Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Hayden
T he conference had been an exercise in sameness from day one. I’d done everything I was supposed to do for work, took notes, circled back with the guys in the office, participated in teambuilding exercises, and all that. But the entire time, my mind was racing forward to Friday night.
“Everything is in place, I think,” I told Ari as I packed the last of my things into my small suitcase and did a final, visual sweep of the hotel room to make sure I wasn’t leaving anything behind. “You spoke with Ace’s second?”
“Yep,” Ari said on the other end of our phone call. I could hear one-year-old Gwen fussing in the background, but Ari didn’t seem at all fussed. “Alex is a good guy. He vouched for Ace unreservedly.”
“That’s good to know,” I said, closing my suitcase, then sitting on the bed and checking my watch. “I messaged him about an hour ago with a pic of what I’m wearing and to let him know I’d be leaving the hotel at five.”
“Late check-out?” Ari asked with a grin.
“Technically, I have the room until I leave for home on Monday.”
“Then it sounds like you’re all set,” Ari said, then chuckled. “You’re gonna have so much fun.”
I grinned from ear to ear. “I know,” I said, tugging at the collar of my button-up work shirt.
I hadn’t bothered changing out of business clothes, but that was part of the fantasy. I just wished my shirt wasn’t so tight and ill-suited for the warmer weather of Port Lucia.
“I really need this one to unwind,” I went on. “Dad and Papa have been riding my ass lately, putting all sorts of pressure on me because I’m not turning into the sort of sweet, compliant omega son Simon is. They hate having a weirdo rebel omega in the family.”
“Don’t say that,” Ari consoled me from the other end of the call. “I’m sure your parents are proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished.”
I barked a laugh. “They’d’ve been prouder if one of their kids had turned out to be an alpha. Two omegas and two betas just embarrass them, especially Dad.”
Ari sighed. “Well, some parents are just like that. I can’t imagine being that way, though. I don’t care if Gwen shows signs of being an alpha or a beta or whatever as she gets older, and it makes no difference to me if this new one is a boy or a girl, omega, alpha, or alien. I’ll love them with my whole heart, and Samson will, too.”
I smiled at Ari’s outpouring of fatherly affection. After all he’d been through, he was the perfect papa, and this second child he and Samson were about to have would be second of a lot more kids.
I liked kids and maybe wanted to have some someday. Maybe. I’d be a terrible papa, though. I was far too selfish and horny most of the time. Besides, I wanted to have a career, much to my parents’ disgust. I was absolutely one of those ambitious, working omegas who cringed at the idea of staying home and raising a family.
But that wasn’t something I’d have to worry about anytime soon.
“Well, I need to go,” I told Ari, looking at my watch again. “It’s almost go time, and I need to call Simon first to check in.”
“Does he know about this fantasy?” Ari asked, surprised.
I laughed loudly. “Simon? No. Well, sort of. He knows what extra-curricular activities I prefer.” I paused. “I keep trying to get him to sign up for the Dark Fantasies Club.”
“Really?” Ari sounded shocked. “Simon is so mild-mannered and sweet.”
“I know,” I said, standing again and pacing the room while tugging at my shirt to give my body some air. The AC in the room must have been on the fritz or something. “But can’t you just imagine? He would be some kinky alpha’s dream playmate.”
Ari laughed. “I can’t tell if that’s an unhealthy obsession with your brother’s sex life or just you being a sweet, caring brother.”
“It’s the sweet, caring brother thing,” I said, grinning at my reflection in the hotel mirror. “I just want my brother to be happy and to get laid well.”
“Alright, then you’d better call him,” Ari laughed. “I’ll check in with you in about twelve hours to see how the fantasy is going.”
We said goodbye, and without pause, I dialed Simon’s number.
“Hello?” Simon answered, immediately sounding anxious. “Hayden?”
“Hey, Simon,” I said, deliberately sounding as calm and casual as possible. “I just wanted to check in with you to let you know the conference is over and I’ll be out of touch for a day or two.”
Simon sighed on the other end of the call. “Be careful,” he said. I could practically see him frowning. “I guess it’s too much to ask for you to stay out of trouble.”
“Everything is fine,” I told him in a soothing voice. “If you get worried about me, call Ari and talk to him.”
“Alright,” Simon said quietly. I could practically see him biting his lip and furrowing his brow.
I was about to say goodbye and end the call when Simon went on with, “Dad and Papa are irritated that you’re staying in Port Lucia so long. They’re hosting a party this weekend, and they wanted you to be there. Apparently, they have an alpha they want to introduce you to.”
