30. Raven

RAVEN

Run.

Run.

Run.

The hunt starts now.

I’m frozen in place, gaping at the most hot and cold man I’ve ever met in my life, trying to decide what I should do. I should say no. I should say anything other than what I’m considering.

The seriousness in his eyes is what’s holding me captive, twisting my gut with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. One brown, one green, always digging beneath the surface and prying for more.

If I run…

If I let him hunt me…

Fuck.

But if I don’t…

It’s not even a question. The mere thought of it has my body alive. He must sense the decision in me because he leans back an inch, giving me a head start, and I slowly slip off the watercraft. The cold water does nothing to cool my heating body.

“You have a ten second head start while I sort out the watercraft. Make them count, Shadow.”

My breath lodges in my throat, my pulse racing with a tinge of uncertainty colliding with exhilaration. I’m running for the shore before I can change my mind, and the second I’m on dry land I glance over my shoulder to check where he is. He’s still behind me, pushing the watercraft up onto the sand.

Casting my eyes around the water one last time, I still don’t see anyone else. It’s just me and him. What would he do if he caught me here? The feral gleam in his eyes tells me exactly what he would do and my thighs clench at the thought.

I need to move, I want the exhilaration of the chase just like he does.

With my mind made up, I bolt up the hill without another glance back. The panic and adrenaline coursing through my bloodstream is euphoric as I bypass the locker room, not caring about my things. My main focus is putting as much distance between Brax and me as possible.

I’m still baffled where all of this is coming from but I can’t deny that I like it, like him. I was snide and shitty with the words I threw at him yesterday but he doesn’t seem to be holding them against me. I unloaded the events of yesterday on him, against my better judgment, and instead of telling me I was wrong for any of it or trying to shield me from the unknown, he admitted to hitting Sebastian and now he’s chasing me.

It’s fucked. Oh, so deliciously fucked.

Passing the academy building, I brace myself to run into someone, but it’s as if the fates are working in my favor today because there’s no one around. As I approach the pathway that leads down to our house, I can’t stop myself from taking a peek over my shoulder and I catch a glimpse of him in the distance.

The fucker isn’t even running, he’s taking purposeful strides, yet he’s still too fucking close for my liking.

Damn.

My bare feet burn with pain, but I don’t care. I’m zoned in on our house and that’s all that matters. Racing for the front door, I panic when I realize I don’t have my key. Fuck. Trying the handle, I pray for it to open but, of course, it doesn’t.

Think, Raven. Think.

Glancing over my shoulder, I spot him as he starts to turn down the path and I’m moving before he gets too close. Frantically making my way around to the back of the house, I leap over the small fence and barrel toward the patio doors, pleading with anyone who can hear me for the door to be open.

My heart races as I grab the door handle and I gasp in surprise when the door opens. Slipping inside before he can catch me, I quickly shut it behind me and turn the lock.

Holy fuck.

Panting, I swipe my hair back off my face, noting a slight tremble in my hands as Brax appears on the other side of the glass. I grin, victory humming in my chest, but it’s short-lived when I realize all too quickly that he has magical abilities and I don’t.

Panic kicks in. I should have said not to use magic to make it fair, right?

Dammit.

He tries the handle and doesn’t seem too surprised that it’s locked. Dark intent swirls in his eyes as he swipes his tongue along his bottom lip.

“Open the door, Shadow.” I step back, shaking my head, and his palm hits the glass in the next breath, startling me. “Open the fucking door, Shadow,” he repeats, but I retreat a little further. “Last chance before I come in anyway,” he offers, and a frenzy of need sweeps through me.

Turning my back on him, I take two further steps so a sofa now stands between us. When I spin to face him again, he’s shaking his head.

“Have it your way,” he declares, swinging his left arm out at his side. It turns to stone before my very eyes, leaving me awestruck, before he slams his fist through the glass and the entire thing shatters.

I gulp, my breath lodged in my throat as I watch shards scatter across the floor between us.

Brax steps inside, ignoring the glass beneath his feet as he shakes his arm and it returns to normal. He’s eliminating the distance between us and I’m locked in place, too stunned to move.

Instead of charging at me like I expect, he reaches for the zipper at the back of his wetsuit and slowly starts to open it. The sound of the metal mixed with my shallow breaths echoes in my ears until he pulls his arms out and lets the material hang at his waist.

“You got further than I thought you would.”

“Is that a compliment?” The adrenaline seems to pound faster inside of me as he shrugs.

“It’s something worth punishment,” he quips, making my eyes widen.

“Punish how?” I ask as he rounds the sofa and I finally remember how to move.

Unfortunately, it’s too little too late as his hand clamps around my hair, pulling me back to him with a yelp. He plasters my back to his front, his mouth finding my ear again as his breath caresses my skin.

“What happens when the hunter catches the prey, Shadow?”

Holy shit. I don’t know, but I’m desperate to find out.

“Show me,” I breathe, not truly knowing what I’m signing myself up for when his hand wraps around my neck in a choking necklace. His body is gone from behind me as he lifts my feet off the ground by my throat and pins me to the wall.

I reach for his wrists, nails digging into his skin as I fight against him, but he just smirks. He at least relents a little and I manage to place my toes on the floor, but his grip doesn’t loosen. With his free hand, his index finger turns to stone, his nail sharp as he brings it to the top of my wetsuit, slicing through the material like it’s nothing.

I’m completely bare beneath since no swimwear was provided, and I relish how wide his pupils go when he takes me in from head to toe.

“Fuck, Raven,” Brax breathes, releasing my throat to drag the fabric down my arms. It flops to the floor, exposing every inch of me. His hand quickly lifts to my throat again before I can speak as he steps in closer.

