“Fuck —that ass,” Jack growls behind me as I hear that hornet’s-nest whine behind me a second time. An instant later, my other ass cheek explodes in flames and I scream again. I hear Jack groan, and once my ears are locked into his sounds, I realize he’s breathing hard.
I howl out my pain through another two —maybe three, I lose track —rounds of strikes. As I pant for breath, Jack’s blurry figure suddenly appears in front of me. I hear a thud as he tosses the whip onto the floor.
“Fuck, Bunny —” He pushes my hair off my face as his lips land hard on mine. I whimper into Jack’s mouth as he sweepsa hairy arm all the way around me. When I squirm and buck at even the lightest touch on my throbbing ass, he bends his knees and scoops me up. I wrap my legs around him like a baby koala and kiss him back, whining because my arms are still bound and I can’t wrap them around him, too.
Jack pulls us even closer and I realize we’re both dripping sweat. The friction on my bare cock makes my hips jerk with arousal. It dawns on me that I probably stayed hard even while Jack was raining fire down on my ass.
He chuckles into my mouth and I feel him setting me down gently. “Hold tight,” he murmurs. The instant my arms are unclipped and lowered, I fling them around him, only realizing when he winces that I probably whacked him good with the heavy metal buckles on those cuffs.
Jack doesn’t complain or scold me, though. He just picks me back up and lays me down on the sofa. Under his jeans, his hard-on presses into mine. When I hiss at the friction, he straightens up long enough to pull his pants down and free his cock. I bring my hands to his furry ass cheeks and let him sink his tongue into my mouth. Our cocks are slippery with sweat and precum, sliding us closer to the edge as we rut against each other.
“Shit, Bunny —” he grits out. “Think I could come just like this.”
“Me, too,” I admit.
“Good.” He lowers his head to nip at my ear and drags his thick length along mine again. I take a deep breath, filling my nostrils with the musky scent of his arousal while my ears are full of his murmured need.
“So fucking hot —I swear to God, the way you leaned into the pain,” he groans. “Jesus Christ, Bunny, I need to feel you coming on me because I can’t hold back anymore.”
Shit — that’s closer than I ever expected to get to hearing Jack beg. I’ll fucking take it. With a grunt, I thrust against hiscock, my movements growing erratic and frantic once I feel his release, hot and slick, spilling onto my dick. I shut my eyes and moan, teetering on the edge of my orgasm as I feel my balls draw up tight to my body. Barely seconds later, I explode with a cry, painting our cocks and bellies with each pulse.
Jack drops his lips down onto mine again. The rasp of his beard burns against my skin in the best way as he fills my mouth with his tongue. Even though my pain is rising as my endorphins ebb, I’m so happy I’m nearly giddy. I didn’t let my fear win; I faced down that monster of a whip. Although my ass might be throbbing, I feel victorious.
11
ADAIR
“How’s your hand?” Gina asks as soon as we get on the phone.
“Almost a hundred percent better,” I tell her.
“Oh, good.” She sighs with relief. “I loved that idea you texted me about. I just wanted to wait until you were healed so you didn’t think I was pressuring you.”
Warmth fills my chest. Like Olivia, I’ve gotten closer with Gina since we started working together. I definitely consider her a friend rather than just a professional colleague.
“I think doing a time-lapse video of you drawing would be great. If you make it a regular series, you might get some new followers that way!” I can hear in her voice that she’s getting animated.
I’m glad this sort of thing is in Gina’s wheelhouse, because it kind of mystifies me. She talks for a while about hashtags and algorithms, most of which goes over my head, before changing the subject. We chat about the budding friendship she’s struck up with Sarah; apparently, they discovered a mutual affinity for true-crime podcasts about serial killers over iced lattes. Imagining Jack’s response when I tell him that makes me grin.
I think Gina’s about to wrap up when she says, “Hey, while I’ve got you on the phone, Olivia’s going to a big romance book convention this winter. She and I have been talking about it since the bookstore signing. Based on the response you got there, we were both thinking it would be cool if you’re able to come to this one, too.”
I’m flattered. Excitement flutters in my belly. I’d been nervous ahead of the bookstore event, but I actually had a great time meeting readers. “Really?”
“Yeah! Even though it’s months away, I’m bringing it up now because it’s a much bigger event. It would get your work in front oftonsmore eyeballs,” she enthuses. “You’d get the chance to meet and network with lots of other authors, too, so that would be good for your career.”
I feel my eyes getting bigger. This sounds like something I’d be a seriously dumb bunny to pass up. My illustrations have sold well enough — better than I expected at first — but I know I have a lot of hustling ahead of me if I want to do this full-time after I earn my degree.
“It could be a really good opportunity for you,” Gina says. “So even though you’d have to pay for your flight and hotel —”
“Wait, what?” I interrupt her. “Did you say flight? Where is this convention?”
“Las Vegas,” she says, and all those flutters in my belly turn into rocks.
“Oh. Um…” I’m a little embarrassed, but I blurt it out anyway. “I’ve only flown once. Well, twice, you know — one round trip. I hated it.”
If anything, that’s an understatement. Nothing’s ever going to convince me that human beings belong in the sky like birds. No way, no how.
“Ah, gotcha,” Gina says slowly. “I guess you could drive, but that would take a lot longer. Would Jack be able to take the time off from his job?”
