Page 6 of Frost Bite
Conquest brushes a matted strand away from my brow before placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. “You unraveled. And so you were rewarded for your sweet surrender.”
My chest heaves as I gasp for breath. “Am I still virtuous?”
He chuckles. “Yes, your innocence is still intact.For now. Mostly.” He unties my wrists and rubs them, coaxing the blood back into my veins. “You are lucky I found you first, sweet one.”
A chill slithers up my back. There are three more of them. I had forgotten that in the throes of my ripe undoing. “And why is that?”
He sighs with that devious smirk still lingering on his lips. “The others won’t be as gentle. War is brutal, Famine is twisted, and Death… well, let’s just say he doesn’t need you to be conscious to derive pleasure from you.”
Oh gods…
Conquest sits across the fire from me, fixated on me. “You’re going to have to run soon. I’ve repaired your boots to give you a slight head start.”
With my dress on the ground, torn to shreds, I wrap his cloak around my shoulders. Yet it does little to shield me from the icy wind that trickles in. “But you’ve already caught me.”
He takes a swig from his metal flask. “I have. They have not. This is the Wild Hunt. We are predators, and you are our prey. We need to chase and hunt.”
The fear that I first had resurfaces.Why can’t it just be him?“Please, I don’t want to run anymore. I can’t… just bring me to them.”
Conquest comes around the fire and buttons up the cloak, so I’m no longer exposed. “You’ve been such a good sport so far. Don’t back down now.” He pinches my chin and thrusts his eager tongue into my mouth. I fight it, choking on my own saliva until I give in to his audacity, surrendering to that ache he’s festered in me.
He slides his thumb across my lips. “They are going to be so pleased with you. Our delicious sacrifice. Remember, the more you scream and fight, the more they will delight in breaking you.”
Tears stream down my cheeks again. My lips are bruised, my pussy raw, and my feet are still sore from running earlier. “I didn’t agree tothis. I agreed to die.”
He pulls me up off the ground. “Sometimes, what you want and what you need are worlds apart. But the moment you give up control is when you’ll find how similar they are.”
I let him lace up my boots. They feel more stable now that he’s repaired them, and yet my knees still tremble with the fear of the unknown. An uneasiness washes over me. Knowing that three more monsters are out there circling, waiting to pounce. Eager to do vile things to me. His threats have, in fact, been promises. So the warning of their brutality curdles my stomach.
I look down at the ground, but he lifts my chin, always demanding with his gestures as well as his words. I wipe my cheeks with the sleeve of my new—his—cloak. “And when they’re done? What happens then?”
He flips up my collar. “Running will keep you warm. The snowfall is thick and unforgiving. Don’t stop until he’s cornered you. Or you’ll freeze to death.”
I get an unobstructed view of him as he walks ahead of me and mounts his horse. His thick thighs grip the sides of the saddle, stoking an unfamiliar longing from deep within my core. I picture his muscular arms wrapped around me, pinning me to the ground with such force that I unravel for him again. My cheeks heat at the thought.
Noticing, he flashes me a mischievous smirk. “Don’t fret. We’ll be together again soon. And I will destroy that sweet cunt of yours with more than just my tongue and fingers.”
A whimper tickles my throat, but I swallow it down. I will not give him any more fuel to stoke this blasphemous fire.
Heisright about the snowfall though. I can barely see two feet in front of me. It’s coming down hard, creating a thick blanket of slush for my boots to sink into. “Shall I run in circles, then?”
His arrogance is on full display as he trots around me, snickering. “Head back into the woods. Over there”—he points far past my field of vision— “where the branches are the spiniest. War will track your scent, but it will give you a slight advantage. And it will please him. Remember, the longer the chase, the hungrier he will be. So run like hell, little doe. If you make it too easy, you’ll incur his wrath.”
I can’t help but pout. “What does it matter? It seems I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”
Conquest caresses my face once more. “Trust me, you don’t want to find out. Brutality comes in many forms. One that will bringyoupleasure, and one that will only serve him.”
My breath hitches as he gallops off into the dark without another word or glance back. I try to track his silhouette, but it’s useless. He’s gone. And I’m alone again, and back to being hunted by wild beasts.
I curse under my breath as I lift my boots out of the slush. I’m tempted to let myself sink further. To give up and let him findme here, brutality be damned. But just as I think the fight has left me, I’m shaken out of my despair, startled by thunderous hooves pounding in the distance. It gets closer, louder, with every breath I take.
A renewed will to live awakens in me. I trudge through until I reach a path that’s free from debris, seemingly carved by angels. I will not surrender so easily. With my adrenaline racing through my veins, my heart pounding, I break into a run across the clearing and head toward the woods.
Sulfur. Rotting flesh. Bloody cages… The stench stays with you. It sticks to your leathers like flies to honey paper.I will not go back to that.
Saint fucking Nick can kiss my horse’s arsehole. He’s done nothing valiant with the sacrifices we’ve given him. All those pretty little virgins wasted on his insatiable hunger for flesh. We’ve given him pounds of it. No more. This year, we’re taking what is owed to us.
A whiff of her scent tickles the hairs of my nose.Thank you, Conquest. He made her cum so hard, her arousal permeates these entire woods. Now I want to track her to the edge of fear and push her past it. Until she thinks she’s free, convincing her that maybe I’ve given up, all while I’m closer than she could ever imagine.