31. CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 31
Tilda
A sudden wind whips off the ocean, shaking the trees surrounding the circle of green where the crypt sits. Squinting my eyes, I restrain my backcombed hair as best I can. My witch dress, shabby, lacy and charcoal grey, sticks to my legs like bin bags.
Shit, late winter on Hazelhurst Island is cold. Colder still when you’re not wearing a coat.
Despite the chill, I manage a smile when Haz whoops at the force of the wind that’s lashing hair into her face.
‘Blowing a fucking gale!’ she shouts, barely audible over the shrieking trees.
When the latest gust settles, I reposition myself for the shot, careful to keep the crypt’s creepy wolf statue visible. Thank God the wind’s blowing the other way. It’s not so good for Haz though. I hear her growl as she fights to keep the camera’s viewfinder unobstructed. That’s usually Elly’s job but she’ll be editing this instead, that was the deal.
‘Come here.’ Turning her so she’s facing the wind, I gather her hair into a scrunchy, fingers falling through the thick, silky strands. It’s practical but my body also stirs at the sight of that jaw coming into focus, her face taking on a certain hardness. ‘There.’
‘Thanks, princess.’ She gingerly fingers the scrunchy. ‘Guess I’m the princess now.’
‘You look good.’
She smirks, pulling me to her. ‘I know.’ She runs her eyes over my costume. ‘Can’t get enough of you in this. Think the curse has got to me. I’m hot for a dead witch.’
I smile, holding my tongue. It’s on the tip of it to respond in kind. Even when we’re filming Haz’s scenes, she doesn’t need much in the way of costumes. Save for the scrubs, she can wear anything that’s masculine and contemporary, which accounts for pretty much her entire wardrobe. She always makes an effort though, rocking up in tweed jackets and open collar shirts. The rich tosser look suits her.
‘Well, nothing hot about this witch,’ I bite out between chattering teeth. ‘Might need that hot choccy soon.’
‘Alright.’ Haz gets back behind the camera. ‘One more shot. I want you facing away towards the ocean. Maybe by that tree over there? You’ll just be a silhouette. People won’t notice you at first. Be spooky as fuck when they do.’
I graze my fingers over the rough bark, the frothing ocean just visible through the pine trees. It’s a moody, wild day, the sky slate grey and beginning to hurl fine rain. Perfect for filming a horror flick.
I feel alone all the way over here. I can’t hear Haz, can’t hear any signs of life at all despite it being a bustling university day. I’ve been playing at this witch for too long. She’s got into my head, making me morose and contemplative every time I don this dress.
This could be where she jumped from, searching the waves for a glimpse of her lover, only to see his face still up on the cliff, white with anguish as he watches her fall.
Pussy for not jumping in after her, to be honest.
I would have.
I close my eyes, a certain stillness settling over my body as my shivering suddenly ceases. I’d have jumped before she’d even hit the water, shielding her against the icy waves even as they devoured us. Together at last, entwined for eternity in a tomb of our making. No one to come between us again.
Something I should have done ten years ago. Elly thoroughly unpicked that wound the night we played that game, and I can’t stop thinking about her since. Doesn’t matter that we were kids. We knew we belonged together, that parting us would disrupt something integral to the workings of the universe. Took pre-emptive measures to ensure that wouldn’t happen.
It happened anyway.
I stopped believing in magic after that. We were fools. We were kids. This pain should have long since fled.
‘Yo, witchy, wanna step away from that cliff there?’
I blink back to myself, returning to where Haz is packing up the equipment.
She nods to the crypt. ‘Wanna get cosy with old wolf boy?’
Pulling on my coat, I hunker down in the locked doorway, waiting with anticipation for Haz to join me. It’s a tight squeeze and I know she’ll do her best to make it tighter.
Her thigh is warm where it presses against mine. She takes off her coat, laying it over both of our laps.
‘You’re gonna freeze,’ I admonish.
‘Better you than me.’
She unearths a thermos from her bag. There are goosebumps on her arms but I can’t see any hair. I swear she shaves them, the olive skin looking as smooth and as unblemished as a baby’s.
She grins at me, twisting the top off the thermos. ‘Besides, you can always warm me up.’
I let out a breath, averting my eyes from her salacious expression. I wish I could go back to how it was sometimes. When she could make these jokes and nothing would stick. I’d roll my eyes, give her a shove and that would be that. Now there’s a heaviness in my chest, a warmth in my cheeks. A stirring in my pussy that is as fearful for her touch as it is aching for it.
Damn Elly. It’s all her fault. She’s awakened something in me, this heightened awareness that makes it difficult to be around them on occasion. Elly’s incredible in bed, dominant and gentle and attentive. Perfect. But sometimes I’m lying with her, listening to Haz in the room next door and wondering what it would be like to fuck her instead. For her to fuck me.
