The Death Games

by Vannah Summers

  Lost to the motion, I wasn’t expecting him to pull me off his cock so harshly a few minutes later, and I winced as a few hairs tore from my scalp. My pained cry of offense lodged in my throat as his mouth smothered mine, swallowing every sound, and I banished the annoyance as his hands dropped to my hips and fisted in my underwear.

  Ripping the fabric down my legs, he tossed them aside and, with no preamble, captured my cock in his fist. An embarrassing squeal escaped me, and he snickered even as I dragged him back to my mouth for a kiss that was all tongues and teeth.

  “Uh, fuck this. Lube, condoms, in the drawer.” I pointed desperately at the side table, and Grant nodded, lunging for the drawer and practically wrenching it from its hinges.

  “We’ll have to put these to good use later.” He cheesed as he brandished the edible underwear, and I howled with laughter as he dropped it into the now-crooked drawer.

  “If you wanted to dress up for me, all you had to do was ask.” I scooched to the center of the bed, rising on my knees as Grant chucked the bottle of lube at my head.

  A string of condoms followed as he crawled across the mattress, sinister promises gleaming in his dark eyes, and I set the supplies to the side as I crooked a finger in a “come hither” motion. He obeyed, and I smacked my palms on his chest and pushed.

  His back hit the bed, rumpling the sheets further, and I slunk up his body like a cat. “I’m gonna ride you so fucking hard.”

  “Is that a promise?” he asked, breathlessly as his hands framed my hips.

  Nodding, I rubbed my ass against his cock, bringing a groan from between his lips. “Yeah, Boston, that’s a promise.”

  With a hand on my waist to steady me, he sat up sharply and massaged my thighs, tucking me into his body snugly. Every hard line of him pressed into me, and I shuddered. This was why I had a weakness for jocks. There was something irresistible about firm muscles and strong bodies. Maybe, for round two, I’d let him manhandle me a little, shove me face first in the mattress and fuck my brains out until I screamed.

  Yeah, that was definitely going on the agenda.

  “Lea, is this okay?” At some point, he’d opened the lube, and slicked fingers slid between my cheeks, bringing me back to reality.

  “Yes.” I kissed his swollen lips once, twice. “Yes, yes, yes.”

  Circling, teasing, he swallowed my pathetic gasps, my desperate whimpers. His fingers massaged my sensitive skin, firm but not nearly enough to satisfy. I groaned my frustration, and he smirked against my mouth, pushing harder. Almost, almost. There it was—the uncomfortable breach, the burn of intrusion. I gasped, a mixture of pleasure and pain. It had been too long since I touched myself like this, since anyone touched me like this…

  “Lea—”

  “Don’t stop.” My forehead dropped to his slick shoulder as I released a shuddering breath. I willed my body to relax—it was key to making this work—and the room around us dissolved. There was nothing but us, the hollow whoosh of shared breath, the overwhelming heat of naked flesh against flesh.

  The rush faded, the flurry calming, and I clung to his neck as he prepared me gently, patiently. He set my body alight with his touch, and I surrendered. Lost to him, I forgot about the third task, about Natalia and her death threats.

  For a moment, I even forgot I was dead.

  Here in Grant’s embrace, I felt more alive than I’d ever been.

  His breath scorched my neck as he whispered words of encouragement, of comfort and praise, and my nails sunk into the back of his neck when a second finger joined the first. Igniting me from the inside out, Grant delved deeper, pushed farther, demanded more, and I relinquished everything until I had nothing more to offer.

  Minutes or possibly years passed as liquid fire trickled through my veins and set me ablaze. Every touch seared, but the unquenchable inferno never consumed me. It heightened each sensation, and every nerve ending sparked with pleasure. As my body acclimated and the burn subsided, I started to move.

  Rolling with every thrust of his fingers, I submitted to the need, the bone-deep, gut instinct to chase that high. He groaned, allowing me only so much leeway as he stretched me, explored me, worshipped me.

  Then he found it, that beautiful bundle of nerves deep inside, and electricity zapped down my spine and straight to my cock.

  “Fuck!” I bucked in his hold, nearly toppling off his lap, but his grip on my waist was strong. He didn’t let me fall.

