RULING CLASS

by Huss, JA

  He feels so good inside me. His cock is so hard and thick, just thinking about it makes me wet. We are slow, and quiet, and I feel like we’re part of these woods. Like out here in the trees is where we’re at home.

  And it is.

  The woods are what brought us together when we were younger.

  Me hiding behind trees to peek at Cooper as he explored and played with his friends. I would peek at him and he would see me, but pretend he didn’t.

  His breathing is heavy now. And each time I sink down into his lap, a quiet moan escapes his lips. My hands go around his neck and we bump foreheads. My hips begin to move a little more deliberately. Slow circles that make him close his eyes.

  He grabs my hips and holds me tight, helping me move. Then his hands slip up to my cinched waist, encircling it with his thumb and forefingers.

  When he opens his eyes, we are staring at each other. And then, like some silent signal between us, we both begin to move faster.

  I lift up and then bounce down. His hands helping me. Making it rougher. Harder.

  And I love that.

  I like when he’s gentle, but I like him rough much more.

  I take one of his hands and bring it up to my breast. He squeezes it. Hard. Then harder. Until I squeak out a little moan. Then his fingers slide up to my throat and press against the front of it.

  “Oh, fuck,” I moan. Because I like that.

  He used to be rough with me when we first started messing around. A little bit out of control. A little bit wild and uncaring.

  But he’s been careful with me this time around. His lovemaking is typically thoughtful and deliberate. He hasn’t lost control and sometimes… I wish he would.

  So I like this throat move. “Tighter,” I whisper. “Grip it tighter.”

  He hesitates. But I begin fucking him harder and then I feel his squeeze. His thumb tightening around the front of my neck.

  I throw my head back and look up at the full moon and the darkness surrounding it. Then close my eyes as he reaches under my skirts with his other hand and grips my ass so tight, I know I will have a bruise tomorrow.

  He’s urging me on now, his words—“Fuck me, Cadee. Fuck yeah. Fuck me, Cadee”—soft and low, but also deep and demanding.

  And I love it.

  I want to do everything with him in this moment. I want to get on my knees and suck his cock. I want him to shove it down my throat and hold it there as I struggle for breath.

  I want the old him—the one who wasn’t careful. I want the bully king. I want him to take me. Ravish me until I’m breathless and spent.

  And in that moment his hand slides down between my legs and he begins strumming my clit.

  “Oh, fuck yes, Cooper. Yes. Yes.”

  “Come for me, Cadee. Right now.” And when he says right now, he means it. Because his thumb once again tightens on my throat until I’m gasping for breath.

  I come. And I come hard.

  His fingers keep playing with my clit and I begin to shake and wiggle to make him stop. The sensations filling me up are too much.

  Then he pushes me off his lap and, with one hand on my head, directs me to kneel at the foot of his throne.

  My eyes are locked on the way his hand is pumping his cock and then he says, “Open your mouth.”

  And the moment I do he shoves the head of his cock past my lips and spills his come down my throat. Groaning, and moaning, and grabbing my hair so tight, it stings my scalp.

  I continue sucking him until he’s spent and slouches back in the stone chair. Then he pulls me back up to my feet and into his lap.

  I lie against his chest just feeling his heart thump against my back until his ragged breathing evens out and finally slows.

  “Excuse me.”

  We both sit up in an instant, looking for the voice in the dark woods.

  “Mr. Valcourt.”

  “Uh… yeah?”

  “It’s time now, sir.” One of Mona’s bodyguards—not Meat or Chatter, the two who guarded me last summer—appears from the thick trees.

  “Jesus Christ,” Cooper says. “Were you watching us?”

  “I’m sorry, sir, I was ordered to follow you tonight. It’s time to go. Please come with me. The tomb is ready.”

  I get up off Cooper’s lap and he stands, then takes a moment to tuck his cock away and pull himself together.

  My own come is running down my leg and my lips are sticky from his, but I ignore it. Can’t do anything about it here.

  He takes my hand and says, “Are you ready?”

