Chapter 26 Janie
JANIE
Aspen Springs loved a parade. The whole town was here, lining the one-mile stretch of First Street to watch the parade go by.
Everything was red, white, and blue. The overflowing flower baskets hanging on the iron lampposts, the bunting decorating the storefronts, the middle-aged dads in their Uncle Sam hats.
It made it hard to get my bearings on the congested sidewalk.
But I didn’t need to get my bearings. I was perfectly safe.
Jack was not going to fuck me in the middle of a literal parade on First Street with all of our friends and family in attendance.
He’d hunt me, always letting me stay one step ahead of him, and then when I was ready, I’d lead him home and let him catch me.
What we were doing, it was just a game.
But, god, it was fun.
Excitement shivered down my spine as I weaved through the crowd.
All the familiar and unfamiliar faces blended together until it was all a blur.
Four rows of men in kilts played America the Beautiful on bagpipes as they marched down the middle of the street—half the families of this town had Scottish and Irish ancestors that had come to Colorado during the gold rush, and even those that didn’t often claimed they did.
I squeezed between a man holding a sign that said NO KINGS SINCE 1776 and a woman rocking an American flag bandana as a top.
My two-minute head start had ticked down to a minute.
What if he can’t find me in this mess? The thought drew me up short.
I twisted, trying to see over the throng. Where was he?
Thirty seconds.
Maybe I should go back, just to make sure he didn’t lose track of me.
The noise of the crowd pitched higher as the float with the Golden Nugget rolled by.
Mr. Willis waved from the front, decked out in his best suit, tossing beaded necklaces like it was Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street.
The float paused. A knot of people surged into the street, taking me with them.
Twenty seconds.
I ducked under the outstretched arms and retreated to a doorway. My shoe was untied, and I needed a second to plan my next move. Keep going, go back, shelter in place?
Time’s up.
After a quick glance around—still no sign of Jack—I dropped to the ground to tie my shoe, my back to the store door so at least he couldn’t sneak up behind me. Like he could even find me in all this chaos. Sure, he was ex-special forces, but what did that mean, really? It wasn’t like—
A prickle of awareness on the back of my neck made me look up suddenly. All the air froze in my lungs as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing underneath the float.
Jack.
There he was, across the street, his big body crouched on the ground like he was mimicking my posture, just waiting for me to notice. Our gazes locked. A slow grin spread across his features, and he tipped his chin like a predator scenting its prey. My eyes widened as the truth banged in my chest.
Oh.
Oh, shit.
That man was going to catch me, and he was absolutely going to fuck me right here in the middle of a parade on First Street with all our friends and family looking on.
How had I believed for one second that Jack was safe?
He had promised to fuck me where he found me, and since I had as much will power when Jack’s hands were on me as Cookie Monster at a bakery, I was in very real danger.
Run, my brain screamed.
But instead I froze like a scared little rabbit.
The wheels turned as the float moved forward. They blocked my view of the street, but I kept my gaze locked on the spot where I had seen him. The wheels passed and—
He wasn’t there.
Shit, he wasn’t there.
I shot to my feet, my head pivoting like a weathervane in a bipolar storm, eyes frantically roving the crowd. Where the hell was he?
There.
Jack moved through the crowd like he was pushing aside paper dolls instead of real people. My heart beat so hard I could feel it in my eardrums. My breath came in shallow, rapid pants.
He’s coming.
I was fucked. Figuratively and soon to be literally. Adrenaline tunneled my vision and made my limbs shake. My belly fluttered like a million butterflies had taken flight. Fear. Arousal.
Run! my brain shrieked again.
This time I listened.
My eyes locked on his determined face, I scrambled backward, bumping into people as I went, one step, then another—oh, god, he was gaining on me—I squeezed between two women and let their bodies protect my own.
I whirled and ducked, fighting my way through the throng.
The crowd was too tight for me to truly run, and frustration made me clumsy and stupid.
But there—a break in the bodies. Freedom.
I bolted toward it, toward the alley beyond it.
I was so close! I could make it. My feet moved faster, buoyed by hubris.
I never stood a chance.
Right before I veered into the alley, I turned around.
Just to see how close the danger really was.
Too close, it turned out. Jack lunged forward.
All the breath left me in an audible whoosh as his arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me off my feet.
He spun us in a dizzying circle, moving us deeper into the alley, almost like we were dancing, until the momentum landed me against the store wall.
My ass hit the brick with enough force to make me wince. My head would have done the same, but his hand got there first, protecting me from the worst of it.
I was surrounded by him, effectively caged in by a hard wall and a body that might as well have been a hard wall.
Honestly, I would have a better shot at knocking down the bricks as moving him.
We matched each other breath for heavy breath as we stared at each other, my breasts brushing against his muscled chest with every intake of air.
And, god, I was so aware of it—aware of everything.
The scratch of brick against my bare calves. My hard nipples straining against the soft cotton of my bra. The hot, slick feeling between my legs. And the gentle stroke of his thumb against the nape of my neck.
It was that tender touch that made my bones turn to water.
“Hurt?” he asked curtly.
I shook my head. “How did you find me so fast?” The words came out grumpy, but I couldn’t help it. If I had known he meant every word, this wasn’t the place I would have chosen to be caught. Sure, knowing someone could walk by and see us at any second was a turn on. But it smelled like pee.
“I never lost you.” He squeezed my nape and then slowly skimmed his hand down the curves of my body like he was taking inventory of what was his. “You’re all I see, Janie. I couldn’t look away from you if I tried.”
It was threat and promise, danger and safety, all rolled into one. I shivered in the sudden chill as the shade of the building enveloped my damp, overheated skin. His jaw clenched tight, a muscle popping in his cheek, as his gaze roved over my face.
“I was very clear on the rules, Ace. I fuck you where I find you.” He hooked his index finger in the waistband of my shorts, his thumb running over the metal button, toying with it. Toying with me. “Were you ready to be found?”
“No,” I admitted.
His fist closed around my waistband, pulling the fabric taut until the seam wedged between my pussy lips. I gasped and then whimpered as he shifted even closer. Outside the alley, the noise of the crowd pitched higher. My heart damn near pounded out of my chest with it.
Jack’s eyes were shards of blue ice as he looked down at me, his grip still tight on my shorts.
“Tell me you’re not wet.” He lowered his head to mine and nipped small, sharp bites along my jaw.
I tilted my face to give him better access because even here, like this, I couldn’t resist his touch.
“You can’t, can you? Because it would be a lie, and you’re a terrible liar. ”
I fisted his shirt in my hands, but even I didn’t know if I intended to push him away or pull him closer.
“God, I want to fuck you. I need to fuck you.” His voice was hoarse and frayed. “Tell me I can. Please.”
Everything snapped into focus. The fear, adrenaline, and arousal were all still there, but so was a heady rush of something else altogether.
Something I had experienced precious little of in my lifetime.
I felt powerful. This incredible, strong, lethal man was under my control.
He would never hurt me, not as long as he had breath in his body.
I was prey. He was the hunter. But the hunter would starve without the prey, and I had never seen a man as hungry as Jack was right now.
“No,” I said. “Not here.”
A tremor wracked his body. He slapped his palm to the bricks next to my face with a guttural groan.
I didn’t even flinch—I only got wetter. For a moment his hand tightened on my waistband like he had no intention of letting me go.
And then slowly, so slowly I knew it cost him something, he set me free.
His breath ghosted my ear in a single word.
“Run.”