All Hallows Eve, Vol. 3

Chapter 4

Four

“Bunny,” Ozwald sing-songs through the stalks, and I shiver with pleasure at his voice. He’s so close.

I move silently in front of him, slipping down a new path. Moving only to prolong the anticipation. I come to a full stop as a shadowy figure detaches from the end of the new path. Pure black on black, the shiny feathers on his mask catching the light of the full moon. Wade. I pretend to retreat, and he chuckles low.

“You didn’t run far, Sugar,” he says. “Not that you had much of a chance of getting away. Not with your perfume infused in my lungs. My grandma would be scandalized at the thoughts running through my head because you smell just like her homemade cinnamon rolls. I’ve never wanted to knot her pastries before, though…”

My inner thighs grow damp, and my stomach quivers. Yes, please. Is it too early to beg? Probably.

Inhaling deeply, I take tiny steps back, growing the distance between us because he hasn’t advanced further. I can feel his eyes devouring me. And I know that even without the mask, I wouldn't be able to see their color properly in the dark. But I easily conjure them in my imagination. Steady and intense violet eyes—that have a ring of yellow around his irises that makes it hard not to stare when bringing him files.

“Mmmm,” he purrs, “I’ll let you run again. It can be our little secret.”

A shaky exhale falls from my lips as I debate doing so. When I don’t turn and run, he takes slow, measured steps toward me. His musk brushes against my senses first, and my whole body lights up. The undertones of maple wood are still there, but the pure syrup makes my mouth water and my nipples harden.

“You’re dirty,” he says quietly as his gaze slips down my body. “Are you a clumsy bunny, Sugar?”

My tongue darts out to moisten my lips, but it doesn’t help much because my whole mouth is dry. He tilts his head, looking very much like an inquisitive crow waiting for my answer.

“Another hunter caught me.”

His nostrils flare, and he closes the space, gripping my chin and dipping his head to my neck to inhale. “Beta,” he says, his fingers tightening before he lifts his head and stares down at me. “But you’re smart and got away. I like that.”

Warmth spreads through my body, the opposite of goosebumps, as his thumb absently runs along my jawline.

“Are you shy, Sugar?” he asks, his tone dipping low. An involuntary shiver runs down my spine, and he chuckles. “That’s okay. We’ll have you moaning our names before the night’s through.”

“With masks,” I remind him.

He grins. “With masks, Sugar, as promised.”

I love the way the nickname rolls off his tongue, sounding like a caress each time. Sure, he doesn’t know my name and really doesn’t have many options, but I could become addicted to that.

“Bunny,” Ozwald calls out again.

Wade freezes and watches over my shoulder for his pack mate to appear, but he doesn’t call out to tell him where we are. His gaze dips down to me again, and he tilts my chin up. “I caught you this time, and I get the first kiss.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to pull away before he presses his lips to mine. They are soft and warm as he moves them against mine. Then he dips his tongue along the seam of mine, asking—no demanding—entry. I open beneath him like a flower blooming for the moon, and he growls with pleasure as he tastes me for the first time.

I’m lost to the sensations he’s awakening inside of me. How long has it been since I’ve kissed a guy? Was it this good last time? The short answers; too long, and I might be ruined for the rest of my life.

He nips at my lower lip as he breaks off the kiss, leaving me wanton and needy. I’m nowhere near a heat, but holy shit, does this alpha make me feel like I’m on the verge of one.

“Sampling the catch before we’ve arrived?” Ozwald says. He sounds like he’s just walked out of the boardroom, and when Wade spins me around to face him, it’s a pure shock to my system to see him still looking like more of an animal than a lawyer.

“She’s sweet,” Wade replies, his nose trailing over the side of my neck while his hands loosely hold me around the waist. He knows I’m done running. And his inner beast is satisfied with my surrender.

I have a feeling Ozwald’s inner beast will not be as placated. An almost crazy light shines from his eyes as he advances. His pale blue eyes are the only light thing about him. Intensity seeps off of him; I can smell it in his pheromones. “I heard you scream earlier, Bunny. Did you almost fall into another trap?”

“A beta,” Wade growls for me.

Ozwald makes a disappointed sound. “Your screams are mine for the rest of the night.” He wraps his fingers around my neck, and my heart slams into my throat as he tightens his hold. It’s barely enough to impact my breathing, but the threat’s there.

“Oz, we’ve spoken about this…you need to have the conversation about limits before pushing them,” Beckett says, seemingly bleeding from the shadows, or maybe he was there all along and I was distracted by Oz .

“Our bunny doesn’t have limits. Isn’t that right, Bunny? You were made for me,” Oz says as he nuzzles the side of my face, our masks bumping and threatening to unmask me. I snag it back over my face before it can get too far and lean back into Wade’s chest. His eyes darken, and his fingers threaten to tighten. “Don’t reject me.”

Who is this alpha? Ozwald in the office is nothing like him. They could be completely different men at this point. Because the man standing in front of me is wild and untamed. And danger flows off of him. Yet, I want every bit of madness I sense. I want him to drag me down into it with him. I’m so fucked.

“Mask stays on. No blood or almost blood. Those are my limits.” Since accidentally seeing them with that girl, I’ve had a curiosity for BDSM, and most of what I’ve read on paper sounds freaking amazing, except blood play. That turns my stomach. But ropes, chains, blindfolds, clamps, possible paddles—sign me up.

A wide, toothy grin splits his face, and he looks at Beckett for confirmation of my words. At his nod, he chuckles. “Pleasure will always follow the pain, Bunny.”

My stomach dips like I’m on a rollercoaster, but I don’t snatch my consent out of the air. I may not have known what I signed up for, but I want every bit of this night.

“Oz, safe word,” Beckett says, like he’s reminding an unruly child to wash their hands before dinner.

Ozwald steadily watches me. It takes a moment for me to realize he’s waiting for my safe word. I feel silly for a minute. Then, I rack my brain for a meaningless word I could use. “Grandma,” I blurt, and it earns me a rumbling laugh from Wade. He flattens his palm against my abs, holding me close, and his hardness presses into my ass, only our clothing separating us.

“Grandma?” Ozwald says slowly. He throws a look at Beckett, who only shrugs.

“She will be so disappointed, Sugar.” Wade’s lips move against my neck, and I swallow back a laugh of my own.

“Bunny, we might hunt you down like animals, but we won’t be fucking you in the dirt. If you close your eyes, we will blindfold you and take you to a place just for this purpose.”

For this purpose, like it was all planned out. I shiver and drop my eyes shut, earning three pleased purrs. Lord, what I'd do to hear that symphony again. It's like a drug, one hit, and I need more. Heaven can't help me now because tonight will be all sin.

Delicious, pure sin.

One of them ties a blindfold over my eyes, making my mask tight on my face. I’m glad I chose the more expensive one. The cheap plastic one wouldn’t allow this. Then I'm swept off my feet. Earning the three of them a surprised yelp before I'm clinging to the hard body that's holding me, my eyes squeezed shut regardless of the blindfold. I can feel the fabric of a shirt against my arm, and I know without scenting him that Wade has me.

His palm rests on my bare thighs. All I can focus on is the exact places his skin touches mine and the places I want his skin to touch mine. By the time he places me into a car and buckles me in, I'm so turned on by my imagination alone, I think I might combust.

“Sit tight, Sugar, we'll be home soon.”