Page 14 of The Labyrinth

I twisted the knob all the way around, silently grateful our rivals hadn’t attacked the water sources yet. I was sure they would find a way eventually, but for today, I could have this time to myself. I waited until steam fogged the glass walls, until the water was hot enough to burn my skin. But of course, it wouldn’t. I had tried before.

I stepped into the spray, closing my eyes as I let the events of the day slip away. There was nothing but me, and the hot water. Me and the shower. Me and…Rissa? I opened my eyes with a groan, because of course she was there, my mind conjuring up an image of her standing in the corner of my shower, water dripping over her bare breasts, trailing lower, to the sweet valley between her legs.

“You already knew you couldn’t stop thinking of me that easily,” dream Rissa said, a smile stretching across her ruby mouth. I wanted to bite her bottom lip, consume every ounce of her, starting with her lips and working my way down, taking my time along the way. I wondered if she’d stop me, once I bit into her neck, tugging at the tender flesh there. Or maybe once I twisted her perfectly rosy nipples, past the point of playfulness. Would she stop me? Or would she look at me with wanting eyes, giving me the okay to go further?

I didn’t need the okay. Not really. Not with everything I had done in the past. But something about Rissa made me want her to wantmeas much as I wantedher. I needed her to want this, real or fiction.

And right now, fiction was winning. My cock grew heavy between my legs, hard at the mere idea of Rissa sharing my shower, staring at me with lust and desire, desperate for me to touch her. But oh, how I’d do so much more than just touch her. She took a step toward me, and another, unafraid in my presence, and unashamed of her nakedness. I wanted to take my time admiring every bare inch of her skin. I wanted to devour her until there was nothing left of her but her soul, mine to claim.

I reached between my legs with a groan, stroking my wet cock, slick from the shower. “A good little slut knows to speak only when spoken to, deliciae.” I had messed up the first time calling her that out loud, but the word fell from my lips so easily. If only she had known how she affected me, calling meMasteras we walked into town. God, I wanted to hear that word leave her tongue while I was buried balls deep inside her.

Rissa only smirked. “Good thing I’m not a good little slut, then.”

Fuck me. I pumped my fist over my cock, running my hand along the ridges, careful to avoid the thick barbs that lined the head. Sweet little Rissa was in for a treat when I finally sank my cock inside her. I was going to ruin her, and she was going to love it, and beg for more. “Get on your knees,” I muttered. “Show me how sorry you are for your insolence.”

“Is it insolence, or honesty?” The words didn’t stop Rissa from stepping closer, and I could only imagine what real Rissa’s desire would smell like. Fake Rissa from my brain smelled like nothing but my shower, and I suddenly found myself desperate for the real thing. “Because you wouldn’t enjoy me half as much if I wasgood.”

“I’ll enjoy breaking you. Watching you succumb to me. My desires. My wants. Mywill. I’ll enjoy teaching you how to be good.” She was close enough for me to touch now, and I reached out to grab her by her neck and pull her toward me. “On your fucking knees.”

Dream Rissa was so obedient, sinking to her knees on the slick tile in front of me. She wrapped her hand around my cock, so soft and delicate, replacing my own touch. Up and down her hand slid, and I watched it with an odd fascination. It couldn’t reach all the way around, and for some reason this turned me on even more. My brain was foggy, set on one goal, and one goal only.

“Your mouth, deliciae,” I whispered. “Wrap your mouth around my cock, and suck hard. Suck me until I believe you want to be here. Until I believe you want me.”

Rissa glanced up at me from under her dark lashes, a flash of need crossing her gaze before she took the thick head of my cock into her mouth. She opened wide, taking as much of me in as she could. I tossed my head back. The sensation of her sweet mouth was almost too much to handle, and I could only imagine what her pussy would feel like when I finally claimed it.

She bobbed up and down as I thrust my hips into her, fucking her mouth in a frenzy. I needed her. Needed this. Fuck all the lies that had left my lips today. There was only my need, and I was going to sate it, morals be damned. She moaned around my thick length, her eyes widening briefly, but I didn’t stop. I was going to use her perfect mouth. I gripped her wet hair as I thrust harder. My release was building low in my belly, tightening with each bob of Rissa’s mouth. “Suck me harder,” I groaned. “Like you’ve never tasted anything better than my cock.”

Like a good girl, she did. Fuck, was there anything better than this? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was I was going to lose myself in Rissa’s mouth, gripping her hair like it was the only thing keeping me on this earth as I fucked her lips. I was going to come down her throat, pumping her full of cum, and if she knew what was good for her, she’d drink down every last drop.

I roared out my release, the glass walls around me trembling with the sound. An echo of Rissa’s name left me. Dream Rissa disappeared, and I was left with just my cock in my hands, my jet black cum dripping over my fingers. My head rested against the tiles, the hot water beating against my back as I let it wash my weakness away from me. It was like it had never been here. Like I had never succumbed to my sins.