  I nod. But it’s a compulsory nod. I have no idea if I’m ready for what comes next. But it’s time. And there’s nothing left to do but see it through.

  We follow the bodyguard back down the narrow trail and come out on the bridle path. He leads us towards the lake where a boat is waiting next to the dock.

  Not Cooper’s speedboat. A bigger one that has a cabin.

  We sit on a loveseat as the boat makes its way across the water and it occurs to me that I have not been back over to this side of the lake since the last time I left the Glass House.

  Cooper holds my hand as he leads me up the lawn surrounding his family mansion and I briefly look over at Mona’s patio. Not expecting her to be there, but she is.

  Smoking, of course.

  “Have fun, kids,” she calls to us.

  Neither Cooper nor I say anything back to her, both of us focused on what comes next. He probably has some idea. He, at the very least, has been there before. I haven’t. So I have nothing to compare it to.

  We cross the narrow blacktop road, but instead of taking the path that leads to the Glass House, we walk down the road a little until Cooper finds another path. One I think I took that very first time I went into these woods at the beginning of summer.

  The bodyguard stays behind us. He doesn’t give us any directions, but Cooper doesn’t seem to need them. And then, before I know it, I see light up ahead. And as we get closer, I realize that the path is lit up with torches on either side leading up to the clearing where the tomb lives.

  There are dozens and dozens of people around. Talking and laughing. Servers are going by with trays of champagne and I spy Victor carrying one over to a small group of men.

  “Where’s Isabella?” I ask, suddenly remembering she’s part of this too.

  Cooper stops and looks around and then his gaze locks on the far side of the tomb where the Chairman, the Judge, and the Mayor are standing in a small circle with Isabella and Mr. Huntington in the center.

  He leads me in that direction.

  She is still very put together, but after my foray into the forest and semi-sacrilegious fucking on a stone throne, I’m feeling a little out of sorts. “Do I look OK? Is my hair a mess? Do I have come on my lips?”

  Cooper stops and laughs. Then turns to study me in the firelight of torches. “You look very just-fucked and you should just own it.”

  I laugh. “OK.”

  He takes a deep breath. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Are you worried?”

  “Of course, I am, Cadee. People keep secrets for a reason. And tonight, a few things are most certainly going to happen. One. We will learn a secret. Two. After we learn it, we will be part of a secret. And three. All these people will be in on our secret. So… if you’re having any second thoughts, now is the time, Cades. You can’t unlearn secrets. We’re still getting out, but we’ll both be in once this night is over. At least for a little bit.”

  “Is this the new version of ‘It only gets worse from here?’”

  He nods. “It is.”

  “I want a secret, Cooper. I deserve one. I’ve earned one. My parents were a part of this and they never told me a single thing about it. It’s not fair. I’m not walking away until I understand what they were doing here.”

  “Maybe they just got stuck here? And then your dad found out about Dane and your mom found out about your dad, and they were a threat. So the threat was eliminat
ed.”

  “It’s a harsh way to put it.”

  “It is. But it’s probably true.”

  “It might not be true. We don’t actually have proof of any of that. Those files you found didn’t have anything about my father finding out about Dane. We just assumed.”

  “It’s the most logical explanation.”

  “True. But I need proof. I’ll be fine. Do not worry about me tonight. This is my decision. We can talk about it tomorrow, but tonight—do not stop me, Cooper. I want to see what the fuck is happening over here. And not even Lars was invited to this, so it’s something big. Right?”

  He nods. “I think so.”

  “Then I’m staying. I’m fine. My eyes are open. I’m going in prepared.”

  “Cooper!”

  His father has spied us in the crowd and is waving us over.

  “Last chance, Cadee.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Cooper nods at me and then he leads me over to the small crowd of men and my new sister-wife, if she was telling the truth.

  Isabella smiles at me first. Which is telling. I’m not sure what it means, but she is focused on me. Not Cooper. “There you are.” She takes my hand and pulls me into a hug, then discreetly whispers, “I’ve got your back,” before pulling away and taking her place on the other side of Cooper.

