CHAPTER XXVI

O h, crap.

He was looking at me like he was ready to pounce on me.

I looked around frantically, hoping to find a way out. The towering trees loomed over me, and their dense, tangled branches stretched for what seemed like an eternity. The stillness of the woods made me feel like we were the only souls for miles around.

The sun dipped low in the sky, casting an orange hue over the clearing where we stood.

“Don’t think about it,” he warned, taking a menacing step toward me.

I took small steps backward, ready to run even if it meant he’d eventually catch me.

“Just remember, I’m the hunter and you’re the prey. So, I dare you,” he said in an eerily calm tone.

I glanced over my shoulder and back to him.

His blue eyes somehow darkened, and I could see the lust swirling in them.

“Run.”

And so, I did.

I darted into the woods, my breath coming in quick, frantic gasps. I could hear Nico behind me, his footsteps crunching on fallen branches and leaves.

“I will always catch you, Angel,” Nico shouted, his voice carrying through the woods.

“Just leave me alone!” I shot back as I turned and zipped into the trees. He called my name, but I didn’t stop. The shadows danced around me as branches reached out like hands, but I pushed deeper, trying to lose him.

I stumbled, my pulse pounding in my ears, and a strong pair of arms wrapped around my waist, taking us both to the ground. I fought and twisted around, finding Nico’s fierce gaze locking onto mine. “Let me go!” I cried, pulling desperately against his hold. But he only tightened his grip.

Why is this turning me on?

“I can’t do that.” His voice was softer now.

God, he smelled so good—a blend of rich woods with an intoxicating array of spices.

Tears of frustration stung behind my eyes as I fought against the flood of conflicting emotions. “Please, just let me go.”

“You are mine, and I’m done talking about this.”

“But how can you believe that when we’re not actually together?” I challenged him.

He smirked, a dark glint in his gaze, and leaned in closer, brushing his lips against mine with a tantalizing slowness. “You were mine the moment you walked into my club. You just didn’t know it then.” His breath was warm against my skin, igniting a fire within me that I couldn’t quite extinguish.

But then the thoughts crept in of watching all the women who thought they had the right to touch what was mine.

“I don’t do sloppy seconds,” I sneered, every word laced with venom. The jealousy twisted my insides into knots.

He yanked me up to my feet, his fingers tangling in my hair, snapping my head back with a force that made me cry out in pain. “Cut the fucking attitude,” he hissed.

He exhaled deeply. “I’m taking you to my home. End of discussion,” he said, his voice balanced with an intensity that both frightened and intrigued me. “I need you to understand something, Winter?—”

“I don’t want to understand!” I was shouting now, delirious, my heart racing faster with each word. “I just want to go home. You can’t keep me with you!”

Nico’s expression hardened again. “The fuck I can’t! I’m not giving you up! You are?—”

In that moment, a wild impulse surged through me, and I tore myself from his grip and ran back into the maze of trees. But Nico was faster. He caught me by the wrists and spun me around to face him, our faces inches apart.

“Stop pushing me,” he growled. “There’s only one way to make you comply.”

“What—” I started to protest, but the words died on my lips as he turned my body, wrapping his arm around my neck. I grasped his strong tattooed arms, trying to break free, but within seconds, the world faded to black.