It feels forbidden, the thoughts thrilling. Which is silly when Haz has all but thrown herself at me these last few months. And it’s not like Elly has any particular claim on me just because we’re sleeping together. They’re both as special to me. They both elicit these same feelings.
The thought of touching Elly might be scary, but the thought of touching Haz is terrifying.
So I make do with these tiny moments, locking up my enjoyment tight. I can’t let her know how much I anticipate her touch, as innocent as it might be. How I think about how hard she might fuck me whilst I’m lying in the arms of her best friend.
I blow out a slow breath to recentre myself. ‘Is he actually buried here then?’
‘Yep,’ Haz says. ‘Way down though. Like, there’s a whole cave system full of bones down there.’
I squint at her dubiously. ‘Really?’
‘For real. Been down there, haven’t I?’
‘But it’s locked.’
‘So, there are these things called keys.’
‘Don’t be a dick, Haz.’
She smirks. ‘Got friends in high places, don’t I? Well, Nic does. I just borrow them sometimes.’
‘To break into peoples’ graves?’
‘Yeah, and the rest.’ She knocks on the wooden door at our backs. ‘That’s how you get down to the labyrinth. One of the entrances, anyway. I’ve seen it but never ventured any lower than the graves. I was with Serafina—you know, head honcho’s kid? She didn’t really like us mucking around with her dead family members.’ Forgoing the little plastic lid-cum-cup, she sips straight from the thermos. ‘Valid, I guess.’
Serafina…Fina. Huh. Had that been her then? On that day I was so rudely kidnapped by Blakely? Makes sense. If Serafina’s dad’s dodgy, it stands to reason that she is too. And Margot obviously is given what she knows and accepts about the Vaults. Not really a crowd I want to find myself in too much, even if I have seminars with Aurelie on the regular.
Tracks that Nic’s involved though. There’s none dodgier than that fucktard. And, you know, mentally unbalanced.
She spat in my mouth, for god’s sake. Even now I can’t believe it.
I hold the thermos under my chin, letting the chocolatey steam warm my face. ‘This was such a good shout.’
‘Can’t have our witch freezing to death, can we? We’d be fucked without her.’
‘Aw. Sweet.’
‘I mean the film will be fucked.’
‘Sure. If you say so.’
My back tingles upon knowing there’s dead bodies just behind it. I wonder how many, if they go all the way back to when Hazelhurst was a working castle. I can’t imagine a family staying in one place for so long. The council’s moved me and Mum on tonnes of times, up and down the country.
‘Wonder what else is in the labyrinths then,’ I muse.
Haz is quiet as she drinks. I feel her eyes on me, the cogs whirring behind them.
‘Tell you what,’ she says, wiping the chocolate moustache from her top lip. ‘Why don’t we find out. Nic can get us access, no problem.’
‘I’m not going with Nic.’
‘Obviously.’ She hits her head against the door. ‘Fuck, you’ve barely said two words to each other since Christmas. Every time you’re in the room together there’s this weird energy. Can’t tell if you want to kill each other or fuck—or both.’
‘Definitely the former.’
‘Right,’ Haz drawls, eyes narrowed on me. ‘Because you’re so super straight?’
I frown, shaking my head. ‘Because Nic is an asshole. Wouldn’t fuck her even if I wasn’t straight.’
‘So, you’re still straight?’ she presses. ‘Definitely wouldn’t fuck a girl?’
I look at her, trying to divine the meaning behind her words. They seem simple enough but there’s a tone in them I can’t decipher, one that makes me instantly suspicious. Maybe she’s not as oblivious as me and Elly think. My heartrate picks up thinking of everything she might know, everything she might have heard.
‘Still straight, Haz. Soz.’
She looks away, thermos up to her lips. ‘Bummer.’
I shift uncomfortably. ‘So—you think you can get us under Hazelhurst then?’ Anything to get her off the perplexing topic of my sexuality.
‘Since I won’t be getting you under me, I guess that’ll have to do. I’ve got shit on this evening but I’ll be free tonight. Meet back here at nine.’
‘Will it just be us?’
Haz eyes me. ‘Do you want it to be?’
I nod slowly. I do want it to be just us—as in no Nic or Blakely or Serafina—but the idea of being trapped underground, in a maze, the complexity of which I experienced Halloween night, where only Haz has the key, our one way out, well…that would be intimidating for anyone. Let alone someone who’s been keeping a fuck-off secret from her.
She hands me back the thermos with a smile. ‘Here at nine, then.’
Should have worn more than just these woollen tights. I shake my head at myself as I traverse the forest, wind lifting my pleated skirt. I hold it down with one hand, the other shining my phone torch.
