Perhaps it was the moment she left the park behind, the exact second she stepped through the gate and out of J.C.’s world. Or maybe it was when she finally found herself alone. The press of hard, male bodies had surrounded her from all sides inside Hard Delights, and the mere sight of a muscled chest made her breath hitch as she ran for the gate.She was glad to be away from them; away from all of them.Only a thin sliver of moonlight penetrated the thick foliage of the forest, but it was enough to illuminate a few feet in front of her. Branches snapped beneath her feet as she sprinted between massive pines and sycamores. She hadn’t bothered to stop and lace up her sandals when she’d bolted from the shed, and the soles of her feet had taken a beating as she ran over the rough terrain.Her feet would heal. The stitch in her side would disappear. Her lungs would stop burning and the lactic acid igniting her leg muscles would eventually recede. But the pain that ripped through her heart with every ragged breath would still be there tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that.Eve didn’t want to think about it.
