Page 78 of Nursing the Alpha
Was it him?
God, please let it be him.
The footsteps grew louder. Heavy. Measured.
They weren’t running.
They didn’t have to.
The path curved sharply, and I took it too fast, nearly losing my balance.
A hand—large, strong—snatched my wrist.
I yelped as I was wrenched back, my momentum yanked out from under me.
A weight crashed into me from behind, driving me to the ground with a thud that knocked the air from my lungs.
I hit the cold earth hard, leaves and dirt biting into my palms as I tried to catch my breath. Surely, if it was Seth, he wouldn’t have been so rough with me.
The body above me was solid. Warm. A wall of muscle pinning me down. Panic clawed its way up my throat in a scream that cut short.
A sharp scent hit my nose—cedar and spice, so familiar a shiver ran down my spine.
Seth.
He wore a mask. Black. Smooth. Featureless.
Not Seth’s face. Not his gentle eyes. But a predator’s blank stare pinning me in place.
My stomach twisted violently, heat coiling low in my belly.
I thrashed hard, clawing at the earth beneath me. “Let me go!” I cried, though even I heard the tremor in my voice, my cock strained against my sweat pants.
He didn’t let go.
A gloved hand caught my ankle as I kicked, and then I was being dragged backward, leaves and twigs scraping at my back, my arms flailing uselessly.
“No—please! Don’t!”
The words came out high, breathless, and my cock twitched shamefully at the sound of my voice.
This was a game. Just a game.
Still, panic gripped my ribs tight, and the air seemed to thicken around me.
He yanked me deeper into the trees, out of sight from the trail. A fist knotted in my sweatshirt and shoved me flat against the cold, damp ground.
My hands scrambled to push him off, but he was all solid weight and sharp strength, straddling my hips as if he belonged there.
He clamped his hand over my mouth.
I froze, my chest heaving under the crushing hold.
Even though I knew it was Seth, the way he was rough and that black mask sent a shiver of terror through me.
Oh god.
A hot, electric rush tore through my gut. It’d been two years since I’d experienced it, but I couldn’t mistake it for what it was.