I’m an idiot for wanting to look good for her. We’re breaking into a crypt, for God’s sake. And she’s seen me in all states of dress already—free of makeup in mismatched pyjamas, naked in the bath, off my tits at Vipers. I don’t think what I wear tonight is going to have much bearing on how attractive she finds me. She tells me often enough that she does.
The forest is spooky as shit. I’m never in it this late unless I’m drunk on the way back from Vipers. But campus is the other way, and I’ve imbibed no alcohol to dull my awareness of my surroundings. I arc my torch around, looking more for wolves than human-shaped dangers.
Insane that they’re even on this island. Like, surely that’s dangerous? Unless they’ve been bred in captivity, I suppose. I’ve heard they’re pretty much pets so it’s possible that’s the case. I wonder if Serafina owns them or just her dad. I know he’s a Wolf, that the guy buried in the crypt is too. Serafina seemed as angry as one that day she stomped after Aurelie. How shit to have to bunk with them. Aurelie seems different than her two roomies. Less dark and twisted. Maybe she’s gay with the angry one and not Blakely like I once suspected.
Love is mostly anger so that tracks. Ryan had been angry, enough to spook me sometimes. Mum’s always angry. Nic too. So, yeah, seems like there’s a lot of that going round.
It’s easier to think about all that than this damn forest. I’m not too far now. I can hear the ocean, see the orange lamp that hangs over the crypt. It’s not a huge structure but still imposing with its gothic arches and cross-tipped spires. The stone is grey and weathered, choked with trailing plants that don’t hold much green this time of year.
Haz is by the door, dressed in a black coat this time. She’s a hulking shadow by the arched, dark wood.
‘Hey.’ I turn my phone torch off now I’m here. ‘Got the key?’
‘Said I would.’ She runs a quick eye over my outfit. I’m wearing a cropped coat above my skirt, my boots shiny and slick from slogging through the dewy forest. I feel overdressed and stupid for it. ‘Dressing up for some old dead guy, huh?’
‘Yeah. After a sugar daddy, aren’t I?’
She chuckles as she pushes the door open. ‘Already unlocked it. Wanted to check all the keys.’
‘Who do you owe for this?’
‘That it’s me asking is enough for Nic.’
‘Cute.’ I wrinkle my nose. ‘I guess.’
‘I told you. She can be alright sometimes.’ She shoots me a look. ‘Don’t forget, despite all of this shit, she still doesn’t kick you out. She has the power to do that.’
Kind of true, I guess. Suppose her love for Haz and Elly is greater than her hatred for me. I’ll have to remember that. Might come in handy one day.
Stale must stuffs my nose. I peer around the mausoleum, following the bounce of Haz’s torch. Carved columns line the room, arcing around a raised platform in the centre, a stone coffin protruding from it.
‘Thought you said he was buried lower?’
‘He is. Coffin’s just for aesthetics.’
There’s another wolf on the coffin, sitting there with its head cocked, a lifelike representation. Under Haz’s fitful light, I swear I see it move, curiously tracking us.
Forgot for a minute just what a pussy I am. If the forest freaked me out, I can’t imagine a catacomb will be much better. Suddenly I’m glad I came with Haz. I know she’d protect me no matter what. I press closer to her under the guise of being cold.
‘Right,’ she says. ‘Entrance is through the coffin.’
‘What?!’
She grins. ‘I lied. It’s not just for aesthetics.’
‘You’re having me on.’
She just shrugs, hopping up onto the platform. Laying her torch on the coffin lid, she places both hands against it. There’s a rending sound of squealing stone as the lid moves to one side.
‘Haz…’
She gestures me over. ‘Come on.’
I step up hesitantly. ‘Are there bones?’
She nods to the coffin. I peer in. No bones, but a tunnel of dark, dusty steps.
‘What…the…fuck.’
‘Mascs first.’ She hauls herself up and over. ‘That way you’ll have a soft landing if you fall.’
‘You mean if some vengeful ghost pushes me?’
‘Oh yeah, we’re totally cursed, all Mummy -style. But that’s fine.’ She puts her torch under her chin and smiles. ‘I was born cursed.’
I follow more gingerly, accepting Haz’s hand to help me over. She peeks up my skirt and grins.
‘That is so disrespectful,’ I admonish.
‘Please. These fuckers are Mafia.’
I glance up at the sliver of grey light above our heads. ‘It’s not just going to snap shut, is it?’
‘Oh, totally. This place is boobytrapped to fuck too. Watch your step.’
My head shake goes unseen as Haz jogs down the stairs, leaving me in pitch blackness. I switch on my phone torch again, not trusting her not to leg it and leave me stranded in the dark. Glad I charged it before coming out.
At the bottom of the stairs is a wide corridor with chambers coming off it.
‘Ready to see some bones?’ Haz asks.
