Our chemistry had been off the scale.
Flirting with him had been as easy as breathing, until he name-dropped the awful specimen I’d dumped ice water over, buddying up to him on his phone call and confirming he’d been at that sex-pests-are-us party. Clearly my judgement was off. My momentary crush was yet another billionaire rich boy I wanted nothing to do with.
Sex, on the other hand, had become a desperate, clawing need I couldn’t shake.
Inside the warehouse, a huge man with a skeleton print bandanna hiding his lower face escorted me through darkened corridors to an office. He rapped on the door.
A voice called out, and I was admitted.
My belly tightened, but those pesky emotions nearly always turned into anger, and I had to keep a lid on it. For once, I wasn’t going to blow this. Like I had the topless waitressing and the lingerie pitch. I’d made friends with Genie again, if only to get the lowdown on this game. She’d spilled details but chickened out of entering it. I needed a hard chase and an even harder fuck more than I could say.
Another, more intimidating masked man sat behind a black desk, a bright spotlight shining on me but not hiding the tattoos all over from his hands to his neck.
“Bonnie Braveheart,” he rumbled in a Scottish accent.
I inclined my head. We’d already spoken on the phone, but Shade, as he was called, told me all applicants had to attend in person so there was no mistaking what we were signing up for.
I could only imagine how bad wandering in unknowingly might be.
Shade picked up a clipboard and centred his gaze on me. “Ye already know the basics of the game, but I’ll recap. On Friday night, twenty men will hunt five women in our basement. Once you’re in, ye cannae leave until one of those men has fucked ye on the floor, against a wall, or over a pile of bodies if that’s how it goes down.”
A shiver ran down my spine at the threat of violence.
“They’ll be caged until the siren, then on release, they’ll fight to claim ye. Injuries happen, generally more to the lads than lasses, but broken bones and getting knocked unconscious aren’t uncommon.”
I had no idea how, but I knew he was smirking under that mask.
“Can I fight back?” I asked.
“Aye, do. Give as good as ye get. Just don’t mistake the fact that ye will be caught. Once you’ve been fucked, your game is over, and the man who made the claim is your new owner for thirty days and nights. Ye can’t refuse or reject him. It’s might over right down in that basement. You’re committing to be together for that time, with only a couple of hours of personal time allowed per day in the first week, rising to four after. Meaning ye sleep, eat, and do everything together. Ye fuck daily, as a minimum. When I say he’s your owner, you’re his, too. It works both ways.”
The more he talked, the more I wanted to do this. Despite the terrible previous week, my life had become unexpectedly easier since the incident at the department store. Genie had a call from our landlord who’d given us two months’ free rent and a reduced rate after. Our bills dropped, with our apartment getting a special rate for all utilities from a local service provider who’d taken over the complex.
It was as if some financial fairy godmother had waved a wand over me at just the right moment. Maybe the universe was correcting wrongs.
Whatever the reason, it offered an opportunity I couldn’t deny. When would I ever have the chance of a month off work again?
“I agree to everything you’ve said.”
Shade inclined his head. “Any other concerns or matters to discuss before ye sign on the line? Ye said ye wanted kids, but there’s no other restrictions listed.”
Children felt like such a faraway decision, even if I really did want them one day. Just as badly as I wanted my own business.
“There’s only one thing I care about. I don’t want to be paired off with some grey-haired billionaire.”
The tattooed man shrugged. “Nae bother. I won’t put ye in for the silver fox special.”
I wiggled my fingers, he handed over the clipboard, then I signed away my rights for a month of well-needed distraction.
Chapter 6
Elijah
Enraged shouts reverberated around my cage, nineteen men and me locked in a basement and ready to take part in a game I’d learned about only days ago.
And fought like hell to get a place in.
Heat came off the packed bodies, sweat dripping down the red-brick walls. Tempers flared around me, one bearded guy throwing a punch that crunched the ribs of a mean-looking opponent, his skeleton mask already torn away.
