Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DIORA
I run. About fifteen or so more people take off, and some animals are let loose, too, when the bell signalling to start rings.
I run like my life depends on it. I run because I want to see the great Elliot Jay in action.
Accompanying him on a kill would be like watching the big dogs from the sidelines.
I’ve seen Mrs. Jay at work, and while she crosses lines, she’s good at what she does.
Her kills are near perfect, and there isn’t a single detail that gets missed.
Elliot probably only catches her due to growing up watching her.
Watching Elliot kill would be pure fantasy.
All the training Elliot and I have been doing for the last week or so is definitely showing its perks now.
Jumping over, breaching, and dodging the statues takes my full attention as I run in zigzags in the arena.
I can hardly contain the laughter bubbling up in my throat.
My hair falls from its updo style, and my sweat drips off my skin.
I hear a twig snap, and I have no idea if it’s Elliot or not, but it gives me the boost I need to keep going. I think I saw this mock forest is about a mile or so in length, and I feel the strain in my calves already.
If it wasn’t for all these obstacles, it wouldn’t have been so tiring.
My breathing is the only sound I hear now, and I finally throw my back against a tree. I huff, trying to catch my breath when I hear it. I fucking hear it. A consistent thud of footsteps getting closer. Shit, a predator.
I take off like a deer crossing the road. I hold my smile back as I’m running again, not nearly as fast as before. It doesn’t matter because I feel the grip of his hand wrapping around my waist and pulling me back. I look back, the single time I’ve looked back, and find a perfectly calm Elliot.
He’s not breathless, or huffing, or even sweating. I scrunch my brows in confusion, but the thought quickly escapes my mind as he braces me against a different tree, his lips meeting mine. His kiss is punishing, thrilling even, as I bite down on his bottom lip.
“I got you now, Little Crane,” he mumbles between our lips.
“Do you?” I ask and break his hold on me, sliding under his arm and taking off running again.
It’s only been probably fifteen minutes, and I highly doubt I can run against Elliot for the rest of the hour and fifteen minutes we have left, but I wouldn’t be Diora Moss if I didn’t try to give him a run for his money.
Dashing off, I hear his laugh fading away the farther I get.
My pink silk dress is wrinkled and dirty, but that adds to the thrill of it all.
I’ve never… I’ve never wanted to do things like this before.
It’s such a drastic difference from my life back home with Juliet.
Such a difference from my life six months ago, before Juliet’s incident, and yet, I’m happy?
I’m not happy about Juliet’s incident, but I’m happy with Elliot.
It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. I’m happy right in this moment. That’s all that matters.
A giggle escapes me as I trip over a frickin’ branch, but my hands are already launching me back up to continue running. Not that it even matters because my body is tackled back to the ground by a heavier force.
By the use of his full weight, I know he won’t be letting me go this time, and his scent lets me know it’s him. Elliot Jay has me again, and my smile finally breaks through.
“You got me, handsome. Now what are you going to do?” I ask, tilting my head and getting all sorts of dirt in my hair. I hear the pounding feet of the other competitors, but I tune them out as Elliot locks in on me. He’s the only predator I need to worry about.
He flushes at the question. “Oh, don’t be shy now, honey,” I say and lean up to meet his lips in a wild kiss. My hands find his golden, soft hair, and I tug him closer to me, my chest meeting his.
The way Elliot kisses me, he’s shy yet demanding. His lips barely meet mine but then there’s a switch, like a light ignites and he’s smashing his lips to mine like there isn’t a world in which he can’t get enough. A man obsessed. His hands grip my waist like he’s afraid I’ll disappear.
“You taste good, handsome, I need more,” I say, biting his lip, then his cheek and neck.
He moans my name, and the thrill of my name on his lips courses through my body. I feel like I got him more than he got me.
Hooking my leg over his, I switch us so I’m on top and leaning over him. My nails scrape over his t-shirt and bring the thin fabric up his torso.
I hate this feeling, but I crave it all the same. I’ve never needed someone’s lips on mine like I need Elliot’s. I’ve felt this need for skin in this way.
Throwing his shirt off, I wanted to see all of him. This forest floor isn’t forgiving, even if it is fake, and still, I gaze at my handsome man below me.
I’m sticky with sweat and dirty from running, but his eyes darken as they gaze up at me. Like it doesn’t matter.
