Chapter Five #2
Seth shrugged. “I’m going to do my laundry for the trip and touch base with River, let him know I’m jetting out. Other than that, I’m good. So…you going to tell us what you have in mind?”
“Nah. But I think you’ll really enjoy it. We all will.” Beck’s eyes glittered with mischief as he looked at Heavenly. “I suggest you rest up today. Oh, and I hope you can run.”
Hours later, Heavenly fidgeted anxiously in the front seat of the SUV. All afternoon, she and Seth had pelted Beck with questions about their surprise, but her sexy surgeon had remained tight-lipped, refusing to give either of them the slightest hint.
Why would she be running? She could, of course…but as quickly as Beck? And Seth was even more athletic. They’d both run circles around her.
And…what would happen if they were faster?
Dressed in head-to-toe black, Beck navigated the vehicle out of the city. The sun hung low in the horizon, painting the sky in shades of gold and crimson. It looked pretty, but Heavenly was too nervous to appreciate it.
She’d be less apprehensive if Beck had “picked” someone’s brain other than Pike’s. The taciturn, tattooed loner had proven his proclivities prowled a dark, freakishly twisted trail. Was that the reason Jasmine kept him in the friend zone?
As Beck turned off the main road and onto a gravel lane, Heavenly stared out the windshield at their rapidly changing surroundings. Through the few-and-far-between gaps in the trees, she spied a towering chain-link fence, topped with razor-wire.
Where the heck was Beck taking them?
Seth, also wearing unrelieved black, scowled from the back seat. “Are we visiting a prison?”
“No.” Beck laughed. He was keeping them both in the dark—and he was enjoying it.
Heavenly huffed. “Then what is this—”
“Patience, little girl.”
The next five minutes dragged on, feeling like half of forever before he stopped in front of an unassuming rustic lodge, almost completely surrounded by trees. The crude wooden sign above the door read The Wild Stalk.
“A hunting lodge. Is that what we’re doing?” Seth’s question was laced with intrigue, as if he suddenly understood tonight’s activity.
Heavenly didn’t want to hurt Beck’s feelings, but…what had he been thinking? “I-I don’t know anything about hunting.”
“You don’t have to.” Beck reached over the console and patted her thigh.
Maybe he’d meant that touch to be reassuring…but it seemed a lot more sexual, given his lingering palm and wandering fingers.
“In fact, it’s better if you don’t.” Seth grinned enthusiastically as he unbuckled his seat belt.
Heavenly turned in her seat to frown at Beck. “Okay…but I’m not killing Bambi. I-I can’t.”
Sending her a tender smile, he threaded his fingers through hers, then softly kissed her knuckles. “We’re not here to kill anything, little girl. I promise. Come with me. You’ll see.”
Suddenly eager, Seth hoisted up the duffel beside him and hopped out of the back seat. Before she could even reach for the handle, he opened the passenger door and held out his hand.
His wolfish grin told her he grasped what Beck had planned. As she slid her hand in his and eased from the SUV, she studied his face for clues, but his expression didn’t tell her anything—except that he was impatient.
Seth gripped her tight while Beck settled his palm at the small of her back. Together, they surrounded her as they led her up the stairs. She could feel excitement pinging off them.
When they entered the wooden building, a forty-something bearded man lifted his head and studied them with a sharp, assessing stare. “Beckman?”
“Yes.”
A little frown burrowed between his graying brows. “Are you waiting for other hunters…or is this your whole party?”
“This is it,” Beck confirmed.
The proprietor shrugged. “Sure. Usually, hunting packs are bigger, but…whatever. You’re paid up for four hours. Don’t be late. There’s a midnight hunting party booked after yours.” The man handed them each a release form. “These are standard waivers. If you want to play…sign away.”
Play? Play what?
Beck and Seth stepped in close, flanking her as Heavenly scanned the document. Words like pursuit scenario, safe words, and consensual adult role-play jumped off the page. She tensed. Her pulse quickened. The air grew thick.
Beck stroked her arm while Seth skimmed his fingers down her spine.
“What exactly are we hunting?” Her gaze bounced between them.
But there was one obvious answer. And the way they both stared, eyes hot and hungry, made her tummy knot and her blood pool even lower.
“You’re not hunting, little girl. Seth and I are. And we’ll be hunting you,” Beck murmured against her ear.
The Wild Stalk.
I hope you can run. She finally understood Beck’s cryptic comment.
She gaped at him. “You’re…serious?”
