Page 77 of Nightshades

She pumps her arms, sprinting as fast as she can, but she’ll never be as fast as me. Lula stops again. The woods in my dream are never-ending. This hunt could last forever if I wanted it to. I could have us live inside my mind for all eternity.

Hooking my claws into the bark, I use gravity to allow me to slide down, engraving my mark on the tree.

She spins when she hears the grating of wood, and I blur to a spot directly behind her. Bending down, I smell her hair, the citrus scent causing more precome to leak from me.

She steps forward, curious and careful, not wanting to spook me if I am waiting for her behind the tree.

Adorable.

“This isn’t funny anymore,” her voice is ridden with emotion. “I don’t know where I am.”

Of course, she’s afraid. She’s running through someone else’s mind. When something is new and unknown, it’s scary at first, but over time, she’ll realize the safest place she’ll ever be is with me.

Growling so close to her ear, I speed away to another tree, watching her spin around to find that no one is behind her.

Oh, toying with my mate is so much fun.

“Shade?” Her bottom lip quivers, another fresh wave of terror hanging thick in the air. “Shade, this isn’t funny. I’m ready to be caught.”

I don’t like my food to surrender so easily.

That’s too fucking bad.

Using my vampire speed, I run right in front of her, having her wonder if what she saw—she actually saw.

“Shade? Is that you? Shade!” she screams for me, my name echoing into the void. “Shade!” Lula desperately tries to call for me, all while I’m right here, five steps to her left.

I chuckle, amusing myself as her panic rises. Such a big, empty space for a delicate human. And no matter what she says, Lula is delicate, compared to me, she’s as soft as a flower petal.

Standing behind her again, I move to the left and right, dodging her gaze when she turns around to find me. She can sense me when I’m that close.

“I know you’re close. I can feel you.” Her frozen breath puffs past her lips. “You’re not far. I bet your hair is standing on its ends, warning you that a predator is close.”

I hide behind her, lifting strands of her hair with my claw. I press them against my nose, closing my eyes to sink deeper into the place her scent brings me to.

Peace.

I rub the ends against my cheek, so soft, so silky. I want them to drag over my body as she kisses her way down my stomach to suck my cock.

Screeching at the top of her lungs when she feels me, she turns around to catch me red-handed, but I’m gone before she makes sense of what she thought she felt.

“Lula-lala-la-la-la,” I sing, running around her in circles so she has no idea where the song is coming from. “Lula-lala-la-la-laaa.”

She spins and spins, left and right, trying her best to locate me, and she becomes dizzy. Lula loses her balance and collapses in the snow, groaning. She’s on her hands and knees, taking a moment to gather her breath, but all I can think about is ripping her pants free and splitting her open with my cock.

Gripping her by her hair, I yank her head back, her eyes glazed with worry and arousal. Her pheromones are so strong, an orgasm threatens to paint the fake forest floor.

She inhales, her lips parted, open and inviting, but I’m not done hunting her yet.

I tug on her hair again, forcing her to get to her feet. She hisses, reaching back to where I’m gripping her by the root.

“Run. And don’t look back, Lula.”

“You have me now. Do what you want with me.”

“Oh, I plan to.” I push her forward, falling to all fours again. I crack my neck, left, then right, the sound eerie within the silent forest. “Run.”

She’s confused, but it doesn’t stop her from listening. Lula runs, sprinting hard and fast. She jumps over the trees I’ve ripped from their roots. My mate doesn’t look back. She doesn’t trip. Her strides are long and fast, taking her further and further away from me.