  “Careful there, green.” He chuckled, and I blinked my eyes open lazily, a dopey grin stretching my lips. “I’m not lettin’ you go, yet. Not when I’ve finally got you where I want you.”

  He punctuated his cocky comment with a curl of his finger, and I practically convulsed in his hold. A moaning mess, I raked my hand through his hair as he manipulated my body like a puppet master. Lust glazed his dark eyes, and they feasted—yes, feasted, like a feral, wild animal—on my features as I groaned in ecstasy.

  Wanting to be more than a passenger, I glided my palms down his neck, over his vast shoulders, down his toned arms, and across his chest. Muscles spasmed beneath my fingertips, and his lids shut, his brow furrowing in satisfaction as my hands devoured every inch of his delectable body I could reach.

  And still, the fire burned.

  I wrapped my fingers around his erection, pumping in time with the thrusts of his fingers, and he jerked with a groan. Power flared to life in my system, and I tightened my grip as my free hand anchored itself in his hair.

  Perfection. We were utter perfection.

  “Grant, I—” I cried out, shaking in his hold as the tension in my gut and groin built. Oh, shit! “Grant, I’m gonna blow too soon if you… if you keep this up. You need to… stop.”

  With another evil snicker, he withdrew, and I was left empty and bereft. But I wouldn’t be for long. Fingers fumbled, and tender laughter trilled through the thick air as we rolled the condom on his gorgeous cock. I’d had sex more times than I could count, yet my fingers trembled like a virgin as I secured it at his base and rose onto my knees. Somehow, this felt different; we were different. We had so much at stake, so much that could go wrong. Yet, here Grant was, stoking a fire within me that couldn’t be extinguished.

  “Lea.”

  A hand cupped my cheek, drawing my attention to Grant’s face. Sweat glistened on his forehead, his eyes half-crazed with desire, yet we paused. We shared one breath, then two, and we stared into each other’s eyes until I could have sworn I saw his soul reflecting within the umber depths.

  “Grant.”

  Our lips met, and the connection was pure and raw. We were entirely bare in this moment, stripped to our bones, and emotion inflated in my chest, cinched my throat, and pricked my eyes with humiliating moisture. I pinched my eyes shut, forcing the vulnerability back to the recesses of my mind. Before either of us could truly grasp the monumental exchange, I guided his lubed cock where I needed him most.

  It was no small task, and I pressed my forehead to his, eyes scrunched as the battle began. Every instinct shied away from the intrusion, yet I needed to accept the discomfort, the pain, accept him. It was mind over matter, forcing my reluctant muscles to relax, and with every inch of him I enveloped, Grant murmured support and encouragement.

  At long last, I slumped into his chest, my body shaking as I grew accustomed to the overwhelming fullness. He cradled me close. His breath was labored, his muscles twitching as he fought for control, and I was grateful for his patience. God knew one of us needed some. He wanted to move, but he didn’t, allowing me time to adjust.

  “Fuck, you feel…” He groaned into my damp curls, his lips soothing over my sweaty brow. “Lea, baby.”

  Baby? I liked that more than I should.

  “Grant, I, uh, I can’t—” This wasn’t my first time, far from it, but I couldn’t remember how to move. Every limb rattled, and that damn emotion was back, choking me. “Fuck, Grant, please.” I hoped he understood what my words failed to say.

  He kiss
ed me, his lips commanding, and I melted into him. “It’s okay. I got you.”

  Carefully, like I was made of glass, he flipped us. I whined at the initial discomfort of the jostle, but we remained connected as my back met the mattress and the pinching pain receded. He guided one leg over his shoulder, the other around his waist. I tasted the salt of his sweat and the heat of his desire on his lips and moaned into his mouth as his weight settled more firmly.

  “I got you,” he repeated, kissing me tenderly as he started to move. I buried my face in his neck.

  “I know. I know.” I disintegrated into a pleading, moaning puddle, clutching Grant’s shoulders for dear life as we succumbed to the fervor. He was everywhere; he was everything. My Boston.

  In this moment, he was all that mattered. Maybe we’d die, maybe we wouldn’t. But we had today, this blip in time, and, in our small slice of eternity, Grant held me. He kissed me indulgently and whispered his desire against my sweat-slicked flesh. He coaxed the fire in my veins until the inferno roared, and after, in the moments following the sweet rapture, he cradled me in his arms like something inexplicably precious.

