Chapter 25 #2
“Yeah,” she snorted. “You do know all those books have content warning guides, right? And also that your Goodreads profile is public.”
“And you’ve looked them up?”
“Of course I have.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Why have you been stalking me, junebug?”
Her cheeks turned red. “I haven’t been.”
“That’s not what it sounds like. It sounds like you know every single book I’ve read. What my kinks are. What else do you know about me, huh?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar,” I mouthed lovingly.
She swallowed hard. “It’s not like you don’t know me.”
“Well, I can’t say I know what your kinks are. Yet. But I can say I’m still certain you don’t know all of mine.”
June gave me a look that made me feel like a pane of glass. “I’ll take a wild guess. Hunting. Running. What’s it called? Primal?” She jabbed her finger at my chest. “You want to chase me down and fuck me straight into the dirt.”
I did.
I really fucking did. Especially right now.
“And the thing is, I want to be the one you chase.”
Fuck. My ears started to ring as she jabbed my chest one more time.
I grabbed her hand gently, finally giving into my instinct.
I lifted her and pinned her against the wall, her legs winding around my waist. Her pupils expanded as my lips hovered in front of hers, only a breath away from kissing her.
“Tonight. If we’re going to do this, we might as well go all the way,” she whispered.
“Tonight?”
She rocked her hips, as if to demand it from me. “I can feel how hard you are—”
I tightened my grip on her until she stopped wriggling. Her eyes widened as I pressed my lips against her throat, my beard rough against her skin. “You’re being such a brat,” I whispered. “You’re pushing all of my fucking buttons. Why?”
“Because I want to see what you’ll do to me. What will it be? Just bend me over and fuck me?” The corner of her mouth tugged. “Or are you going to chase me through the desert?”
She was taunting me.
But it was working.
“Do you even know what a safe word is?” I asked.
“Yes. Green-light system. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
My jaw stiffened. “I remember the face of every fucker you’ve dated, June. I don’t think a single one of them could fathom what I want to do to you.”
Surprise flickered in her eyes. “What do you mean, you remember?”
I scraped my teeth over the curve of her neck like a thirsty vampire. “I remember every single one.”
“Why? I barely even remember them—”
“Why do you think?”
Her words came out as a single squeak. “I know you didn’t feel anything for me before—”
“Of course I fucking did.”
June’s chest rose and fell in uneven breaths, her legs still wrapped around my waist. My cock still pressed against her core. Heat radiated from her like a furnace. God, I was fucking leaking pre-cum, I was so damn hard.
“All this running away,” I whispered. “But I’m going to catch you. I swear to god I will always catch you, June. Maybe that kiss was a mistake because it’s given me nine months of wishing I could kiss you again.”
I slowly let go over her. Her feet hit the floor and she stared up at me with wide eyes as I caged her in, my hands to either side of her.
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “I trust you with my life. And I know you trust me with yours.”
“Good. What’s your safe word?”
“Red means stop. Yellow means slow. Green means good.” She scowled at me, annoyance flickering in her expression. “So now what? Are you going to stand here and look at me like that?”
“Worse,” I snarled.
I took a step back from her, my nostrils flaring as I bent over and picked up her running shoes. I knelt down on one knee and gestured for her foot.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Give me your foot.”
“But what—”
“Give me your foot.”
She stared at me with her mouth open, but lifted her foot. I slid it in her tennis shoe and checked the strings, retying them so it was secure. She was going to need them to be secure.
“Other foot.”
“Dallas . . .”
I grabbed her ankle and worked her other shoe on. Once I checked the laces, I released her and stood back up. I slipped on my boots. Then, without warning, I lifted her and tossed her over my left shoulder.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she hissed.
I didn’t say anything as I opened the door and stepped out onto her front porch. She writhed against me as I manhandled her, carrying her down the steps and around back.
My boots crunched over dirt as I kept walking.
There was land behind this neighborhood. A whole lot of nothing.
A whole lot of hunting ground.
June continued to struggle against me, but it was no use. Finally, when I’d carried her far enough away from the houses that we couldn’t be easily seen, I put her down.
“Run,” I growled.
She stumbled back. “Wh-what?”
“You get a head start. Five minutes.”
“You’re serious . . . ?” She continued to back away from me.
“I’m dead fucking serious.”
June stared at me like a wide-eyed doe. But then, I saw the switch. The determination, the fire, the competitive streak that was a mile wide in her.
Her lips twisted into a smirk. “Good luck catching me.”
I fought the urge to laugh as I pulled out my phone and held up the timer. “Five minutes. Your time starts now.”
A curse flew from her lips as I pressed the button. She spun around and took off running. Her pink hair was like a beacon under the moonlight.
My eyes shut and I drew in a few deep breaths. Counting down.
This certainly hadn’t been how I’d expected my evening to go.
All the years that I’d known her, all the times I'd secretly lusted after her, all the years I could've had her.
We’d wasted so much time.
But not anymore.