Willing prey, p.21
Willing Prey, page 21
“Yes.” It’s an exhale of an answer, more of a prayer. “With you, fuck yes.”
All right, then.
The hunger in his voice fuels my need. I want to see Shane run from me. Hunt him down. Wear him out. And when there’s nowhere left for him to run, watch him yield.
“I’m so glad.” My voice is as breathless as his. “I’m getting turned on just thinking about it.”
He pulls back, eyes bright, and goes in to kiss me. I turn my head, so he hits my cheek, his stubble dragging across my skin.
“You’ve got three minutes,” I whisper. “Do you know your safe word?”
He stares at me like I just asked him to shove his hand up my pussy and put on a puppet show. “Now? You’ll hunt me now?”
“Like the good little deer you are.”
Shane barks a laugh when I use his pet name; it turns into a groan when I drop my hand to his crotch. I give him a gentle squeeze. He isn’t completely hard, but things are moving in that direction. “Think you can give me a good hunt?”
“You have no idea.” His voice is thicker. His cock is too, swelling by the second in my grip. “Sure you’re up for this? We don’t have a whistle for when you can’t catch me.” The challenge is laced with playfulness, and I struggle not to smile.
Releasing him, I step away. “Oh, I’m going to catch you. It’s just a matter of when.”
“What happens when you do?” he presses. I hold my ground—and his gaze—as he crowds me, the heat of his body almost tempting me to call off the chase and go straight to the catch.
“I devour my prey.” Staying composed is a challenge. I almost giggle; the feeling of the power shifting in my favor is intoxicating and heady. But I want the full predator experience, and judging by how Shane’s pushing me, he intends to make me work for it.
He’s about to tease me, I’m sure, but I speak before he can. “You have three minutes. Use them well.”
The grin that melted me the first time I saw it steals my breath again. He’s off, racing out of the campsite. Flames leap in my stomach. The urge to chase him makes it hard not to follow. I’ve always wanted to try this side of the hunt. Anticipation builds, my body throbbing with a surprising ache. Chasing him. Catching him. Pinning him. It’s all I can think about, every other thought shoved from my head.
Shane has no idea what he’s in for.
THIRTY
Shane
I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve never been prey before. Adding another layer to the challenge, this isn’t my woods, so I also have no idea where I’m going. The complete vulnerability of doing something new in an unknown place only adds to the rush as I jog through the forest. The brush isn’t thick here, giving a decent line of sight. I keep glancing over my shoulder, and when I see Claire following me, I break into a real run. Her laugh echoes through the trees. The pure delight in it makes me smile. Another glance over my shoulder shows she’s gaining on me. That wipes the smile off my face.
Shit.
She’s fast today. There’s no way I’m getting caught this easy. I’ll never live it down. Pumping my arms, I run faster. Eventually, I’m at a flat-out sprint, my breath coming so hard it’s all I can hear. I have no idea how close Claire is. I know I shouldn’t look back, but the suspense is killing me. Any moment, she might tackle me. But looking back will slow me down.
Don’t look.
Don’t look.
I look.
As soon as I do, I know I fucked up. She’s right there, maybe a yard away. The drop in my pace is all it takes. Claire lunges, crashing into me. We tumble across the ground. It’s not a graceful takedown. Recovering quickly, she rolls to straddle me. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes eager. My cock stirs, liking the hunger in her expression almost as much as the way she’s resting on my crotch.
“Yield.” She’s triumphant, a predator thrilled with her catch.
I nod, reaching for her. I want to pull her down, kiss her, fuck her.
Claire smacks away my hands. “Not a chance, little deer. You know how this goes. Put them behind your head.”
I do, but I don’t want to. She rises to slip off her shorts, revealing blue cotton underwear already darkening with her arousal. There’s no way I can resist touching her. Like she’s reading my mind, she pins me with a fierce look.
“Don’t move your hands.”
“Fine,” I grunt. She settles between my thighs and begins unbuttoning my pants. I feel a bit more agreeable. It’s the slowest she’s ever moved, and I can’t keep my hips from shifting as she takes her sweet time freeing my cock.
