Chapter 14
14
T he rules of the game are simple enough: Stay on the grounds. The participating prey have a five-minute head start, and then the predators will come hunting. Reaper will stay here with those who aren’t interested in this flavor of game.
Us prey gather near him at the arched doorway. The ones in heels are taking off their shoes, but I have no shoes to speak of. Or clothes, for that matter. The collar hardly counts, and the robe will be easy enough to get past when I’m caught.
Because it is a “when,” not an “if.” Being caught is the whole goal.
Speaking of . . .
I turn to find Casimir lurking a few feet away. I wish he’d grabbed a shirt before leaving the room; his shirtless chest is highly distracting. I try to drape myself in bravado. “Better hope you find me first.”
“No.”
I jolt. “Excuse me?”
“You want to play games, baby? Play.” His expression gives nothing away. He’s completely drawn into himself, and while there’s a part of me that hates his familiar face on what amounts to a stranger... the rest of me is quivering in anticipation.
He can talk all the shit he wants. He’s playing. In fact... the longer I look at him, the more I start to see hints of the real him behind the locked exterior.
Because I do know him, at least in part. I’ve lived with this man for over a year, and he might have been playing a role the entire time, but there was too much intimacy that couldn’t be faked. Not entirely. Not when we were living in each other’s pockets.
I cross the short distance to Casimir. “Now who’s lying?”
“What?”
Understanding makes me giddy. Or maybe it’s excitement for what’s coming. Either way, I think I finally get something about him.
I carefully press my hands to his chest and lean in, going up on my tiptoes to speak directly in his ear. “Jealousy gets you off, doesn’t it, baby ? You hate seeing me with others, but you love the frenzy that comes afterward.” Just as much as I do.
And tonight, he can’t kill anyone for touching me. No one is going to get hurt while we play this twisted little game.
When I ease back, he isn’t locked down any longer. He grabs my hips and jerks me to him, taking my mouth in a devastating kiss. It’s a clear claim of ownership, but I don’t have a chance to decide how I feel about it before he steps back. “Run, baby. Run fast and run far, because when I catch you, I’m not letting you go again.”
Reaper’s voice cuts through any response I’d be able to come up with. “It’s time. Prey, your five-minute head start begins... now.”
I run.
A large part of the prey group cuts to the right, so I go left. I don’t have a good map of what this massive house is like inside. I have a vague idea of finding somewhere to hide, but for now I’m running on pure instinct. On and on and on, cutting through the shadowy halls in search of a good destination.
How long has it been? I have no idea. I’m reasonably fit because my parents insist I be capable of protecting myself, which means weekly training sessions in a variety of self-defense techniques and general fitness, but my breath sears my lungs with each inhale and exhale. The halls seem to expand and contract in the same rhythm.
In the distance, a series of calls go up, some taunting, some almost animalistic. The predators are on the move.
I need to get out of the halls. They’re too open.
I veer around a corner, and then another, picking the directions at random. When this started, I had a vague thought of being strategic, but there’s no space for that in my head right now. I can’t hide. I have to keep moving.
The next corner takes me up a set of stairs. There are more sounds now. Screams and cries of victory. The predators are finding the first wave of prey. I pick up my pace... only to stop short when I reach the top of the stairs. There’s a short hallway that ends in an intricately carved glass door. The door is cracked open, a clear invitation. And where it leads...
A conservatory, but not like one I’ve seen before, at least not in private residences. I step through the door and look around. It’s massive in here. A tile path leads deeper into what feels like a forest, the plants and trees pressing in on the path. It’s the strangest combination of wild and restrained, of nature and civilization.
I love it.
“I saw someone come up this way.”
The deep voice startles me out of my reverie. I bolt, rushing down the narrow path and deeper into the conservatory. It’s a mistake.
The voice calls out again. “We’ve got one!”
“Now we’re talking,” says another.
Footsteps pursue me, closer and closer. I’m running full out now, pumping my arms, my breath sawing through my lungs, my feet pounding the tile floor. This may be a game, but my body doesn’t know that. I’m not even sure my brain does. Adrenaline and fear create a toxic mix inside me, driving me faster yet.
Not fast enough.
Rough hands grab me around the waist, and then I’m lifted off my feet and tossed into another set of arms. I fight on instinct, striking wild punches until the person holding me catches my arms and pins them at my sides.
The one who caught me laughs breathlessly. “Look at that collar. It’s Wolf’s girl.”
“Lucky us,” pants the one holding me. “She’s a fighter.”
“Good.”
They bear me down to the tile floor, faster than I can react. They’re bigger than me. Stronger. I’m fighting and cursing and wetter than I’ve ever been. Especially when one wrenches my thighs wide and settles between them.
