Page 14 of Monsters Carve Thrones

He blocked it.

We wrestled, struggling in the moon-drenched clearing, a mess of breath and muscle and grit. Then–

He slammed me into a tree. My back hit bark. His chest pinned me. “Thought you could escape me?” Rafe’s voice was nothing but smoke and steel. He was breathing hard. Turned on andscary. My eyes widened and I took him in. His shoulders were tense, his face serious and pupils dilated.

“You’re slow,” I taunted, biting back a grin. “Getting old?”

His laugh was sharp and absolutely feral. “You’re insane,” he rasped, dragging his mouth along my jaw, his hand gripping my throat. “You really thought the window would work?”

“I hoped.” I smirked, still panting. “But Ihadto let you catch me eventually.”

He jerked me closer and then back against the tree, one hand wrapped around my neck, the other trailing down my thigh. His voice dipped to something darker.

“You look so beautiful, baby,” he breathed.

“You, too.” The admission spilled out. But he was. I was entranced by the sheer beauty and power of him. “Iwantthe fight.”

His growl vibrated through my spine. “Youwantto be overpowered? Taken?” His fingers tightened. “Thenkeep. Fucking. Running.”

He shoved me forward.

I stumbled, breath catching, adrenaline spiking before launching into another sprint. Branches snapped at my sides.My nightgown caught on something and tore. I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop.

I ran.

The shadows were alive, like the trees were breathing. My blood thundered in my ears. I glanced back and saw him.

Holy fuck. Holy fuck.

Stalking after me like a god of war. Shirtless. Wild-eyed. A monster carved from shadow and moonlight made only to devour. I turned back with a gasp and kept going, chest heaving, legs burning. The dark pressed in, every rustle of leaves making me flinch. I didn’t know where I was anymore. Only that I washis, and he was coming for me.

It didn’t matter where I ran or how far. He was a goddamn predator. My heart was pounding wildly against my ribs, giving in to the fear of being a deer beneath a wolf’s jaws.

I slowed, gaze darting everywhere. “Rafe?” I breathed. “Where–”

He slammed into me from the side with a snarl, knocking the scream out of my throat as we crashed into the forest floor, rolling through leaves and dirt until he landed above me. He was all heat and rage and brute fucking strength. My back hit the ground hard, the breath ripped from my lungs.

A beast unchained.

Rafe grabbed both of my wrists, yanking them above my head and slamming them into the dirt with one hand. The other fisted what remained of my nightgown, yanking it up and over my hips.

I writhed under him, not to escape...but toprovoke.

To feel the iron in his grip tighten.

“You’re such a little tease,” he growled, his voice sharp and dark like broken glass. “Making me chase you through the goddamn jungle?”

I glared up at him defiantly, loving this game.

His other hand shot to my throat and squeezed, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make my blood rush in my ears. He leaned in close, his nose brushing mine, mouth hovering just above my lips. “I should fuck you right here in the dirt for that.”

I shoved at him in a feeble attempt to get him off of me.

“What?” He tilted his head like some terrifying predator toying with his prey. “Are you scared, little doe?”

Before I could stop myself, I ground up against the bulge in his pants, even if I was trying to push him off of me.A fucking contradiction I was.That was what was great about this fantasy. Iachedfor it, but had to pretend I didn’t want it.

His eyes flared. The wildness cracked wider.