He didn’t reply, but his grin turned into a wicked smile that made her womb clench.
On her other side, Seth’s entire body tightened as he leaned closer. “Oh, yeah. We’ll even give you a head start.”
They want to chase me. Hunt me like prey.
A tremor of fear and yet contradictory excitement quaked through her. “And…if you catch me?”
Their smiles turned positively feral.
“We claim our prize…however we want.” Beck winked, his eyes full of dark promise.
Heavenly could barely breathe. Their game was twisted, barbaric. She should be afraid, feel revulsion. She should refuse. But the incessant throbbing between her legs told her the last thing she felt was disgust.
She fidgeted, pressing her thighs together to quell the ache. No such luck.
“You game, angel?” Seth chivalrously gave her an out. “You don’t have to do this.”
“No. I-I want to.” Unable to contain her excitement, she caught her hand trembling as she signed.
The guys both did the same, then Seth set down the pen with a decisive clack.
“Your website indicated there’s a room where she can change?” Beck said to the bearded man in the plaid shirt as he lifted the black duffel.
“In there.” The proprietor pointed to a door on the far side of the room.
“Perfect.”
Heavenly’s heart kicked up another notch. “What am I changing into? What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
Beck grinned as he guided her into a room lined with tall metal lockers, Seth following behind. “It will be more fun if you wear this…”
He plucked a gauzy white nightgown from the duffel.
She stared at the garment, her mind racing as she blinked up at him. “It’s…transparent.”
Seth’s expression turned downright dirty. “It is.”
Nibbling her bottom lip, Heavenly considered the situation. The fence suggested the property was private. The weather was perfect, a mere hint of a breeze to ruffle the temperate evening. She only had one question.
“Will anyone else see me wearing this?”
“We’re the only guests here tonight,” Beck promised.
That was a relief. She wouldn’t want to run into other strangers “hunting.”
She took the nightgown from his grasp. “Do I just put my things in the locker?”
“Yep. And, um…leave your shoes here, too.” Beck nodded to her sandals.
She frowned. “I’ll be barefoot.”
“Oh, you will,” Seth drawled as if he liked that.
Her eyes narrowed. “But…won’t I be at a disadvantage?”
“That’s the idea.” Beck smiled deviously.
Heavenly licked her lips. “You don’t play fair.”
Together, the guys laughed before Seth dropped his hand to her waist, then slid it down to her backside. “You’re just now catching on?”
“Don’t worry, little girl,” Beck added. “You’ll be screaming later, but not because you’re angry about the rules.”
She could just imagine all the ways they’d make her scream.
Heavenly blushed. “I’m marrying perverts.”
Again, they both laughed before Beck dropped a kiss just beneath her ear. “You already knew that.”
She did. “I need to have my head examined.”
“So…” Seth drawled. “Is that a yes, angel? You’ll play with us? Wear the nightgown and let us hunt you?”
Even his words made her quiver with a thrill she didn’t understand. “Yes.”
She whispered, but they both heard. The approval in their eyes matched the lust pinging between them.
“We’ll wait for you out there.”
He and Beck both disappeared back to the main office, shutting the door behind them.
Shaking, she tugged off her clothes and slipped the flowing white gown over her head.
She glanced at herself in the full-length mirror behind the door—and her jaw dropped.
Trimmed in bows and lace, the nightie almost looked girlishly innocent…
except she could see her dusky pink nipples, the indention of her waist, the hint of shadows between her legs, and the outline of her thighs—all of which proved she was a woman.
No doubt, they’d love this get-up. And because she was learning well what turned them on, she grinned as she pulled free the ponytail holders she’d used to secure her messy bun, then braided her hair into neat little pigtails.
Satisfied, she stepped out the door, staying in the shadows and away from the proprietor.
Beck and Seth both turned to her. Instantly, heat lit their eyes.
“Hmm. You look gorgeous, angel.” Seth skimmed his fingers down her cheek before settling the locket he’d given her over the tiny pearl buttons nestled between her collarbones.
“Beautiful,” Beck added, his voice husky.
Seth ducked into the changing room, shoved their duffel into one of the lockers, then slammed the metal door before pocketing its key. Then he returned to their side. “Ready?”
His wolfish grin said he was. Beck, too.
She nodded bravely. “As I’ll ever be.”
“What’s next?” Beck asked the man behind the counter, standing in front of her to block his view. Seth joined him, creating a wall of man between her and the proprietor.