I huff as he launches forward to capture me again, this time by my neck and chest. His soft lips bite my skin and my pussy throbs, I can’t help the grind of my hips. A bubbling rush of warmth of urge surges to my throat, and I can’t breathe properly.
“Elliot.” His name comes off my tongue like a desperate plea. My hands move to grip his hair, and I feel his chuckle against my breast.
“I fucking know, Little Crane,” he says, dragging the front of my dress down, snapping the straps. It slides down my body, and I raise a brow at my suddenly brazen partner. My nipples ache for pressure, for him, and my back arches to give it to him. “I just—I can’t get enough.”
The faint footsteps of the other contenders don’t bring me to a halt like they should.
Instead, my need makes me hasty. My breasts feel impossibly heavy as he presses the flat of his tongue on the underside of my boob and licks a straight line up to my nipple.
He lashes me with quick bursts of his tongue on me and I moan.
His fingers roam over my body and land on my waist, holding me where he wants me. His touch is delicate, light, and I can’t tell if he’s teasing me or if he’s… unsure. It’s a desperate game of need and uncertainty wracking through his touch.
“Elliot,” I mutter. He nips at my skin with teeth, and I arch into him as my head leans over his head. Holy shit. I can’t think when he bites the round of my breast, and I rock into his lap, grinding over his cock.
His eyes peer up at mine, and I watch his eyes. The honey color darkens with lust as he stares at me with his mouth around my nipple. I try to commit this moment to memory. I want this moment to last forever.
He gently bites down, barely pinching me, but my body doesn’t seem to notice as I feel the rush of heat toward my core.
He smiles against me before moving to my other breast with a pop. “Hmm, you like that?” he asks, more to himself, but I rock against him in response. I stare at my captor. My handsome boy. Another human being to call mine. I know Elliot Jay is stuck with me. There’s no chance I’ll ever let him go.
I wouldn’t know how.
Lifting me up, he flips us over so he’s on top. The forest ground and his shirt presses into my back, the pokes of pain and pleasure racking my body. Looking over myself, I see the light bites and nips over my reddening skin.
My chest goes cold as he moves down my body. I lay with my knees up, watching as his kisses slide down my body. Skin on skin on skin, I heat up as the anticipation builds.
“I’ve never wanted to eat someone as much as I want to devour you,” Elliot murmurs against my skin.
“Please do, handsome.” At my words, his tongue is thrust over my underwear, mixing my already wet underwear with his spit. “Oh.”
Elliot has never been a man of many words, and I am more grateful for it at this moment as he rips my underwear and attacks my drenched pussy head on.
His nose dusts over me first, as if he’s enjoying his findings, then his lips press against me in a kiss. He isn’t shy, but he sure as hell takes his time. My hands find his hair, but I don’t pull or tug like I want to.
I let him explore. I let him set the pace, and I give him the control. I’m trusting the man between my legs to satisfy me the way he wants to.
A choice I’m not sure he’s been given before.
I moan and shiver under him as his fingers join in, his thumb on my clit as his tongue plays with my lips.
“Handsome, please,” I beg. I fucking beg. I whimper and I moan, and I’ve never been this pleased before. Throwing my head back, I feel the gritty dirt mashing in my hair. Never has a promise so close to the finish line. I need him and, more than that, I want him. I want him so fucking bad.
His hands grip my thighs and yank me impossibly closer, ravishing me. He parts me with tongue before flicking at my clit. My legs shake as he continues torturing me with slow laps of his tongue.
His tan skin and shiny soft hair are all I see as my chest heaves up and down. Every time a moan slips past my lips, he doubles his effort, paying attention to me like he’s learning something. Reading me like one of his bird books, as if I’ll quiz him later.
I lose control. I’m lost to him, the sensations, his fingers. Everything down to his nose digs into all the right places. I grip his hair strands, blind to the fact I may be hurting him. I cry out as I come on his tongue.
“Thank you, Little Crane,” Elliot says, as he licks up my cum between my thighs.
“We’re done?” I ask incredulously as my head shoots up so I can look at him. He only smiles.
“We’re only getting started.”
I giggle, the ecstatic rush showering over my skin. I launch up to meet his lips as he crawls over my body. Grasping his head in my hands, I taste myself on his lips, and my body temperature spikes. I’m drenched in sweat, more so than the running caused, and completely filthy.