Chapter 41

Ruby tore through the woods, underbrush scraping at her legs as she ran. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled. The sound echoed in her chest.

Rafe must have given her a head start because she didn’t hear him behind her. It was dark. Almost impossible to see more than a few feet ahead. Ruby ran with her hands out in front of her, stumbling her way through the trees.

Her heart raced. Something like fear prickled along her spine. Even though it was Rafe following her, even though she wanted to be caught, it was like some primal part of her body didn’t know that. She was nothing more than prey in these dark woods.

Her hand skimmed along a tree trunk, scraping the skin from her palm. She stopped running and pressed the hand against her chest to ease the sting.

Leaves rustled somewhere to her left. She peered into the darkness and saw nothing. She kept going, slower now, her breath shallow and unsteady. More rustling. Silver eyes watched her from the shadows. A familiar thrill crept up Ruby’s spine. He was there.

She kept going, picking up her speed again, not wanting to end their little game yet. Her boots crunched over dry leaves and her skirt flapped against her legs. She’d skipped the underwear and her thighs were slippery as they rubbed against each other.

A low growl traveled across her skin. He was close. Her heart rammed against her ribs, waiting to get caught, running to stay away. It was the sexiest, most terrifying game of tag she’d ever played.

Another growl and this time Rafe’s breath ghosted against her ear. She bit down on a scream as his strong arm banded around her waist and scooped her right off the ground. He held her tight, her back against his chest. She could feel the steady beat of his heart.

His teeth scraped against her neck, sharp against her skin. The teeth of an animal. “Caught you,” he whispered.

Ruby whimpered.

He lowered her, letting her feet settle back on the earth, but his arm stayed tight around her waist. His other hand snaked around the front of her and lifted her skirt, exposing her to the summer night air. He growled when he found her naked under her skirt, his fingers skimming over her sensitive skin.

“Shit, Ruby. You’re so wet for me.”

The world was black around her, the only sensations Rafe’s voice in her ear and his fingers stroking between her thighs. She moaned, tipping her head back to rest on his chest. He sucked the skin along her neck as he circled her clit. Her legs trembled but he held her up, pressing her against him, rubbing and kissing until she lost all sense, all thought. Until she let herself be caught.

The orgasm built higher and higher until she shook with it, pleasure and relief pouring through her. Her body quaked in Rafe’s grasp, his breathing harsh and ragged on her neck, but she twisted from his arms. She wasn’t ready to give in yet. She wanted more from him. More proof that he would follow her anywhere. More evidence that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

So she ran again, her legs weak and shaking. She ran, and again Rafe must have given her a head start, letting her get away before he chased her. He was enjoying the game as much as she was.

Distant thunder, her pounding footsteps and her own ragged breaths were the only sounds as Ruby groped her way through the trees. She stumbled her way into a small clearing. She glanced back. Silver eyes flashed in the darkness.

Ruby stood rooted to the spot. Unable to look away as Rafe stalked out of the shadows. He was huge, his muscles tense, his chest rising and falling with each heaving breath. She turned to run again, but he lunged for her, grabbing her before she could move.

She shrieked and he paused.

“You okay, brave girl?” he whispered in her ear.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged his hair until he looked at her. “Yes.”

He didn’t ask again. He found a much better use for his mouth. He slammed his lips down on hers and kissed her, hard and hungry. She kissed him back like she would devour him, like she was the beast and he was her meal.

His growl vibrated through her, sending little waves of pleasure through her body. Rafe’s hands lifted the back of her skirt and squeezed the flesh of her ass. “Fuck, Ruby,” he groaned, breaking their kiss.

“Yes, exactly.”

He huffed a laugh, his breath skating across her face.

“You want me to fuck you?”

“God, yes.”

Rafe swallowed hard. “You want to be my Mate?”

“Yes, forever.”

He blew out a long breath. “But what about—”

“I’m on the pill.”

