Page 32 of Pleasure & Prey: Vol. 2

“I mean it,” Jed drawls, his voice just loud enough so they can hear him. “Come back here, and you won’t get to walk away so easily.” He doesn’t move, and I can’t move either. Not until the men’s footsteps and their figures in our lights are long, long gone, as are the sounds of the dogs.

“Oh, my God,” I mutter, edging closer to him as my legs shake. “Oh, my God, I thought I was dead. I thought I was going to get murdered.” There’s a tremor in my tone, and I stumble the last couple of steps to reach Jed, who still hasn’t said anything. “I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t mean to be out here so long,” I ramble, more and more afraid that he’s upset with me the longer he doesn’t say anything.

But even that doesn’t get a response. I can somewhat see him in the near-dark, and from the edge of my flashlight I see him slip the gun into his waistband at the back of his jeans, carefully and slowly.

“Are you…mad?” I ask, heart still pounding in my ears. I feel jumpy and jittery. The adrenaline in my veins needs an outlet, but I can’t help myself as I stand there, needing to know if he’s upset with me. “Jed, I’m⁠—”

He whirls on me, faster than what should be possible, and knocks the flashlight from my hand as he grabs me to jerk me toward him, my feet scrabbling in the debris. I feel like I’m going to fall, until one of his hands grabs my hip, balling in the material of the borrowed shirt as he drags me the rest of the way against his chest, his other arm tangling in my hair.

“Fuck, Saylor,” he snarls against my lips. “I thought you were fucking dead.” He doesn’t give me the chance to reply, though. His lips slam against mine, cutting off my words, and for the first time, I feel myself drown in it, my head reeling. Instead of running or pulling away or looking for an excuse, I kiss him back with the same amount of ferocity that he gives me, fueled on by the growl that travels from his body into mine.

“I need you,” he hisses, his words sharp and direct as his hands tighten on my hair and hip. “I fucking need you right now, Saylor, or I’m going to go kill them for touching you. Do you understand me?”

16

Atremor of fear tingles deliciously up my spine, and I whine against his lips as the full weight of his words slams into my chest. I should be terrified of him. Of what he’ll do now that he’s this worked up. I’ve never seen him like this. I’ve never seen him so frantic or aggressive.

I’ve never seen him look like a killer or a predator. Not even that first night in the swamp when I watched him kill someone pretty thoroughly with a fucking chainsaw. That should’ve been more intimidating than this. Yet somehow, this version of Jed is just so much…more.

Fuck.

“I’m sorry,” I say again, my fingers tangling in his hair as I drag him down to me. The flashlight in my hand hits the ground with a thump, and I can barely see anything at all. But I don’t need to. I’m too busy letting him devour my mouth and looking for an opening to do the same with him.

This is so fucked up that I can’t even wrap my brain around all the ways this is wrong. I definitely shouldn’t be kissing him, or wanting to rip his clothes off of him out here in the middle of the woods.

“We should go home,” he purrs against my lips. “It’s cold. You’re cold.” He sounds like he’s trying to convince himself, instead of me, and another low growl echoes between my lips.

“Is it cold?” I mutter, fingers tightening in his hair that’s way softer than it looks. “Doesn’t feel that cold to me.” I’d been freezing less than five minutes ago. Hell, I’d had to remind myself it’s not cold enough to freeze to death. But the temperature is the least of my concerns. Besides, his mouth sears mine so thoroughly that it feels like he’s heating me up from the inside.

“Oh, Saylor…” He chuckles softly, the sound low and grating. “You’re not doing a very good job of convincing me we should go back home. It really is cold out here,” he reminds me, reluctantly pulling away. “I don’t want you to freeze.” Even without being able to see him, I can feel the disappointment radiating off of him as he lets out a huff of air that brushes my jaw. “Come on.” He turns on his heel, pivoting as I scoop up my flashlight from the ground. “Let’s just⁠—”

I don’t give him time to finish. I don’t even give him a chance to take more than a few more steps in the opposite direction. With my light in hand, I lunge forward, grabbing his hand and jerking him around, mouth slanting against his once again. “I’d apologize,” I tell him in a soft hiss. “I really would, except I’m not sorry and I just really need this too. If you want to stop, though⁠—”

Now it’s my turn to get taken by surprise. Jed’s hands on my hips lift me up, the weightlessness dizzying for a few moments, before I’m spun around and slammed into a large, probably old, tree. Above me the leaves rustle, and the bark scrapes at my back as my shirt is rucked up over my skin.

