Page 47 of Graves

I blow out a shaky breath as I nod.

“I’ll give you a ten second head start. Good luck, angel.”

I take a small step back as he begins counting.

“One. Two.”

I don’t wait around for three or four. Like a lightning bolt, I’m gone in an instant, choosing to run downhill because of the slight advantage. I hear his voice continuing to count down in the distance, though his voice thankfully becomes quieter with each passing second.

I do my best to stay on my feet, but the broken headstones and protruding tree roots are tripping me up every other step I take. The crisp night air burns my lungs, and my limbs already feel like gelatin. I’m definitely not a runner, but hell, at this moment, I wish I was.

My breathing wheezes as I turn a corner, doing my best to follow the paved path, knowing that it’ll take me to the main road. Unfortunately, I hear the pounding of footsteps behind me, and I risk a glance over my shoulder. Here comes Zayden, feet flying across the pavement toward me. Well, how fucking stupid am I for running through the graveyard and not on the fucking road?

I decide to cut to the right, pushing myself deeper into the cemetery in hopes he will get tripped up just like I did. I bob and weave around the smaller, more inset headstones, leaping over the occasional boulder or tree root. My heart is pounding to the point of pain, but I know I can’t stop.

An eerie sound, a maniacal laugh, echoes through the graveyard, sending goose bumps up and down my spine as the thumping of his footsteps increases. A cold sweat has brokenout across my entire body, and just as I try to dodge to the left, my foot gets caught and my shoe flies off before I even take my next step.

Stopping in my tracks, I turn around to grab it when I see Zayden is less than fifty feet from me. Adrenaline rips through my body, and shoe be damned, I’m gone again. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He’s too fast. I’m too tired. I can’t do this. I can’t do this.

In the next moment, two strong arms wrap around my waist, hauling me off to the right before plowing me into the ground. My back takes the bulk of the impact, the wet midnight dew soaking through my shirt as a large body lands on top of me, pinning me to the cemetery floor.

“Gotcha,” he rumbles into my ear.

Chapter Twenty-Two

BLAKE

We’re both attempting to catch our breath, but I’m far less worried about catching my breath and more focused on the paralyzing fear that is gripping me. My body begins to shake, and the way he smiles at me chills me to the bone, the moonlight shadowing his features make him look like a demon of the night.

In the next moment, that knife from before is out, and it’s slicing through my shirt like butter, forcing the fabric to fall to my side. He then hooks the blade under my bra,slicing through the middle like it’s nothing, forcing my breasts to spill free. I try to cover myself, but he pins my arms to my side, bearing down all his weight onto me before he sucks my nipple into his mouth.

“Look at me, angel,” he coaxes softly.

I grit my teeth and try to dissociate, but it’s not as easy as it should be. Not when Zayden is forcing my eyes on him.

Slowly, I unpeel my eyes, allowing myself to look at him.

“Good girl. Now keep those perfect eyes on me until I’m finished.”

He lifts up the knife once again, taking the back of the cool metal and dragging it down the middle of my chest, forcing a shiver to run through my body. Whether it’s from the cool feel of the blade or the fear of what comes next, I’m not sure.

The knife makes its way down my stomach and to the hem of my leggings before cutting a line down those as well. Zayden’s large hands wrap around the shredded fabric before yanking them down past my knees and off to the side, my panties going along with them. I’m suddenly lying in the damp grass, completely exposed and vulnerable. And though I feel a deep-seated fear inside me, I can’t help but feel a lighter feeling begin spreading through me when I see the way he’s looking at me.

His eyes greedily take in my naked flesh, looks of varying adoration and awe covering his face as he curses under his breath.

“You’re perfection, angel. Absolute perfection.”

“P-please,” I stutter. “Don’t h-hurt me. Don’t?—”

“Shhh,” he whispers. “I’d never hurt you, only if you askedfor it.”

My brows furrow at that. “So, you really won’t kill me?”

He cocks his head to the side in confusion.

“Of course not. If you die, I die.”

“Then you’re gonna rape me again,” I breathe out shakily, closing my eyes as I begin to accept my fate.

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