  As the coals smoldered and the fire burned out, he drew designs over my moist skin and husked into my damp curls. “If it took dyin’ to finally find you, then I don’t regret a damn thing.”

  I couldn’t have agreed more.

  Chapter 16

  Ashes, Ashes

  This time when I woke, I understood with absolute surety whose arms circled my body, whose chest pillowed my head. With my leg lying between his and his morning erection pressed to my hip, I burrowed deeper into his embrace and smiled when he tightened his hold. Every inch of my skin carried his characteristic evergreen scent, and my cock stirred with the recollection of how exactly that came to be. I’d never been more satisfied—or more sore—than I was in this moment.

  We’d spent the entire day yesterday lazing in my room, enjoying each other’s company, watching TV, and eating room service. Maybe we should’ve been more efficient with our time and gone to the gym, but we preferred getting hot and sweaty in other, more pleasurable ways.

  Humming low in my throat, I listened to the rhythmic beating of Grant’s heart beneath my ear. His fingers played with the ends of my hair, no longer asleep.

  With a grin, I met his sleepy gaze. “Good morning.”

  “Mornin’ yourself.” He scrubbed away the sleep from his face before sitting up against the headboard. “How’d you sleep?”

  “Better than usual.”

  He nodded knowingly. “Same. Are you hungry? We should eat somethin’ before the task.”

  I wasn’t really hungry, but I knew eating was important. I didn’t want to get out of bed, though. Especially not with such a sexy specimen lying half-naked in my sheets. “Let’s order some room service, yeah?” I crawled onto Grant’s lap with a devilish smile. “I don’t want to get up yet.”

  Grant’s matching grin sent my pulse racing as his hands settled on my waist. “Yeah? Then what did you have in mind?”

  “Oh, you know,” I mused, palming his erection, and he groaned out a breathy chuckle. “A little of this. A little of that.”

  We didn’t leave the confines of my room until a servant fetched us for the final task. Despite our nerves, Grant and I dressed and headed downstairs together, hand in hand. Before we rounded the corner, he tugged me to a stop.

  “Listen, Lea. No matter what, we stick together till the end. I think it’s our best shot at makin’ it through this.” His thumb stroked over my inner wrist. “We’re goin’ to make it through this, I promise.”

  I nodded, ignoring the obvious lie. “We will.”

  The other competitors waited for us on a hover bus, and Grant tugged me on board with a reassuring squeeze of my hand. Natalia glared at us as we took our seats, her calculative gaze eyeing our clasped hands with a smug tip to her lips which I ignored.

  We passed empty pastures and various farmlands on either side of the bus. Off in the distance, a wide field of drying, green hedges lined the empty street. The foliage grew several stories tall, their dense branches weaving together to form an intricate barricade.

  The leafy partition stretched on for miles, and it wasn’t until we neared a gathering of hooded figures that I realized the wall was actually our destination.

  Death and his entourage waited beside several pathways, murmuring together as the five of us exited the hover car. I felt the weight of someone’s gaze on me but couldn’t pinpoint whose.

  My body buzzed with nerves as we came to a halt before Death, and I clung to Grant’s hand, petrified of the moment I would have to let go. Death faced us with an incongruous smile in light of our current situation.

  “Welcome, warriors! Congratulations on making it this far. Each of you has shown impeccable courage and strength, and we applaud you for your perseverance.”

  The ghost audience cheered around us, but I ignored the praise. I needed to keep my head in the game. Grant squished my fingers in a silent reminder of his support, and I swallowed the ache in my throat. This was it.

  Holding out a small box, Death motioned us forward. “For this final task, the person to exit the labyrinth first, wins the games. Each of you will begin the task in a different path with different obstacles. Draw your number, and we shall begin at the sound of the gong.”

  Wait, what? But we were supposed to be together! That was the fucking plan.

  I eyed Grant, noting the crease between his dark brows as he stared at the five different pathways. Each one was shrouded in shadow, and mist curled along the ground in hazy swirls. I shivered as a screech sounded somewhere in the distance.

  Fuck, I was so screwed.

