Stolen Innocence (Stolen 0.5)

If the girl thought we were friends after the comfort I’d offered her yesterday, she was mistaken. I didn’t want to be her friend. I didn’t want her in my home, tempting and tormenting me.

She’d been right to fear me. I’d have to ensure that she didn’t mistake my brief show of compassion for kindness.

A wicked smile tugged at one corner of my lips. She took a wary step back.

I bit back a groan. Her trepidation was intoxicating. I liked when she was afraid of me. It made me feel powerful in a way I’d never known before. I was accustomed to being inconsequential, barely worth noticing. When I was with Valentina, I commanded her full attention.

“Come here, conejita.” The command dropped from my lips on a low purr, something soft and dangerous. I wanted my frightened little bunny to come to me, to place herself at my mercy.

My thought processes were becoming muddled. I’d intended to drive her away by reminding her to be afraid of me, but now, I craved her nearness. But I still wanted her fear.

She closed the distance between us, her steps hesitant. She was afraid, but she obeyed.

A heady sensation rushed through me, making me feel warm and a little dizzy, like I had the night I’d snuck into Vicente’s liquor cabinet.

When she was only a few feet away from me, I took the final step between us, my body drawn to hers as though by a magnet. I asserted myself in her personal space, towering over her petite frame. A shudder raced through her body, and her pulse jumped at her throat.

“Run,” I ordered softly.

“What?” Her lashes fluttered, her question little more than a whisper.

“Run, conejita. I’ll give you thirty seconds.”

Her dark brows drew together. “Thirty seconds? What happens after that?”

“I catch you.”

Suddenly, her lips tilted in a saucy grin. The sight of her joy knocked the air from my chest. She was practically incandescent when she smiled, the mischievous glint in her eye only serving to sharpen my predatory hunger for her.

“You can try,” she taunted, turning from me and racing off.

She was fast. Faster than I would have thought. Over the last month, I’d only seen a meek, soft-spoken girl practically tiptoeing through my house.

Now, Valentina bounded across the grass, heading straight for the jungle. A low growl tore from my chest, and my muscles practically vibrated with the need to chase after her.

I took a deep breath and started counting down the seconds. She’d almost reached the tree line when I launched after her. Entering the jungle would slow her down. It wasn’t too dense this close to the estate, but she’d still have to contend with the natural barriers created by the vegetation.

Maybe she thought she had a better chance of evading me under the cover of the trees.

She was mistaken.

My senses heightened like I’d never known. I could hear her tearing through the jungle ahead of me, and I was hyperaware of the coolness of the air rushing over my burning flesh as I sprinted across the yard.

Valentina was my prey, and she didn’t have a hope of escaping capture.

A snarl rumbled up my throat, and her melodic, breathless laugh wove through the trees, floating back to me and betraying her location.

She’d slowed, perhaps pausing to catch her breath. I couldn’t hear her feet pounding against the earth anymore. All I had to go on was the direction of her laugh. After a few seconds of pursuit, I heard her heavy breathing. I slowed to a prowl, moving almost silently through the familiar wilderness.

A feral sound slipped between my teeth as I darted around the tree that sheltered her. She shrieked in surprise when I grabbed her, and she tried to twist away from me.

My hands sank into her waist, and I tackled her to the ground, turning my body so I bore the brunt of the impact with the damp earth. She gasped at the shock of the fall, and I took advantage of her disorientated state.

I rolled atop her, settling my weight over her slight body. She lifted her hands, blindly shoving at my chest. A shaky laugh burst from her lips as adrenaline coursed through her system, making her shake beneath me.

I grabbed her wrists, yanking her arms above her head and pinning them to the dirt. Her laughter strangled in her throat, turning into something like a whimper. The sound made my lust rush through my veins, and my cock stiffened against her belly. Her eyes flew wide, and she squirmed beneath me. The writhing movement stimulated my dick, and I growled down at her, acting like the animal I was. In that moment, I fully unleashed my predatory instincts, thoroughly subjugating my prey.

She shivered and softened, going still beneath me. Her chest rose and fell on rapid, panting breaths, and her pupils dilated. Her pulse thrummed at her throat. My gaze fixed on the little pulsing line at her vulnerable neck.