A hike in the hills he said- part 1

The winter sun is sharp, cutting through the crisp air with a bright, deceptive heat. Up here in the hills, the city is nothing but a distant, hazy memory spilled out across the horizon. There are no sirens here. No distractions. The only soundtrack to the afternoon is the low, primitive hum of the wind ripping through the eucalyptus trees and the frantic, occasional cry of a bird high up in the canopy.

The atmosphere is thick with a different kind of electricity. Primal. Dangerous.

"I’ll give you a five-minute start," he murmurs, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that instantly sends a shiver straight down my spine . He doesn't look at me his eyes are already scanning the perimeter, tracking the two distinct, overgrown dirt paths that branch off into the deep Australian bush. "I won't look to see which track you take..."

He pauses, turning his head just enough to catch my eye,, a slow, predatory wink cutting through the gravity of his tone. "...but make no mistake, I will find you."

The air leaves my lungs in a short, sharp breath. The hunt is on.

"The rules are simple," he says, stepping into my personal space, his body radiating a fierce, localized warmth against the winter chill. "Whatever clothes I manage to get off you, they stay off. If you manage to break my grip and run again, you do it stripped down. You can hide, you can climb, you can double back on your own tracks—but the moment I catch you, I claim a prize."

A breathless, laugh escapes me, a defiant spark flaring up in my chest. "And what do I get if I actually manage to win? What if I slip right through your fingers and you never catch me?"

He lets out a low, dark chuckle, leaning in until his chest is almost brushing mine, crowding me with his sheer presence. "That is never going to happen. But... if I decide to let you slip away just so I can have the pleasure of hunting you down all over again, I’ll match your stakes. I’ll take a piece of my own clothing off, too."

Before I can protest, he hooks a hand behind my neck, pulling me in for a sudden, bruising kiss. It tastes of cold wind and hot, unadulterated intent. He breaks away just as fast, his eyes flashing with a primal, dominant hunger.

"Be prepared to be naked, girl," he growls softly against my mouth . He spins on his heel, turning his back and closing his eyes.

"Go."

I don’t waste a single heartbeat. I bolt into the thickest part of the scrub, boots crunching violently over dried twigs and fallen bark. The cold air bites at my lungs, but inside, I am a furnace of pure adrenaline.

Five minutes. It feels like an eternity when you're waiting, but the moment you're the prey, five minutes disappears like smoke.

I choose the left fork, sprinting hard for fifty yards before diving off the main path entirely. I crash through a curtain of low-hanging wattle, the sharp, sweet scent of the bush hitting me fast as I scramble up a steep, rocky embankment. My heart is hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Where to hide?

I look back down toward the clearing. I can’t see him, but i can feel the seconds ticking away. Three minutes left. Maybe four.

I decide to play dirty. Instead of running deeper into the valley where the terrain opens up, i double back, keeping high on the ridgeline, moving parallel to the path I just took. I find a massive, ancient grey gum tree with a low fork and thick, sprawling branches. Using the rough bark for grip, i scramble up into the canopy, pulling myself onto a sturdy limb about ten feet off the ground, completely concealed by a dense cluster of olive-green leaves.

I flatten my body against the trunk, trying to quiet the ragged sound of my breathing.

Then, the silence of the hills shifts.

The wind drops, and a sudden, sharp snap of a branch echoes from the path below. My stomach drops with a delicious, terrifying jolt.

He’s here.

Through the break in the leaves, I watch him emerge. He isn't running; he’s moving with a slow, predatory confidence, his eyes tracking the ground like a wolf on a fresh scent. He stops right at the fork in the path. He tilts his head, listening to the wind, a faint, dangerous smile playing on his lips.

"I know you're close," his voice drifts up through the trees, low and intimate, as if he’s whispering it right against my neck “ and I can smell your skin on the breeze." I roll my eyes and laugh quietly … like he’s a tracker, he’s right into this roleplay!

He takes the left path—the one I took. He walks right past my tree, his broad shoulders moving with an easy, lethal grace. For a second, I think I’ve won the first round and I let out a tiny, imperceptible sigh of relief.

But he stops.

He stands perfectly still for three agonizing seconds, directly beneath my branch. Slowly he turns around. He looks up, his dark eyes piercing right through the canopy, locking onto mine with an absolute, triumphant hunger.

"Found you," he laughs.

Before i can even move, his hands grip the lower branch. He hoists himself up with effortless, terrifying strength, crowding my space. There is nowhere for me to go.

"Round one to me," he purrs, his breath hot against my neck. His hands are already sliding down to the hem of my jacket, his fingers tugging at the zipper with slow, deliberate intent. "Let's see what you're losing first..."

The metallic click of the zipper echoes like a starter pistol in the quiet of the canopy. He slides the jacket down my shoulders, his eyes never leaving mine. The sudden bite of the wind through my tshirt makes my nipples instantly harden. He knows that of course and squeezes a nipple…then the other. “Mmm I need them in my mouth…soon “.

He lets the jacket fall to the dirt below.

"One down," He leans his weight pinning me against the rough bark of the trunk. The contrast is intoxicating—the bite of the wood against my spine, the crushing heat of his chest pressing against me.

"You did well to climb," he confesses, his fingers trailing up the exposed skin of my neck. Almost had me fooled. But you breathe too loud when you're excited, girl."

A breathless, defiant laugh escapes my lips. "I was trying to be quiet!”

"You failed! “ he is brushing the sensitive skin right below my ear.

He slides his hands down to my waist, his large palms gripping my hips to steady me on the branch. He takes my hand and presses it against his jeans, I can feel how hard he is already.

“ I feel you are enjoying this already “

He reaches under my shirt, again, his fingers caressing my nipples

"Wait," I pull my shirt down . "You said if I get free, you lose a piece of clothing, too."

"I did," I can sense how turned on he is, he gently bites my neck, fuck that feels good, I think.to myself. "But you aren't free yet."

"Not yet," I whisper.

With a sudden, explosive burst of adrenaline, I drop, slipping beneath his arm and dropping to the floor, the impact jarring my ankles. Snatching my jacket off the dirt, I run down the embankment into the thick, wild undergrowth of the valley.

Behind me , a loud, delighted roar of laughter rings out through the trees.

"That's my girl!" he shouts, the sound of his boots hitting the ground a split second later echoing behind me "Run! Because when I catch you this time, I'm taking the pants!"

I am flying down the slope now, gravity doing half the work as my boots slide over damp loam and loose gravel. The bush is thicker down here in the valley, a maze of ancient bracken and fallen logs that forces me to leap, duck, and weave. Every breath burns in my chest like liquid fire, but I am grinning so hard trying not to laugh!

I hear him behind me - the heavy, rhythmic crash of his boots, the sound of tearing branches. He’s closing the distance with terrifying speed, a predator who thrives on the sprint.

Up ahead, a massive eucalyptus tree has fallen, its massive root ball ripped from the earth to form a jagged wall of dirt and tangled wood. It spans the width of the gully. To go around it means slowing down. To go over it means I’m in full sight…

Instead, i slide and scramble into a hollow clearance beneath the trunk, rolling through the rotting leaves and damp earth just as he rounds the bend behind me. I press back into the hollow slowing my breath trying to be quiet.

A second later, he hits the log.

He lands heavily right above my head, the ancient timber groaning under his weight. I can hear him breathing heavily.