She gasped, catching the dim shine of X’s above a glowing smile. The mask glowed a faint green, lighting up her insides as terror shot through her. It was just like the design on his letter.
“Gabriel?” she called, her voice sounding small in the dark. She scooted back, slipping further into the trees, and her back brushed against something vine-like. Her hands smoothed across the surface as her breath caught, and the figure moved closer in the dark.
Trying to think rationally, Eris acknowledged that he might not be able to speak so clearly behind that mask. She had one on her wall at home that she liked to fantasize about, and he had matched it almost to a tee. Only the color was different.
The figure moved closer, and Eris edged backward. The vines behind her were soft, but strong, stronger than a vine-like plant should be. She’d seen vines growing down lattice and even across the ground as coverage, so there had to be something beneath making this firm. If she ran into it in the dark, it wouldn’t feel the best, but it didn’t feel like it was going to give under her weight either. What was it?
Moving down the barrier as Gabriel grew closer, his glowing mask bobbing with his steps, she felt the vines stretch across the space until she connected with the bark of another tree. It really was some sort of barrier.
Interesting. If only I had the time to look this over right now.
Pushing past the barrier, she tried to move away from the tree and found another of the vine-covered barriers. It almost reminded her of a wall, and she started dragging her fingertips across it as she jogged along, Gabriel momentarily forgotten as her curiosity grew.
Vines. Trees. Vines. Trees.
Whatever structure spread between the trees acted like both a guide and a barrier, and a few trees down it abruptly stopped. Eris stumbled, shocked back to the moment where she remembered she was supposed to be running from the masked man behind her.
Turning into the open space, she reached out blindly to either side trying to see if there was more of the barrier. Nothing immediately touched her fingertips and, determined to not be caught too quickly by Gabriel, Eris took a breath and darted off, fanning her hands around her like a madwoman.
Was she going to be caught? Most likely. The barriers in the area kept deterring her progress, exactly as the maze he’d mentioned would. It didn’t take long for her to slam into another one, stunning her for a second.
Eris blinked, surprised. The impact was jarring, but it didn’t hurt, and she bounced off with little more than a jolt up her spine. Nothing prickly hit her senses, and the barrier bowed but didn’t break.
“Figure out where we are yet, little vixen?”
Eris screamed, jumping further back from the barrier. The voice was close, but notthatclose, and before she could overthink it she spun on her heel, taking off to her right.
The sound of footsteps growing closer behind her made her pussy clench with anticipation, and darting a glance over her shoulder, she found herself smiling instead of screaming.
She’d always wanted a masked man to hunt her down and fuck her.
Chapter Thirteen
Gabriel
He chased after her, attempting to throw out his hands as he went to keep from hitting the barriers. He vaguely knew how far apart they were width-wise, but where the twists and turns were, he had no idea. He’d only taken a peek earlier while Eris rested to ensure he knew where the entrance was, and that their cabin was in perfect position like Derek said.
Not that he would ever doubt the Ranch owner, he just wanted to see it for himself.
With the shadows around them it was much harder to see her as they ran. Gabriel knew the mask might be a bit of a burden, but he heard Eris’ sharp breaths, imagined the way her eyes would widen and wetness would pool between her legs. This was her fantasy they were playing out, but it was quickly becoming his too.
Weaving between the trees would be easier without a bunch of Virginia Creepers covering and cushioning the barriers built between the trees. It acted as a hidden hedge maze from what he could gather, except the Virginia Creepers turned a fiery red in autumn and he was increasingly interested in that. Eris would look spectacular running through a path of red, and his cocktwitched at the idea. As for right now, the plant worked to make running into a wooden lattice of the fence less painful, but it still left a bit of a sting.
Eris’ panting breaths ahead of him silenced the noise in his head, and he charged forward. It didn’t matter if this was a maze or an open field; he planned to catch and thoroughly fuck her. They could come back and admire the scenery tomorrow.
His boots slid on the ground as he pivoted at the last minute, thinking he saw her spinning to the left in the shadows. It was funny how in the dark, hidden by trees, shades of black bled to grays and he imagined he could make out things despite seeing no light. He could just be guessing that she’d changed directions, or maybe this so-called maze was to blame.
But—no—he heard her breathing to the left. Changing course, he didn’t discover if there was a barrier there or not and shot out his right arm.
There… he could feel the ends of her hair and heard Eris’ lively scream. Deciding he’d had enough running blindly in the dark, he pounced on her, just like he’d done hours before, throwing both of them to the ground.
It was a calculated move given the various barriers around them, and the chance of driving her head into a tree was possible. However, they went down without an obstacle, Eris’ loud cries echoing in the dark.
He cushioned her head again with his hand as they fell, so he didn’t accidentally give her a concussion or a bruise. His other hand went to work sliding down her body, caressing over her full hip before he came to the end of her shorts. His cock throbbed with the realization she’d put on such a tiny outfit for him.
From where he’d stood in the darkness, he’d been kind of able to make it out in the light from the porch when she’d stepped out of the cabin. More interested in tracking her movements than her clothing, the moment she’d appeared, he’dmoved deeper into the trees to be ready when she’d run. As fun as it was to stumble around in the dark, if he lost her, they would be at this game for hours before the real fun started. And he wanted her to feel the thrill of being chased; not to ever be in real danger.
Feeling the crotch of her shorts, he found it was little more than the seam of the jean shorts themselves. It was frayed, and giving it a teasing tug as Eris whimpered, he found that the material wouldn’t hold. “Look at you, all dressed up just for me.”