigs before realizing that every crunched leaf beneath my foot is a beacon calling to him, giving up my location, and I slow my pace, taking each step with purpose instead of reckless bounding.
The deeper into the woods I wander, the thicker the trees get, and it becomes more than clear that this is not something I’d ever do on my own, but I trust Knight implicitly. If I were to get lost, there’s not a single doubt that he would move heaven and earth to find me.
“Eight.”
I grin. His voice is starting to sound farther away, and I can’t help but wonder just how far I’ve gotten. I take a right and then a left, not wanting the hunt to be too obvious. Hell, I even consider climbing the trees, but let’s be honest, I can barely manage a simple hike without tripping over my own feet. I wasn’t built for climbing trees.
“Seven,” he says, his voice hitching a little higher as if experiencing the same thrill that I am, and shit, I can just picture the way he’d be pacing the shore, barely able to keep himself in check and cut this countdown short. “Six, doll.”
Fuck, I’ll never get past the way he calls me doll.
“Five. Four.”
A soft laugh ripples through my chest that I hope like fuck he can’t hear as I discreetly push myself deeper into the thick woods. It takes my full attention to avoid tripping over the fallen branches and stray rocks. I brace against the trees, using them to keep me upright as my lungs heave for oxygen. It’s only been a short run, yet the rush of the run and the thrill of the chase have me remembering just how shitty my fitness levels are. It wouldn’t be the first time in the past few months when I’ve been reminded of my failing fitness.
Perhaps I need to start going on runs with Knight. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. That is, until I pass out from lack of oxygen, and he has to carry me on his back the whole way home.
“You’re running out of time, Morticia,” he says, that hint of excitement in his tone doing wicked things to me. “Three.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I’ve never been so conflicted. I want to win this. I want to be the best damn hider there ever was, but damn it, I need him to find me and put out this fire that’s burning through my body.
“Two.”
Everything clenches, my chest heaving.
“One. Ready or not, my sexy little vixen, I’m coming for you.”
Oh God. Yes.
A soft groan slips through my lips, and I pause among the trees, listening to see if I can track his movements, but apart from the sound of the birds in the trees, the raging waterfall beyond the shore, and the hundreds of insects minding their own business, I’ve got nothing.
I shouldn’t be surprised. Knight is trained to be a ghost. He knows how to get from one place to another undetected, he knows how to track, how to hunt, and how to finish exactly what he started.
As the seconds tick by, I’m still met with silence, and my excitement quickly begins morphing into an anxious nervousness. Where the hell is he? Did he take off in the opposite direction, or has he caught my scent like a damn vampire?
My heart races, and I go to take another step when I hesitate, suddenly having no fucking idea where to go. Left or right? Forward or backward? Any direction could land me directly in his path, and while I want my prize at the end, surely he knows I’m going to make him work for it.
Unable to figure out a game plan, I fold myself against the trees, keeping as hidden as I possibly can, all while my heart continues to race, pumping pure adrenaline through my veins.
The seconds turn into minutes, and without even a hint of Knight, I start to wonder where the hell he could be. I suck in a quiet breath and slowly peer around the edge of the tree, searching the area around me. As I gaze through the trees, I see him standing barely twenty feet away, his sharp stare locked and loaded on me, and judging by his casual stance, he’s been waiting me out for quite a while.