Surprisingly, I am. I have a tiny tattoo of a femur on my side, the best-looking bone in the body, hands down. Apart from the skull, of course. Plenty of which I spot as we enter one of the chambers.
‘Shit. I was expecting them to be buried or something.’
‘Boring.’ Haz steps up to the centremost collection of bones, and certainly the most embellished. ‘So, this is Mr Zaccaro himself. The OG.’
He’s behind a dusty film of glass, a Latin inscription arcing above him and two wolves stationed either side. ‘The guy who founded Hazelhurst?’
‘The one and only.’
‘Why here though if they’re all Italian?’
‘Sorry. That’s all I’ve got. Maybe they inherited the castle from a rellie.’
‘Nice. All I got from my grandad was his collection of brass crucifixes.’
‘Well, these guys would approve. All Catholic, aren’t they?’
‘Catholic with a literal den of iniquity just across the water.’
‘Pretty much tracks if you ask me.’ She slides the torch to the body next door. ‘This is wifey. She was a Witch. The first of them. She lectured here even though it was a big no-no for women at the time. Even the students were all men back then.’
‘How do you know all this?’
‘Fina. We were all pissed Halloween before last. Asked her for a peek. Think she regretted it the next day. We all got threat emails from Daddy Zaccaro.’
‘Yet here you are again.’
‘Here I am again.’ She raps on the glass above the woman’s bones. ‘She said it’s a family tradition that the Wolves all end up marrying Witches. Arranged marriages for the win. Guess her mum must’ve been one too. RIP to her.’
‘She’s dead?’
‘Yep. Pretty recent too. Don’t know how. Don’t care. We went to her funeral though, me and Nic. Something to do.’ She looks around the crypt with pursed lips. ‘She’s probably here. There was a covered coffin back there. Bet that’s her. Bet she’s not even fully decomposed yet. Anyway—onwards.’
The furthermost chamber is even more wild, just wall to wall with bones. Skulls make up the top shelves, pelvic bones the second, femurs below that. The rest is just a conglomeration of mashed up bones.
‘This is super trippy.’
Haz regards the remains. There must be a hundred bodies in here at least. ‘So, according to Fina, these are all the bones of their enemies.’
‘Riiiiight. Sure.’
‘Sounds cool though, doesn’t it?’ She steps closer, running a gentle finger over a disturbingly small skull. ‘They probably go back to castle times, if you ask me. Maybe there was a battle here or something. Man, makes me wish I took History.’
‘But then you wouldn’t have met me.’
Haz smiles. ‘True. Guess everything happens for a reason.’ She pinches two fingers together. ‘Our invisible red thread drawing us together.’
I smile back. ‘I love that theory. Do you believe it?’
‘I believe there’s someone out there for everyone. Sure. Two halves of the same whole. Ball and chain.’
‘Soulmates?’
‘Yeah. Sounds kind of drippy though. Though you do make me drip, to be fair.’
‘Charming, Haz. Think of the dead.’
‘Personally I think they’d love a show.’ She wraps an arm around me from behind, both of us facing the wall of bones. ‘Must be bored to fuck down here.’
I lower my torch, creating darkness around us. There’s something to this, feeling her but not seeing her, the bones caging us, the lighting hazy. It’s like being back in Elly’s shed. A world away from the world. Just us.
Fitting that mine and Haz’s world would be a catacomb.
‘So what else is down here?’
With a squeeze, she steps away. ‘Let’s go see.’
The door at the end of the tunnel sticks when we try to open it. It’s heavy, the ancient wood inches thick. I guide it closed, not letting it latch. I’m not getting stuck down here. I understand that cold as a tomb saying now. It’s not just the coldness, it’s the heavy dankness permeating the place. The perfect darkness. The thought that we’re under the earth, lower even than Hazelhurst’s dead.
‘Why do I get the feeling we’re going to run into something we shouldn’t?’
Haz chuckles, the sound ominous in the complete silence. ‘I get that feeling too.’
She takes my hand, pulling me down the long, crumbly tunnel. There’s a different smell down here. More acrid. Like a hundred years’ worth of rat shit. Our shoes stir up layers of thick muddy dust. I arc my light around, looking for rodents. Wouldn’t mind seeing one. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a rat tattoo for ages.
‘Elly’s sister would fucking die down here,’ Haz says, kicking at the dust.
‘Dude, that’s such a dick thing to say.’
Haz looks at me. ‘Am I wrong?’
I shake my head. She isn’t wrong about much, but her delivery leaves a lot to be desired. I’m endeared to Taylor. She was my little shadow over Christmas. And I know Elly worries about her.
We find an arch, the room beyond it devoid of anything. We spend some time shuffling around it, trying to make out the faded Latin inscriptions on the walls.
‘Probs witchcraft,’ I say.