  “Did you enjoy your night?”

  When I look up at the Chairman, I realize he’s talking to me. “It was exquisite.”

  “Good. I’m glad.” Then he smiles at Cooper. It’s a knowing smile. Either he’s guessed we had sex or the bodyguard somehow alerted him.

  Then I get stuck on the idea that the bodyguard was watching us.

  But the really weird thing is… I’m not totally appalled by it.

  It’s kind of… intriguing.

  Cooper used to watch a lot too. And I really liked it when he did that. Ax or Lars would be touching me out in the woods and Cooper would be leaning against a tree, jerking off.

  A tingle begins to form between my legs just thinking back on those old times.

  “Cadee?”

  “Hmm?” Then I realize they’ve been talking to me and I missed it while I was having a sex fantasy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the question.”

  The Chairman is smiling at me. “Are you ready?”

  I’m just about to say yes when I notice the Judge is staring at me intently. It makes me uncomfortable. I’ve never been this close to him. And I don’t like the man. Not after what I learned about Ax.

  I look away from the Judge and concentrate on the Chairman. “Yes, sir. I’m ready.”

  “Did Isabella explain things to you? You understand why you’re here?”

  And then I start wondering… was this his plan? When he asked me up to his office at the beginning of summer, did he want me to be here? “She did,” I say. “And yes. I understand that I’m to be… Cooper and Isabella’s….” What was that word she used? “Maiden.”

  The Chairman smiles. First at me, then at Cooper, then at the Judge and the Mayor, who are standing to his left.

  Cooper’s brother, Jack, appears with his wife, Leela, and… oh, fuck. Dane’s wife, Elizabeth.

  “Are you ready, sweetie?” Leela asks. She’s not talking to me. She’s talking to Isabella.

  Isabella nods. “So ready. Let’s do it.”

  Cooper’s hand tightens on mine just as Isabella begins to pull me off in another direction. And when I look back at him, he’s just about to open his mouth to say something. But the Chairman cuts him off. “This is not a negotiation, Cooper. Let her go.”

  I smile at Cooper. He does not smile back. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Then I let go of his hand and allow Isabella to lead me away.

  We follow Leela to the front of the tomb and I realize, This is it! I’m going in.

  But just as the guards standing on either side of the entrance open the door, I catch sight of Victor. He’s holding a tray a few feet away. Just… staring at me.

  Then he nods. And nods again. And that second nod comes with a small smile.

  Not a warning, then. A welcome.

  Isabella squeezes my hand and I squeeze hers back. Because she’s sweating like crazy and her palm is all clammy. We look at each other. Leela and Elizabeth are already entering the tomb.

  Then we nod and walk forward as a team.

  Whatever happens now, at least I have her on my side. And she has me.

  The inside of the tomb is small. And I should’ve known that because the outside of the tomb is small too.

  But I quickly realize that this is just a vestibule. Because there is a long, gradual, pretty elegant staircase with the same width as the building itself that leads down into a lower level.

  Leela and Elizabeth are already descending the stairs, but Isabella lets me pause and look around, maybe remembering her first time inside the tomb.

  The lobby—because I guess that’s what it is—is made of dark gray stone walls lined with flaming torches and a dark gray marble floor with a repeating pattern of gold inlay depicting the High Court fighting lions.

  A massive gold chandelier hangs from the center of the tomb and when I look up at the pitched ceiling, I realize that it has been painted. Swans on Monrovian Lake with the lakeside mansions in the background. It’s old. I think. There are soot stains from the torches. And some of the paint is cracking.

  “We need to go,” Isabella says.

  I nod and we start down the steps. They are shallow steps, so you immediately want to take them like four at a time, but they are also long, so you can’t. And it feels like it takes forever to get to the next level where Leela and Elizabeth are waiting in front of a guarded door.

  This bodyguard isn’t dressed like the others I’ve met and seen. They all wear black suits.

