Lucas’s heart soared as her high-pitched laugh filled the forest and she ran down the path, but not before she turned back to frown at the strange lumberjacks, as if she was willing them to hit the road. Her eyes bugged when they all set out after her, and she nearly ran into an oak tree before correcting her course and disappearing around another curve in the path.
One of the other lumberjacks laughed and hollered, “Maybe the one who catches her fucks her first and gets to keep her to himself!”
They all gave chase as her strident voice echoed through the dense foliage. “Fuck yourself, you lumberjack dickweed!”
He didn’t even attempt to hold back his lusty laughter and sped off after her as she squealed in response.
They rounded another curve and began to gain on her and that lush body of hers when the first lumberjack caught up to them and muttered, “Damn, she’s somethin’. Hey, Lucas, would you consider sharing? I wouldn’t mind feeling those plump red lips sucking my—”
Lucas saw red, the chase-and-possess instinct going deeper than he’d expected, and he rammed his shoulder into the guy’s chest, and they tumbled off the path. They landed with him on top, and he pulled back to land a punch on the much bigger guy and barely stopped himself. He looked down the path and saw that the others were gaining on Josh.
His adversary chuckled and said, “Be a shame if she winds up with four randy guys giving her the full lumberjack fantasy experience instead of the two of you.” There was humor as well as challenge in his eyes.
Joseph wouldn’t have asked them to help if they hadn’t agreed to his parameters. Would he?
A toothy grin spread across the guy’s face. “I haven’t heard her shout ‘rainbow’ yet. I’ll bet her pussy is as sweet and ripe as a Fredericksburg peach in July. Better hurry because I love peaches, and we have every intention of giving her options.”
He heard Violet’s frightened squeak farther down the path. He had to get to her and Josh before this bullshit got worse. Disgusted with himself, he shoved the guy’s head back into the grassy undergrowth, leaped up, and sprinted to catch up.
* * * *
Grateful for the hours she spent fast-walking in her neighborhood to build her stamina, Violet ran on, growling under her breath. “I’m gonna kill them. No underwear? I’d like to see them try to run with unsupported double-D testicles. My poor girls,” she added as she cradled her bouncing breasts in one forearm while watching for tripping hazards. “And what the hell is in this pack? It weighs a ton!”
So far, the path had been clearly marked, as Joseph had told her it would be, but she was running out of steam. Judging by the panting and stomping behind her, she was moments away from being tackled if she didn’t find a reserve of energy and fast. She was also curious about the tussle she’d heard moments before. Had someone fallen? Were they fighting?
Looking behind her, she squealed, finding all the energy reserve she needed as one of the men from the other group reached out to her, inches away from snagging her by the hair.
A blur of white flashed into her peripheral vision, and suddenly, her arm felt as though it was being pulled from the socket. The world spun, and she tumbled end over end, landing in an ungraceful heap with the backpack still on her shoulders.
When she’d regained her breath, she looked up into six pairs of concerned eyes clustered around her in a circle.
Stranger Number One said, “She looks okay to me.”
Stranger Number Two cocked his head and looked her body over. “She doesn’t have wings. I though nymphs had wings.”
Oh, that’s right. This is fantasy. I’m a horny nymph about to get laid, but by two guys, not six! That’s not my fantasy. That’s a gang bang!
“Give her some air. Baby girl?” Her world turned right-side up as Josh and Lucas squatted down to stroke her arms.
“What happened?”
Lucas helped her sit up. “You were about to do a face plant into an oak tree, little nymph. I grabbed you, and we got our feet tangled when I tried to cushion your fall.” She noticed he had leaf debris in his hair and stuck to the fuzzy flannel of his shirt.
She stood on wobbly feet, and her gaze darted around the group and then at small clearing ringed by boughs of the white aromatic flowers. The flowers were the same as the ones she wore in her hair, or had been before the pretty little wreath was crushed underfoot by one of the extraneous lumberjacks.
Following her gaze, he grabbed up the wreath and patted the bedraggled petals. He gave her an apologetic grin as he held it out to her, and she had to struggle to stay mad. Mad. Oh, that’s right. I’m supposed to be an irate, horny nymph. I must’ve hit my head when I landed.