‘Oh, totes. Bet there’s tonnes of that down here. I once found a cloak in Nic’s cupboard. Not some cheapo plastic thing. Like, tailormade. Bet her and her buddies have done secret society shit down here.’
‘Is there a secret society?’
‘Wouldn’t be a secret if we all knew, Tilda.’
‘Fair. Kinda jelly though.’
‘I bet, little witch.’
We continue along the tunnel, only pausing when we hear a dull thud up ahead.
‘We might be interrupting a ritual,’ I whisper.
‘They might wanna sacrifice us instead. Shame neither of us look like virgins.’
‘I’d take one for the team. Elly would be too sad if you died.’
‘Oh, and she wouldn’t if you did?’
‘I think she was jealous you didn’t invite her tonight.’
‘Tough.’ Haz tightens her hand around mine. ‘She needs to learn how to share.’
Her words send a thrill through me. Can’t say it’s not something I’ve been thinking about. The two of them and only little old me. I’d be entirely at their mercy. Would Elly temper Haz or would Elly come down to her level?
I used to think Elly was the safe bet but seeing how wild she gets when she’s turned on, I’m not so sure. I know she restrains herself. She doesn’t even let herself get off when she’s dicking me, refuses to use a vibe whilst she’s doing it. She’s so worried about scaring me off, it’s adorable as it is valid.
We’ve been fucking for a month now. I’m almost at the point where I need to touch her as much as she needs me to touch her.
I stroke Haz’s hand with my thumb. Maybe me and Elly have been too wrapped up in each other. I’m glad to be alone with Haz tonight.
It’s so quiet in the labyrinth I can hear her gentle breathing. It raises the hairs on my neck, so aware of her beside me. We could do anything down here and no one would know. The walls would keep our secrets.
It strange to think about how much I know about Elly compared to Haz. For all her frankness and irreverence, she’s a closed book when it comes to personal matters, the little I do know derived from the others. I know she’s an orphan, she hadn’t got on with her parents and she blames herself in some way for their deaths.
But that’s all. I don’t think I’ve even seen her leave this island. Maybe she’s as stuck here as our witch. Put her on the boat and she simply ceases to be.
‘Let’s try down here,’ she says.
It’s another chamber, larger and separated by multiple archways. There’s shit strewn all over in this one, like super old shit that immediately piques my excitement.
‘Do you think all this was used in the castle?’
‘Reckon it was.’ Haz is on the other side of the chamber, not really looking at anything. She seems preoccupied.
‘Dude, this is a legit spinning wheel!’
‘Don’t touch it, Sleeping Beauty.’ She walks off and I lose sight of her behind a column.
There are barrels down here too. I give one a kick but it sounds hollow. No aged spirits to be flogged tonight.
There’s a pile of wooden coffins against one wall. I drift towards them, drawn by one so small it could only be used for a baby. It’s so macabre, I can’t help but sift through the rest of them.
When I straighten back up, something falls over my eyes, totally blinding me.
I gasp, grasping at the opaque material now wrapped around my head. My heart pounds, dark memories racing to the surface. ‘That better not be you again, Blakely.’
‘You fucking what? Again?’
I relax at the sound of Haz’s voice.
Slightly.
‘What are you doing, Haz?’
‘From this point on, no questions. You don’t speak. Only thing you can open that pretty little mouth to say is crypt.’
‘What’s that?’
She tightens the knot at the back of my head. ‘Your safe word, baby girl.’
She gives me a gentle shove and I move my feet, trusting she won’t let me trip over anything. I blow out a breath to slow my breathing. I’m safe with Haz. Whatever twisted torture she’s got planned for me, I’m still safe.
That thought lasts all of about two seconds before she slams me into a wall, knocking the breath from me.
‘I know you’re sleeping with Elly,’ she says roughly into my ear. ‘What, you think I wouldn’t know? That I’ve not been on the other side of that wall listening to fucking everything? Do you know what I do on those nights?’
I shake my head no.
‘I’m there, Tilda, hand on the wall, the other in my cunt. I time it so we come at the same time. I know when you’re getting close. You start off all breathy and quiet. Then these little moans. Every time she enters you extra hard, I hear you cry out. My wall fucking shakes with it.’ She rolls her hips, letting me feel her strap. I suck in a breath, pussy suddenly throbbing. ‘You sound so fucking good.’
I feel her breath on my lips, and I think she’s about to kiss me when she takes hold of my wrists instead, raising them above my head. She shoves down the sleeves of my coat and attaches her mouth, her full lips grazing the delicate skin there, tongue dipping out to tease.
I release a breath, shifting against her. My hands furl to fists. How can that feel so intense? They’re just fucking wrists.
It’s the unexpectedness of the encounter. I hadn’t trusted Haz coming down here, but I hadn’t expected this.
I think about saying the safe word, sounding it out in my mind. But it doesn’t pass my lips. I don’t want it to. She feels too good, tongue tracing the palms of my hands.
