Periculum: Unus (Devil's Playground Book 1)

by Natalie Bennett

  Gracelyn must have been feeling the effects of the walk, because not even she could muster any up.

  I guess stopping again it was. Not that we had much of a choice. This place seemed to operate like a well-oiled machine. Doing as we were told had been the only thing keeping us alive so long. Oh, and death. The only person who hadn’t gone out like a sacrificial lamb was Susan and whoever the people were who’d died when the shuttle crashed.

  We walked another two minutes to get to the entrance of the Sanctuary, this one looking nearly identical to the last.

  Ciaran and I went inside together, leaving the others to follow.

  Like the exterior, the interior was practically the same, all the way down to the plaque hanging on the wall. This one appeared to have an additional bedroom and a bigger kitchen, though.

  The door slid shut behind us and Mel sighed. “Look at the countdown.”

  “On the bright side, we’re one space closer to where we need to be,” Maverick pointed out.

  “There is no bright side,” Leonard spat. He moved ahead so he could face the whole group. “Tell me, which one of you is going to die next? Who do we let them kill now that you’re out of pawns? I vote for your little girlfriend.” He glared at me.

  Before I could blink, Ciaran had his hand freed from mine and Leonard down on the floor.

  He crouched over his body, holding him by the throat. “Who said you weren’t a pawn? In fact, the next time we need to off some weak piece of shit, it’ll be your name getting a line through it.”

  “You—”

  “Did I ask you a question that warranted a response?”

  Ciaran tightened his grip to the point that his knuckles turned white, cutting off whatever Leonard had been about to say. “From this point on until you die, you’re going to be nothing but chivalrous. Do you understand?”

  Still unable to speak, he choked out what sounded like a yes.

  “Good. Let’s not revisit this conversation.” He shoved him away and stood up, reaching for my hand again before stalking off towards the back hall. I didn’t have any option but to follow.

  We entered one of the bedrooms, and he released me, using his foot to kick the door shut.

  “Sit,” he commanded, motioning to the large canopy bed.

  I furrowed my brows. “Do I look like a dog?”

  With a dark laugh, he destroyed all semblance of my personal space and began using his body to force mine backward.

  The backs of my legs hit the mattress, and he kept going.

  “Ciaran,” I laughed, bringing my palms up to press against his chest.

  He caught my wrist, trapping them with one hand above my head. “Don’t provoke me, puppet.”

  “Maybe you should learn to control yourself,” I shot back playfully, flexing my fingers.

  “That’s the last thing you want,” he countered. Using his knee to spread my legs, he settled his body between them.

  I licked my lips, spreading my thighs further to feel more of him even as I said, “I’m filthy.”

  “Exactly how I want you.” He dragged his tongue across my cheek, the one with dried blood on it.

  “Ciaran,” I breathed, laughing softly.

  He replied by pressing his lips to mine. Keeping my wrists bound, his free hand went between us, delving beneath the waistband of my sweats. He cupped my pussy and pulled my underwear to the side, slipping his tongue into my mouth when I moaned.

  Two fingers thrust roughly inside me, going knuckle deep. He twisted them, pressing the pad of his calloused thumb to my clit, toying with me.

  “You’re fuckin soaked, puppet,” he growled, abruptly pulling away.

  I sat up, watching him back away from me, unable to hide my confusion. I knew what a hard dick felt like, and I knew this wasn’t one-sided, so why the hell was he stopping?

  “Don’t look at me like that,” he laughed, running a hand through his hair. “You don’t have any idea what you’re asking for.”

  “Oh, that sounds familiar and really hypocritical,” I oozed in a fake sugary voice.

  “There’s no need to rush, we’ve got all the time in the world for me to give you what you’re so desperate for.”

  “Desperate? Ciaran, I can get dick from anyone. I’ve never been desperate.” I began to stand. He closed the space between us and wrapped his hand around my neck.

  “The only person that’s going to be anywhere near your pussy is standing right in front of you.”