“Don’t rush me,” she instructs, watching my cock burst free. I’m throbbing for her. Her hand is warm when she wraps it around my shaft, and I fight the urge to buck into her grip. As slowly as she undid my pants, she drops her face. Exhaling across my tip, she gives me a wicked grin when I can’t control my shudder.
“Such a needy little deer. Look at you, wet for me already.” Teasing her thumb down the underside of my tip, she wipes up a bead of precum and brings it to her mouth.
“Claire,” I groan as she presses her thumb to my slit and lifts it to her lips again.
“Maybe I want you drop by drop.”
Again, she sweeps my arousal to her lips. I can’t look away. Holding eye contact, she lowers her lips to my cock. She sucks gently, her tongue swirling. The heat, friction, and suction make my hips rock. I can’t help myself. Mouth still around me, she pins my hips with her hands. I’m trying to thrust up, but she’s holding me down with all her strength.
She lowers further, taking me into her throat. Swallowing. Sounds leave my mouth I didn’t know I could make. The pressure of her hands pinning me, and her teasing tongue bring me close embarrassingly fast. It feels so good I don’t care. Again, she pulls me into her throat, letting out a little growl that vibrates through my shaft. I’m opening my mouth, ready to warn her I’m about to come. Before I can, she releases me.
What the fuck.
“Don’t stop,” I rasp. “Fuck, I was close.”
Rolling my balls in her palm, neglecting my cock, she smirks. “I know.”
I gape at her. She arches an eyebrow and grasps my cock again. Giving it one stroke, she moves from between my legs to kneel over me. All I want to do is thrust up, plunge into the perfect pussy that’s barely out of reach. Pulling her underwear to the side, she drops until my tip brushes her slit.
“Claire,” I grunt, unable to say how badly I need her to fucking ride me. I’m starving, consumed by desperation. She’s doling out salvation one crumb at a time.
“Shane,” she teases. She settles onto me but doesn’t drop all the way. Hovering, she works her hips. My tip eases into heaven, only for all pleasure to be snatched away a second later. I can’t keep still, can’t keep quiet. It’s bliss and torture, somehow the best and worst sensation simultaneously. My hands need to move and grab. My hips need to thrust. I’m a squirming mess of need and want, and I’ll do anything if it ends with me coming.
“Look how bad you want it, little deer,” she purrs. “You run, but you want it so bad.”
Even in my lust craze, I know what she’s doing, know what she wants. Unlike her all the times she’s held me off, I’m weak, ready to cave already. Fuck pride, fuck dignity. She can have everything as long as it ends with me having her.
“I want it,” I groan. “I love it. Love you running me down. Love you fucking me. Love it all. Please, Claire.”
Something primal crosses her face. She drops her hips, envelops me, slick and hot. This pussy was fucking made for me. Or maybe my cock was made for her. I don’t know. All I know is that if this is what giving in to her gets me, I’ll do it, anytime, anyplace.
“Good fucking boy,” she praises, riding me hard. “Good little deer.”
The pleasure in her voice makes me tremble. Claire feels it, eyes closing for a beat, teeth sinking into her bottom lip.
“Fuck, you feel amazing,” she rasps. “And you looked so good running from me. Waiting to chase you down almost killed me.”
My cock jerks inside her. I can’t keep from letting out a choked “Fuck” as she leans her upper body back, pushing her hips forward. The angle makes my cock glide along her front wall. She gasps, pussy grabbing me. I pump my hips, groaning when it makes her squeeze tighter.
Her smile is indulgent, her voice sweet. “You like hearing how good you are, how good you make me feel, don’t you?”
Too far gone for words, I nod frantically. Every move she makes drags a groan from me. I’ve never made this much noise during sex in my life, but I don’t care. Shame doesn’t exist in her orbit. How can it when she’s looking at me like I’m the best thing she’s ever seen?
Claire leans forward, covering my lips with hers. The kiss is rough, all tongue and teeth. Her hips rock frantically.