“Oh, God, why ?” I sighed.
“Because he’s from a society family,” Simon said. “You know how Dad and Papa are always trying to reach up in the world.”
“Why don’t they introduce you to this alpha?” I asked.
“Apparently, I’m not his type,” Simon sighed.
“Well, chin up,” I said. “I’ll be back on Monday night. Dad and Papa can attempt to use me for their social climbing then.”
We said goodbye, and I shook my head over my phone, grinning. I loved my family, but my parents aggravated me, and there were so many things I wished for Simon that I just didn’t see him reaching for himself.
With a deep breath, I let all of that go and checked my appearance in the mirror again. I looked a little pink, but that was probably the broken AC and my excitement for everything that was about to happen.
I was so ready for this fantasy that my hole already felt loose and slippery. The structure of the play had been worked out, but I’d told Ace that I wanted to be surprised by his plans. He’d told me via text that he had a scenario planned out and he’d requested I play along.
I was all for it.
I checked my watch one last time. It was five. Time to walk into a carefully constructed nightmare situation and to have my needy, masochistic omega ass fucked six ways to Sunday by a total stranger.
My cock gave a little jump in excitement.
I headed to the bed and gathered up my suitcase. I didn’t really need to take everything with me, but in my mind, it added to the verisimilitude of the play. And who knew what might happen between now and Monday, when my flight left. If we had as good a time as I hoped we’d have, maybe I would need to head straight to the airport from Ace’s place. I needed to be ready for anything.
I headed down to the lobby, as casual as you please, and left the hotel through the front door. A few of the others from the conference were still there, and I waved to one. I hoped she didn’t try to follow me and that she didn’t notice whatever Ace had planned for the abduction. There was nothing more embarrassing than having someone who didn’t know what was going on trying to stop your sexy fake kidnapping. Ask me how I knew.
It was late enough in the year that the sun was already going down as I stepped outside and headed along the slightly crowded street toward the train station. My route was all prearranged. I was pretending to head to the train station so that I could get to the airport.
A couple blocks along, I reached the alley Ace had mapped out for me and pretended to make a wrong turn. I got really into the whole thing, too. I took out my phone, looked around, put on a confused face, and did an award-worthy job of pretending like I had no idea where I was or how to get where I needed to go.
I hoped Ace was watching and that he’d be tickled by my performance.
I walked on, noting the plain black sedan parked near the corner of the parking garage to my right. A smile tried to pull at the corners of my mouth, but I ignored it.
I couldn’t ignore the way my heart pounded faster and my body seemed to heat from the inside with excitement. This was it. I knew the moment was coming. I tucked my phone into the inside pocket of my suit jacket, trusting it would be safe there when the whole grab and stuff part of the fake kidnapping happened. It would suck to lose my phone when?—
A split-second later, a large form jumped out of the shadows of some bins I’d just passed and a pair of thick, strong arms wrapped around me. A gloved hand clamped over my mouth before I could scream.
Fear gripped me, and adrenaline raced through my overheated body.
“Shut up and do exactly as I say or you’re a dead man,” A deep, threatening, alpha voice murmured in my ear.
I recognized Ace’s voice from our phone call. I couldn’t see him the way he was restraining me, but I’d only ever seen his pic in the app anyhow. Ari was the one who’d done the video call with him to check him out.
What I didn’t expect was the power of his alpha scent. I’d never smelled anything like him before, and I’d been with a lot of alphas. Ace smelled unique, a combination of old books and summer heat. It was amazing, and my dick pressed hard against my trousers in my eagerness for more.
I struggled a bit as part of the game. It was hard to explain to people without this kink, but my fear was real. Trying to get away was all part of the fantasy. I wasn’t going anywhere, which had more to do with the strength I could feel in Ace’s body than any lack of effort on my part.
“Don’t move,” Ace growled, his breath hot against my neck. “The jig is up. Your reign of terror stops here.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, which was awesome. I tried to make noise, but it was muffled by his gloved hand.
Ace shoved me forward, toward the sedan. “We’re moving,” he said, propelling me forward until he could push me flat over the front of his car.
The metal was still warm. I could feel my heart pounding against it through my suit when Ace pinned my upper body to the hood and kicked my legs farther apart.
My eyes went wide. He wasn’t going to fuck me right there in the alley, out in the open, was he?
That idea had me bristling with fear and my hole leaking slick.
That wasn’t what he had in mind, though. Moving my legs apart was to unbalance me. With a few quick movements, he somehow produced a roll of bondage tape. I was fighting not to smile as he wrapped it around my head and over my mouth, gagging me.