  I started to laugh, the sound slightly off with his hand adding pressure. “That’s cute.”

  “Nah. What’s cute, puppet, is how naïve you are. I’m going to fuck you like the whore you so desperately want to be fucked like and set a precedent no other man will ever be able to match.” He stroked the column of my throat and relinquished his hold. “But you have to earn it.”

  I glared at him as he stepped away again. “You’re talking a little too much about how magical your dick is. I’m starting to think you’re full of shit.”

  “That’s ironic, coming from you. You’ve been playing pretend for quite some time now.”

  At my confused look, he laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve been able to see through this bullshit persona you’ve got going on more vividly than I can the shirt you’re wearing without a bra.”

  I dipped my chin to my chest, already knowing what I’d find: nipples hardened, pressing against the fabric of my crop top.

  Face flushing, I boldly met his eye again and cleared my throat. “Are you done now?”

  “Like I said, I haven’t even gotten started.”

  “You sound like a bitch.”

  “The fuck did you just call me?” He lowered his hands to his side, his eyes darkening.

  Okay, maybe that had been taking it too far. I lifted a strand of hair, toying with the ends.

  “Speak up, puppet. I can’t hear you,” he goaded.

  “You’re a cock-tease, Ciaran,” I shrugged.

  Before I could take another breath, I found myself in the same position Leonard had just been in. He knocked me onto my back, nearly pulling me off the bed with the force he used to drag my sweatpants down.

  My underwear went with them, shoes removed within seconds and tossed across the room, everything else joining them.

  He tore his shirt off, revealing all the ink I hadn’t gotten a chance to see. His body was everything I imagined it would be perfectly muscled in all the right places.

  His six-pack led to a perfectly V-shaped waist, the lines travelling to what I could only assume was an ample sized dick.

  He didn’t let me ogle for long.

  His hands wrapped around my thighs, pulling me forward until my ass partially hung off the mattress. Dropping down to his knees, he placed my legs over his shoulders and buried his face in my pussy.

  The second his tongue pressed against my clit, I forgot about everything but him. All that mattered was this moment and what we were about to do within the confines of this room.

  He ate me like he was starving, alternating between fucking me with his tongue and his fingers. His teeth nipped at the sensitive flesh, every added sting pushing me closer to the edge.

  I whimpered and moaned, back arching as he assaulted my pussy with his mouth.

  A chill swept down my spine, and I shoved my fingers through his soft brown locks, forcing him deeper, clenching around his tongue.

  I was so wet I didn’t just feel him slurping my juices, I heard it. He dragged his tongue up to my clit, closing his lips around it and biting down. I cried out, bringing my hands up to claw at the duvet, needing something to hold onto as pure fire ignited within me and my body convulsed. My eyes slammed shut as my head lolled back.

  Laughter followed on the heel of the kisses he placed on burning skin as he moved up my body, lifting my shirt in the process.

  He pulled it over my head, leaving me completely naked beneath him.

  “Fucking gorgeous,” he said softly.
/>   I peeled my eyes open and reached for him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him down.

  He pressed his mouth to mine in a kiss that was way more tender than I expected. I sucked the taste of my come and arousal from his tongue, pussy clenching for more of him.

  “You should get some rest,” he said when we finally broke apart, brushing some hair out of my face before beginning to move away.

  “No.” I sat up. “You know what I want. Don’t make me beg.”

  He reached down and traced the outline of my lips with the pad of his thumb. “Then take it, puppet. It’ll only make you want what I’m withholding that much more. I’m not rewarding your tantrum with what you need. You don’t deserve it.”

  Despite his words, I didn’t need any further encouragement. I went for the button of his jeans, pulse jumping when he laughed.

  I forced them down over his hips, exposing neatly trimmed black hair until I got to what I wanted.

  His cock. Veined and thick.

  Hard.

  Perfect.

  Not so large that it would knock down my walls and cause irreparable damage, but still big enough that it would make quite a few dents.