She releases my mouth long enough to growl, “Use your hands.”
In an instant, I’ve put a hand in her hair, the other working her clit. Her pussy tightens around me, the first shaky spasms of an oncoming orgasm. She gasps into my mouth, and I swallow it down, wanting more, greedy for her. I can’t hold off much longer. My cock tenses inside her. Tugging her mouth from mine, I guide it to my neck, hoping I’m right, that this will be what we both need to crest the edge. She takes my offering without hesitation, sinking her teeth into the side of my throat.
There’s a deep, guttural sound, and at first, I don’t realize it’s me. Claire orgasms, crying out, releasing my throat to sob nonsense against it, hands clawing my shirt. That’s the permission I need to explode. My hips jerk wildly, curses rolling from my lips like I’ve never had an orgasm in my life. Grabbing her hips, I move her roughly up and down on top of me, prolonging her release and intensifying mine. I lose track of where I am, who I am. There’s nothing except her and pleasure.
When my orgasm ebbs and the world exists again, I’m panting. She rests on my chest. I smooth her hair back from her face, and she presses up to a seated position, giving me a sated smile. I smile back, but I have a question. The answer should be obvious, but I foresee myself asking obvious questions from now on.
I’ll communicate till she begs me to shut up.
“We’re together, right? You’re mine?”
She laughs, leaning back down, hair falling around us like a curtain. Pressing a sweet kiss on my lips, then another, she stops just long enough to say, “Yes, we are, and I am.”
“That means technically, despite what just happened, I caught you,” I mutter into her mouth.
Claire smacks my chest. “Semantics.” Her voice grows serious. “Did you like it? We don’t have to do it ag—”
“Loved it,” I interrupt. “But I think you could tell.”
“Just making sure.” She smiles but studies me like she isn’t sure she believes me. “I know being the one hunting is what you’re into.”
My chuckle surprises her, so I know what I say next will be a shock. “Honestly? I was never into it until you.”
She sits up, and I stretch, trying to palm one of her breasts. Staying out of reach, she asks, “But what about the other women you hired? Or Margot? And what do you mean you were never into it? You propositioned me.”
Admitting it is embarrassing, but if we’re doing this communication thing, I have to. “I didn’t know hunting was something people did until that party. It…woke something up. I tried it out with a few women, but it didn’t feel right. Something was missing.” I opt not to share my coffee shop lurking or how I impatiently waited for her and Keith to split. Maybe I’ll take those to the grave.
“But this feels right?” She looks puzzled. I don’t blame her. I’m in my head, and it took me a while to realize. Now it seems like the most obvious thing in the world.
“It does,” I say simply. “You were what was missing. It was never going to be right without you.”
Claire blinks at me, and I think her eyes are misty. Her lips are back on mine, hungry and urgent, her fingers wrapping around the back of my neck. My cock stirs beneath her, and she makes a surprised noise into my mouth. I’m already rolling us over, settling my hips between her thighs.
I’m not chasing her. At least not this time.
THIRTY-ONE
Claire
To Shane’s dismay, I don’t immediately move in with him. I considered it, but decided to wait and see where we are when the apartment’s lease ends. September sneaks up on us, the rest of the summer flying by in a blur of hunts, hiking dates, and way too many episodes of Real Estate Wreck. All too soon, school’s back in session. However, the end of my apartment lease is welcome.
When it arrives, I act like I’m considering renewing the lease without Sydney. Shane riots in the most Shane-like way possible and makes a PowerPoint detailing the reasons I must move in with him. I let him get halfway through before admitting I’m fucking with him.
It’s November 1, and I’ve been living here for three weeks. Gretchen has moved in with her daughter. Margot and I are two peas in a people-pleasing pod, and I still haven’t given up on getting her to fire her miserable client.
I’m plucking a rogue chin hair when my phone chimes on the bathroom counter. Picking it up no longer gives me an anxiety spike. I haven’t unblocked Keith’s number. The satisfaction I felt knowing he was trying to contact me, and I was ignoring him, pales in comparison to my current happiness. Shane says they rarely cross paths at the firm, and I’m not sure which one of them is responsible for that. Swiping my phone open, I read the text.
