Page 4 of Hunted by Them (Primal Desires #1)

SAGE

The storm picked up, unrelenting. Fear nipped at the back of my brain and made me crazy.

It roared and clawed at the cabin, hammering the roof and rattling the boards. I swore the whole place might crack in two. Every gust shoved at the door, and the weak, bent nail trembled in its hole. That nail was the only latch between me and whatever was outside.

I told myself it was safe, that walls and wood meant something, but my skin crawled like it knew better.

Every flash of lightning drew my eyes to the window. Every shadow felt alive. Every roll of thunder carried something underneath it…a growl or laughter that seemed so real.

I curled up tighter on my sleeping pad, using my pack as a pillow, whispering to myself.

“Sleep, Sage. Just sleep,” I chanted, wishing for sunrise. Eventually, I felt sleep pulling at me, and my eyes grew heavy.

There was no way to know how much time had passed when I woke up choking on darkness.

Something was over my face, a rough cloth, twisted tight, pressing against my nose. My breath caught a familiar smell. Soap. Sweat. Masculine.

Before the realization even landed, hands pinned me down. I struggled, but they were strong and merciless, pressing my wrists against the floor. My body thrashed on instinct, but the grip didn’t budge. Panic surged through me, my lungs burning against the suffocating cloth.

Then a voice, low like gravel, brushed against my ear. “Sweet Daisy.”

The words froze me. My heart forgot how to beat, then raced at twice the pace.

Another voice, rougher, joined from my left side. “You feel it, don’t you? The wild inside you. The storm in your blood.”

Hot breath brushed against my neck, while something smooth and too cold to be flesh grazed my skin. My whole body went tight.

Fingers traced my hip, taunting, just the barest touch before slipping away.

Another hand slid over my arm, across my collarbone, dragging sparks in its wake.

I gasped as those fingers ran down my legs, and an electric shock of desire pulsed through my body.

The storm outside had a steady rhythm, thunder pounding as loud as my heartbeat.

My mind screamed to fight, to kick, to call for help. But my body…it was confused and betrayed me.

A hand suddenly cupped my jean-clad pussy, and I jerked my hips up into the contact before I could stop myself.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I was burning, seeking more contact, begging against my will.

Another whisper, my other ear this time. “You came out here to lose yourself. We’ll help you. Let go, Sweet Daisy. Stop fighting what you are,” the voice ordered.

A growl ripped through the room, and another set of hands joined the first. I shivered, but couldn’t tell if it was from fear or desire as the two twisted and blended into one.

“Sweet Daisy,” the voice breathed. “Fuck, you’re sexy, Sweet Daisy. I can feel your pulse. Beating so fast you think it’s fear. I know you do, but it isn’t. Not all of it. You know it. We know it. Your body’s already begging.”

His words sank into me, warming me up faster than anything else ever could. My wrists burned against his grip, and the shame in my mind warred against the ache between my thighs.

“You came out here to hide. To escape whatever pathetic existence you have buried yourself in. And now look at you. Soaked by a storm, trembling and squirming under my hands like you have always craved us.” His chuckle was dark, vibrating against my skin.

“You were made to be hunted. Made to be caught.”

I didn’t know what that meant, but my breath hitched as the hand between my legs gripped tighter and rubbed me roughly.

My hips wiggled on their own, and I swore in my head.

Whoever he was must have taken it as a sign that I wanted more.

His fingers moved in furious circles over my clit, my hips jerked helplessly, and I hated myself for it.

“Oh, yes. There it is.” The deep voice turned wicked with a thread of satisfaction.

“I could spread you right here, take every scream the storm would hide for me. But not yet. You’re going to beg for it, Sweet Daisy.

You’re going to crawl to the edge of your sanity and whisper my name without even knowing it.

That’s when I’ll claim you. When I’ll destroy you.

When I’ll make you ours and fuck you like the animal you are. ”

My thighs quivered and tried to trap him, but his hand slipped away before it reached where I ached most. Another ghostly touch brushed my breast through my shirt, thumb flicking just enough to draw a sharp gasp from me.

“Dulcet sounds,” he murmured. “You don’t even know what you want, do you? Afraid and wet, all at once. Confused, Sweet Daisy? We’ll teach you what to do with that hunger.”

I bit down hard on a sob, but the heat in my body betrayed me. My nipples ached, and my core clenched with every word. His whispers tangled with the storm until I couldn’t tell if the thunder was outside or inside my chest.

A palm slid under my shirt, just high enough to skim my ribs. My nipples tightened painfully under the thin cotton, my body aching for what I swore I didn’t want.

My moans were muffled by cloth, and shame clawed through me even as arousal coiled tighter. My thighs trembled, and my skin was aflame where they touched. It was worse where they didn’t.

I wanted to shove them off, scream that this was wrong…

Or did I?

I wanted them to press closer, touch deeper, rip the resistance out of me. Both truths lived in me, tearing me in half.

The smell of pine filled my nose, the scent of earth and musk, thick as if the forest itself had slipped inside with them. Maybe it was part of them. It coated my nose, and I wanted to know if they tasted the same. My body quivered, helpless, lost between terror and hunger.

Hands roamed…one firmly holding me in place, one rough, one softer. My wrists pinned, my thighs nudged apart.

“Shhh,” a new voice soothed. “You’re only fighting yourself. Let it go. Let us in.”

Something deep in me cracked. My hips rocked up, seeking, shameless. The sound that tore from my throat was a strangled moan.

And then…gone.

All at once, the weight lifted. The hands vanished.

The voices cut off like clouds blown away in the storm.

I lay there frozen, not sure if any of it had been real.

There was no sound other than the pounding of my heart.

My chest heaved against the fabric that was now loose on my face.

I was terrified to move as each word seeped into me like venom, despite their truth.

Gaining the courage, I ripped the cloth from my face, gasping for air. My eyes darted around the room, but there were no wet footprints. The door was closed, and the storm continued to rage outside. I stared at my shirt, twisted cruelly around me.

I fumbled for the flashlight, shaking. Empty. Shadows where shadows belonged, but there was no one hiding in the corners.

What the fuck?

Legs weak, I slowly stood, the light streaking across the room like even it couldn’t believe I was alone. The glow slid over my pack, and I froze.

On top, lying like an offering was something pale. I stepped closer, the beam trained on the spot. Licking my lips, I stared down and blinked. There, nestled into the fabric, rested an antler.

With tentative movements, I bent over and picked up the piece of bone. It was no larger than my hand, and delicately curved—proof I wasn’t losing my mind.

Right?

My blood was still molten under my skin, nipples peaked, thighs aching with need they had left unresolved.

Shame and fury tangled until I couldn’t breathe right.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to claw the answers out of the stormy sky.

Instead, I dropped to my knees, clutching the flashlight, staring at that antler like it held the answers.

They had been here. Touched me…left me smoldering, and completely undone.

I curled around myself, my body trembling with aftershocks I refused to name. My throat rasped with words I didn’t want to admit.

Because the truth I couldn’t run from was that I wasn’t only afraid.

I wanted more.