Rabbit Hunt (Dark Trails #3)

Chapter 1

ADAIR

“I’m turning thirty-six, not six. I’m not a fucking child, and I don’t need — or want — to do anything for my fucking birthday.” Jack folds his arms and glowers at me.

“Well, we didn’t do anything for your thirty-fifth last year because of the timing of the wedding and all,” I argue. “I told you I felt bad about that.”

“And I told you I didn’t give a shit,” Jack retorts.

“I thought you were just saying that to be nice,” I say, my voice smaller.

Jack rolls his eyes with a snort. “Nice?”

“Touché,” I concede with a sigh of irritation. Bossy asshole. I don’t think I’m the real reason for his grumpy mood, though.

I know that for sure when Jack stalks over to the mirror above the console table. Running a hand over his beard, he scowls at his reflection like he’s annoyed at it. “Goddammit,” he snaps.

“What’s really the matter?” I ask, putting my tablet down on the sofa next to me. It’s been raining on and off all morning, so I’ve just been hanging out in the living room, sketching and trying — mostly unsuccessfully — to ignore the low-key anxiety in my guts when I think about tomorrow.

Jack doesn’t answer me. Blowing out a harsh sigh, he rakes his thick, dark-brown hair back into a ponytail with his fingers. Holding it away from his face, he turns his head from one side to the other, eyes narrowed in a contemplative squint. “Maybe I’ll just cut it off,” he says abruptly.

“No!” I protest.

Jack aims a hard stare through the mirror at my reflection, his dark eyes meeting my blue ones. “You’re being awfully opinionated about another man’s hair.”

My jaw drops. “You’re kidding me, right? The entire reason I grew my hair out was because you wanted me to, and you badgered the shit out of me until I did!” When he just smirks in response, a brilliant idea pops into my head. I hop to my feet and glare at him with my hands on my hips.

“If you cut yours, I’m cutting mine.” I use a challenging tone, but I’m secretly hoping Jack doesn’t call my bluff. Once it grew out, I realized my wavy, dark-blond hair looks better long — although I’d never admit that to him.

He frowns, as if that consideration never entered his head before. “Don’t you dare,” he growls, a moment before his eyes drift back to the mirror. “Maybe I’m just getting too old for this shit,” he says with a sigh as he lets go of his hair.

The sight of it tumbling over his shoulders makes my belly flutter. Jack’s hair is so fucking sexy. How it looks, the way it smells when I bury my face in it, the feel of it against my skin… fuck. He better not cut it. I pull my lower lip between my teeth and gnaw on it.

My mind goes back to his words. Too old for this shit. “Does this have something to do with your birthday coming up?”

“No… Not just that,” he mutters. His expression is still grumpy, but the fire has gone out of him and he doesn’t meet my eyes. “Noticed a couple of grays this morning.”

Huh. I actually started seeing the occasional silver strand amidst the nearly-black ones a while ago. But I don’t think this is the best time to tell him that. “You know, I’m not going to think you’re any less sexy with a few gray hairs,” I say instead. “Honestly… I think you’ll look even hotter.”

Jack snorts out a laugh. “Dumb bunny,” he says, but his tone is lighter.

I tip my head to one side, getting into the idea once I start picturing it. “Oh yeah, it’ll be hot when your hair goes kind of salt-and-pepper. I just know you’ll have this silver-fox, papa-bear, daddy-dom thing going on.”

“Ugh — fuck no!” Jack’s aghast expression makes me crack up. “A what-what? Do all those come from your smut books? No, no and no. Don’t you ever let any of those phrases come out of your mouth again,” he says sternly. “Not if you know what’s good for you.”

I roll my eyes. “OK, OK — I promise.” I’m still snickering a little as I walk over to the box next to the bookshelf Jack built me for me.

I check — again — to make sure I have all the supplies I need for tomorrow, when a local independent bookstore is hosting a book signing for my client-turned-friend Olivia, known to her fans and readers as Calla Sylvan.

It still feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck that we met at a book convention when she was looking for a cover artist for her queer shifter romance novels — and that she loved my fan art.

So when Olivia got the chance to do an event introducing a special edition of her very first series featuring new covers I drew, she asked me to do it with her.

