Page 81 of For All My Effort

Jackson grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the lake and back on the trail. I was a mix of anger and confidence, feeling like I could have set the world on fire. Like I could literally kick ass if needed.

Speaking of which. “Earlier? When you said train me? What does that mean?”

“That means cardio several times a week. Weight training, too. Stretching every night and as many hikes we can fit in for overall body strength. Hearty foods, protein in your smoothies. On the weekends, weapons so you know how to load and unload and clean and fire.”

I groaned, hating all of those ideas. I wanted a bed, a nest, and an unscheduled mealtime. Fucking alpha extremist assholes making me have to work out.

“Ready to start now?” Jackson asked.

There was something in his voice that pulled my attention away from my internal tantrum. He sounded excited, definitely too excited for me to simply workout.

“I thought we already had. We’re literally on a hike.”

“We’re walking, not running.”

My eyes went wide as I stared at him. Running this path? I was already huffing and puffing just from the speed we were going. Any faster and I was pretty sure my body would give out.

“I’ll even give you a few second lead. Start running now, and when I catch you, I’m going to fuck you.”

Arousal. That was the emotion I’d detected. I was so tired that I hadn’t even considered trying to identify that scent.

I was paying attention now. His words excited something primal inside me, wanting him to chase me, dominate me.

“Just run?” I asked.

“Run, rebel. Don’t worry, I’ll find you quickly.”

I was already breathing hard as I looked around, trying to figure out which direction I wanted to run in, then I took off. I wasn’t feeling tired anymore—I felt alive. Like I could’ve run forever.

Rather than head back down the trail, or toward the water, I went off in the opposite direction. It was open, which meant he’d easily be able to see me, but hiding wasn’t truly the point. The point was the arousal currently flooding my system. The pleasure and excitement and even slight anxiety that came from trying to hide.

Eventually, the flat land began to rise and fall, just subtly enough that I could feel it in my calves. I started turning, aiming in the direction I thought was further away from the parking lot, although I had no clue if I was even correct in my directional assumption.

A few skinny trees appeared randomly, spread out like they sucked out all the water in the surrounding area forcing nothing else to exist nearby. They made me think of weeds, really tall weeds that just managed to push their way to the surface to survive.

I heard him first. The sound of his boots slamming against the earth.

A burst of energy helped me sprint, but I was sucking in as much air as I could. My backpack was bouncing against my back, my legs starting to slow down even as I tried to make them move faster.

All of a sudden, I wasn’t running anymore. Arms wrapped around me as I fell, my knees and hands scraping against the dirt. Most likely, I’d scratched up my body, but I didn’t care. The slight biting pain mixed with my excitement, adding to my pleasure.

“Caught you,” he said, the words heavy in my ears.

Behind me, I felt him press his hand between my shoulder blades, pushing me into the position he wanted. My chest wasn’t all the way on the ground because I was breathing so hard, and I didn’t want to inhale dirt. Arching my back, I shook my hips, wishing I had something to grab onto like bed sheets.

His apple scent was strong with his arousal, my own lavender tainted arousal blooming too. I was nervous about being in public, not that I wanted to stop.

I still had my pants on, and Jackson had his, yet I could feel the pressure of his hard cock pressing between my legs, teasing me. My core was already wet, already ready for my mate to thrust inside me whenever he stopped playing with me.

His hand cupped between my legs, over my clothes and feeling my center, as he groaned. “You’re soaking wet for me, rebel.”

A whimper came from my throat.

Jackson pulled my pants down to my knees before shoving my legs together. He took a moment to unzip himself and then he thrusted inside me without hesitation.

In this position, with my thighs pressed together, on all fours, he felt huge inside me. His hands wrapped around my waist, yanking me back with each of his thrusts, slamming into me hard enough that I wondered if his thighs would leave bruises against mine.

This was fast and hard, brutal and efficient.