Page 29 of Jack Rabbit (Dark Trails #1)

29

ADAIR

I feel my heartbeat pick up. “What do you mean? About what?” Jack and I are obviously on better terms after last night, but I feel like everything is still sort of precarious and uncertain.

“The other day. You called yourself a slacker.”

“Well, yeah.” I lift one shoulder into a shrug and try not to squirm. “I mean, I kind of am.”

Jack’s expression darkens. “Don’t sell yourself short. Sounds like you had a lack of opportunity, not a lack of ambition,” he says as he starts moving the sausages off the fire and onto a platter.

This whole Jack-being-nice-to-me thing is still so new, I’m not sure how to respond to that. “Um, I don’t —”

“I happened to flip through the sketchbook in your car the other day.”

This takes me aback a little. “Did you snoop through anything else?” I ask.

“Nope.” He shakes his head. “Sorry, I was just curious,” he says as he heads towards the sliding door. I hop up and open it for him, then follow him in. Feeling awkward again, I hang back as he heads over to the kitchen island and plates dinner.

“Those punch cards you’re designing? They look good; professional, really.”

Jack definitely has to stop being nice to me or something because I suddenly feel like I’m on that wobbly edge of crying. “Uh, thanks. Paul thought that doing a loyalty program might help increase repeat business, so I told him I’d come up with something.”

“You didn’t get a degree, though?”

I huff out a sigh. “Not enough money. Or time. I tried for a couple of semesters, but there just weren’t enough hours in the week for studying and going to class on top of work. And I needed to work all the hours I could get. It’s kind of like the chicken-or-the-egg thing, but in reverse. Instead of which comes first, each one’s just holding the other one down.”

I’m looking down now, picking at a thread on the hem of my shirt so I don’t have to meet Jack’s eyes. When he doesn’t say anything for a minute, I look up to find his gaze on me. He’s quiet for long enough that I start to get nervous before he finally speaks.

“What if you didn’t have to pay rent?”

I laugh wryly. “I mean, I already tried living in the woods, but some big, hot, pissed-off park ranger told me it was against the rules,” I say. I feel like I’m taking a risk, but Jack snorts out a laugh before he rolls his eyes.

“Hot? Not sure you’re observant enough to survive in the wild, Bunny.”

He gestures towards the counter stools. “Grab whichever seat you want.” He opens the fridge and looks inside. “You want a beer? I’ve got IPA and brown ale. And do you want to just stay here —I mean, after you’re back on your feet?”

I’m glad I only picked up my plate half a second ago, because I drop it in shock. The stoneware clunks on the granite as I gape at Jack. “You’re inviting me to move in with you?” I say when I can finally speak again.

“If you want to, yes. I know you said you needed a few weeks, so I figured you’d be here at least that long. If you want to find a place after that, you won’t hurt my feelings. But you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to. I’m not kicking you out.”

I’m still too stunned for words as he adds, “It’s nothing you have to decide now. Just something to think about. Oh, but speaking of living situations, I have something for you.”

He pulls out his wallet and takes out a huge wad of cash. My eyes fly open. “What’s this for?”

“It’s your security deposit. And the rest of the month’s rent you’d already paid.”

“How did — what did you do? Are you gonna get in trouble?”

Jack snickers. “Absolutely not. I just had a little chat with your landlord. Turns out he’s a very agreeable guy. You’ve just gotta catch him at the right time. Catch him, trap him with zip ties, muzzle him with duct tape and jam a knee in his back while he’s lying in the dirt, that is.”

I just blink at him. I don’t doubt for a second that he’s telling me the truth, but I’m still shocked that he did it in the first place. I think Jack misinterprets my silence, though, because his face gets a look of concern on it.

“This isn’t because I’m looking to get rid of you. I don’t want you to think that. But I know you’re in a tight spot — and I wasn’t going let that asshole get away with stiffing you.”

I shake my head. “I don’t know what to say. I mean, thank you. But as far as staying here…” I trail off. “What do you think I should do? I don’t — I want…” My cheeks flush as I spit out the words I need but am ashamed to say. “Tell me what to do.”

When there’s nothing but silence for several seconds, I look up. Jack strokes his beard as his dark eyes appraise me. The intensity in his stare stirs something inside me.

“You will live in this house until you either have enough class credits or enough money saved that you can work part-time while you earn a degree.” His tone is commanding, with enough of an edge that I can feel my pulse speed up as he continues. “If you want to move out at that point, that’s fine. I won’t like it but I won’t stop you. But I won’t allow you to let your talents go to waste, and I won’t allow you to let all of your bright, creative potential go untapped.”

I’m dumbstruck as Jack stands up. In the next instant, he’s in front of me, nearly toe-to-toe. As his hand wraps around my throat, I inhale a quick gasp.

But his other hand tucks under my chin and, with a gentleness that surprises me, tips my face up towards his. “And you’re not going to call yourself a slacker. Ever again. Do you understand, Bunny? If I hear that come out of your mouth from here on out, I will punish you. And you will not enjoy it.”

I don’t want to contradict him, but I’m not so sure about me not enjoying it because just this — looking up at his stern expression as his hand encircles my neck — is doing something to me. His dark hair is loose, falling over his muscular shoulders. I have a flash of an idea and yank up the T-shirt he has on. “Take it off,” I whisper.

I’ve never ordered Jack to do anything before. But to my surprise, he shucks off his shirt without comment. Feeling bolder, I nuzzle my face against his chest and run my hands over his torso, drifting down towards his waistband.

When he unexpectedly flinches as if I touched something tender, I look down, thinking maybe our last chase had left him with a scratch or bruise. But beneath the wide, inviting trail of black hair leading to his pelvis, his stomach is unmarked.

I flick my eyes up. He’s frowning, but it’s not his usual scowl, so I sweep my other hand down and over his belly. He shifts his hips back the slightest bit to withdraw from my touch.

That’s when it clicks. Between Jack’s unapologetic ferocity and the brute force of his presence, the thought that he might be at all self-conscious about his body had never entered my head.

I straddle the tree trunk of his thigh and push my hips into him so he can feel how turned on I am already. His expression relaxes a bit, dark eyes sweeping over me as I look up at him. I splay my palms out over his chest.

“Please?” The word slips out before I’ve even thought of the rest of my plea. “Please —” I don’t even know what I’m begging for. Jack could fill in the blank after please with whatever he wanted to give me and I’d be grateful for it.

But now, there’s enough of a question mark in his expression that I take a leap of faith. “Please kiss me again. Like you did this morning.” He raises his eyebrows. I’m afraid I’ve fucked everything up when his mouth suddenly comes down onto mine, all heat and urgency and possessiveness.