I designed a limited-edition bookplate for readers coming to the event and agonized over how many to order.

They’re now nested into a smaller box inside the big one.

I dig through it to make sure I’ve got my favorite pens, although I told Olivia I doubted any of her readers would want me to sign anything.

Even though I’ve attended a few book conventions, I’m not really sure what to expect tomorrow. When I look up, I realize Jack is studying me.

“Nervous?”

I shake my head. “Nah, not really.”

He snorts. “Liar.”

“Hey! Why do you think I’m lying?”

“That’s the fourth time I’ve watched you fuck around with that box this morning.” I frown at him because I don’t have a good comeback.

Jack narrows his eyes and appraises me, one corner of his mouth quirking up as he stalks towards me. “Think I have an idea that might take your mind off it.”

“I —” I start, but I don’t get any further because he puts a finger on my lips.

“Shut up,” he says in a low voice, his eyes dark and lustful. Goddamn if that bossy asshole shit when he puts his hands on me doesn’t go straight to my cock. Every. Single. Time.

Before I can respond, he turns and heads for the stairs. “Come,” he says without bothering to turn or look over his shoulder to see if I obey. My cheeks blaze, but my dick snaps to attention.

“Take your shirt off,” Jack orders as soon as my foot hits the top stair.

The instant I do, he picks me up and tosses me facedown onto the bed.

I feel his weight on top of me as he grabs my right hand.

When I feel a familiar constriction around my wrist, I struggle against him.

I’m no match for his strength, but I like the way it gets under his skin when I fight back.

“Such a sexy fucking brat,” he breathes into my ear before catching my earlobe in his teeth and tugging on it until the pain makes my hips buck with arousal.

Jack lets go of my ear and hums against it. “You little fucking freak. You have no idea how much it turns me on that you need this as badly as I do.”

After he gets both of my arms tied down to the restraints anchored to the bedposts, he reaches underneath me to undo my pants. He yanks them and my underwear down and off in a single motion. I feel him between my legs, roughly pushing them apart, followed by the clink of his belt buckle.

“Pick your head up.” When I obey, something brushes my neck. I flinch and try to pull away, only to realize that Jack’s belt now encircles my throat. He gives it a tug, constricting the warm leather.

“Um, are you —”

“Shut up,” he murmurs. His deep voice is as much a caress as his hand, making slow circles over one exposed ass cheek. I let him lull me into the softness, my eyes slipping closed even though I know what’s coming.

Jack moves so fast I barely have time to register that he’s no longer rubbing my ass before he swings down a bruising smack.

I try to gasp but he pulls the belt tight, trapping the sound and leaving a vacuum in my lungs.

The rumble of his laughter echoes in my ears as a volley of blows sets my ass on fire.

My heartbeat quickens as my lungs start to burn. Instinctively, I thrash beneath him, trying to escape the pain, my body screaming for air. My head is beginning to swim by the time the pressure around my neck eases enough for me to draw in a ragged sob of breath.

Jack lets out a growl of appreciation at my sound of pain. “Yeah, cry for it, you dirty slut. You’re desperate for this, aren’t you?”

I open my mouth, but a yank on that belt cuts off my voice again.

Jack lands another round of hard, punishing strikes on my ass until black spots start to fill my field of vision, before giving me just enough breath to wail once or twice before cutting off my air.

He toys with me like that for a while until my ass is on fire and I’m light-headed and gasping.

When he finally lets the belt go slack and slips it over my head, I’m mortified to hear myself moaning as I squirm in my restraints.

I feel the mattress dip on either side of me, then the heat and weight of Jack’s body over mine.

He’s still got his pants on, but I whimper when he rubs his hard cock against my throbbing ass cheeks.

“You love this, huh?” he asks as he lifts his hips. His big hand slides between my body and the mattress. My cheeks burn and a hungry sound rumbles in his throat as he wraps that hand around my hard-on.

“I knew it,” he murmurs into my ear as he gives my dick a couple of strokes before settling his body back over mine and grinding against my ass again. “But you need more, don’t you?”

My mouth dismisses the throbbing in my ass. “Yeah.”

His sadistic snicker curls into my ears. “Good, because I’m just getting started with you.”