He stepped in-between her and the car and closed the door. “You won’t get far, baby.”
“Listen, you wouldn’t happen to have a way to get me to the next town, would you?” she asked, trying to distract him. She pretended to see something over his shoulder, and when he turned to see what it was, she made a run for it.
She didn’t even make it to the ditch before he’d wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She struggled a bit but knew it was useless to try to fight.
“I’m proud of you for trying, mate.”
She looked at him over her shoulder with wide eyes. “Are you serious right now?”
“Absolutely. I’ll never lie to you.”
He started walking toward the forest.
“Wait, what are you doing?” she asked.
“We are going home. It’s getting cold out, and I don’t want you chilled.”
She tried to struggle. “Stop. Listen, don’t I get a choice?”
“Absolutely. There are a lot of choices you’ll get to make. Just not right now. It’s my job to protect and take care of you, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“What about my car and all my things?”
“I’m sure someone from town will take care of them for you, but you really don’t need anything because I’ll provide you with everything you want.”
She gasped when he lifted her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. She tried to kick him, but he just chuckled and smacked her ass. She couldn’t feel it because of her jeans, but the thought that he had spanked her made her smack his ass.
She regretted it a second after when her palm stung from the contact. Her heartbeat throbbed against her breastbone when he stepped inside the tree line. “Wait … I…”
He threw something over both of them. It was like a net made of plants and flowers.
“What’s this?”
“It will help with your scent.”
“Are you telling me I stink?” she asked. She tried to push the net off her, but it covered them and touched the ground. When she tried to lift it, she couldn’t because the damn thing was heavy. She couldn’t understand how he could carry her and this blanket thing at the same time.
He bent forward, and she heard him snap something.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m putting on my shoes.”
“You have on boots. I saw them.”
“I know. They are kind of like snow boots but thinner, and I can walk in them easily.”
“Why?”
“So, they don’t see my footprints,” he said.
“Are you a convicted prisoner who escaped from the nearest prison or mental institution?”
He chuckled. “No.”
“And you’re sure you’re not one of those bigfoot things?”
“I’m positive.”