Page 128 of Almost Ravaged

The situation is delicate at best and downright precarious at worst, now that I know more about his past. If he isn’t ready—

“Get out of your head, Ms. Davvies.” Mercersmacks my ass.

That garners an immediate reaction from Noah, which I assume is what Mercer intended.

Noah stalks forward, his hands fisted and a low sound escaping him. “What the hell—”

Before he can start in on Mercer, I step in front of my professor.

That pulls Noah up short.

I toss him his baseball cap and meet his gaze. “I want you to wear that when you’re chasing me.”

Then I turn on my heel, jog toward the entrance of the maze, and call over my shoulder, “Whoever wants me can come and fucking get me.”

Chapter forty-three

Sawyer

Every time my foot hits the ground, a surge of adrenaline mixed with arousal shoots through my limbs.

I run faster than I knew was possible, hot and desperate to put distance between myself and the two men in this field, my exposed arms snagging on dry, brittle corn stalks. Every few feet, I stumble, tripping over cobs littered on the ground. So far, I haven’t fallen.

I’ve gone through this maze, making content several times these last few weeks. But the darkness and my anticipation have made it difficult to navigate tonight. Within minutes, I’m lost.

I think I’m somewhere in the middle, or maybe I’m circling the confusing section to the left that always disorients me. Not that it matters. I have absolutely no intention of making it to the other side.

I want to be caught.

Based on the lack of rustling or footsteps, neither is close. Mercer’s voice is loud enough to hear over my panting as he clips out instructions to Noah, but they still sound far away.

“This way. I bet she went around that corner.”

I trip again and throw my arms out. I don’t fall, but I make a whole lot of noise as I grasp and pull at the brittle corn stovers.

“Did you hear that? Over there!” Mercer shouts, his tone triumphant.

I increase my pace, twisting around three tight corners, only to find myself backed into a dead end. Heart thudding, I turn in a circle, bringing my hand to my mouth to quiet my breaths, and listen.

The blood whooshing in my ears makes it nearly impossible to hear the guys now, and the arousal dripping down my thighs distracts me enough to break my concentration.

When I do finally hear rapid footfalls, they’re closer than I expected.

Good grief.

I have no other option than to retrace my steps to get out of this dead end.

“Little Nuisance…”

Shit. Mercer’s voice is even closer now.

I sprint toward a fork in the maze. Left or right? I freeze, my brain glitching. This part is unfamiliar, but I don’t have time to debate—

“Oh Little Nuisance…”

My stomach drops.

It’s dark in here. The corn is all I can see, but he sounds like he’s just a few meters away.