The Hot Brothers Ch. 19

The distant sound of a drum didn't hinder me as it had when I began my escape. I could run in the direction of the sound and away from Roy's voice that seemed to pursue me. Perhaps toward what the preacher called heathens of the forest. To be called a heathen by a man like that meant whoever he spoke of wasn't anyone to fear. The ones doing the name calling were the concerning sort I didn't want to be anywhere near.

Thankfully, the treeline wasn't far, and no one in the cult deemed me worthy of capturing. When I did arrive, out of breath and calves enflamed, little flashes of light welcomed me into this mysterious world with a clear path of smooth dirt. I could only assume the flashes to be fairies, leading me to sanctuary in the heart of the forest where the distant thud beckoned.

But wasn't that the sound as the hunt began? As the wolves were freed.

Caleb. I spun, searching the darkness that didn't allow me too much vision beyond silhouettes. But further in, I could see the traces of golden light, which seemed like it must be from torches. The light of the heathens that welcomed me.

And I would love to be discovered by Caleb. To be overpowered--

But that left me with John. No. I needed to remain hidden from both brothers. They weren't what I wanted. My life needed to return to normal, not involve babies or John's sadism.

But what if Caleb waited in the shadows along the path. He could easily pounce on me as I sought a place to hide and wait. And if he did, he'd do the most amazing things to me.

My every cautious step forward had my mind racing with all the ways Caleb might capture me. Whether it be him pinning me to a tree or tossing me onto the dirt path to thoroughly ravish me. Both were possible. He could also drag me away with a hand covering my screams as I tried to furiously kick and escape him. But he could easily have me laid out on a mossy boulder within seconds, binding me in a way that might make me question whether he was a Fae of this forest.

I couldn't let my illicit thoughts consume me. They got me into this mess. I would be captured again if I couldn't think clearly. I quickened my steps, closing in on where light trickled through a wall of thick foliage ahead. Where the slow drumming grew louder. And where I heard music begin, but not just any music. Strings. As though these heathens had a love for the arts.

I peered through the leaves into the torch-lit area that must have stretched for a while, spotting happy people and festival booths. Singles, groups of friends, and even doting couples were within sight. Some sneaking in or out of colorful little caravan wagons that looked like tiny homes of the traveling festival workers. All wore renaissance attire. A few were even in a scarlet sort of corset dress similar to mine--though longer. It did seem close enough to match what I currently wore, giving me the possibility to blend in to the crowd.

But what if this was another one of John's games. What if he'd wanted me to think I could find escape here. He'd done it before. And just as before, Caleb allowed it to happen under his watch as well.

At least this was still better than Roy and the cultists who were all in what should have been a church. To take the steps out there meant exposing myself. If I waited in the woods, the most bright light to shine upon me would be the fireflies.

"Are you lost?" John's question hadn't even finished before I jolted and spun to see him. He could have hidden in plenty of places given the minimal light. And yet, the mystery and his demanding tone ignited a shameful dip in my stomach.

The sudden onset of breaths reminded me of just how tight this corset squeezed me. But I couldn't move.

"Or maybe--" he stepped into view from behind a tree "--reminders of home weren't as fun as you thought."

"John, I..." Why were words so difficult in his presence? Even Caleb, in all his wonder, didn't cause the visceral reaction John did. This man, though sadistic as he may have been, always sent my mind reeling. An antihero I would absolutely love the thoughts of if not for the reality of him.

His slow saunter my way seemed to push all noise and activity from my senses. "Stop pretending you don't want this, Julie."

I loved how my name rolled off his tongue. In all honesty, I had since the first time he said it.

The calm control in his timbre had my knees wobbling beneath me. It was nothing like the boring men like Roy. The ones I easily escaped by imagining something more in life--something magical in a faraway place.

In a way, I did want the gorgeous man who drew too close. But he was an unpredictable person who could do any number of things, be they pleasurous or painful--but pain was what he had planned for me. I could see it in the flare in his eyes; feel it in the steady swells of his chest. Even the set of his barely lit brow informed me that I had no say in whatever came next.

I'd infuriated him earlier, cutting deep enough that his genuine resentment of my words surfaced and caused him to storm out. And there would probably be unbearable consequences for that encounter.

My tall captor stepped in front of me. "You wanted to be set free to go home, but you couldn't even spend five minutes surrounded by what misery would await you."

But I had my home and my flower shop. I didn't have to be around anyone, not even Roy. But the thought of the way he still wanted me made me shudder.

"I'm going to be doing to you the very thing you stay up late at night reading about and wishing for," he said.

And I didn't want any of those fictional scenarios to go beyond being words on a page.

His next step that had his body against mine gave me few options for escape. At best an attempt to force my way backward through the foliage I stood against. It seemed to be more of a weak barrier anyway.

The torchlight that trickled through to him added to the menacious expression that I knew to always precede pain. Raising a finger to my chin, he tipped my face upward. "I'm going to punish and fuck you until the sun comes up."

No matter the way my body responded to him, I couldn't let that become my fate. There was no happy ending with what he wanted, only a loss of myself. And knowing the dreadful future of staying with him, I pushed his chest. Not that it budged, but he was shocked enough that I forced myself backward through the leaves of the narrow bush and spun to run into the crowds in the festival.