Chapter 43 Briar
Briar
“Holy shit,” Blake says while looking at his phone. He stops in the middle of the sidewalk.
We’re walking back to the house after getting tacos for lunch.
I turn to him. “What’s wrong?”
His face splits into a wide grin. “That picture of me in the scary mask? It’s gotten the most comments and likes of any photo or video I’ve posted. Ever.”
I gasp. “Let me see!”
He shows me his phone screen. When I see a million likes, my jaw drops.
“Blake! I told you your fans would love it!” I jump up to hug him. He wraps his massive, muscled arms around me.
“You were right,” he says when he sets me down.
I’m smiling so hard, my cheeks ache. I think back to the other day when he made my filthy fantasy come true.
How bossy he was. All the dirty things he said.
How many times he made me come. I’ve never come that hard, that many times in a row in my life.
It was the single hottest sexual experience I’ve ever had.
And I felt safe and protected the whole time. Even though he was bossy and said the dirtiest things to me, I never once felt scared or nervous. I was so comfortable. Because I knew I was his priority. I knew he’d never, ever push past my boundaries.
Tingles spread through my chest and tummy. I can’t believe my cinnamon roll best friend ended up being my sexual fantasy come true.
Blake taps his phone screen. “Oh, damn.”
“What?”
“Some organic condom company DMed me. They offered me a brand deal because of my latest post.”
I’m smiling so hard, my cheeks ache. “Oh my god! That’s incredible.”
He shows me the DM, and my eyes almost pop out of my head when I see how much money they’re offering him just to post a photo of himself holding a box of their condoms.
I grab his arm and shake him because I’m so excited. “Blake! You’re gonna be able to pay off your parents’ house in no time if you keep getting brand deals like that.”
He looks at me. “I think I might”
“You should keep posting more content like that.” An idea pops into my head. “You should make a video.”
“What kind of video?”
Excitement bubbles up inside of me as the idea takes form.
“You wear that mask. And some pants. Maybe, like, sweatpants. Nothing else. You chase me or grab my throat or haul me over your shoulder. We’ll do it in dim lighting.
We film it, put some sexy, scary music over it, and post it on your account. People will lose their minds.”
He blinks at me, still confused. “Wait, you want to be in a video with me?”
“Yes!” I say excitedly, shaking his arm again. I can’t help it. I’m so pumped for this. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner. This is huge on social media. People love it because it reminds them of dark romance books.”
“Really?” He’s so surprised and clueless. It’s adorable.
“Yeah. A big, sexy, ripped guy in a mask chasing them and hauling them off to do unspeakable things to them in bed. If you start making videos like that, you’re going to get so many more viewers. And that means more followers, more exposure, more brand deals.”
He nods slowly, like he’s processing everything I’ve said.
“Okay, yeah, I’ll try it,” he says. ‘But you’re gonna have to guide me through it. I don’t read romance books, so I’m pretty clueless.”
“Don’t worry. That’s all I read when I’m not reading textbooks for school. I’ve got you covered.”
We keep walking back toward the house.
“I’ll do it on one condition,” Blake says.
“What’s that?”
“That I split any money I make with you.”
I stop walking and look at him. “What?”
“I’m splitting the money I make from these videos with you.”
“Wait, why?”
“Because it was your idea. Just like taking that photo wearing that mask was your idea. I’m giving you half of that money from the brand deal, by the way.”
My mouth falls open in shock. “Blake, no. It’s your money. You’re the one in that photo, not me.”
His mouth curves up in a sexy smile. “I wouldn’t have taken that photo at all if you hadn’t told me to. I wouldn’t have gotten that brand deal. It’s all because of you and your filthy imagination, naughty girl.”
Goosebumps flash across my skin when he calls me that. I love that nickname he came up with. It’s so playful and dirty.
“Blake, I can’t just accept thousands of dollars from you.”
“Yes, you can. Those videos you want to film, they’re your idea, and you’re going to be in them with me. You deserve to get paid too.”
Warmth swoops through my chest. Blake is so generous, it makes my heart explode.
I think about how having this extra income would change things for me. I make okay money working at the library, but I’m still cutting it close every month when I pay my bills. Having that extra money would be such a help.
“Okay. I’ll do it,” I say.
He beams at me. “Let’s go make some sexy scary videos.”
* * *
I position Blake’s phone on top of his dresser.
“Are you ready?” I ask.
“Yup.” He pulls the scary mask over his face.
I stare at him. God, he’s so sexy. He’s wearing gray sweatpants and nothing else. All of the ripped, cut muscles in his torso are on display. He’s a cross between a horror movie villain and a fitness model.
I refocus. “I’ll be the only one in frame at first. Then you step in, stand in front of me, and look at me for a few seconds, all threatening. Like you’re a predator sizing up his prey.”
He lets out a muffled chuckle. “Okay.”
“Then haul me over your shoulder, walk me over to the bed, and drop me on it.”
“Can do.”
I grab the black disposable face mask that I picked up from the drug store this morning before classes and put it on. Blake insisted that I conceal my identity so that our privacy is protected. I’m wearing black yoga pants and a tank top. Nothing with a logo that anyone would be able to recognize.
I tap “record” on his phone and get into position. I stand, looking off camera at him. He steps forward, into frame, then stands in front of me. He’s close, almost bumping the front of me with his massive, muscled chest.
I lean my head back up to look at him. Slowly, he tilts his head to the side in a way that’s perfectly menacing and playful. I can tell by his eyes that he’s smiling.
Slowly, he shakes his head at me. It’s all sexy and taunting. I grin at how he’s having fun with this. Then he leans down, grabs me, and hauls me over his shoulder. I kick my legs and pound my fists against his back in an exaggerated way to play things up for the video.
He drops me on the bed. I’m on my back, but I prop up on my elbows. He leers over me. We stay like that for a few seconds.
I hop up from the bed and pull off my mask. “That was so good!”
We high-five. Blake pulls off his mask too. I grab the phone, stop recording, and play the video for Blake and me to watch.
I squeal. “This is gonna be so good.”
I upload the video to his account, put a grainy filter on it to amp up the mood, and choose a sexy, slow song to play with it.
When I show Blake, he grins. “That turned out way better than I thought it would.”
“You’re cool if I post it?”
He nods. I add the caption, Things took a dark turn for me. But I think you’re gonna like it.
I end it with a devil smile emoji and post it. I hand Blake his phone back. I’m giddy with excitement. I already know that people are going to go crazy for this.
“You’re a Renaissance man. Hockey player by day and sexy masked man by night,” I tease.
“A little roughed up too,” he says, looking down at the small scar over the left side of his collarbone. I remember when he got that. He was playing hockey in high school, and one of the opposing players crashed into him at an odd angle. The blade of his skate slashed Blake at the top of his chest.
“Trust me, the social media girlies love a little roughness. A sexy scar fits your masked man persona perfectly.
He laughs as he puts his T-shirt back on. “You’re coming to my game tomorrow, right?”
I beam at him. “Absolutely.”
“Good. Because I thought we could play a sexy game.”
I bite my lip as he grabs me by the waist and pulls me against him.
“What did you have in mind?”
“How about for each goal I score, you get an orgasm?”
My mouth falls open at how deliciously naughty that is.
I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him. “That sounds hot. But who exactly is the winner and loser of this game?” I tease.
His mouth hooks up in a sexy half-smile. “As long as you’re coming on my mouth or my fingers, we’re both winners.”