Once the tape had me silenced and breathing hard through my nose, he yanked my arms behind me and used the tape to secure them together, immobile.
From there, he shifted and shoved my legs back together, then used the tape to bind them at my thighs, knees, calves and ankles. He was quick and efficient, and in no time, I was completely helpless and barely able to move.
My heart raced as he yanked me back, then lifted me into his arms. I was so scared I was nearly in tears. And I loved it. I loved this whole, terrifying situation he’d thought up.
“You’ll stay quiet and out of sight until we get to the interrogation location,” Ace said, carrying me toward the back of the car.
Interrogation? Holy shit and yes, please!
I glanced back down the alley to my suitcase, hoping he remembered to go back for it. Ace noticed my gesture.
“I’ve got it,” he said, tone still menacing, but intent slipping out of the scene for a moment.
Under the tape, I grinned again. Already, I liked playing with this alpha.
My heartrate soared when he popped open his trunk and unceremoniously dumped me inside. My eyes went wide as he shifted me around on the thick duvet he’d put down on the bed of the trunk. Once he was satisfied with how I was stuffed into his car, he straightened, grabbing the lid.
That’s when I got my first true glimpse of Ace the Abductor in the flesh. He was even hotter than his pics on the app made him out to be. He was easily six-three or more, and built like a typical alpha, thick and strong. He had dark hair with just a tiny shot of silver through his temples, but despite that, he didn’t look that old to me. His profile said he was thirty-two.
I fleetingly wondered if stress was causing him to go grey before he said, “There’s a button about six inches from your face. If it gets to be too much, hit it and we’ll change things up.”
I glanced to where he pointed and saw a large, red button of some sort.
That was all I had time for before he slammed the lid of the trunk on me, leaving me in darkness.
I let out a muffled cry, half to play the scene and half because I was buzzing with so many emotions I had to make some sort of noise. I remembered our first call, when he’d asked me if I was claustrophobic. This had to be what he meant.
Being stuffed in a trunk was the best beginning to a kidnapping fantasy I’d ever had. It was genuinely terrifying, and yet, I trusted Ace.
For a moment, there was silence. Then one of the back doors of the car opened. I heard a shift of fabric against fabric and let out a sigh of relief that he’d gone back for my suitcase. One less thing to worry about.
From there, I heard and felt him get into the car, start the engine, then we were off.
We drove for about half an hour, I think. I didn’t feel the need to push his panic button once as he drove out to wherever his play space was. It took longer than I wanted it to, but I only thought that because the whole thing had me hot and prickly and desperate to be fucked silly. There was definitely something wrong with me that being taped up and thrown in a trunk made me want to spread my legs and offer a strange alpha my ass.
The good news was that Ace apparently swung that way, too. Lucky me.
The car eventually stopped, and Ace got out and came around to open the trunk. I didn’t know what to expect, but I instantly winced as even the little bit of light from the nearly set sun stung my eyes.
“Keep quiet and you might live another five minutes,” Ace said in a low growl.
Not that I had any choice with my mouth and body taped. And I was too busy looking around to see where we were as he hoisted me out of the trunk and over his shoulder.
For a moment, Ace’s incredible scent short-circuited everything in my brain. It was like every delicious, lazy summer afternoon I’d ever spent, complete with the books.
I shook myself and concentrated on my surroundings for a second. I recognized the slightly run-down apartment building Ace was carrying me to from his profile as well. It was the kind of apartment building in the middle of a struggling but respectable neighborhood. It looked like a giant brick with windows. We’d pulled up to the back of the building, so there weren’t any people there to witness Ace carrying me in through a door that squeaked on its hinges.
Ace’s play space apartment was on the third, top floor. I noticed with surprise the elaborate security system attached to the door. Considering the neighborhood, it was a shock that Ace had to type in a code and do a retinal scan to get inside.
As soon as we were in the apartment, I realized the need for the security. The entire place was filled with tech more sophisticated than I could even guess at. There was a desk with two computers, cameras in every corner of the ceiling, and other things that looked like maybe cameras or lasers or something on all of the walls.
At the same time, it was an ordinary apartment with a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom off to one side, and a sofa, chairs, and TV in the living room. Just like the pics on Ace’s profile. But the same as the pics of Ace, seeing everything in person gave me a way different feeling.
“Time to talk,” Ace said, carrying me to one of the chairs and practically dropping me in it.
I made sounds of protest as he pulled me forward and ripped through the tape around my wrists and elbows to free them. I figured I should probably attempt to make a break for it, but as soon as my hands were free, he repositioned my arms, maneuvering them so he had my wrists over the back of the chair.