Shane Underwood: Almost home, little deer. Let’s say I’m sick and skip tonight. *cough* *cough*
Shane Underwood: We’d have the house to ourselves…
Caine’s been staying in the guest room I used to occupy while he works at the Abattoir. Though he’s going to the charity event with us tonight, he’s usually out till all hours creeping and crawling anyway. The promise of an empty house for sexy hide-and-seek isn’t as tempting as Shane would like it to be.
After I spent an hour doing my hair and makeup? Not a chance, I respond.
I’m not particularly eager to go to a silent auction, but this one’s benefiting Pawsitively Perfect Pet Rescue, which is run by Marianna Crowe, the wife of one of Shane’s partners. Margot volunteers at the rescue and helped plan tonight’s event. I also want to support her, so we are not skipping. It’s a worthy cause, and an opportunity to push Shane a smidge closer to adopting a dog.
If they play a slideshow of canine senior citizens looking for good homes, he’ll be putty in their paws. So far, his only argument against getting a dog has been that it’s easier not to. Ridiculous coming from a man who makes so many things in his life far more challenging than they need to be.
Stepping back from the mirror, I give myself a once-over. Not too shabby. A clingy navy-blue midi dress with a low neckline and long sleeves. I haven’t worn it since last winter, and it’s snugger than I remembered, so I broke out the shapewear. I’ve pulled my hair into an updo of sorts, leaving enough pieces loose so that if it starts coming apart, it should pass as intentionally “undone.” Hopefully.
There’s a chance Keith and Naomi could be there tonight, and I’m petty enough to admit that I’d like to look a little nicer than I did the last time I saw them. Plus, there’s that law of the universe dictating that one will only run into an ex when looking their absolute worst. Wear something sloppy and have a bad case of hormonal acne? Every person I’ve ever dated will somehow cross my path. There’s a chance the reverse is true, and if getting fancied up increases my odds of not seeing Keith? I’ll go full glam.
Finally satisfied, I hit the light switch and head into the bedroom. Sitting cautiously on the edge of the bed, I slip my heels on. I’m fastening the second shoe when there’s a knock on the door followed by Caine’s voice. “Can I come in?”
Scanning the room to make sure nothing personal is out, I decide it’s safe. “Yeah.”
Popping into the room, he holds out his hands, a tie in each. “I need a woman’s perspective. Which one of these is better?”
Squinting, I try to find a difference. Both ties are black, like his shirt, jacket, and pants. “They look the same.”
With a sigh, he steps closer. It’s only then I realize there’s a subtle light-black-on-darker-black pattern on both. Skeletons in the left hand, butterflies—or maybe moths?—in the right.
He fidgets, and I fight a smile. “The auction benefits dogs, and dogs like bones, so…”
“Skeletons it is.” Caine heads for the bathroom, adding, “You clean up good.”
Downstairs, the front door slams.
“Thanks,” I say, rising from the bed. A glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand shows Shane’s going to have to hustle to get ready.
Footsteps hurry up the stairs, and then Shane walks into the room, already undoing his shirt. Pausing, he takes in my dress and lets out a low whistle. Abandoning his buttons, he stalks across the bedroom toward me. Flames lick my cheeks.
“Oh, you’ve done it now,” he murmurs under his breath, eyes intense. “We’re not going anywhere tonight, and you have no one to blame but yourself.”
“We have to go. Think of the dogs.” I scuttle sideways as he lunges for me. Snagging my arm, he pulls my back to his chest, keeping me upright as my heels skitter across the floor.
He scoffs, his breath on my neck making me shiver. “Fuck the dogs. I’m going to—”
“Nope. That’s bestiality.” Caine’s voice rings out from the bathroom, his words echoing off the tiles.
Shane’s frustrated exhale sends another tingle streaking down my spine. Keeping an arm hooked above my breasts, his other hand gripping my waist, Shane turns us to face the bathroom doorway, and Caine. “What are you doing in here?”
