Page 72 of Hunt Me

I rip my lips from his, and he chases them for a moment before letting out a shaky breath and relaxing his shoulders, and I can see it in his face when he’s back to the present.

‘You feel safe?’ I ask, needing to know this is okay.

He nods his head and swallows, his beautiful eyes meeting mine. ‘I feel safe with you.’

He leans in again, and our tongues tangle in the next kiss, my hands slipping up his shirt and touching him gently. My fingers bump up his spine and gently trace over the nape of his neck as his hips shift forward and rut against mine.

This is bliss. I want to sink to the ground and suck him off, to spin him around and eat his ass like he ate that peach, all teeth and tongue. But before I can, he pulls away and steps back.

My hands fall from him, and he blinks.

‘Am I still your little rabbit?’ he asks.

I’m not sure what that means, but just being asked that has my heart rate tripling. ‘Always.’

‘You want to chase me? You want to stalk me? Hunt me?’

My cock grows hard in my pants. I’m struggling to believe I read those signs right. ‘You want that?’

He gives a small shake of his head, his chest heaving, his eyes growing hooded. ‘I need the chase. I need to forget.’

‘You trust me?’

He glances around, and then his gaze falls on me. ‘With you. Always.’

18

DENVER

I don’t knowwhat came over me, but the idea of being chased by Archie, being caught, like an actual rabbit on a hunt, sprang into my mind, and I couldn’t let it go. It sparked something dark and needy, something that wasn’t born of fear and chaos.

I want to run and be pursued. I want to be caught while safe and not in danger.

It feels like taking something back that was stolen from me. The idea of being followed was suffocating and made me feel powerless, but this is different. This is my choice. My chase. My rules.

For the first time, being a rabbit isn’t a weakness. It’s being in control.

Archie’s eyes flash, and I see the way his body shifts into that primal jungle cat. He’s ready to chase, and I’m ready to run. I shift on my feet and bolt into the darkness, the branches brushing my cheeks as I run. The scent of the peaches thickens as I inhale longer, deeper. I feel alive, knowing he’s behind me, trailing after. Stalking.

I can’t hear him, but I can feel him. I know he’s there, gaining on me, giving me time while knowing that I will never make it past him.

I turn quickly to my right and burst through into a different row of trees. The moon is hanging high in the evening sky, lighting some of my way, but I trip a few times, falling against a tree trunk and scraping my arm. The pain is profound, but it’s also grounding in a way I didn’t expect.

And the fact that Archie doesn’t stop the chase and make me feel like I’m fragile and can’t handle it means everything.

I twist down another long aisle of peaches, and then I feel strong arms wrap around me. The air is pulled from my lungs as my legs are lifted off the ground, and my throat vibrates with the soft cry Archie pulls out of me.

I struggle, like an animal caught in a trap, but he holds on to me tightly. His breath puffs against my neck, his chest vibrating against my back as he buries his nose in my neck like he’s scenting me. Then there are teeth, sharp and biting against my pulse point, and then his hand snakes around to the front of my pants, cupping my cock.

It’s hard, ready, and I moan as the leaves tremble above us.

Falling back against his shoulder, Archie’s teeth sink into the skin of my neck with a proper, stinging bite as he works the waistband of my linen pants down, exposing my throbbing cock behind tight lace panties. He’s working me over so good, taking from me, giving me just what I want.

What I need. This is so different from what I’ve experienced being chased and caught.

This is perfect.

His tongue licks across my neck as he tugs the panties to the side, and then he curls his fingers around my bare cock, and the sensation is almost too much. I’m so fucking close, I don’t know how long I’m going to last.