The one between my legs palms my pussy and presses his fingers to my ass. He laughs wickedly when I jolt. “Oh yeah, little one. I’ve caught you, and now I’m going to fuck this ass.”
Suddenly this isn’t as fun anymore. I fight harder, but it’s like fighting gravity. It takes my panicked brain longer than I want to admit to realize that this is a game and that there are rules. “Yellow!”
They pause. The guy holding my arms grips my chin lightly. “What part, honey?” His voice is suddenly kind, all the harshness drained away.
The change startles me into answering honestly. “Not anal. That’s only for him.”
“Do you have a problem with us fucking you otherwise?” He pauses, his eyes roving over my face. “With us coming on you?”
“No,” I manage. “I want it.” For the experience, yes, but also for what will come after when Casimir finds me.
“Okay.” He releases me and sits back on his heels. “Let her up, Jason.”
Jason obeys immediately. I scoot away from them, my confusion making me move slowly. I clear my throat. “Um. What happens now?”
The older guy, the one who was so kind for a moment, grins, his teeth a flash in the shadows. “Run, little one. You have a chance to escape, but if we catch you a second time, we’re both going to fuck that pretty pussy.” He pulls two condoms out of his pocket and tosses one to Jason. “You have until we get these on to try to escape.”
Oh. Oh . A continuation of the game, getting us back to the place where we’re immersed in the chase, now with the established boundary. It makes me dizzy, and I struggle to my feet and run again. But not very fast. And not very far.
They catch me before I make it around the next corner. Jason takes me down in a tackle, somehow making it nearly painless. He pins me facedown on the ground, the gritty tile biting into my bare skin. My robe is more bondage than anything else at this point, preventing me from fighting effectively.
Or maybe I’m not effective I want them to fuck me here, like the predators they’re playing, to take their pleasure from me, to use me. I don’t know if that’s fucked up or if it’s freedom, but I crave this on a level I wasn’t prepared for.
Jason grabs the back of my neck, holding me down, and then his cock is there, shoving into me so hard and fast that I scream. I’m wet enough that it doesn’t actually hurt, but he’s not pausing to make sure. I love it.
My knees scrape against the ground as I struggle, and I can’t begin to say if I’m struggling to get away from the onslaught of fucking or to get closer, to take him deeper. He abruptly pulls out of me, and I feel his knuckles against my ass as he yanks off the condom and jacks himself a few times before his come lashes my ass and the small of my back. “Fuck, but that’s good pussy. Too good.”
Jason moves back, and I barely have time to tense before the other guy takes his place. He’s not any gentler. His cock isn’t quite as long, but it’s thick enough to stretch me uncomfortably. “Stop!” It’s a test, an instinctive response. Not “yellow.” Not “red.” Just more game.
He doesn’t even hesitate to fuck me harder. Three strokes, and then he pulls out. “Flip her over.”
Jason does exactly that, rolls me onto my back and pins my arms above my head as his friend grabs my hips and shoves into me again. It’s so dark in here that they’re little more than shadows over me, fucking me roughly. I could be anyone. They could be anyone.
Pleasure coils inside me. I dig my heels into the ground, arching up. “Please.”
His laughter has none of the kindness he showed me when I yellowed out. “Little slut pretending she doesn’t like it.”
“She’s going to come on your cock while she cries no,” Jason rumbles. He shifts my wrists to one hand and roughly palms my breasts. “Pretty tits. You should come on them. A little ‘fuck you’ to Wolf.”
The one fucking me curses and shoves deeper yet. “Can’t blame him for being homicidal over this pussy.”
The way they’re talking is crass in the extreme. I should hate it. Maybe. Probably. But instead it just drives my desire higher, hotter. My orgasm surges closer.
“Jesus, Rick. Just thinking about it is getting me hard again.”
“No one around.” Rick’s voice has gone harsher. He’s close. “No reason not to go again.” He pulls out of me, moving faster than he has right to, and straddles my ribs.
I thrash and twist, but there’s nowhere to go as he pulls off the condom and jacks himself, quick and hard, until he comes all over my chest, all over my collar. He shifts up and wipes his cock over my lips, jerking back with a laugh when I snap my teeth at him. “Still got fight in her.”
“Get her arms.”
They switch positions. Now that he’s orgasmed, Rick starts using his free hand to play with my breasts, pinching my nipples roughly. “You like this, don’t you? Like us fucking you like this, treating you like the dirty little slut you are.”
“No,” I whisper, lifting my hips to take Jason’s condom-covered cock again. My body is alight with a thousand little pains, and Rick’s fingers on my nipples have my orgasm tightening. I’m so fucking close, Jason pounding my pussy hard enough to leave scrapes on my ass from my thrashing on the tile floors.
Movement to the side draws my attention. A shadow detaches itself from a nearby tree, shifting just enough that I know he knows I see him.