All too soon, she stops.
Hauling me from the wall, she slaps a hand between my shoulder blades. ‘Get.’
Haz
Everything’s set up how I want it. One chair. Straps on the arms. A circle of candles.
I inhale the scent of melting wax and smoke, one hand still holding Tilda. I don’t rush, letting the anticipation seep into her bones.
She hasn’t said a word. Good girl.
I thought she’d fight me more, at least run her mouth.
That she hasn’t makes me wet, the base of the dildo heavy against me.
I run my fingers through her hair, brushing it behind her shoulders, scenting the clean smell of her conditioner. I love that she dressed up for me. That she’s freezing her ass off down here just to make me happy.
To make me want her.
The skirt thing works perfectly for what I’m gonna do.
I finger the hem of her coat, gently bouncing her body against me. Finally got her where I want her. Away from Elly, that traitorous piece of shit. I huff out a breath. Of course that asshole won. Tilda’s a forever kind of girl—so is Elly.
Me? I’m a forever and a day kind of girl.
Figured that out with Skylar over Christmas. It had been fun, yeah. There’d been alcohol, a lot of laughing at Nic’s expense. But she hadn’t been Tilda. Up to the hilt in her clunge and all I felt was numbness, a vague sense of doing something wrong. I’d never cheat on any motherfucker but that’s as close as I’d got to feeling like I had.
I wished she’d been Tilda. So much that I fucking ached. Perhaps not with Nic though, not with all that hostility whipping around them. Or…maybe definitely with Nic. Transmute all that weirdness to something much more enjoyable.
I stroke Tilda’s hair, smiling at the vision. Fuck, they’d be insatiable. Definitely wouldn’t be gentle. Neither of us are, to be fair. I think I prefer fucking with Nic than with Elly. We’re more compatible in our style. Doubt we’ll be doing that again though. Only in my dreams with this one.
I’ll make it up to Tilda tonight. I’ll make it up to us both. Forever and a day starts now.
I whip the blindfold off, coming round to her front to watch her expression. She’s not giving much away, eyes bouncing over the candles until they stop on the chair.
‘Did you bring me down here to punish me?’
‘Oops. Blown it.’ Taking the blindfold, I gag her with it. It covers most her face, just those beautiful eyes left, all wide and watchful. ‘I don’t give second chances.’
I herd her to the chair and make her sit. ‘I don’t like being left out.’ Taking both her hands, I tie them to the arms. She shakes her head as I fasten the second one. ‘Think it’s time to make my mark, don’t you?’
I stand back, inspecting my handiwork. Her hands are in fists, her body practically crackling with tension. Looking at the gag, I see where I went wrong, what she’d been shaking her head about.
With a sigh, I untie one of her hands. ‘Do this’—I fold her fingers into a peace sign—‘to tap out.’
She nods, visibly relaxing. Oh, she thinks I’m gonna go easy on her, does she? After all those nights of torment listening to her and Elly, wishing it was me making her make those noises , I don’t think so.
She was spot on when she asked if I brought her down here to be punished.
Her breathing’s loud above the gag. She barely blinks, just watching me watch her. I know her mind’s ticking over with possibilities. What will I do to her? Will it hurt? Maybe, but in a way that’ll feel good. That’s all I ever want for this girl.
But some girls don’t know what feels good. You have to show them, even if they resist.
Her eyes flick down to my fly as I slowly unzip it. I forwent boxers tonight, trusting this harness to keep everything covered. Don’t want to traumatise this sweet little straight girl, do I?
I smirk when her eyes dart back to mine. ‘It’s your favourite. Tilda’s Dick.’ Slowly, I unravel the gag. Gripping myself, I tap the purple tip against her lips. ‘Open up, beautiful.’
She parts her lips hesitatingly, her tongue following, lying flat and ready for me. I lay down my dick, watching her mouth close around it.
‘Yeah, now suck me. Suck me like you do your dumb boyfriends.’
She begins bobbing her head back and forth, her free hand curling around my naked thigh for leverage. It burns like a brand. I have to fight not to move it higher.
She finds a rhythm, her eyes bouncing to mine every so often as she works. She’s wondering why, what the hell I’m getting from this.
Everything, baby. Fucking everything.
I cup the back of her head, stroking her hair. ‘Look how good you’re doing that. Bet you’ve sucked hundreds of dicks before.’
Tilda glares, a fire lighting behind her eyes, and oh, fuckity fuck, I need that look on me time and time again.
Reaching into my pocket, I resurface with a tiny remote. I’ve got a butterfly vibe down there. It’s been chafing me to fuck but I’m glad for it now. Stopping only briefly to make sure it’s positioned, I flick it on.
There’s not much without proper friction but it’s enough to tease.
