Khell'ar grunted and nodded, turning us and carrying me back to the couch, settling me in his lap. "If you refuse to be distracted, then we'd better start, unless you'd rather wait for dark. First, are you sore anywhere? Ankles, knees? Anything that would bother you while running?"

"I don't want to wait. And I'm not sore," I answered immediately, and Khell glared at me, forcing me to take a longer stock. "I really don't think so. I'm not much of a runner, though."

"I could catch you in seconds if I wanted to, but this is a game, so it's not about how fast you or I are," he said, adding with a twitch of a smile, "but I expect you to run."

I nodded, my fingers tightening in his hair, slipping against the thick and silky weave. He'd had it tied back this whole time, and I wondered what it looked like, felt like, when it was loose.

"There's no one around, just us," Khell'ar assured me. "Do you want to wear your monitor band?"

I'd taken the little device off after the first night and hadn't put it back on. Did I want to be wearing it so I could reach out to the agency during the chase? "No."

Khell didn't seem surprised, and he didn't ask me twice. "Is there anything you didn't include on your form that I can't do to you once I catch you?"

I blinked at that, studying his expression, but it was too smooth and professional again, the teasing and flirtation from minutes ago sadly missing. "I can't think of anything."

He was quiet, watching me. Was there anything I wouldn't be willing to let Khell do to me? He'd already been teasing and stretching my ass since the first night. He could spank me, choke me, chain me up…

"I'm going to do my best to scare you, petal, to be the beast," Khell said, reaching up and holding my chin. "Do you think being frightened will make a difference? Do you want me to check in with you once I catch you before I continue? It can be just a little word, or a kiss, or a touch on the hand."

Oh. Would being frightened of Khell'ar change my enjoyment of being fucked by him? I thought back to when we'd met, how careful he'd been, how it had made me think too hard. How the grip of his hand around my throat had cut through the noise and cleared my thoughts, made me his, calm and thrilled.

"No," I said. "No, I want to stay in the game, even when I'm frightened."

CHAPTER 12

Sunny

I opened the cottage door at exactly one-thirty, dressed for the first time in days.