“I can’t keep fighting you on this, Selena,” I whisper. The moment I look her in the eyes, I weaken. “I’m sorry I got rough with you, but it doesn’t change anything.” I lean down and bite the side of her neck. I curl my hips into her and make love to her because I know it’s the last time I’ll be inside her. I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and bury my face into her as I thrust. “I want you to forget me after tonight.”
“No, Lex.” She lifts her chest. “I can’t forget you. I’ll remember you whenever my hands touch cool mud. I’ll think of you when the leaves crunch beneath my feet. Whenever I run, I’ll always imagine you’re behind me.”
I sit up and meet her gaze. “Rabbit, don’t say that to me.” As much as I want to live in her mind forever, I need for her to let me go. The nagging voice in my head returns, threatening her life, telling me that letting her live will hurt her worse. “What can I do to getyouto letmego? How can I make you forget me?”
“You’d have to kill me,” she says. The sickeningly calm way she says it sounds like me.
And that makes me feel worse.
I wrap my hand around the front of her throat and squeeze. She doesn’t even fight me as her abdomen draws in and her body begs for a breath. She just accepts it. Whatever all this is to her, it’s somehow worth dying for.
If I keep my grip on her throat just a few seconds longer, the conflict inside me will die with her. My resolve is weakening, though.
I release her neck, and she pants for air.
“I said I’d do anything for you, but I can’t do the one thing I need to do,” I whisper. I give her a forceful thrust to draw her full attention to me. “Promise me one thing?”
She nods before she even hears my request.
“If we get caught before we reach the border, tell the police I abducted you. Tell them I abused you, forced my way inside you, and threatened to kill you. Say anything you have to against my name to preserve yours. If the police come and shit hits the fan, don’t be the wolf. Be the scared little rabbit and run.”
She shakes her head.
“Promise me, rabbit. I’m not playing around with you. You still have a chance at freedom. I don’t.”
She looks up at me, her eyes rounding with sadness. She pulls me into her and kisses me. “I promise,” she whispers.
That’s all it takes to silence Lexington and the altruistic way I want to save her from me or any other person who can hurt her.
The chase. The hunt. The catch. Her promise.
Maybe she’s precisely where she needs to be: a place where her demons can play freely with mine. Under the watchful eye of the wolf, the rabbit will live another day.
ChapterEighteen
Selena
Our little game delays our departure. By the time we get back inside, I’m a bloody, muddy mess with an ache between my legs. Lex stopped holding back and fucked me so hard and raw. I felt his strength with every deep thrust that rearranged my insides. When he choked me, I felt what he was capable of. He could kill me, and I truly thought for a few moments that he would, that I would die beneath Lex while his cock was buried inside me. For some reason, that didn’t seem as bad as it should have. I still don’t know if he’ll let me stay with him. He told me I won, but I fear he’ll change his mind.
While I shower, he moves the piece of shit’s body off the porch. I run my hand over the large cut on my abdomen and rub away the dirt. I wash my hair and get rid of the twigs and leaves tangled within.
When I get out of the shower, Lex stares at me. He’s still filthy, caked in dried mud and blood, and I have no clue if it’s mine, his, or the man’s. He gestures to the folded pile of clothes he set on the counter. Without speaking, he strips naked, and I try to look away as he pushes past me, rubbing against my body as he gets in the shower. I dress to the wordless sound of his shower. The tight feeling in my belly proves I still don’t believe him. I still fear he only said what he said because he was inside me.
I grab my bag and the homeowner’s key to the old Ford pickup before walking down the long driveway toward where Lex left the car before our game. When I get to the rusty tan truck, I notice Lex left the window open. The ripped driver’s seat is wet from a quick rain that just passed. I groan and climb inside to back the truck toward the house.
While Lex showers, I load the truck with food and tools. I grab a hunting rifle and a box of ammo off the mantle above the fireplace and a cozy blanket from the couch. I put them in the bed of the truck. Just as I finish, Lex appears, clean and dressed. His dirty-blond hair is brushed back, still slick and wet. He surveys what I’ve done with a look of pride.
Actually, I’m not sure if he’s proud or just less angry than he was when he first told me I wasn’t going with him.
Before I can tell Lex the seat is wet, he gets into the driver’s side. He slams his hand on the steering wheel. He’s so on edge.
“You left the window open,” I say as I get into the dry passenger seat. “Also, I put a sign on the front door saying he was out of town the rest of the week.”
Lex turns toward me and nods. “Good idea.”
I reach into the glove box and grab the rabbit’s foot I took from my old car and hang it on the crooked rearview mirror. The corners of Lex’s mouth creep upward, but he sobers. It’s been our lucky charm so far, and I sure as hell wouldn’t leave it behind now. It swings with the rough movements of the old truck as we pull down the driveway.
“Lex,” I say, trying to draw his attention.