Darling Wildfire (Red Rabbit #2)

94

FLASHBACK

THERON

THE WARREN

I still hadn’t bid on anyone. Greg, Johnson and Roger had all already selected their women and were eyeing me with various looks of curiosity mixed with apprehension.

“I remember my first time,”

Johnson chuckled as Cooper spoke about the last woman he was going to bring out.

“So many choices,”

Greg said. “It’s hard to choose isn’t it?”

I shrugged, swirling my nearly empty glass of whiskey in my hand as it dangled over the edge of the chair.

“Cooper will accommodate you with other options if—”

I didn’t hear the rest of Greg’s sentence because a guard was leading the last woman onto the platform and I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

Her eyes were so green I could see them from where I sat and they were filled with fire—more than the other women whose eyes were already dulled with defeat and abuse. I went still as the bidding started, enthralled with watching her fight against Cooper. His hands were all over her but the minute they slid into her pussy was the minute I pressed the button, my jaw clenching.

No one should be touching her but me.

I didn’t know where the fuck that thought came from, but a feral feeling rose in me that demanded I make this woman mine. I felt like I knew her. Or something about her called to a part of me I didn’t understand or had long laid dormant.

I sat up straighter in my seat, watching her struggle against Cooper. I wanted to be the one she fought against. I wanted to see what she looked like when she was made to come undone. I wanted to get burned by her flame as I coerced her into submission.

I hadn’t felt like this about a woman in…over a decade. Maybe Whitney? But even she hadn’t touched this primal desire to claim.

The thought that I shouldn’t get distracted from what I’d come here to do popped into my head but even that couldn’t calm the obsession building within me.

I was going to make this wildfire mine.

I stood in the forest, watching her take it all in.

She hadn’t noticed me yet and was looking like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to bolt or stand around and see what happened next. I stepped out into the clearing.

“You’re supposed to run.”

She turned quickly, her gaze sweeping me from head to toe and back again, her eyes alight with fire and apprehension. I could smell the fear on her but also the anger that radiated off her in waves. I took a step towards her and she stepped backwards.

I smirked. “Ah, there we go.”

I took another step and so did she.

“If you want a head start, I suggest you go now,” I said.

A thrill rushed through me at the prospect of chasing her through the trees and I didn’t need to look up at the gallery to know Mahoney was watching me. I was going to have to put on a show although how much of it was for his benefit and how much was the primal need simmering through me, I wasn’t sure yet. I could tell she didn’t like being told what to do. Her eyes narrowed on me as she quickly decided whether or not she wanted to obey me.

“If you don’t run, I have this remote here and I’ve been told the shock is quite unpleasant. Or Cooper mentioned he has a punishment room we can start out in if that’s what you prefer. So you can either run, or we can set my expectations there.”

I didn’t advance on her again but she got the message and I watched her turn and walk off into the trees. I chuckled at her display of defiance as she pushed her shoulders back and sauntered off, refusing to show me her fear. I was true to my word and waited a moment before heading off into the forest, following her trail easily.

What had started out as something I needed to do to keep up appearances was now something else entirely. I didn’t want to catch her too quickly—the sadistic part of me wanted to rile her up so when I did catch her, she’d put up more of a fight. I needed Mahoney to believe I was as fucked up as him.

Right—that’s why I wanted to do that.

A short while later I heard a sound in the bushes and Roger stepped out, looking like he’d gotten into a fight with his girl. I nodded to him, barely holding back my distaste for the man as he sneered at me.

“Having fun?”

He asked. He nodded to the gallery above us. “Mahoney likes it when you rough them up a bit.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,”

I said dryly.

I turned my back and walked off. Roger was the kind of person I usually wouldn’t associate with at all. The lowest of the low. Someone with no strength of self and would do anything to get ahead. A man didn’t have to be good, but trust was something I took seriously and I wouldn’t trust Roger with anything.