Tilda makes a sound. I grin. It’s probably vibrating her fucking teeth.
‘You want some of that? Can’t just be me having all the fun, can it?’ I draw out another vibrator—the teal bullet—and hand it to her. ‘I trust you know what to do with that.’
She’s breathing heavily, probably from being half suffocated by my dick. She’s so hesitant, looking at the vibrator, at the dick hanging from my hips, her hand grasping the bottom of her skirt. Yes, baby. Lift it. Let me see.
She parts her thighs, scooting down so she can wiggle the vibe into her knickers. Her lashes flutter when she switches it on. She presses it to her, exhaling out a breath.
I prod her with my dick until she opens up again. ‘Make it last. I want to enjoy this.’
We haven’t even got to my favourite part yet, my breathing shallowing at the mere thought. I let her get used to the pleasure, lulling her into a false sense of security. My heart’s pounding now, both with the sensations in my clit and how good Tilda must be feeling. The sound of our breathing fills the chamber.
I wish I’d taken her coat off. I want to see her chest rise, those pert little tits misting over with sweat. Grabbing her head, I thrust deeper until she gags.
My nostrils flare.
There it is.
My chest’s tight with excitement as I do it again. She stares up at me, something beseeching in her gaze. I glance at her hand, just in case. No, she’s still into this, her hand holding that bullet steady.
‘Keep your eyes on me, baby. Just on me.’
Her head firmly cupped, I take over with the rhythm. I need those noises. Like a man dying of thirst, I need those noises. And I need to be looking into her eyes whilst she’s making them.
This last month’s been my desert—the whole fucking year if I’m gonna be honest with myself. I’ve been dying of thirst ever since I first saw her.
I choke out a breath listening to her gag and hack and gulp. Her eyes stream; the water to quench my thirst. I run my thumbs under them, smearing her mascara.
I ease off for a moment. I want her to come but I’m not sure how much she can focus with my dick choking her.
Arms limp by my sides, I fuck her mouth, wishing not for the first time I could feel what a guy does. Never mind. She’ll be sucking my clit before long. It twitches at the vision and I pump faster, using every ounce of my self-control not to go too deep. Fuck, I need more friction. I need to come.
The candles flicker with my movements, a few extinguishing and filling the chamber with the sweet scent of smoke. In my periphery, Tilda’s hand moves, rubbing that bullet against her clit.
She moans around my dick, a high, desperate sound. Oh yeah, I know that one. She’s close, about to pop any second.
Her eyelids start to close. I swat her face. ‘Eyes on me.’
They’re heavy-lidded now, her breaths coming fast and loud through her nose.
I hold my breath the second she comes undone. Her eyes flutter, rolling back, watery and red, but she returns them to me each and every time. It’s almost enough to make me come.
As soon as she removes the vibrator, I pull out. She slumps against the chair, her free hand wiping the drool from her mouth. Her lips are as red as cherries, her mascara bleeding all down her face.
One for the wank bank, I reckon.
Gaze still on her, I grasp the base of the dildo and rub. The vibrator presses against me, finally giving me what I need. I tip my head back, too far gone to keep my eyes on Tilda. It coils in my belly, deep and potent. Four seconds, five, then I’m coming too, one long, loud breath escaping my lungs.
I keep moving the dildo until my cunt stops clenching. Tilda’s watching me when I open my eyes, as intently as I’d been her.
‘You call that a punishment?’ she rasps.
I grin, rezipping my trousers. ‘Telling me your jaw’s not aching even a bit?’
She chuckles, putting a hand there. ‘Yeah, a bit.’
I straddle her lap to untie her, her fruity sweet scent engulfing me. She smiles when I look up, a soft, soppy thing that makes my heart seize.
I kiss her feverish cheek, stroking up and down her jaw. ‘All good in the hood?’
She smiles wearily. ‘Yeah, Haz. All good in the hood.’
‘Then let’s get out of here. It’s fucking freezing.’ I stand up, snuffing out the candles with my boot. ‘Also, when we get back, you’re in my bed tonight. Not Elly’s.’
Tilda
Weird being in this room. Everything’s darker. The walls, the furniture, the clothes all strewn about.
It’s cool beneath her sheets. She made me dress in my skimpiest pyjamas, commanding me to lie here and wait until she does whatever takes her ten million hours in the bathroom to do.
I appreciate the breather. It’s been a Haz-heavy day and I need this moment to process. I feel like we’ve gone from zero to a hundred in the space of an evening. I knew I was walking into the lion’s mouth tonight. It was in her suspicious tone, the fact she wanted to get me somewhere where no one could hear me scream.
Not that I could scream with that thing in my mouth. I smile, still feeling my tongue vibrate. That had been surprisingly hot. I’ve never got much from blowjobs. That’s kind of the point—you’re doing it for the guy. But something about Haz being at the other end, knowing I didn’t have to decide between spitting or swallowing, those dark eyes peering down at me.