“I don’t want to stop,” he snarls softly, nipping hard at my lower lip. “But I’m trying so hard here, Saylor. It’s cold, it’s dark. You’re scared—” He rests his forehead against mine with a hoarse groan. “But if you keep this up, then I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off you for the entire time it takes to get home.”

“Okay,” I agree, panting as I dip a nod he can’t see. “I got it.” Jed sighs, then moves to pull away, only for me to yank him back. “So…maybe don’t?” I offer instead, gripping his shirt in my fingers. “Unless you’re afraid of the dark?”

“Princess…” I’ve never, ever heard him sound like that before. “If there’s anything at all in the dark to be afraid of, it’s me.” His fingers dig into my hips, and before I can do anything at all, he has me in the air, my back pressed hard against the tree once more. “I want to take my time with you,” he purrs, all frenzied movements and nips to my flushed skin. “I want to take you apart and see you while I do it.” His actions belie his words, however, when he grabs my borrowed sweatpants and thrusts them down my hips.

Truthfully, I want the same things. I want to see his face and trail my fingers along his skin. I want to see the expressions he makes and taste the sounds he can’t keep back. But more than that, I’m completely feral for him. There’s a thrill in my blood that makes me feel like I’m boiling from the inside. Especially after what he’d done to those poachers.

“Would you really have hurt them?” I gasp, my fingers gripping his wrist and tugging his hand down between my thighs, where I want it.

“Yes,” he hisses against my ear. He doesn’t need the encouragement of my hand, however. Expertly, his fingers find their way, sliding against me once, then again, before they circle my clit and send a shockwave through me. “Does that bother you?”

“Not out here in the dark,” I tell him, nipping at the shell of his ear when he leans forward to bury his face against my shoulder, nose skimming my neck. He peppers my skin with harsh kisses and nips, his fingers moving from teasing to motivated. Without warning, he buries both of them inside me, pulling a gasp from my lips that he’s quick to devour between his teeth.

He has no right to be this gorgeous. I’ve always thought that. But tonight, I’m stuck on how he has no right to be so fucking good at this. Every motion, every movement, has me reeling, and I’m glad for the tree behind my back that supports my weight without complaint. Lord knows I sure as hell can’t do it.

Jed’s fingers twist, plunging deeper and drawing a sound closer to a shriek from me. This one he also swallows greedily, his face never far from mine. “Good,” he murmurs. “You never have to be afraid of me, Saylor. Never in a million years. But whenever someone touches you, I go crazy. I can’t help it, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to. Not when they’re touching you like that. Fuck.” I arch into him with another cry, body pressing against his. “I would’ve dragged them back to the cabin and kept them alive for days, cutting off one piece at a time, just for scaring you.”

I…have no idea what to say to that. And with my silence, I feel Jed start to pull away, insecurity moving into his every movement as the thrusts of his fingers become less aggressive.

“Don’t—” I reach up and grip his throat, meaning to go for his shoulder. But this works too, and I drag him back down to look me in the eye. “Don’t pull away from me. I’m not afraid of you and I’m not upset.” Maybe I should be. Lord knows I absolutely should be more than a little upset that he’s so clearly got a plan for the two men who scared me and threatened to take me back to their car with them. “You really would have?”

“Yes.” There’s no doubt in his answer. There’s no hesitation, and I can feel him swallow under my fingers. The motion causes my touch to slip, but it falls into place just under his jaw, perfectly in place for me to feel his pulse. “Even if it scares you. I can’t change how I feel.”