Primal Pursuit

“Think these are for sex games at home?” I mutter against her ear as I force her hands behind her back to cuff her. “That I lied about never bringing women here, that I keep these close for fuck-night Fridays? Maybe I do.”

She makes that sound again, and it cuts into me, surer than the blade of a knife.

“Or maybe I just bought them and left them here for this exact fucking moment.”

She looks at me as I rise. “Is this part of a game?”

“This isn’t any game. It’s life, Rabbit. And death.”

It’s late enough, or maybe early enough that the deepest of gray light comes in. Pre-dawn.

I leave her standing there as I throw on black jeans, t-shirt, and a sweater. I shove my feet into boots and lace them quickly, efficiently.

There’s a hidden safe in my closet and I open it, pull out a gun. A bigger, nastier one than what I carried earlier. Locking the safe, I come in front of her, checking that it’s loaded and sliding it into the back of my jeans.

A holster is smarter, but I’ll get that later.

I’m not actually planning on shooting her.

Leaving her where she is, I go into the living room to the front door and grab her shoes and coat.

I turn, and she’s followed, so I point to a chair. “Fucking sit.”

Poppy opens her mouth to say something but takes in the expression on my face and does as ordered.

I shove her feet in her shoes and haul her up with one hand wrapped around her throat. I want to kiss her. I want to taste her fear, the panic swirling in her eyes as she stares at me. Instead, I drape her coat around her and button it.

“Davian, where are we going?”

“Shut the fuck up until I talk to you, Poppy.”

She flinches at the use of her name.

“But,” I add as I drag her to my private elevator, “be ready to talk, because it’s time for the truth.”

Rabbit remains silent, and I punch the button to the underground parking garage.

I’m fucking furious. Not because she tried to kill me, but she hasn’t told me a thing. And if she’s going to try to kill me, she could have the courtesy to tell me her truth.

My phone buzzes as we get out of the elevator and I drag her across to my car. I open the door and shove her in, not caring that her hands are behind her back and she’s got to be uncomfortable. She’s going to be beyond uncomfortable as this plays out today.

“Yeah?” I hold the phone to my ear.

“Got some info on your Poppy,” Gabriel says.

“Is it what I wanted?”

“Not sure, but you’ll be interested.”

“Meet me at Myth. I’m bringing her in.”

“Back room?”

“Back fucking room,” I say and hang up.

The back room is a place for darkness, torture, sex ifyou want. But no one will disturb you unless you ask them to, and it contains all the tools a man could want.

The back room’s the last place rabbit’s going to want to be.