My fingers find a small seam in the paneling. A hidden door.
“Clever girl,” I murmur.
But then, I have another I idea.
FORTY-EIGHT
noia
The closet has gone eerilyquiet, and the silence stretches as I strain to hear any movement on the other side of the panel.
I check my phone.
Time’s up.
My heart races with triumph and I grin. I won!
Carefully, I slide open the hidden panel and crawl back into the closet. The oppressive silence makes me nervous, but also a little smug as I scan the interior of the bedroom.
Seeing no one, I step out of the closet and before I can take another step, a large hand clamps over my mouth from behind. I try to scream but only manage a muffled yelp as I’m yanked backward against a solid, muscular chest while another arm locks around my waist.
“I thought we talked about what would happen if you messed with my actions and emotions again, Noia,” Ryder growls in my ear, voice sullen and dangerous.
He walks me forward, his body pressed tight against my back, and shoves me face-first up against the wall.
The hand over my mouth moves to wrap around my throat,while the one on my waist slides across my stomach and shoves inside my jeans, into my panties.
All I can do is whimper.
“Looks like I win, kitten.” His fingers slide through my folds to collect some of my arousal before sliding back up to circle my clit. “In more ways than one.”
His evil chuckle sends heat rushing through my veins like molten lava.
“Why do I feel mean, huh?” His teeth graze my earlobe as his fingers continue their torturous exploration. “What did you do to me this time?”
“I—I just wrote…” I gasp as he slides a finger inside me. “I wasn’t sure if it would actually work.”
“You sure about that?” His grip tightens around my throat. “You thought you could control me, make the game more interesting, am I right? Hmm?”
A second finger plunges inside me, making me cry out.
“Fucking with things you don’t understand,” he growls, adding a third finger and curling them to hit that perfect spot. “When will you learn?”
My knees buckle, but he holds me up, his grip on my throat tightening even further.
“Funny thing is...” He starts to thrust. “It just made me want to punish you even more.”
“The—the time was up,” I gasp, bucking against his hand. “You didn’t find me in time.”
“Oh, but I did.” I can feel his lips curve into a smile against the racing pulse in my neck. “I found your hiding spot with five minutes to spare. I just decided to wait and see what you would do.”
I groan in frustration as jolts of pleasure ratchet up my spine.
“Tell me what you wrote.” His thumb presses against my clit as his fingers pump in and out, making it hard to think.
“Just that—ah!—that you’d feel like a predator,” I moan. I’m so wet I can hear what his fingers are doing to me. “That you’d want to hunt me down and claim me.”
His voice drops to a sinister whisper. “You want to be hunted?”