  This guy is wearing blue and gold. Which is appropriate, since those are High Court colors. But it looks very… ceremonial.

  “At least it’s not black and red,” Isabella whispers.

  I nod in agreement. And then smile. Because it’s like she’s reading my mind.

  The door opens and we follow Leela and Elizabeth into another room. A much larger room with a peculiar fountain built into the floor at the far end.

  “This way,” Leela says. And then she is leading us through yet another door. How big is this place? And it’s all underground? Weird.

  The room beyond is another spa, like the one I was in earlier in the town of Monrovia. Not exactly the same—everything in the first one was white and bright. And this one is dark because of the stone walls. And there are no tubs.

  This is when I realize that Leela and Elizabeth are also wearing the same dress.

  “What’s with the twinsies?” I ask, then regret my question when Elizabeth sneers at me from over her shoulder.

  This does not deter Leela. “It symbolizes partnership, Cadee. When the members see Elizabeth wearing my dress, they know she is mine. And when your friends on campus saw you wearing Isabella’s dress, well…” She pauses. “They might not understand the exact meaning, but subconsciously they do.”

  I think about that for a moment. “Oh.” Isabella and I shoot each other a wide-eyed glance.

  “Did Isabella explain what will happen tonight?”

  “No,” I say. “She told me the basics. But if there’s… I don’t know, some kind of ritual? I don’t know about it.”

  “Good.” Leela smiles. “It’s better if you don’t know.”

  I shoot Isabella another look, but Leela is already guiding Elizabeth over to one of the corners of the room. “Undress her, Isabella. And put on her Maiden’s gown.”

  Isabella looks at me with panic. “I’m sorry,” she whispers softly.

  I whisper back, “It’s fine. At least I won’t be naked, right?”

  She shoots me one of those clenched-teeth grins and I’m still trying to figure out if that was a, ‘Yep. You totally lucked out’ look or one of those, ‘It only gets worse from here�
� looks.

  “Hurry up now,” Leela says, spurring Isabella into motion.

  She leads me over to my corner of the room where a white garment is neatly folded on a long bench. Then she steps behind me and begins unlacing my corset.

  “I’m sorry, Cadee,” she whispers again.

  “It’s fine,” I reply. “No big deal.”

  When she gets the laces untied, I feel like I can finally take a real breath for the first time in hours. Then she unzips the skirts and slips the dress down my body. From there it just falls off me and I step out, wearing nothing but my panties.

  When I turn to Isabella, she’s staring at me.

  “What?”

  She shakes herself out of it. “Nothing.” Then takes a deep breath, while trying to avert her eyes.

  “Isabella. Relax. You saw me naked like four hours ago. It’s fine.”

  “I know.” But her words are rushed and do not come out with much confidence. “You have to take your underwear off too.”

  “Help her out,” Leela calls. “She will be catering to you for years to come, Isabella. This is her night.”

  I look over and see Leela bending down in front of Elizabeth, dragging her panties down her legs.

  Elizabeth is crying. And now that I can actually see her in a bit of light, I realize there is a bright red slap mark across her face. Up until this moment I hadn’t pegged Leela as a slapper. But maybe it wasn’t Leela? Maybe that’s Jack’s handprint on Elizabeth’s face?

  “Quickly,” Leela encourages.

  Isabella nods.

  “I’ll do it, Isabella. It’s fine. You don’t have to—”

  “She does!” Leela snaps. “Now do your job, Isabella.”

  Um. Yeah. I’m starting to see the slapper in Leela.

  Isabella frowns and kneels in front of me. Her hands are shaking when she reaches for the elastic of my underwear. I grab one of them and hold it. She shakes her head quickly, but I don’t let go until she looks at me. “Isabella, it’s fine.” I barely say the words. I don’t need bitchy Leela yelling at us again. “It’s totally fine.”

  She’s breathing hard though and suddenly, she starts to make sense to me.

  She is gay. But she’s also in denial. Hardcore denial. Like, I’m starting to think that someone is bullying her behind the scenes.