I gasped through my nose as something harder than the plush cushions suddenly clamped around my wrists, holding me tightly to the chair. I hadn’t seen the metal bands as Ace had carried me to the chair, but I might just not have been paying attention.
A moment later, Ace ripped the tape from around my head, freeing my mouth.
“You can’t do this,” I gasped, playing my role well, my adrenaline spiking. “Let me go! Take me back to the hotel!”
I didn’t quite scream, since I didn’t want any neighbors to hear our game.
Ace ignored my please. “You’re going to tell me what I want to know,” he said, stepping back and crossing his arms as he glared at me.
I pulled at the clamps holding my wrists and twisted to get a look at them. They were part of the chair. It only looked like a cushy recliner. I had a feeling it had other tricks up its sleeve, too.
“Look at me!” Ace demanded.
His tone was so strong that looking at him was all I could do. My chest heaved with fear…and excitement, lust, and eagerness. I could feel my hole dripping and sweat already pouring down my back.
Of course, the sweat might have had something to do with the fact that the AC seemed to be broken in Ace’s play space, too.
“Where did you hide the codes?” Ace demanded.
I gaped at him, genuinely confused. It was clearly part of the scene, though.
“What—what codes?” I asked, breathing harder.
“You know what codes,” Ace said, narrowing his eyes. “You work for Henderson. You and your entire filthy gang stole top secret military security code.”
He suddenly surged forward, just as I was wrapping my brain around his scenario, slamming his huge hands on the arms of the chair and getting right up in my face.
“I’m the good guy,” he growled, “but I can be very bad to get what I want.”
I sucked in a breath, quivering all over. Yes. This was perfect. Ace was just the right level of intimidating. I loved that he was the good guy, but not afraid to use force to get his way.
I made a decision that I hoped would get us where I wanted us to be. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I gasped. “You’ve got me confused with someone else. I don’t know anything.”
Ace narrowed his eyes. “You think this is a game?” he hissed.
“No! No, I swear!”
Well, yes, actually.
“I have ways of making you talk,” he said, beautifully cliché, but perfect for where the scene needed to go.
He pulled back and went to work tearing at the tape binding my legs. With my arms immobilized over my head, there was nothing I could do to fight back or stop him.
He definitely didn’t stop. Once the tape was gone, he worked through the fastenings of my trousers and yanked them down, pulling them and my underwear straight off, along with my shoes. I squirmed and protested as loudly as I dared, but then he grabbed my legs and hoisted them up over the arms of the chair, leaving my ass completely exposed to his hungry gaze, I was more interested in what he would do next than pretending I didn’t want it.
“Where are the codes?” Ace demanded in a scary voice, leaning forward into me and spreading me wider.
“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I panted. I peeked down to my exposed ass and my rock-hard cock, which stood up through the tails of my business shirt. I was so hot that I could hardly catch my breath.
“You want me to fuck it out of you?” Ace asked, rocking back so he could undo the fastenings of his trousers. “I would enjoy fucking answers out of a lying, manipulative omega like you, see?”
He shoved his trousers down enough so that his massive, alpha cock sprung free. He even stroked its hardness a few times for show before leaning closer to me.
My hole twitched in hungry response, but there was something more than that. I was so hot now that I thought I might lose my mind. I couldn’t think to figure out how I should respond for the most entertaining effect. All I could do was lift my hips and pray this alpha would give me what I needed.
“Is that a dare?” Ace asked, still very much in character. “Do you think I won’t do it?”
“I—”
I was spinning out of control really fast. Everything within me was throbbing with visceral need. The AC at the hotel and here in Ace’s apartment weren’t broken. The trunk hadn’t been extra stuffy. Port Lucia wasn’t just abnormally hot for this time of year. It was me. It was all me.
Ace hadn’t caught on to what was happening with me, but he was still very much in the scene.
“You asked for it,” he growled, shifting so that he could press the head of his cock against my gaping, sopping-wet hole. “I’m going to show you who’s boss here, and then you’ll answer my questions the way I want them answered.”
I could only make a desperate, moaning sound.
Ace must have thought that was a protest or cry of panic. He shoved hard into me, and while I hadn’t completely figured out where he was going with his fantasy scenario, I didn’t care. All I wanted was that thick, glorious cock of his jerking deeper and deeper inside me as I lay, sprawled and helpless and partially bound in his chair. I didn’t care about anything else but being fucked and knotted.
Because against all odds and definitely unscheduled, I’d just gone into heat.