Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Day three comes with lower temperatures than ever.
I wake to the soughing wind outside the bedroom window and stare up at the ceiling more confused than I’ve ever been in my life. To say I don’t know what to do or how to get myself out of this insane situation would be an understatement.
Today was supposed to be my last full day at Mr. Taylor’s estate. My last chance to finish the winter wonderland decorations he’d asked for, yet I’ve gotten little to nothing done.
I’ve been much more preoccupied by the predatory game I’ve found myself trapped in.
For the rest of the morning, I’m going through the motions. My mind’s still processing the masked Santa Claus who chased me and hunted me down like his prey.
Images of him as he stepped out of the woods play on repeat. His sheer size was intimidating, his chest broad and packed with muscle, his face obscured by the Krampus mask he wore.
I took off in a desperate scramble only to be caught. His body pressed against mine, pinning me to the tree bark as he claimed me.
His hands groped my body—breasts, ass, thighs, pussy. He sniffed me like my scent made him even more feral and left clenched fingerprint marks on my skin.
His fingers circled my thigh and his breath was hot on throat in the shivering cold. I tried hard to resist him, fighting like hell, until I couldn’t stand it anymore.
I gave into him, spine arching my body into his.
Then he fucked me so good, I felt him for hours afterward. I still feel him now.
The silver bell sits on the coffee table, still nestled in the box’s velvet cushioning. Hours go by with me throwing glances at it as I think about my next moves.
He gave me this silver bell like he gifted the lingerie. Clearly with a purpose and intention in mind. The question is: what?
Daylight is fading away and I’ve stayed safely indoors, afraid I’d wander outside and he’d be waiting for me. As the sun sets and the sky deepens to darker shades, I realize I’ve been thinking about this situation all wrong.
My fingers reach for the silver bell, cradling it in my palm, surprised by the weight. It’s heavier than I expected. Cold and smooth and perfectly shaped to be held. Designed to be rung.
I close my hand around it and rise from the sofa, coming to a sudden decision that scares even me.
But I’m in such a damn daze there’s no logic or rationale to be found. I’m operating on instinct alone.
The wind hammers against the windows as I climb the stairs, speeding up ’til I’m taking two at a time. I burst into the bedroom where I’ve been sleeping and dart to the dresser where I’ve stashed the puzzling items I’ve been gifted.
The fear that used to clench at my ribs has morphed into an electric charge that pulses through my whole body. It’s hot and sharp and makes me flushed and breathless.
I grab the lingerie first, holding it up against myself and turning toward the mirror on the wall.
Then I start putting it on. I tug off the sweater and leggings I’m wearing and slide into the small scrap of lacy fabric, finding it as sheer and revealing on my body as it was folded inside the gift box.
The bodysuit hugs my figure as if it were designed with me in mind, my breasts looking large and round, and dark brown nipples visible against the red lace.
There’s also another detail I hadn’t noticed before putting it on—the lingerie is crotchless.
I stare in an almost scandalized shock as my mons pubis shows through the opening, patch of coily pubic hair and all. I haven’t even shaved recently—I didn’t think I had a reason to—but something tells me that’s what’s preferred in this twisted situation.
At the same time, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel sexy. It’s actually… the sexiest I’ve ever felt as I stare at myself in the mirror in this sheer lacy lingerie picked out for me by some disturbing masked man in the woods hell bent on hunting me.
My curls are an unstyled cloud that frames my face and makes me look even more wild and untamed.
I lace my winter boots next, tugging and tightening the strings ’til they’re snug on my feet. Perfect for what I’m about to do.
My coat comes last, shrugging it on and leaving it hanging open as I snatch the silver bell off the top of the dresser.
I rush down the stairs with my racing heart ticking even faster than when I made this snap decision. But the truth is, this is the only way to handle this situation.
This is what it was leading to all along. This was what this entire stay at Mr. Taylor’s estate was about.
Every moment was building toward the final night I’d be here for this sick, twisted game. Now I’m finally ready to really play.
I wrench the front doors open, greeted by a powerful gust of chilling wind, then step out into the dark, snowy night.
It’s so cold the air stings. It’s biting, immediately making my nipples hard.
I draw a deep breath and start toward the tree line, silver bell firmly in hand. Then I hold it up and ring it, the sound loud and jarring in the desolate wintry night.
It plays as a resonant, jingly melody that rings out for what feels like miles upon miles to come. But it’s how I’m meant to call him. How we’re meant to play this final round.
I’m meant to offer myself as prey, and he’s meant to hunt me as such; the mysterious predator lurking in wait in the woods.
When he appears, he does so as silently and ominously as the times before, emerging from between the thick trees in the distance.
He stands before me, still, with only his antlered mask and faded Santa Claus pants on, his muscular chest as broad and bare as ever.
Another pulse of excitement thrums through me, mixed with the intrinsic fear this entire situation has brought. The worry I’ve completely miscalculated what this is and I might not even survive the night.
But either way, I have to find out. Either way, I can’t pretend I’m not a part of this hunt, whether willing or otherwise.
He keeps his gaze fixed on me—or whatever he sees through the slits of the mask—as he starts forward, each step gradual and slow but unwavering.
This is it. This is happening, and there’s no turning back.
As the distance between us shrinks and I almost have second thoughts, he breaks out into a sprint. He charges toward me at the same merciless speed he’s done the other times.
I gasp, the silver bell slipping from my fingers and plopping into the snow below. Then I turn and take off into the opposite side of the woods. I lead him into the darkness, inviting him to follow, ready for whatever comes next.