Lucky Boys (Il Fortunato #1)

34. Brooks

CHAPTER 34

brOOKS

I stood behind the house, staring at the massive expanse of woods in front of me. Maverick had mapped it out earlier, but I couldn’t see the markers from here, so our arena seemed endless, daunting. I bounced on my toes in anticipation. This was finally fucking happening.

I had done a few primal events at some of the clubs I went to, but they’d never lived up to the expectations in my brain. Somehow, I just knew today would be different. A large part of that was because of the guys I’d be doing this with. We knew and trusted each other in a way I never had with random Doms at the club. And we were doing this with no condoms, which brought a whole new level of intimacy and even danger to the fold.

I had removed the plug I’d been wearing all evening right before coming outside and had reapplied lube. Skye had told me not to bother with underwear, so I hadn’t, though with how hard I already was, I kind of wished I had. Running would not be easy.

I was ready to go though. Wearing black joggers that were thick enough that they should protect my skin from branches and other things in the woods, loose enough to run but not snag on shit. I had on a black, long-sleeved compression shirt. It was cold out here at night, and I wanted my skin covered as much as possible, well, until it wasn’t. I had my most solid sneakers on and had even taken out my lip and nose ring. My flashlight and a tiny pocketknife, since I wasn’t allowed my real knives, were all I had on me. I had a feeling things were going to get wild and I’d rather take the precautions now so I didn’t have to think about it once I was fully in the scene mindset.

Skye walked out of the house dressed similarly to me. He grinned and walked up to me, but there was something in his stance more predatory than I was used to from him.

“Ready, sunshine?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“You got your watch on and set?”

“Yup.” Earlier today Maverick had given me a smart watch. It had GPS location, as well as an emergency alert. The rule was that no one was allowed to check it unless they were truly worried it was an emergency, but it was a fail-safe just in case. It also gave Diego a link to track us if shit really hit the fan. I wasn’t too worried, but it was nice security.

Luca and Maverick came out next. They were huddled together and whispering heatedly to each other.

I glanced at Skye. “What’s up with them?”

“Eh, nothing to worry about right now. They always get like this before they hunt.”

I wanted to believe him, but something felt off. Before I could question it, Luca and Mav walked up to us, their conversation over.

I was awestruck by how sexy all my men were. Maverick and Luca were also dressed similarly to us but wearing cargo pants instead of joggers and long-sleeved shirts. Maverick was also wearing a beanie, which looked hot as fuck on him.

“Not gonna lie. You didn’t strike me as a beanie man, Sir, but you look so fucking good.”

Mav’s grin was predatory. “Thank you, brat. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Luca hadn’t said a word, but he was staring at me so intensely, it had me squirming.

“Is everything okay, Sir?”

He smiled, but it was forced. Okay, something was going on. “All good, trouble. Is everyone ready?”

Skye draped himself over my shoulders, shaking me roughly. “So fucking ready. Let’s go.”

“Perfect. Everyone remembers the rules?” Maverick started. We did, but he went over them again. “Respect everyone’s limits, use the GPS and alarm if needed, safewords always apply. Besides that, have fucking fun, go wild.” He looked at me. “I expect a fight, Brooks.”

I flashed him a flirty smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll get one.”

He squeezed my shoulder. “Good, because I don’t plan on going easy on you, even if you are a newbie.”

“I’ll be pissed if you do.”

“Because you are a newbie,” Luca added. “You get a five-minute head start. Skye gets two minutes, and remember, Skye is coming for you too.”

Fuck yes. “I remember, Sir.”

“Good boy. Okay.” He glanced at his watch. “Your head start begins . . . NOW!”

I took off like a shot toward the woods, no direction in my mind. I just knew I had to get as far away as fucking possible in my five minutes.

It was dark in the woods, darker than the property by our house, but I didn’t want to waste time taking out the flashlight, so I just fucking ran and hoped my eyes would adjust soon enough. For now I stayed on the path in between trees so I wasn’t tripping left and right. Getting distance was my main objective at first.

My speed was going to be my best advantage. I was faster than Luca and Maverick, and I planned to use it. Skye was going to be the wild card. I thought I was slightly faster than him, but it wasn’t enough to make a big difference. I’d have to be crafty to evade him.

After running full out for a minute or two, I started to slow down and tried to get my bearings. Where the fuck was I? Was there anywhere to hide?

All around me, there was nothing but tall trees. I still needed to move. I checked my watch. Two minutes had passed. That meant I had one more before Skye was let loose. I needed more distance. I started running again.

The trees began to lessen, so I was coming toward a clearing. I turned right, back into the density. This area wasn’t as smooth, as I was off the path. I tripped a couple times, slowing me down.

“Fuck.” My arm got caught on a branch, and I was really fucking grateful for my clothing choice.

I got on my hands and knees, climbing through a thick bramble of branches, but I finally ended up in the perfect area. There were still trees and places to hide, but there was enough open area that I could fight if it came down to that.

My watch started to vibrate. It was my warning that Skye was loose.

Scanning the area, I saw long grass, long enough that I could lie in it and be mostly hidden. Maybe I could even take whoever found me by surprise and get the jump on them. I’d need every advantage I could get.

I lay flat in the grass, vaguely wondering if ticks were a thing in Finland. It didn’t matter, though, because way too soon, like, way quicker than should be possible, I heard movement in the trees to the left of me. That couldn’t possibly be Skye already, right? It had taken me the full three minutes to find this spot. Would he have gotten here in about a minute? Maybe it was just an animal.

My heart was pounding so loudly in my chest, it felt like a dead giveaway. I could only fucking hope it wasn’t as loud as it felt to my ears.

A branch snapped. Shit.

I propped myself up on my elbows, trying to get a better view, but I couldn’t see anything. Was it Skye? Something else? The anticipation was nearly killing me, and it was hard not to jump out of my hiding spot and go to check on the noise. But I’d watched enough horror movies to know that was never smart. I took a deep breath. Stay where you are, Brooks. This is the best spot. If it is Skye, he’ll eventually leave the tree covering and you’ll get the jump on him .

There was a crunching sound, and I shifted from my belly into more of a crouch. If it was Skye, I wanted to be ready.

My watch vibrated again, and everything went quiet. Fuck. I quickly shut it off, hoping that Skye hadn’t been able to hear it. I didn’t dare move a muscle. I wouldn’t give anything else away.

There was a crunching sound. “Ohhh, sunshine!” Skye called out in a singsong voice. “I know you’re here. Why don’t you come out and make it easier on both of us?”

Yeah, I didn’t think so. I tried to peer through the grass but couldn’t see shit. Where the fuck was he?

“Little rabbit! Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

I bit into my lip to avoid making a sound and got ready to pounce. If he really wasn’t sure where I was, that was my advantage. That was, if I could fucking find him. How the hell did it seem like his voice was coming from all angles?

I was squinting out into the distance, trying to make out his shape through the darkness. Somehow, I didn’t even notice Skye sneaking up on me until his hand curled into my hair and he dragged me out of my hiding space.

“Found you.”