Deep Woods

I went limp in his arms, panting against his neck. He chuckled: a low, warm sound I hadn’t heard before. He seemed lighter. Freer. “You’re something else,” he told me.

He let me gently down to the ground and then lifted my chin and we kissed again, long and tender.

“Well,” said Ralavich from behind him. “Isn’t this cozy?”

58

Bethany

WE SPUN TO SEE Ralavich strolling out of the trees. By his side, his bodyguard Alik, an assault rifle pulled in tight to his shoulder and aimed right at us.

Cal shoved me protectively behind him. I huddled there, my brain going a million miles an hour, trying to catch up. How? How did he find us?

Ralavich grinned, enjoying our surprise. “Alik says that you’re good. You almost lost him, a few times. He thinks that you are former military, perhaps. But Alik, you see, was Spetsnaz. Special Forces. And they know how to track someone.”

Now it all made sense. I hadn’t had time to think about it before, but now I wondered if that was how they’d found the smallholding. Had Alik tracked us all the way there?

Cal and Alik eyed each other. There was anger there but just a hint of respect, too. An acknowledgment that they were the same, in some way. Worthy opponents.

“Come out, Bethany,” said Ralavich. “Let me see you.”

When Cal said my name in his low, sexy rumble, it sent a warm ripple of heat through me. Hearing Ralavich say it was the exact opposite, a chilling violation. But I was worried that he might shoot Cal, just to make me comply.

I stepped sideways, into view. one arm protectively over my breasts, the other hand down over my groin. I crouched and reached for my shirt.

“Oh no,” said Ralavich. “Don’t bother putting your clothes on.” He looked at Cal. “I only caught the end of your session, but I’ll let you watch all of mine. Thank you for warming her up for me. I hope you didn’t wear her out completely.”

Cal gave a bellow of rage and ran at him. I saw Alik tense, the assault rifle aimed right at Cal’s head. But Cal didn’t stop until I got in front of him, both hands pressed against his chest. “No!” I begged him. “No, that’s what he wants!”

Cal stood there panting, his eyes locked on Ralavich. I’ve never seen such an expression of raw hate.

Ralavich grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away from Cal, then pushed me towards the middle of the clearing, making me stumble. I turned to see him stalking towards me. Oh Jesus. This was really going to happen. And it was a thousand times worse than if it had happened at the mansion, because I knew what it would do to Cal.

Ralavich was only three steps away, now. “Lie down, you little bitch,” he told me.

I stood there frozen, trying to cover myself again.

He was two steps away. “Lie. Down,” he ordered.

This can’t be happening. This can’t be the way it ends. Not after all this!

One step away. He was grinning. He liked the fact I hadn’t complied, because it meant he got to hit me, instead.

Ralavich stepped right up to me and raised his hand.

And I felt that chip of diamond at the core of my soul. It was bigger, now, as if everything that had happened in the last few weeks had built it up, atom by atom.

I grabbed Ralavich’s waist with both hands and brought my knee up between his legs as hard as I possibly could. There was a horribly intimate feeling of softness crushed against bone and then Ralavich was crumpling to the ground, his legs folding under him. He fell forward to his hands and knees and I had to jump back to avoid being crushed. Alik pointed his rifle at me, stepping back so that he could cover Cal as well. I raised my hands and froze.

On the ground, Ralavich was incapable of speech. I could hear him sucking in huge lungfuls of air but his breathing was ragged, as if even that hurt. When he finally managed to lift his head and look at me, it as if all the blood in his body had gone to his ruined face. It was almost purple with rage and pain. “You....bitch!” he hissed. It took him nearly a minute to struggle to his feet. Then he staggered towards me and his arm whipped out, a move perfected by years of practice. I heard the sound first, the crack of his palm slamming into my cheek, hard enough to send me sprawling on the ground. Then the pain lit up the whole side of my face, stinging and throbbing and bringing tears to my eyes. I tasted blood, warm, and coppery.

I heard Cal slowly exhale. His eyes were locked on Ralavich and he was fighting for control, angrier than I’d ever seen him. His hands balled into fists and he leaned infinitesimally forward, ready to spring. But Alik had his rifle pointed at both of us. “Don’t,” I pleaded, my voice tight with pain. And Cal held back. Just.