He nodded, his hands still moving over her body, squeezing and grabbing, pushing clothes aside. He dipped his head to her neck again, and she could feel his pointed teeth on her skin. “And what about this, Ruby? You want me to mark you as mine?”

Heat pooled in Ruby’s core at the word and shivers raced across her skin.

“Yes. I want all of it. I want everything.”

* * *

Rafe groaned.

She wanted everything and he wanted to give it to her. He was done running away from her, from his life. He thought he didn’t know how Mates worked or how to lock in the bond but chasing Ruby through the woods made everything abundantly clear. They were locked in whether he fought it or not. This woman was his whether he bit her or fucked her or asked her to marry him.

And he was so damn lucky she wanted him back, that she loved him and trusted him enough to play this game forever.

“Rafe, please.” She writhed against him, her sweet little body stroking against his chest, his cock. He still had a hand full of her ass and he gave it a squeeze before moving his hands to the hem of her shirt and lifting it over her head.

It was dark, but even in human form he had better eyesight than most. He could see perfectly well the soft swell of Ruby’s tits over the top of her bra. He could see her wide eyes and slightly parted lips. He could see the pulse racing in her neck.

Ruby held his gaze as she tugged the waistband of his shorts down and freed his cock. Her hand was soft and sure on his flesh as she stroked him. The growl that escaped him was involuntary but it made her lips tip into a smile. He pulled down the cup of her bra and let her tit spill over the top. He grazed it with his thumb and Ruby moaned.

Shit. He would not last long if they kept this up.

“In the dirt or up against the tree, brave girl?” he asked, rolling her nipple between his fingers. Her up and down motion on his dick slowed as she thought about it.

“Tree.”

He tugged her other cup down and sucked her nipple into his mouth before answering, “Good choice.” Any inclination he’d had to not fuck Ruby up against a tree like an animal had evaporated as soon as she asked to be chased. She wanted it like this and so did he.

He turned her around, maybe a little roughly, but his brave girl just whimpered with pleasure. “Put your hands on the tree and bend over.”

She did as he asked and he brushed kisses along her shoulders. He avoided her injury, the sight of it causing anger and guilt to coil in his gut, but he breathed it out. Let it go. He could do this. For Ruby he would do anything.

He ran his hands over her back and lifted her skirt. She swayed toward him like she couldn’t wait any longer. Shit. Neither could he.

He slid his cock along her slick entrance and they both groaned.

“Please, Rafe.”

That word. That fucking word.

He slid into her, painfully slow, giving her time to adjust, to stop him, to come to her senses. But she just pushed back into him, until he was buried inside her. He held tight to her hip with one hand, his fingers digging into her flesh and reached around to grab her breast with his other. He held still for a moment longer, breathing her in. And then he started to move.

The sound that escaped from Ruby’s lips could only be described as a growl and Rafe bit down on a smile even as he felt like his world was imploding, his entire life distilling down to this one moment. He pulled out and thrust in again. Ruby’s fingernails scraped along the tree bark.

He was probably hurting her.

“You okay?” The words were barely human. He was barely human. And for the first time in a long time, it felt good.

“Yes. Fuck yes,” she panted. “Keep going.”

Who was he to argue? He was done doubting her. Ruby knew what she wanted. So he gave it to her.

Rafe fucked her hard against that tree, the sound of their bodies slamming together and their grunts and growls filling the small clearing. Not a single thought entered his brain. Nothing but the need to keep fucking Ruby until they both fell apart. Until the entire world fell apart.

He was practically lifting her off the ground now, the toes of her boots barely clinging to the earth. He moved a hand between her legs and stroked her clit as he moved inside her. And when he felt her clenching around him, when he felt his own world shattering, he did the only thing he could do. The only thing that made sense.

He leaned forward and sank his teeth into Ruby’s neck.

She screamed his name, claiming him as much as he claimed her.

His Mate.

His Ruby.

Forever.