I made my way through the trees and saw my prey watching another man fuck the woman he’d caught. I crept up and as she turned to go, snaked a hand around, covering her mouth.

“I didn’t know my rabbit liked to watch,”

I said in her ear.

She stomped down on my foot and head butted me in the face in answer. I let her go, grinning to myself as I watched her take off. At least she was making this more fun than I anticipated. I let her think she’d put some space between us but instead I kept close and just watched her as she wandered through the forest. She was never frantic—never panicked, but she was still definitely afraid and when I finally made my move, I startled her so badly she shrieked and jumped away.

My fingers just brushed her and she tripped herself up and crashed into a tree. I held back my amusement as I grabbed her and we went down to the ground with me straddling her. She tried to fight to no avail and her strength quickly bled away.

“Tired, love?”

I panted with a triumphant smirk.

I pressed my hips into hers, pinning her to the ground and ran a hand through my hair. Those killer green eyes glared hatefully at me and then her fist connected with my jaw. The surprise on her face was almost comical but I could tell she was afraid of how I’d react as she went still, waiting for me to retaliate. Instead I barked out a laugh and watched her face tint a pretty shade of pink as anger filled her eyes.

“You’ve never punched someone before have you?” I stated.

I grabbed her hand. Her wrist felt fragile, like I could break it just by squeezing too hard. She tried to yank out of my grasp but went still when I closed her fingers into a fist and tucked her thumb in. I brought her fist to my jaw.

“Do it like this next time,” I said.

I released her wrist only to regret it a moment later when she landed a solid punch between my legs. I hissed in surprise and released her enough that she managed to shimmy out from under me. I watched her scramble away and decided I was done playing. I grabbed the remote to her collar and pushed the button. She instantly collapsed as the electricity jolted through her. I stopped it just as quickly and she lay there gasping.

“Well that’s definitely useful,”

I muttered as I straddled her again.

“Don’t—touch me,”

she gasped.

I grabbed her chin roughly between my fingers and leaned down towards her. She shrunk away from me, trying to disappear into the dirt under her at the look on my face.

“You can punch me in the jaw all you want, love, but you punch me in the dick again and I’ll collar you until you don’t know your name.”

I watched her glare drop between my legs again and bared my teeth at her, raising the button up with my other hand and hovered my thumb over it. I released her jaw and undid my belt and zipper, pulling out my cock.

“I love the fire though, darlin’,”

I murmured.

I watched her pale slightly and she struggled under me again. I let her escape me, but only so I could grab her ankle and pull her back, still conscious of Mahoney’s eyes on me. She bucked and twisted but her struggles were weaker than before and I got a hand around her neck, squeezing hard enough her eyes shuttered. I pushed her knees apart and pressed my cock against her pussy, watching the fight leave her as she struggled to breathe. I loosened my grip and she heaved in a breath.

“Let’s see what 5.5 million bought me,”

I growled.

I pushed inside her and watched her eyes close. God, she felt good. Despite her protests, I could feel her getting wet around me. I increased my pace and she struggled again, trying to claw at me. Lost to the moment and the primal lust of taking her in the woods, I slapped her hard across the face and with a shudder she went still, tears leaking from her eyes.

My hand went to her neck again and her weak protests and struggles fueled me to the edge. After I came, I pulled out of her. The dark part of me reveled in her helplessness in that moment and I couldn’t find it in me to feel guilty knowing it was a means to an end. I looked up at the gallery and saw Mahoney, drink in hand, watching with a lustful gleam in his eyes.

I redid my pants and brushed the dirt from my clothes as two guards came for her. I didn’t linger but headed back into the facility. Despite the rush I’d just experienced, I frowned, irritated with myself for a different reason.

This woman called to a part of me I didn’t know still existed and I wanted to know why. She made me lose control. I wanted more—like a drug I couldn’t shake the habit of. She made me forget about everything but what was happening in the moment. I wanted to capture her fire and drink it in.

I wanted to see what else waited for me in those twin green flames bent on my destruction.