Almost every part of my body is touching him and it’s intoxicating. His nose drops to my jaw, slowly dragging over my cheek as he inhales and I groan. I’m not fighting him anymore. I can’t even pretend. I want this too much, bruises and all.

Dipping down, he continues to drag the tip of his nose over my shoulders, collarbone, and down between the valley of my breasts. My eyes close, ecstasy zapping through me at the gentle touch, but it’s a fleeting feeling when Brax’s teeth suddenly sink into my breast.

Instead of recoiling from the sharp pain, my back arches, needy for more as my gasp evolves into a moan. He sucks on my skin and my hold on his wrists transforms into a squeeze of need.

He has me right where he wants me, ready to do and be whatever he desires. His hand drops from my throat again and I wheeze in a gulp full of air, but whine the moment he releases my breast from his mouth.

I slump back against the wall, trying to gather myself as he steps back, eyes fixed on my pussy.

“Now I make you mine, Shadow,” he states, briefly flicking his eyes to mine before fixating on my core again.

There’s enough space between us for me to make a run for it. Not because I want to escape, I just want that final rush of him hunting me down. It’s addicting. He’s addicting.

Taking a deep breath, I push off the wall and rush to the right, making it around the coffee table before he sweeps me off my feet, a growl tearing from his lips as I squeak in surprise. He drops me unceremoniously onto my knees on the sofa and I bounce twice before I brace my hands on the back, ready to react. But he’s already splaying my legs open wider.

Colossal hands palm my hips, thrusting my ass into the air as I scramble to keep my balance. It’s all futile though because in one swift move his cock is at my entrance, stretching me wide without mercy.

“Fuck, Brax,” I pant, feeling a slight burn from the size of his dick, despite my wet folds.

“So. Tight. Shadow,” he bites between shallow thrusts, working deeper inside of me.

I’m sure I’m going to pass out, it’s all too much, too intense, too… “Brax, protection. Are you wearing—”

“Fuck protection,” he grunts, fully seated inside of me as he lifts one hand to my hair, tearing the hair tie and wrapping the ends around his fist.

“You can’t just—”

“I can do what I fucking want.” He sounds savage, untamed, and wild. Enunciating each word with a thrust of his cock, my needy pussy clenching around him, which only adds fuel to his argument. “If I wanted, I could turn my dick to stone and let you feel me that hard for you. What do you say to that?”

My eyes slam shut, the vision flickering across the back of my eyelids before transforming into an array of fireworks as I come apart at the seams. I can’t even scream with ecstasy, it’s so intense as my body shakes with the sudden onslaught of my orgasm.

All too quickly, his hand is gone from my hair, his cock from my pussy, and his bruising hold from my waist. His grip is at my chin, twisting my face to him before I can open my eyes.

Brown and green. Green and brown. Both swirling with ferocity and surprise.

“You want to take me like that?” They’re the calmest words he’s ever spoken, like he’s never considered actually saying them out loud.

I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. I can’t deny it. The way I just came all over him from the thought alone is answer enough and he knows it.

“Say it, Raven.” The use of my real name shows how serious he’s taking this, and I nod.

“Yes.” It’s more of a croak than a word, my body trembling with need like I didn't just climax.

I’m sure anyone else would call me insane, but I don’t care. If I can call him a savage, untamed, and wild, then I want to be painted with the same brush.

He rubs his thumb against his fingertips and a moment later the protection I was calling for earlier appears in his hand. I’m locked in position, in complete awe as his straining cock turns to stone. Somehow it’s thicker, longer. Two things I’m sure couldn’t have been possible.

His dick is sheathed in protection quickly and his gaze finds mine once more, silently asking for confirmation. I tip my hips up, showing him exactly where I want and need him.

He’s back at my entrance in seconds, but more cautiously this time. Getting a better grip on the back of the sofa, I push back on him, hopeless for more, and he grunts, holding still inside of me as I adjust to the new sensation.

I don’t know what I expected, but I can still feel his heat, even through the layer of protection between us.

“Are you okay?” Brax rasps, his restraint clear as he flexes his hands at my waist. Glancing over my shoulder at him, I nod.

“Fuck me, Hunter,” I plead, rolling my core around his length.

The curse that falls from his lips is like music to my ears as he pulls out and slams deep inside me. It’s too much and not enough all at once, but his pace increases. The precise and determined thrusts from earlier are gone though. In their place are jagged, consuming lunges that have me screaming at the top of my lungs.

His groans echo in my ears, sending me higher and higher until I succumb to the tingles zapping through my body.

My climax claims me, slowly at first this time, wrecking every inch of me as I explode. My arms give out and my chest hits the sofa. That doesn’t stop Brax though as he crawls onto the sofa with me, thrusting into my core in short, sharp bursts until I feel his cock pulse inside of me, even with the protection between us.

Perspiration clings between us, our breaths mingling as he stays plastered to my back. I’m going to be riding this high for days, my thighs already feeling the delicious ache.

“Is someone going to explain the broken glass?”

I startle at the sound, but it takes me a second to glance at the source of the voice through my sex-induced haze as Brax lazily lifts off me just enough for me to see.

It’s not just someone though, it’s three of them.

Eldon, Zane, and Creed stand in the garden in their uniforms assessing the shattered glass. And us.

“What are you doing here?” Brax asks, making no effort to move. The sofa is shielding us but it’s still very clear what’s happened here. The pleased look on Eldon’s face tells me they’re not mad.

“When you didn’t show at the end of the class we panicked, even considered whether you could have been killing each other. Seems it was quite the opposite,” Zane states with a smirk.

“Well, you can see we’re good,” Brax grunts, finally lifting up off me. His softening cock slips from my core and I startle at the loss.

“We can see that,” Creed adds, winking at me, and I blush. “Are you going to be joining us for classes again or—”

“Nope. I’m not done with her yet.”