After all, he thinks I deserve it because of some sin I know I didn’t commit.
It’s why I was in the house to begin with, to be punished for my supposed “crimes.” Well, the only crime I committed is being an insufferable bitch to the last man who tried to make me his, and I’m not about to rein it in just for some smug bastard who thinks he can punch his way through life until he’s gotten what he wanted.
Whatever it is that he wants.
I roll my eyes and sigh, staring at the beauty around me while trying not to think about the fact that I’m tied up to a tree, possibly until I die.
After enduring what feels like ages of silence, something shuffles behind me, breaking twigs along the way.
Is it even a human?
Or is it a wolf or a bear?
I hold my breath.
Please don’t hear me. Please don’t smell me.
I’m not here. I’m not here.
I close my eyes, sweat pooling along my back as I struggle to face the fact that I’m unable to free myself while facing impending doom.
Hearing a dark grumbling noise right behind the tree, I brace for impact.
Here it comes.
My body tightens against the wood, and oxygen stops entering my lungs. Every second feels like an hour.
And then a familiar snort enters my ears.
My eyes burst open to the sight of Soren throwing some wood onto a pile a few feet away from me.
He looks up at me with a raised brow. “Miss me?”
Chapter 6
April
My blood begins to boil. “I thought you were going to leave me here!”
He cocks his head and stands up tall and proud, his towering feature making me do a double take and swallow hard as he approaches me. “Remember … ‘Let me go’?” He taps my forehead with his index finger, and a hint of a smile follows, but it disappears quickly when I attempt to lunge forward and bite off his finger.
“Kitty’s got a bite,” he says with a low, rumbling voice that pushes all my buttons.
But I won’t fall for this trap. No, I won’t ever admit I’m glad he’s back. I’ll die on this hill if I must.
He turns around and saunters back to the stack of wood he collected, fishing what appears to be a lighter from his bag. He pushes it underneath the stack, near some of the smaller grass kindling, and lights it. It takes a while for the fire to burn through the wood, but when it does, it’s a welcome warmth compared to the cold of the night.
Even though I’m farther away, I can still feel the heat against my skin, and it makes me wish I hadn’t run away so I could sit in front of it right now.
“Can you … untie me, please? I promise I won’t run.”
He continues poking the fire, all while ignoring me, as usual.
“My clothes are soaked, and I just want to get warm, that’s all,” I add. “Please.”
I mean, a little pleading won’t do me any harm, even if I hate it.
He stops and gets up, and I can’t ever get used to just how big he is when he stands up fully.
But instead of answering me, he hooks his fingers underneath his shirt and pulls it over his head, revealing a super sculpted body with tattoos covering his entire back. Every inch of him, from head to toe, is muscle. His veins protrude the skin with every movement, and I can’t help but feel overwhelmed at this giant of a man standing just a few feet away from me.
Multiplied a thousand times when he turns around to face me.
And all I can think is, oh my God, those pecs are huge. I have never seen a guy this huge.
C’mon, get yourself together, April. He’s the guy who calls you kitten while taking you on some godforsaken trip to nowhere in the middle of the night. Focus on the escape.
Soren only throws me a simple grunt and proceeds to lay the shirt out next to the fire, but far enough away so it won’t burn.
Is he … trying to warm up his clothes to get the water out?
Then he stomps over to me while my eyes are still glued to his chest, unable to peel them away.
“Looking for something?”
Fuck.
I hate that he caught me staring.
But what’s even worse is that I really, really have to pee.
“Can you just take this off, please?” I ask.
“Why?” He cocks his head. “Give me one good reason.”
I don’t look away even though his pecs are right up in my face. “I have to pee.”
A hint of a smile tips up his lip, but it disappears within a flash. “Good try.”
He turns around again.
“Hey, I mean it!” I say, trying to make him stop. “And my clothes are wet too.”