Out of the Ashes (The Game 5)

That was Penelope and Lucian’s cue to assist us. Mainly Penelope, who would handle the girls’ sex-oriented pain.

A choked scream echoed across the quarry. Noa had just learned they weren’t alone in the water.

“What the fuck—help me!”

“What’s wrong?” Reese called.

“Someone’s grabbing at me!” Noa screamed.

“No, I don’t think so!” Reese responded. “Quit horsin’ around and get a glowstick!”

Lucian did a fine job at pissing off Shay with a rubber-spiked paddle. I zeroed in on my own boy and pulled forth the scene I’d come home to earlier. Seeing two plates and wineglasses on the kitchen bar, hearing moans from the bedroom, seeing Tate buried balls deep in Franklin’s ass… I inhaled deeply through my nose and grabbed a thin cane.

“Fuckin’ hell!” Shay groaned at Lucian’s relentless beating.

“Quiet, boy,” Lucian growled.

I didn’t say a word to Tate. He kept looking up to see where I was, and I was walking right behind him in the grid. He was about halfway through when I pushed my boot down on his calf and halted his crawl. Then I grabbed him by the belt of his jeans and pulled up, effectively pressing his back up against the spikes of the rubber wire.

He gasped and groaned.

“If it isn’t my little whore who can’t keep it in his pants,” I said quietly. I traced the tip of the cane along his back before I let it come down with a smacking force.

Tate was a fighter, and I loved him for it. Even when he was choking on pain and struggling to breathe, he tried to get away from me. He tried to crawl forward, grunting and panting, while I kept striking him.

Reese took my place to help with the brats following, so I could be at Tate’s side throughout the station’s course.

“You know I’m gonna do the same to you, right?” I filled my hand with sand and rubbed it into Tate’s back. “One day soon, you’ll come home from work to find me in our bed with Franklin.”

“Fuck you,” he gritted out. “I’ll beat you!”

I laughed darkly and struck him with the cane again, and I didn’t stop until he was screaming outright.

The darkness that I was growing so fond of slithered through my veins, and I saw our future. I saw our fortified love and happiness. I saw the breaks we’d take from that safety, like a party drug we’d indulge in from time to time, when we shoved ourselves out of our comfort zone to drive each other absolutely wild.

Sweat beaded across my forehead, and I straightened to watch Tate hurry away from me.

In the firelight, his back looked raw. Red lines, sweat, scratches, and sand turned his flesh into a sexy canvas.

By now, the first group was out of the water and trying to catch their breath. I walked over to them, accepted four glowsticks, which I threw back into the water.

“You didn’t impress me, but I wasn’t counting on that either,” I said. “The drowned cat is a good look on you, though, Noa.”

He stood there, chest heaving, wet jeans, and stared up at me. “You. Suck. Sir.”

I ruffled his hair with a sandy hand.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. “One, two, three…”

I chuckled. “Follow the torches along the path up the cliff. That’s where you’ll find Colt and your next station. And remember, boys. This was your warm-up.”

“Oh my God,” Kit whispered breathlessly. “Let’s go. My butt hurts so much.”

It was going to hurt much more before the night was over.

“Vampire gloves are the works of Satan,” Corey muttered.

I watched them walk up the beach and grinned.

“Can we talk about the fact that I got fingered by the Loch Ness monster?” Noa croaked. “While I was inhaling water!”

I chuckled and returned to Tate, who was about to crawl out from under the wire grid.

Right on time, the third shot rang out in the air.

I positioned myself at the end of the sand crawl and folded my arms over my chest. “My God, you’re slow, pet. Maybe you should exercise more often.”

“I’m gonna end you,” he panted. “Fuck.”

I was tempted to fight him right here, but I’d get my chance at a later station.

“You’re too busy fucking around on your Master to end him,” I said.

He jumped to his feet and glared murderously. “I will not let you get into my head. I know what you’re doing.”

That’s my boy.

I stepped to the side and let him pass. “By all means. Try not to whore around right in front of me.”

He managed to keep quiet, but he did ram his shoulder into mine on his way to the water.

Safe to say, I was no longer numb or wishing for a quiet evening. This was fun.

While Tate walked out into the water, soon followed by a panting Shay, I glanced over to the crawl and noticed the third group was about to arrive any second. We needed to speed things up. But I couldn’t resist torturing Aiko some more. I’d been the one who’d finally caught her earlier back at the house, and that girl was so goddamn fast that my ego had taken a huge hit.