Younger, Bree - Burn [All American Vampires 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Bree Younger Page A

shoulder a glancing blow. Knocked off balance, she went down hard. For a moment she lay there, defeated, breathing through the pain, before she found that core of determination deep inside her and struggled to her feet. Glancing around she realized she had no idea where she was or in which direction she had been running. No matter which way she chose, she could be heading straight back to the truck for all she knew. She paused, listening for the sound of pursuit, but there was only the distant sound of frogs croaking and crickets chirping. Damn, she was too tired. But she couldn’t stop, so she randomly chose a direction and moved forward as fast as her aching limbs would carry her.
    She didn’t know exactly what Ty was. All she knew was that she had to get away from him. He had hurt her—her mind shied away from the image of exactly what he had done to her—and she didn’t know what he might do to her again if he caught her.
    When she had regained consciousness in the truck, she had lain there for a few moments, trying to get her bearings. At first she hadn’t known where she was or who she was with. Then it had all come back in a rush. Ty. His burns. Getting him to the barn. And then…the pain. A whimper of fear had risen in her throat but she had beaten it back when she realized that he was right beside her in the driver’s seat of her SUV. She pretended to still be out, keeping her breathing steady and her eyes closed, but it had been a near thing. When he had reached over and touched her face, she had almost flinched back at the contact. Her muscles tensed until she had deliberately relaxed them, afraid he would notice and realize she was awake. But he hadn’t. His attention had been focused on his driving, and she had managed to keep up the pretense until he had finally stopped the truck and gotten out.
    She had slowly turned her head and watched him through slitted eyes as he had moved with a panther-like grace into the woods to the left of the SUV and disappeared from sight. Barely able to believe her luck, she had stealthily slipped from the vehicle, not daring to shut the door in case he heard the noise and came back to check. The surrounding darkness of the woods had offered no sanctuary. She was completely lost and had no idea which direction, if any, led to safety. So she had simply headed out in the opposite direction that he had taken, praying that by the time he came back she would be long gone.
    Now here she was. Totally lost in the middle of God only knew where. She stumbled over a limb and paused for a moment, trying to get her bearings, when suddenly out of the woods behind her, a very large form appeared, hurtling toward her at an incredible rate of speed.
    She screamed as he grabbed her from behind, his hands closing like iron around her and jerking her against him. She struggled like a wildcat, trying to pull free, kicking and clawing at whatever piece of his anatomy was within reach. His voice growled in her ear, but she ignored it, stomping down as hard as she could on his foot. Her elbow caught him in a rib, and she felt the grip on her loosen fractionally. She threw her head back in a sudden jerk against his face, and he released her with a sharp cry.
    Libby wasted no time, scrambling away from him and turning to run. She’d taken only two halting steps before he tackled her, taking her to the ground with ridiculous ease. They went down hard, but he turned at the last moment, his arms wrapping around her, and took the brunt of the fall. They landed in a heap on the ground, with Libby atop Ty.
    For a few seconds she was still, held immobile by shock and fear. Then she began to fight and cry out. He rolled over, placing her beneath him. He used the weight of his body to hold her down, his arms grasping her wrists and pushing them to the ground above her head.
    Still she struggled, twisting and straining to get away, and he let her, using his body simply to restrain her. Finally, she gave up,