Page 33 of Lord of Ruin

Run. Run. Run.

Faster. Faster.

There’d been a lock on the door leading to the hallway, but not on the gorgeous French doors glazed with stained glass. The balcony had been beautiful, decorated with vibrant flowers adorning the iron railings in boxes. Their position should have been a deterrent for anyone attempting to flee the room.

Not for this girl.

I’d run track, had competed in pole vaulting, and had even taken a stint in gymnastics as a teenager, but my claim to fame was climbing trees.

So as daunting as the third-floor position would be to most humans, the fact the landscaper had been silly enough to place a trellis covered in flowering vines right underneath had given me a huge smile. I’d climbed down in seconds, even taking a couple of minutes to enjoy the view of the surrounding area.

Between the Caribbean blue waters of the gorgeous pool and the cabana that was bigger than my apartment back in New York to the incredible rolling hills leading to a thick forest, I had to admit that Stavros’ property was without a doubt the most gorgeous setting I’d ever seen. However, it was time to secure my freedom.

He’d smashed my phone, but he hadn’t thought to remove my wallet from my purse. I had it with me as I carefully made my way off the main portion of the estate, not bothering to look back before taking off running. As I’d expected, two bulky guards noticed me right before I’d gotten to the tree line, yelling for me to stop, one of them cursing in Greek when I hadn’t obeyed them.

I was finished with even pretending to obey anyone, including the sexy man who could kill like no other. I bolted into the trees, using my powerful long legs, zigging and zagging so the huge dudes couldn’t easily catch me.

While I’d seen a weapon in my periphery of vision, I sensed they weren’t going to shoot a guest of their boss. I prayed that once I broke through the trees that the property wasn’t surrounded by the same eight-foot gate. However, I hadn’t met a gate I couldn’t climb over yet.

I’d once been a mischievous girl, my girlfriends and I breaking into various properties just to prove we could, sometimes scaling fences into backyards, especially those with pools.

That had all been put to a halt when my father had caught us red-handed. I’d been grounded for three months, only allowed to go to school, every other privilege stripped from me. Yes, I’d learned my lesson, but the criminal tendencies had remained in the back of my mind, the skills as well.

I continued grinning as I took a slight break, listening for any sounds the guards had managed to follow me.

I’d heard them rumbling through the woods before, their massive two-hundred-fifty-pound bodies crunching down on fallen limbs and other debris. Now the strange silence was unnerving. Were they really just going to let me go without tackling me to the ground?

No, something was off.

But I kept running.

The forest surrounding his property was huge, more so than I would have expected for a planned community. It certainly offered him complete privacy. I was winded, which shocked me when I finally broke through the trees, immediately stopping and bending over to catch my breath.

Two seconds later, the hair stood up on my arms. Oh. My. God. Very slowly I straightened up, shaking involuntarily when I heard a dark and dominating chuckle.

“Hello, sweetheart. Happy to see me?”

I glanced to my left, sucking in and holding my breath. How had Stavros managed to circumnavigate the forest? Unless it was curved in design or had a road flanking the one side. Of course the bastard had found me, now smirking as if we were playing a primal game. Well, to hell with him.

Backtracking wasn’t going to do me much good unless I could find a way out in the other direction, but I did so anyway. I flew through the trees this time, jumping over anything standing in my way of escaping, every so often glancing over my shoulder. While I didn’t see him, I could hear him every step of the way.

He was growling like some primal beast, having way too much fun with my attempt. I finally heard crunching sounds, and if I didn’t know better, which I didn’t, I’d say the bastard was able to keep pace with me. Really? Not that he wasn’t in excellent shape because hot damn, the man’s body seemed perfect in every way, but give me a break. I was a runner.

Or I had been.

Okay, so it had been a while.

I moved faster and suddenly, he jumped from behind a tree, scaring the hell out of me. Yelping, I almost tumbled to the ground as I tried to run backwards, fighting the tingling sensations and increasing fear as I turned around.

“You can run, my enchanted one, but you will never get away from me.” His deep voice penetrated my eardrums, almost echoing in the dense forest. How was that possible?

I was now hopelessly lost, trying to weave from one side to the other, but he continued surprising me with his lithe abilities. Suddenly, I was swept off my feet, the bastard wrapping one arm around me and lifting me off my feet as if I weighed nothing.

Stavros spun me around in the air, laughing like a crazed man. When he brought me down to my feet, I felt more nauseous than before. Still laughing, he spun me around to face him, cupping both sides of my face.

“I do so love your spirit,” he said. “I’d also intended to allow you time to get to know and enjoy your new home, but I can see I underestimated you. That requires a change in my plans.”

I didn’t have a chance to ask him what that meant. He crushed his mouth over mine, passion erupting between us almost instantly. I’d never had any man drive me into a beautiful state of fog with a single kiss, but the way he dominated my mouth while taking his time exploring was incredible.