Page 87 of Red Rabbit
Then the rest of the evening slammed into me so hard I had to sit up to breathe. I sat on the edge of my bed, my sheets clutched to my chest, feeling sick when I remembered Cooper invading my home and the threat of returning to the Warren.
If he wasn’t dead, he would try again.
He wouldn’t stop and that terrified me.
When I felt like I could stand without passing out, I went into the bathroom and cleaned up then pulled on one of my oversized t-shirts and walked back into my bedroom. I heard someone out in my kitchen and my panicked mind took over again.
Was Kraven still here? Did Cooper come back?
I noticed my gun was now sitting on my dresser within reach and I grabbed it and pulled open my door.
I tentatively walked into my living room, expecting to see the war zone I left but it was spotless. There wasn’t a body or spec of blood anywhere.
I blinked, feeling disoriented like I really did dream all of it. I was standing there gawking when I finally noticed Kraven, shirtless and in boxer briefs, moving around my kitchen.
Shirtless.
In my kitchen.
In my kitchen—making coffee.
I really was dreaming. He turned and noticed me, his eyes sliding down to the gun and his lips twitched. I suddenly felt embarrassed it was in my hands and blushed.
“We need to talk about that at some point,” he said dryly as he turned and finished pouring two cups of coffee. “Although I will admit seeing you hold a gun right now with sex hair and legs for days is doing something to me.” He walked over and gently pulled the gun from my hand, replacing it with coffee.
I just stared at him.
“What are you doing?” I asked when I finally found my voice again. In answer, his hand slipped around the back of my neck and he leaned down and kissed me. He tasted like coffee and sex. It only took moments for the elation to rise inside me and I automatically leaned towards him. When he stepped away, I almost fell over. He smirked, looking at my shocked and dazed expression before turning back to the kitchen to retrieve his own mug.
“I didn’t know how you liked it.” He leaned back against the counter. “Your coffee that is.” He added smugly.
He looked every inch a predator staking his territory, looking at me over the rim of his mug with eyes that seared straight through me. I walked into the kitchen and dropped a small spoonful of brown sugar into my coffee, stirring it slowly. I could feel him watching me closely.
I saw a shadow cross my back patio and I froze. He noticed and came over, putting his cup down so his arms could slide around behind me, pulling me close to him.
“Those are my men,” he said against my neck. “They’ll be around until I know Cooper isn’t a threat anymore.”
I opened my mouth to object but his intoxicating cologne surrounded me and his mouth was doing wonderful things along my shoulder. I realized I felt better knowing Cooper couldn’t surprise me again. I took a sip of my coffee and some of my anxiety fell away.
“Does that mean you’ll be around too?” I asked, trying to come off casual but I could still hear the absurd hope in my voice. He chuckled against my skin and his teeth gently bit into me. A shiver rushed through my entire body and I sank back against him.
“You’re mine whether you want me or not, darlin’,” He said gruffly.
“Even if it’s willingly?”
Because I suddenly didn’t want to object to anything he wanted to do to me. He fell silent and his arms tightened around me and then went still. I couldn’t see his face but I wanted to know what I’d see there. I set my coffee down and wriggled in his arms. When he realized I was trying to turn and not get away, he loosened his grip, and I re-settled against his chest and looked up at him. His arms slid down to my lower back and he looked down at me. He looked like he was trying to hide how he really felt but was failing and I felt my breath catch at the tenderness I caught there even if it was brief.
“I’ll always push your boundaries, love,” he said finally as his eyes bore into mine. He brought his hand up and ran his thumb along my lower lip. “I knew you were a force when I first saw you but now—now that I really know what a powerful woman you are—” His fingers lifted my chin, his grip firm as he lowered hismouth to mine and stopped just short. “—being the one to make you fall apart is as close to the divine as I’ll get in this life and I plan to continue. So willingly or not?—that’s up to you.”
“I might not always make it easy,” I breathed.
“Oh baby, I’m counting on it,” he said.
His hand came down and spanked me. A half yelp, half gasp escaped my lips as I jumped closer against him and then his lips were on mine.
A few hours later, when he did indeed live up to his promise of making me fall apart again and again in his arms, I came out of the bathroom and found him in my office. He was holding a piece of paper in his hands and frowning.
“I didn’t know the Warren was funding human trials,” he said darkly. I came over and saw he was holding a printout of the notes taken during one of the experiments. It was incredibly disturbing and unfortunately it was one of many.