And watching her come afterwards…that’s playing in my mind on a loop.
I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of her bedsheets. How many times has she come in this bed? Between everything me and Elly have done, mutual masturbation is at the top of the list. The thought of these girls getting themselves off makes my pussy throb.
Yeah, there’s definitely no regret to be had tonight. I’m glad she crossed that line, bulldozed through it in her typical Haz way. I’m not sure what doors we’ve opened doing that, but I’m willing to take a peek.
We were furtive on our return. It wasn’t that I felt guilty or bad for Elly, I just knew whatever we’d done tonight would be so obviously painted all over me and that’s not how I want her to find out. She deserves a conversation. They both do, really. Probably with each other more than me.
We had bumped into Nic though, the last person I ever want to see but always seems to be everywhere I turn.
Makes me think of Haz’s red thread of fate. Except ours is black and lined with barbed wire.
Haz grinned when she saw her, dragging me closer. ‘You haven’t seen a thing,’ she said.
Nic only shook her head, disgust and disapproval so starkly written on her face it made my cheeks burn. It was probably obvious by the state of me what we’d done. She granted us access, after all. It was like a bucket of cold water, dampening all the fun of tonight.
She’s such a vampire. I’m sick of her sucking the life out of me. If it wasn’t for the other two, I’d probably be back at Portia House. Ryan was easier to deal with than this. He doesn’t get under my skin like she does.
But I feel comfortable in Haz’s bed, hidden from her judgement here.
I crack open my eyes when light floods in from the landing. Haz is in black joggers, a loose t-shirt over the top. Her arms are bare, the muscles flexing as she sets about putting her phone on charge.
She stands over the bed regarding me, a speculative look in her eyes that makes my heartbeat quicken.
She goes to a drawer and pulls it open, emerging with a length of ribbon. Without a word, she ties one end around my wrist and the other to the headboard.
She doesn’t need to say anything. The message is clear. I belong to her tonight.
She gets into bed, snuffing out the bedside lamp. It takes a while for my eyes to adjust. Her back’s to me, the broadness like a barrier. I wait for her to turn round, to do something, anything, but she only sighs, clearly comfortable where she is.
‘Seriously? You’re making me sleep in your bed, no sex, nothing, and you won’t even cuddle me?’
Haz tuts, her eyeroll audible. ‘Fine.’ She shifts round, arm held out. ‘Bring it in then. Fucking brat.’
I snuggle into her smugly, making sure to hook a leg over her as well as an arm. If she wants the same treatment as Elly, then she’s going to get it. Call me old fashioned, but I need cuddling after being deepthroated like that.
She’s firmer than Elly, her hold around me more possessive despite her initial protests. Usually I’m asleep in two seconds doing this with Elly, as comforting as it is, but it’s different with Haz. She cuddles, sure, but it’s more of a hold. More of a I own this, this right here in my arms.
I feel her breathe in my hair before pressing a kiss there. ‘Did you like that?’ she hushes.
‘What do you think?’
‘I need to hear you say it.’
‘I liked it, Haz. I liked it a lot. Thank you.’
She snorts, making me smile.
‘More where that came from, princess. Just say the word.’
‘I don’t remember saying any words tonight.’
‘Tonight was different. It was punishment.’
‘For what, exactly?’
‘For what, she says. For you fucking that motherfucker and keeping it a secret. For you deciding to love pussy and keeping it a secret. The fuck, Tilda. I’m here for you if you want to explore. Haven’t I made that pretty fucking clear?’
‘Elly said I had to level up first.’
‘She said that, huh? Well, tonight I expedited your education. Consider yourself graduated.’
I’m quiet for a while. This is exactly what I’d been afraid of. ‘I’m not, though.’
‘Not what?’
‘Me and Elly, she only touches me when we’re in bed.’
Haz’s shoulder shrugs under my head. ‘Fine with me. Wouldn’t be the first pillow princess to bless my bedsheets.’
‘I don’t want that though. That’s not me. I love giving pleasure. I’m just…out of my depth a bit. Me and Elly have been going slow.’
‘That’s what you call it?’
I smile. ‘I mean, there’s been progress.’
‘So I’ve heard.’
‘I can’t believe that. I can’t believe you’ve been fucking yourself to us.’
‘You better believe it. Saturdays and Tuesdays are your nights, right? Best nights of the fucking week.’
‘Oh my god.’ I put a hand over my face, the ribbon pulling. ‘That is so messed up.’
‘Exactly how I like it. Messy and messed up.’ She pats my back. ‘Maybe I can join the two of you next time. Feast my eyes as well as my ears.’
‘Maybe,’ I whisper.
Definitely, a voice in my head replies.