  “I think I might have to change my mind. Keep looking at my dick like that and you can have anything you want.”

  “I just want you,” I replied, rising from the bed so that we were as close to chest to chest as we could be.

  “You’ve always had me.”

  I didn’t know what he meant by that, but my brain was full of a million other thoughts all centered around him.

  I stretched up on my tiptoes, kissing him deeply.

  He tangled his hands in my hair, angling my head back to match my fervor. It still wasn’t enough. I twisted us and pressed down on his shoulders. He smiled against my lips but complied, letting me believe I had control. That was fine, I was still getting my way—still doing what my mother always told me to.

  “Fuck your demons before they fuck you.”

  That’s exactly what he was. Ciaran was depravity and darkness I could touch with my hands and taste on my tongue. He was dripping sin I wanted to drown in. I wanted all of him inside me, reaching the places no one ever dared to.

  Once he was sitting on the edge of the bed, I straddled his lap, reaching between us to take hold of his dick.

  He grabbed my ass, keeping his eyes locked with mine as I sank myself down onto him.

  His dick was bigger than I’d just guessed, stretching me, creating a delicious burn as my body worked to accommodate his size. I sucked in a breath and moaned appreciatively, bringing my hands to his shoulders.

  “Don’t slow down now,” he taunted. “You wanted to fuck me, so fuck me. And make it good.”

  His words urged me onward. I rolled my hips, rocking against him. Once I found a tempo, I rode him hard, shamelessly taking him deeper inside me, clenching my walls around to make us both feel more.

  His hands kneaded my ass, slamming me down harder and harder until he was seizing back the control he’d given me. He grabbed a handful of my hair and wrenched my head back until tears formed in my eyes from the pain.

  His mouth closed around my left breast, and he bit down hard enough to break the skin.

  I cried out as I came—hard. I didn’t have a chance to gather my bearings. He stood up and placed me on my back, shoving my knees up until the muscles in my legs began to burn.

  “No one will ever get this part of you again,” he ground out, pushing his dick back inside me, setting a grueling pace. He fucked me as if his main goal was to rip me in half. I’d never wanted to be broken as much as I did then.

  When he finally released my legs, it was to wrap both hands around my throat and fuck me with a renewed vigor as his grip grew increasingly tighter. He had the ability to snatch my life away if he wanted to—he was twisted enough to do it. The realization had another gush of arousal drenching his cock.

  I screamed for him, begged him not to stop. Our sweat-slickened bodies slid together. I dug my nails into the flesh of his muscled back, making sure I marked it.

  Coming with a dick inside me was so rare, I couldn’t keep up with the frequency with which he forced me to endure the pleasure he repeatedly gave. If this wasn’t his usual method of fucking then he was right: buried deep inside me, I already wanted more.

  My body shook and trembled, hellfire coursing through my veins. His grip grew painful, a low growl unfurling from his throat. My vision danced with dots as he cut off my airflow.

  When I thought I’d pass out, he withdrew completely and flipped me over onto my stomach, knotting a hand in my hair as he slammed back inside me and sunk his teeth into my shoulder.

  CHAPTER TEN

  I woke to him gently dragging his knuckles down my cheek. He’d covered me with the silken top sheet, leaving only my shoulders exposed. Opening my eyes, I glanced up at him, wondering what he was thinking.

  My body was sore—everywhere—in the best way possible.

  “We shouldn’t have done that.”

  Ouch.

  “Yet,” he quickly added. “Don’t get me wrong, being inside your pussy is going to be my new favorite hobby, but that wasn’t half of what I wanted to do to you.”

  “I thought you did pretty good, but if there’s more…”

  He grinned cockily. “I wasn’t going to fuck you mediocrely. At the very least you had to sing my name to the gods.”

  “Okay, I take it back.”

  “Too late. I just heard you chant my name like a prayer. Sooner rather than later, I’ll have you unable to speak at all. You’ll be to busy weeping in a mess of blood and come.”

