Page 135 of Executing Malice
It covers only the lower half of his face, a jagged maw of fangs. Grotesque and dripping red. But it’s his eyes ... God. White. All the dark gone so they glow in the light with an unnatural, inhuman blankness that cuts straight to my soul. They fix on me with a possession so absolute, I forget why he’s even so far.
Until I spot the knife dangling loosely in his grip. Long, heavy, and so very real.
My heart kicks.
It escalates with the tilt of his head. The slow, deliberate cock that screams predator.
Fuck.
I bolt.
The forest explodes around me. Branches snap. Leaves thrash. My flashlight bounces in a dizzying beam ahead of me.
Behind me, I hear him. his footsteps impossibly steady. Measured. Like he doesn’t have to try to keep up.
My feet catch on a root. It propels my body forward, legs staggering as I catch myself, but keep running.
And he keeps coming.
The flashlight swings wildly, carving monstrous shapes out of every tree. My lungs burn, thighs ache, but I can’t stop now, not when he’s only a few feet behind me.
Another snap of a twig. Closer this time. My heart slams into my throat. I spin, light jerking behind me...
He’s right there.
Closer than he should be. Standing still, chest rising and falling, knife gleaming. His mask shines as if the red smeared across it is fresh, matching the wet streaks across all his beautiful muscles. He locks his inhuman eyes with mine and I swear even the forest holds its breath.
“Tired, little whore?” he rasps, voice low, distorted by the mask.
“Fuck you,” I pant, resisting the urge to double over to catch my breath.
Like he does this for a living, he twirls the knife flawlessly up and over the back of his knuckles then back into his fist.
“You’re going to, but not before I carve my name into all that beautiful skin.”
Heat spills down my thighs at the gruff promise.
The light rattles in my grip as I will my traitorous body to stumble back away from him.
And then he moves. Fast. Too fast. The woods explode with his pursuit, and I scream before I can stop myself. My body whirls and I tear forward.
I run until my lungs are knives. Branches claw at my face. Rip out my hair. They catch in my clothes. One snags my arm, jerking the flashlight free of my grasp. It spirals before striking the ground and flicking out.
I’m plunged into darkness. My scream sticks in my throat and I have to swallow it down as I hear him. The steady crunch of his boots.
Thethump. Thump. Thump.
I hold my breath. Stay so fucking still. Praying that if I don’t move, he won’t see me, but I know that’s wishful thinking because in my uniform, I’m basically a beacon, glowing in the shadows.
Something hard slams into my back and I’m thrown down into the dirt with a cry. The collision adds fresh tears to my palms, my knees. I’m ready to curse him, but he’s on me.
Heavy. Breath hot through the jagged mask. His weight pins me, blood-slick chest pressing into my thin uniform.
“No!”
I thrash, nails clawing, legs kicking. The forest floor is a frenzy beneath us. He growls low in his throat as I’m caged in his muscles while he fights to catch my flailing arms.
He’s going to win. Even as I put everything into resisting, he’s going to overpower me. And my cunt clenches with anticipation. It gushes with searing liquid in preparation.