I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me. Maybe there was some deficiency in my blood, a terrible flaw of my genes leaving me susceptible to fallacies. I had never before been so affected by someone, let alone a singular human woman, and one I had spent barely any time with. But the reasons didn’t matter. Logic was tossed out the window. I needed to let Rissa go, to let the camps have her. I needed to get her off my bloody mind, and out of my goddamn dreams. But letting go was hard when I was a man possessed.

Chapter7

Rissa

Ididn’t sleep much that first night. My brain was on overdrive, barely processing everything that had happened. Surely it had been longer than one day since I was taken from my house. I had lived a thousand lives since morning, and my emotions were only just now catching up.

Once Clara was asleep, and I was finally, blissfully alone with my thoughts, I allowed myself to break. Not all the way. Not enough that I wouldn’t be able to stitch myself back together again. But enough that some of the pressure building in my veins could be released. I cried for my family, who I’d likely never see again. For Ettie, who I knew would be forced to work far too young without me there—with or without the supposed wage I’d earn. I cried for a future I would no longer have, ripped from my hands faster than I could realize what happened. Escape was still on my mind, because how could it not be? But deep down I knew it was a useless act, something I kept imagining just to keep me going. I was never getting out of here, and I needed to accept my fate sooner rather than later, otherwise I’d end up like those soulless women in the entrance. A soft sob escaped me, and next to me, Clara twitched with the noise. I slapped my hand over my mouth, not wanting to disturb her. I was enough of a mess without having to force my emotions on someone else.

It was stupid, really. I didn’t have much of a future in the village regardless. Maybe I’d get married to a man who worked in the mines with my brothers. We’d both work, making the most of our meager living. We might even move into a shack of our own, something to be proud of. Kids might come along, maybe, maybe not. But if there were kids, they, too, would be forced to work far too young. I saw it happening with kids Ettie’s age. The age of children who attended school dropped younger and younger, until all we asked of them was that they could read and write. Do a few sums, enough to not get scammed at the market. Then, it was off to the mines.

Was I really crying for a life I never wanted for myself? I swiped angrily at the tears that still lingered on my cheeks. These tears were useless. Crying was a futile act, devoid of relief. I had never envisioned that life for myself because I didn’t want it. Why should I mourn it now?

I sniffled, and nodded to myself. I had to pull myself together before someone heard me. Besides, maybe Clara had the right idea all along. Make the most out of your situation, and eventually it turns into a half-decent life. She looked happy, for the most part. Content. She had a nicer bed than anyone I had ever seen in the village—even our mayor. She looked a hell of a lot cleaner than I did, and she told me herself there was more than enough food. Would it really be so bad to sell my soul for a life almost worth living? My mother did it for us. I hadn’t wanted to turn out like her, but my hand was played for me. Now that I was here, maybe it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. At least the benefits far outweighed the little bit of cash my mother brought home after a night of work.

I wouldn’t go quite so far as to call myself experienced, but I wasn’t a virgin, either. But a monster cock? Now that was definitely something new. Seeing as Ten was the first monster I had ever seen with my own eyes, I couldn’t say I’d ever had the pleasure of seeing one of their dicks in person. It wasn’t like I was about to just walk up to a monster and ask to take a peek. That seemed like an excellent way to get my neck snapped. But I could imagine.

Of course, Ten’s cock was the only one on my mind. He wouldn’t be the one fucking me. He had made that much clear when he dumped me here and took off with nothing more than a stupid warning. I wondered if it would be purple, or closer to black, like the splotches that covered his wrists and hands. I wondered how big it would be, if it would even fit.

I was an absolute mess, graduating from crying to imagining a monster’s dick in less than ten minutes. Strange things happened when you were trying to stay sane. We all did what we had to do, right? Right now, Clara’s way of coping seemed to look better and better. And Ten’s massive dick was agreatdistraction. A dick-straction, one could say.

I snorted, shaking my head at myself. It was going to be harder than I thought to keep my sanity inside this place. In reality, it was easier to make jokes than it was to be honest with myself. Honesty peeled back my armor, leaving me raw to the world. I wasn’t sure if I could take that kind of vulnerability right now.

Because, honesty would mean admitting I had never felt more free than now, locked away inside a cage. I would have to come clean, admitting my reasons for going with Ten had been just as much for myself as they were to protect my family. And worst of all, I’d have to admit I wanted Ten. I wanted him to touch me again like he had in the desert, to wrap his hands around my flesh and squeeze as hard as he could. Only this time, I wanted him to be fucking me while he did so.

But I could never tell him that. Telling him would leave me weak, too open to a whole host of emotions I wanted to pretend didn’t exist. Emotions forhim. So instead I’d tuck them away into a neat little box, label them and look at them from afar. A box of things that would never happen.Couldnever happen. I’d resign myself to the events of tomorrow—later today, more likely. There was no clock in the cell, and surely I had lain awake most of the night. Or was it only five minutes? Hours or seconds? It was hard to tell in the dim light.

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