  I wouldn’t deny he had me hook, line, and sinker, with that proclamation. I wanted that as badly as I wanted to get out of this hellish city, but I couldn’t let myself get caught up in a fantasy because of good sex…

  Because of the intense vibe I had with this gorgeous, psychotic man.

  “Big words for a onetime thing,” I said, keeping my inner thoughts to myself.

  “You know my dick will be back inside you too many times for either of us to count.” He moved from my cheek to my shoulder.

  I snuggled my face deeper against the pillow, watching him touch me. The look on his face was one of utter concentration, like he was memorizing the feel of my skin.

  He probably was, and that made me giddy… and sad. Ciaran was someone I would never be able to replace. He’d be another loss I’d try to replicate for the rest of my life.

  His gorgeous hues swept over my face, catching my vulnerability before I could mask it. “What’s wrong, puppet?”

  “Why do you call me that?”

  “That’s what you are, my perfect puppet.”

  “I’m not sure how I feel about being compared to an inanimate doll.”

  “That’s the point. When I tug on your strings, you come to life.”

  The geniality behind his words had me raising my brows. “This convo just took a weird turn.”

  “This conversation could never cover all the things you and I will be.”

  I didn’t have words to make him understand what I meant, but if he was from one of the other families, he would already know the probability of us being anything to one another once we got out of this place was slim to none.

  In this hell or the one I lived in every day, he and I could never—would never—be more than stolen and illicit moments. My family would make sure of it.

  Even if we could be something, I wasn’t convinced we’d be good together once the carnality faded.

  He was a little too twisted. I was well beyond tragic. Sooner or later, one of us would poison the other. That was the real shame of this whole travesty. I lifted my fingers to his perfect jawline, skimming over it. “My life isn’t that simple. I’m not that simple, despite whatever it is you think you know about me.”

  He walked his fingers down my spine, slowly dragging them back up. “You just don’t get it yet.”

  “Get
what?”

  He remained silent, refusing to elaborate. For a few minutes, he’d somewhat lowered the impenetrable wall he’d erected around himself. Now I watched it rise before my eyes, sealing off whoever he truly was.

  I regarded the word inked on the side of his hand now that it was practically right in front of my face.

  Periculum. Wasn’t that Latin? “Are you going to tell me who you are?”

  “I can tell you my favorite food is chicken pot pie. My favorite drink is rum. I’ve got three Doberman pinchers and can be a momma’s boy, but I can’t tell you that. Not yet.”

  “Why? You know who I am,” I pointed out. “Is it that bad? I mean, I have a theory.”

  He laughed under his breath. “I’m sure you do.”

  “Ciaran.”

  “Let’s just say you and I shouldn’t have wound up in bed together,” he replied.

  My brows slammed together. For him to say that could only mean one thing. “So, you are from one of the other founding families?”

  “I could tell you which one, but then I’d turn around and kill you.”

  “That’s not really the kind of pillow talk a girl hopes for.”

  “I was joking.”

  No, he wasn’t. At least, I didn’t believe he was. Any normal girl would have been out of the bed and running by now. Me? I sighed and shifted beneath the sheet, thinking of my next move.

  “Just focus on the here and now, puppet. We need to get through this part before you worry about the next,” he said after a few beats of silence.

  I contemplated his words, repeating them back to myself inside my head.

  The way he’d worded that… it was the second time he had referenced a part of something.

  “Are you two done now?” Selena’s voice suddenly carried from the other side of the door.

  “If you can walk, we’ve got about forty-five minutes left here,” Mel chimed behind her.

  “We’ll be out in a minute,” Ciaran replied.

  “Oh, my god. They probably know what we were in here doing,” I groaned.

  “They knew what we were doing long before you kept screaming my name.” He grinned, looking quite proud of himself.

  “Wait, did she just say forty-five minutes?” I twisted around and shoved the sheet down. “Why’d you let me sleep that long?”