Page 3 of Ravager

I shot past the row of nailed dildos hanging from the roof, battling the fuckers out of the way, and jumped when a deep male laugh echoed nearby. Way too close. The ominous chuckle zapped right down my spine, made my balls twinge. Both lust and fear warred under my skin. The first, the lust, morphing and twisting as he played with my emotions. Was he about to catch me? What would he do? He wasn’t supposed to…

My bare feet slapped on the concrete floor, and the music grew louder, the beat pounding and pulsing, making my heart race in time with it.

Lights flickered, plunging the space into almost complete pitch black save for some glow in the dark spiders, and I gasped, skidding to a stop. Shit. Where was I? I turned, tried to get my bearing. I’d built this fucking thing, timed the lights myself, but he had me twisted up, a squeezing, heart-pounding mess when I should be in full control.

I sucked in a breath to try to steady myself, calm the fuck down, but then the beat of the music shifted and the lights flashed on.

Gasping, I stumbled backward. He was there.

Right in front of me.

How the fuck—?

With a yell, I turned and ran in the opposite direction, fleeing back the way I came, even though it must be wrong. More of those stupid decorations tangled with me as I raced through the maze. The walls grew narrower, the music louder, everything darker, tighter, twisted…fuck.

My eyes squeezed shut of their own volition as I darted round another corner, so confused, so lost, so—I bounced off something hard and screamed so fucking loud my throat grew hoarse. Fingers grazed my shoulders, and I opened my eyes.

“How—” I started to say, but shook my head. Him, the man, the victor, he had me. I wrestled free of him, though his grip remained loose, and took a few measured steps back.

I wasn’t actually being chased here. We could call this a simple flub. I’d take a few turnings and it would all be okay. If he’d just wait... but he beckoned for me, curling his finger repeatedly to urge me closer again. My foot stepped towards him, my chest pushed to move nearer. His costume, the tilt of his head and the intensity of his black eyes called me to him. I wanted it, despite the ragingterror now causing me to crash, I wanted him. But the game hadn’t finished.

I shook my head and darted around the corner, running again until I found the subtle arrows we’d built into the decorations. My mind was clearing.

But he was right behind me this time, not letting me get away like before. His heat, the pounding of his shoes juxtaposing my bare feet, the quick breaths he released. I felt him in the blood rushing through my veins, in the tingle at my neck, in the sweat prickling my spine.

He just didn’t stop. He toyed with me, allowing me to slip out of his vicinity, only to catch right back up with that lethal chuckle. My mind turned to flashing images and emotions darting around, confusing me, overwhelming me as the curated playlist of crashing instruments and screaming vocals bounced through my skull. This maze was supposed to be silly, not scary, but my adrenaline peaked again, raging through me as I fought for my bearings.

I lost where I was, couldn’t see the trail. Turned the wrong way. Panicked and flailed as sticky cobwebs brushed against my limbs.

Crashed into a wall, whipped around and tried to run away from the dead end. But he found me.My heartpounded as his tall body stepped closer, blocking my only exit. Shit. Shit!

“Stop—” I tried, but could only take rough breaths, only step back and press into the wall. He was… commanding, even with his features painted away and his entire body covered in thick, black clothing. It was his whole aura, scary, looming. Demanding. How?

He gave it a minute, let the reality of the situation sink over me. He’d caught me.

“Hello,” his deep voice echoed, seeming louder than the blasting music, louder than the blood rushing around my ears. And my lust for him was louder than my desire to run.

Three

Cole

Lost little angelic lamb. That’s what he looked like, wide-eyed and disheveled, pressed against a spiderweb of rope, with whips and chains dangling, scraping the ground, brushing against his bare skin.

He was delicious. And so, so scared as I took measured steps closer to him. Chasing him had been fun, too easy though, when I’d had the pleasure of watching over the shoulders of those who’d planned it. A few nights with a bottle of wine and a sketchpad, and it was all mapped out for whomever might come snooping.

Avery didn’t often look at me with fear. Not when his friends forced him to be in the same room as me, civilized and polite in company. No, I got disdain, irritation… sometimes curiosity, or a stray spark he tried to hide. I wish I knew why. It was one of my biggest annoyances in life…but I manipulated it, had fun with it despite wishing those daggers would turn to mush.

This was… everything I wanted. His eyes were only for me, his entire being ached for me, to run from me, to step closer. It didn’t matter. I saw it in the tension across his body, in the way his breathing hitched and how he swayed, reaching towards me. He wanted this. Me. A surge of victory, after all these years, poured through me.

“This isn’t… we…” he tried to say, but he was having trouble catching up to the fact that this was perfect.

“Shh,” I soothed him, enjoying knowing he couldn’t tell who I was. I’d painted every inch of my face, and the shadows and the flashing lights in here, plus the heightened fear, I was safe from him figuring me out. Until I wanted him to, at least. And I didn’t know if I ever would.

I wanted this. Him. Too much to allow a little issue like him maybe recognizing me stop it.

“Turn around,” I demanded, my voice carrying over the music. In this corner of the maze, tucked away from the main fray, everything else disappeared. No music. No countdown. None of the cheesy Halloween decorations. “Let me see all of you.”

“N-No.” He shook his head. “Let me go. I’ll meet you in the victory room.”

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