Wolf. Casimir.
Watching these two men fuck me. He shifts forward just enough that I can see his face, can see the murderous rage there. He wants to kill them, to slit their throats and then fuck me in their blood. Not being able to must be driving him feral.
The fact that he’s watching, unable to stop this, seeing them take what he’s claimed as his?
I come so hard, I shriek.
Jason curses. “Holy fuck, I’m going to—” He pulls out of me almost too late, the condom only half off when he comes all over my pussy. “Maybe we should take her to Reaper and have a night with her be our reward. Rushing this has me too worked up.” He lets out a rough laugh and drags his still-hard cock through his come, spreading it over my folds.
“ Fuck .” Rick has gone tense. He’s seen Casimir. He releases me and rises swiftly. “Let’s go. There’s more prey to play with.”
“But...” Jason follows his gaze and freezes. “Shit. Yeah. Let’s go.” They get up and jog away, leaving me where I lie on the ground, scraped all to hell and covered in their orgasms.
As their footsteps fade, Casimir steps out of the foliage to loom over me. His gaze rakes me, no doubt cataloging every mark and bit of evidence of my being with someone who isn’t him. Come all over my tits, making my collar sticky, all over my pussy.
I can’t do anything but lie here. The adrenaline is still coursing through my body, mixing up the messages in my brain. He’s obviously furious, but I can’t quite bring myself to care right now. I can’t make my body move either. Everything feels distant and spacey, almost like I’m drunk.
“Are you pleased with yourself?”
“Yes.”
He sighs. “Yeah, I thought so.” Casimir crouches next to me and brushes my sweaty hair back from my face. “Are you hurt?”
“I don’t know.”
His thumb strokes my brow. “Game or no game, if they harmed you, I’ll kill them.”
“Can’t. It would make Reaper mad.” I lean into his touch. “They were nice. And then mean. Don’t murder them.”
He carefully scoops me into his arms. There’s a barely contained violence in his body, but that doesn’t stop me from cuddling close and pressing my face to his throat. I’m sticky and sore and starting to get cold. I shiver. “No murder.”
“No murder,” he says, his fury mixed with amusement. “You’re a menace, baby. Nothing easy with you.”
“Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” He carries me out of the conservatory and down the stairs. There’s no hesitation in him as he navigates the halls. It just confirms what I already knew—he’s been here before, enough times to be familiar with the layout.
We make it back to the room in far less time than I expected. Casimir walks through the space to the bathroom. He sets me down on the counter and takes a wary step back. “Can you sit there while I get this going?”
“Yep.” I say it with more confidence than I feel. The adrenaline is draining away, leaving me woozy. I shiver. “Probably.”
He gives me a forbidding look. “Don’t fall.”
“Sir, yes, Sir.”
“Brat.” He moves to the large clawfoot tub and fiddles with the faucet until the water apparently reaches the temperature he’s satisfied with. Then he comes back to me and tugs off my robe. He looks me up and down and shakes his head. “You’re a mess.”
I follow his gaze. I’m covered in others’ orgasms. There are scrapes on my knees and palms—and ass, from the feel of things. I also have a constellation of bruises forming across my body. But what catches and holds my attention is the collar. Even though it’s sticky with Rick’s come, it’s such a clear indication of ownership that I shiver, way down deep. “Yep.”
Casimir grabs a washcloth and wipes most of the come off me, but frowns at the scrapes. “This will sting, but it’s necessary.”
Though I have every intention of processing those words, it’s hard to focus when he’s taking off his pants. “What?”
He takes me back into his arms and steps into the tub. The second the hot water hits my scrapes, I yelp and try to rise. Casimir clamps an arm around my waist, keeping me pinned to him. “Sit.”
“It hurts.” My voice comes out thick. Holy fuck, what is wrong with me? I suddenly feel like I’m about to cry. I press my hands to my cheeks. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Subspace drop.” Now that I’m no longer trying to flee, he gentles his touch and guides me to relax back against him.
The water buoys me, and his strong body brackets me. Slowly, the worst of the feeling eases. “So that’s what it feels like,” I whisper. I’ve heard about it, of course, but considering how embedded my parents and extended family are in the BDSM community in Carver City, I’d never explored anything that would have done it to me.
I close my eyes. “What happens now?”
“You keep asking questions you already know the answer to.” He strokes his hands over me, and if it didn’t feel so good, I’d accuse him of trying to gentle me the way one would gentle a skittish horse.
But it does feel good, so I don’t. In fact, I can’t seem to open my eyes. My body is loose and relaxed. “Don’t let me drown.”
Casimir’s chuckle is dry and amused and sounds nothing like Luke’s ever did. “You’re not getting away from me that easily, baby. Sleep. I’ve got you.”