Page 31 of Her Wedding Night
LUCY
My lungs are killing me. I don’t think I’ve ever run this far before, definitely not in too-big rubber boots, and I really want to stop. But I also want to get as far away from Gabriel’s cabin as I can before I slow down.
I trip over something and stumble, biting back a sob.
As I right myself, I hear something behind me.
Whirling around, all I can see is darkness.
Then Gabriel’s voice comes out of nowhere. “Lucy, stop running.”
I turn and take off again, terrified at how close he must have been.
Now I can hear him behind me, his footsteps suddenly loud, so loud, crashing through the dry twigs and leaves on the ground. Chasing me. Hunting me.
There’s no chance I actually get away from him now. Maybe I need to try to attack him. That would at least have the element of surprise on my side.
My legs burn as I pick up speed, trying to gain just a little more ground…
Then I pull up quickly and pick up the pointiest, most jagged stick I can find on the ground. I don’t turn around.
He thunders to a stop behind me, and I wait for him to tackle me, pinning me to the ground and attempting to do whatever horrible thing he wants to do with his prey.
That’s when I’ll stab the most tender parts of his body that I can reach with the stick.
But he doesn’t grab me.
He doesn’t take me down to the ground and press his weight on top of me.
Shaking like a leaf, I hide the stick behind my back as I slowly turn.
He’s standing ten feet back, his bare chest heaving, his hands in loose fists at his side. A stricken expression on his face is the last thing I expect to see. “Don’t run,” he grinds out. “Please don’t run.”
“Don’t chase me,” I gasp.
“I’m not. Not exactly. I’m just…following.”
“That’s the same thing!”
“They might be looking for you.”
“Here?” Desperation claws inside my chest and climbs up my throat. “The only threat to me here isyou.”
“You could hurt yourself running through the woods.”
“Will I hurt myself more than you will?” I shake my head at him. “Why?” The question rips out of me on a sob. “Why did you stalk me?”
“I’m sorry,” he says, his voice cracking. And then he sinks to his knees, putting himself down on my level. “I failed you.”
“You took photos of me!”
“I was keeping an eye on you.”
“In my dorm?”
“I’ve never…I couldn’t trust…” He punches his fist against the nearest tree. “Fuck!”
“Don’t!” I scramble toward him before I remember he’s a dangerous stalker, and then I do remember just as I wrap myfingers around his muscled forearm. The same arm that he pushed between my virgin thighs a few hours ago.