  “It’s gonna be okay,” Grant whispered against my temple, surprising me when his lips pressed to my cheek for the briefest moment. “I’ll find you. Just stay alive till then.”

  “Easier said than done,” I muttered, but Grant didn’t hear. He’d already stepped forward to take his paper.

  After plucking a slip from the box, we eyed our numbers and stood before our assigned paths. I shifted in front of my designated trail, number three, while Grant frowned at his, the first pathway.

  Dread boiled in my gut as we waited, and by sheer determination, I didn’t throw up my breakfast. This terror was different than the others. Maybe it was the fact I was facing this alone, without a team on my side to help when I needed. Or perhaps it was the absolute certainty I wasn’t making it out alive this time. Either way, I shook like a leaf and felt utter emptiness in my soul.

  Natalia stood to my right, her face calm as she waited for the task to begin. Without taking her eyes off the maze, she spoke to me. “So the mouse and the wolf made nice? How quaint.”

  The satisfaction on her face read genuine, and my insults died on my lips at the expression. What did it matter to her? Why would this new development between Grant and I please her?

  “Fuck off, Natalia.” I flipped her the bird, and she chuckled.

  “You know the best way to infiltrate the herd, mouse?” When I didn’t respond, she continued, her eyes locked on mine. “You dress the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Works every damn time.”

  The insinuation wasn’t lost on me, and something dark curled in my gut as my eyes traveled to Grant. No, that wasn’t right. He was on my side. He was… he’d said…

  Natalia cooed, feigning remorse as she covered her mouth with her fingers. “Oh dear, did I let the cat out of the bag?” She cackled. “Did you honestly think he wanted you?”

  She was lying… Wasn’t she?

  Grant peered over his shoulder, his dark eyes meeting mine, and his brow furrowed in concern. His lips formed my name, but I couldn’t hear it over the sound of the gong. And then the foliage converged, cutting us off from each other and the platform where we’d first started.

  Lost and alone, I stood surrounded by hedges as the afternoon light darkened to twilight. I should’ve run or maybe climbed the wall to get a better l
ayout of the maze. Hell, I should’ve searched for a weapon—anything but what I actually did.

  Tumbling around inside my brain, I analyzed every moment of the past few days, every word, every touch. Could I have really read him that wrong? If so, then Grant Barone was an exceptional actor, dedicated to whatever endgame I wasn’t privy to. Had it all been a lie?

  My heart shuddered at the thought. No, it couldn’t be! The way he’d held me, the sincerity in his eyes—I couldn’t have imagined that. Sure, we’d only known each other for a few weeks, but we’d been through enough to bring us together. Our feelings, while not true love, were still real. We’d connected, and some things were impossible to fake.

  Natalia had to be lying, an attempt to unsettle me, distract me.

  And, damn it, it worked! Here I was wallowing when I should’ve been racing through the terrifying labyrinth.

  Whether Grant truly cared for me or not, I couldn’t allow the doubt to control me. The third task had begun, and I was already behind the others, stuck at the starting line as I had an internal meltdown.

  Maybe my trust was misplaced, but until he proved himself unreliable, I’d believe him. He told me to stay alive, that he would find me, and I would trust him to keep his word. For Grant, for me, I’d fight.

  With new found resolve, I straightened my shoulders, faced the swirling fog, and strode purposefully into the unknown. I was as ready as I’d ever be, and Death could kiss my skinny, yet sexy, ass!

  The labyrinth was cold and dark, and foreboding crawled over my skin like centipedes as I navigated the twists and turns. Fear licked at my skin, raising goose bumps as spiders clicked and slithering creatures whispered from the shadows.

  Even as a child, I’d never been great with spiders; their beady eyes and unnaturally-legged bodies gave me nightmares. Eyeing the foliage, I wrapped my arms around myself as phantom legs crawled over my body.

  The further I trudged, the dimmer everything became until the darkness blinded me. My breathing quickened. Eerie cries rang through the pitch blackness, and a whimper hovered on my tongue. It was unnervingly disorienting without my sight, and I wished for anything to have Grant with me so I wouldn’t have to do this alone. With Grant, it was easy to be strong and confident. By myself, surrounded by the dark and my own thoughts, I felt weak and unsure.