Page 67 of Die for You

My teammates’ footsteps thunder beside me for a few seconds before I edge past them. Damien is a bull on the ice and Knox a wolf, but I’m a bullet. On and off the ice.

I’m the first to clatter into the woods, twigs and leaves crunching beneath my trainers. Canopies of the trees shut out what little light remains as dusk settles. In the woods ahead, no one screams or runs or pants a breath.

So she’s hiding. I love a good round of hide and seek.

Silently, I slip through the trees. Haven’t even broken a sweat, my heart rate barely above resting.

Yards behind me, Knox and Damien crash into the woods.

“You see anything?” Knox’s voice is muffled beneath the mask.

“I don’t even fuckinghearanything,” Damien growls.

I nearly chuckle. They’ll never hear anything if they don’t shut up. She’ll hear them coming and sneak away before they realize they were within twenty feet of her.

Knox likes the chase. Damien likes the fear. But I like the catch.

And the only way I’m catching her is if she doesn’t see or hear me coming. The silent shadow amongst the trees. The masked man just a step, a breath, away before his hand covers her mouth.

A muted crackle beneath my shoe. I wince. Freeze long enough to listen for her movements if she’s anywhere close.

Nothing.

Not close yet. My feet keep moving. I have a lot of experience stalking through the world in silence. She doesn’t stand a chance.

My cock twitches with anticipation. We’ll have to do this again after tonight. Already know once won’t be enough.

“Come out, angel.” Damien’s voice floats out in the still quiet of the woods. A few yards away.

No movement. Not a peep. She’s better at this than I thought she’d be. We’ll reward her well.

“There!” Knox shouts.

A cacophony of movement. Thundering footsteps, snapping bark, crunching leaves. Whoops of victory from Knox and Damien.

My stomach dips. Fuck. I should’ve gone with them. Now they’ll get to her first.

In the darkness a few feet ahead, a small, shadowy figure emerges from behind a tree. She glances over her shoulder, at the noise of the Devils heading in the opposite direction.

They must’ve spotted something else. A deer or something. A trick of the light.

Because our angel is here. Right in front of me.

Her attention remains on the chaos yards away from her as she backs away slowly, careful not to make a single sound.

She doesn’t notice the shadow sneaking up on her. Not until my hand clamps over her mouth.

Our angel screams beneath my palm, thrashing until I pin her against the bark. Her wide-eyed gaze darts between her surroundings and the black gas mask covering my face. But it’s not enough to conceal my identity from her. Once she realizes it’s me, her muscles relax and she stops resisting.

Aurora grins beneath my palm, and I drop it to pin her shoulders to the bark instead. My finger grazes over her cheek, her jaw, and her lips part.

With her mouth free, she whispers, “You’re not going to call them over?”

The three of us have always shared. In the years since we’ve known each other, it’s been rare for any of us to take a girl back home alone. And if we didn’t want to share a puck bunny, we’d invite her friend.

But I want some time with Aurora to myself before I share her. All of her attention. Her eyes only on me. My name the only one that leaves her lips.

Too dark now to use my hands to communicate. Damien and Knox have no problem using their words with her. Knox makes her laugh. Damien challenges her.