Out of the Ashes (The Game 5)

I was hopeless.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Tate Ridley

Fuck me in the ass, I was fuming. And burning up with jealousy.

The problem: every emotion was skin-deep and fleeting. The jealousy was real, yet felt…harmless. The anger was intoxicating but had a grip on me that I could easily shake.

Franklin wasn’t a threat to us. Not to me, not to Lee, not to our relationship. He was just terrifyingly good at shaking things up, and he didn’t even know it. He was, for all intents and purposes, Master’s best tool to fuck with my emotions, and the maso in me was eating it up, the traitorous little slut bag.

It was a type of hurt I’d never experienced before.

Lee had given me everything from thin, decorative welts to deep-tissue bruises that took weeks to heal. He’d turned my ass red, blue, and purple countless times. He’d shot my body straight into sub space with whips and canes. He’d beaten orgasms out of me. He’d seduced me with a smirk and a cat-o’-nine tails. He’d rapefucked me into submission, and he’d plucked every string connected to my brain like the puppet master he was.

Now he was going deeper. He was reaching into the core of my being and wreaking havoc. He manipulated my feelings and played them like an instrument.

I’d never been so conflicted during a scene before. He’d been sexy as all hell when he’d fucked Franklin. He’d gorged on pleasure for himself, and he’d rubbed it in my face.

I clenched my jaw just thinking about it. How could he apply pressure to a spot on another person in order to get me to react…? I’d reacted so wholeheartedly too. My entire body had been in that scene, despite that I’d never left my seat. And when he’d locked eyes with me, right before he got off in Franklin’s ass, Jesus Christ… I still wasn’t sure if I’d wanted to slap the shit out of Master, fuck him brutally to show him his place, get on my knees to beg him to choose me instead, or…or if I’d rather redirect my anger and lust to Franklin.

I was warring with those urges even now, right this second. I wanted to fuck Franklin—not to mention beat the shit out of him.

I cracked my knuckles and forced myself to relax.

“You’re a treat to watch this morning, baby.”

I shot Master a scowl.

He grinned and flipped the turn signal, getting us onto the highway. I’d lost sight of Franklin’s SUV. He drove faster than Lee.

“You just keep your eyes on the road, Sir,” I said.

“Are you giving me attitude?”

I let out a chuckle. “Fuck you, Master.”

Gah.

He was still doing it! He was still screwing with my emotions.

“Save it,” he replied. “Hold on to that anger till tomorrow night.”

I looked to him sharply. Tomorrow night? Was that why he had errands? Was he planning a new scene for us?

His plan was diabolical and brilliant. He’d told me we could kick up the dust around our feelings, push them to the surface, and then use them when we engaged in primal play. But I didn’t know he had immediate plans for something like that.

“Can you give me any more details?” I asked.

He smiled a little and reached for his coffee cup. “You don’t want details, Tate.”

Goddammit.

He was right.

“Well, mission accomplished,” I groused. “Every emotion in my body is simmering right under the surface, and I don’t know if I want to punish you, worship you, or take it all out on Franklin.”

Master was pleased. Good for him. The fucker.

He’d asked me in the note if I could see the black smoke.

I couldn’t fucking see past it.

“You can go back to telling me how much you love me.” He took a sip of his coffee and smirked to himself. “Or you can make plans for revenge. I wanna feel everything you feel right now—remember that.”

I knitted my brows together and pinched my lip.

The morning traffic was picking up, and part of me wanted to call in sick so I could spend the day in bed. I was fucking tired.

“What am I allowed to do?” I asked, at a loss.

“Where Franklin is concerned? Anything you want.” He sounded confident. “I will probably give you a time frame to work with—like right now, for instance, when I really wanna explore that emotional pain. So, say…for the next week—no, for the next two weeks, you’re free to do whatever you want, whenever you want it, and wherever, with that man.”

Was he serious?

“I wasn’t sure how I was gonna feel before yesterday,” he went on. “I didn’t know which limits I’d want for us, but…” He shook his head and grinned faintly. “I think he’ll be amazing for us, Tate. Franklin is safe. And I want you to have the freedom to plan scenes where you expose me to what I did to you last night. Punch me in the gut with it. Catch me off guard.”