He snorts. “I don’t believe that. Not after today’s hike.”
“I figure I’ll eat later,” I say with a shrug I hope comes across as nonchalant. “That smells good, but it’s pretty heavy.” I look Jack dead in the eye. “And I’m figuring I might need to be light on my feet tonight.”
The flare of lust I see in Jack’s eyes burns brighter and hotter than the campfire. “Oh, really?” He sets his plate down on a stump, looking at me like he’s just decided he wants to sink his teeth intomefor dinner.
I can do this. I’ve got proper hiking boots on, so I’m way better equipped than some times when I’ve sprinted through the dark forest with Jack hot on my heels. Plus, the moon is nearly full, its silver light glimmering off the lake.
Then again, Jack’s got more…suppliesat his disposal. My eyes dart to the coil of nylon rope sitting on the lowered tailgate of his truck. I hear a low, sinister chuckle and realize he just caught me eyeballing it.
When I stand, Jack gets up, too. He moves behind me so he can pull my body against his. He gathers my hair into a ponytail before tracing a slow, sensual line with his tongue down one side of my neck.
My hum of pleasure turns into a jagged gasp when he abruptly yanks that ponytail back and sinks his teeth into the bend where my shoulder meets my neck. He sucks the sensitive skin into his mouth, worrying it with his teeth and biting until the pain makes me moan.
My cock is hard by the time Jack takes his mouth off me. He brings his lips to my ear. “Love the sounds of pain you make. Turns me on to hear you moaning for me, sobbing for me, screaming for me.” He grazes my earlobe with his teeth. “You want to make my cock hard tonight?”
My entire body is tense from the pain still blooming red on my neck and the promise of more. “Please, Jack,” I whisper.
“Good boy.” I think I’d give him anything he wants just to hear those two syllables in his deep voice.
Sliding a hand down my body, Jack chuckles when he gets to my hard-on and gropes me roughly. “If that’s what you want, I’ll give it to you, but I’m not holding anything back.” Between the low rumble of his words, his breath against my ear and whatever awaits in those dark woods, I’m trembling.
“I want your tears, I want your submission —I want you in pieces. I promise to put you back together afterwards, but you’re going to earn it. I want to fucking shatter you.”
Jack gives my cock another squeeze. “Don’t forget your safeword tonight.”
Oh God.
13
JACK
Iwalk over to the truck so I can pick up the rope lying there, making a show of looping it over my shoulder. The alarm in Bunny’s eyes ignites a spark deep inside of me.
“You’ve got thirty seconds, like usual,” I say as I walk back up to him. “Starts now,” I snap as I bring my hand down hard on his ass. Like a scared rabbit, he bolts for the trees. Damn if it doesn’t send a rush of blood into my cock, just like it does every time.
I wonder if he’s going to light out for that ravine right away or if he’ll head towards the bluff. My money’s on the ravine, so after I make sure the fire is doused —which gives him way more than thirty seconds, but I wanted him to feel that sense of urgency — I set off at a ninety-degree angle from where he ran into the woods. He probably plans to circle around once he’s out of earshot, and he can’t go in the other direction unless he wants to swim through the lake.
I stop in the shadow of a big oak when I remember something. Taking one end of the rope over my shoulder, I tie it into a lasso —a perfect snare for rabbit hunting.
I’m not sure if I’ll admit it to him or not, but Bunny booking this camping weekend was a low-key stroke of genius. I hadn’trealized how tense I’d been lately, or how much I’d missed just spending hours in the woods without any responsibilities. Sure, I’m outdoors a lot for work, but I’m always thinking about what I have to do once I get back to my desk.
There’s another big reason why today’s solid, strenuous hike lifted my spirits so much, though. When we got back to camp, I feltgood. It was a real fucking relief.
For weeks now, I’ve been trying my damndest to dismiss a little flicker of fear that I’m starting to lose my edge. That I don’t have the same strength or stamina I always have. That I’m getting fucking old.
I told myself it was a stupid thing to worry about; Lord knows, I chase Bunny through the woods behind my property with as much energy and enthusiasm as ever. But something about the inevitability of my birthday —not to mention seeing those goddamn gray hairs in the mirror —felt the opposite of reassuring.
As I head deeper into the forest, breathing in the warm, humid smell of a summer night, I let my mind wander. I think back to packing last night so we could hit the road early. Bunny gave me a funny look when I threw my new tent into the bed of my truck.
“That’s not your tent,” he said.
I snorted. “Whoelse’stent would it fucking be? It’s new.”
“But yours doesn’t leak or anything.”
“Of course not. Butyourtent is a piece of shit, and this one’s big enough for both of us,” I said brusquely.
For some reason, I didn’t want him seeing how happy it had made me to buy that tent. Way back when I was still with Nathaniel, I could never talk him into a weekend of camping, and after that ended, I just assumed I’d be in my own, just-big-enough-for-me tent until the end of time. But getting into all ofthat with Bunny seemed like a lot of words for little payoff. He could see I’d bought it for the both of us.
