“Whatever you say, Ms. White.”
She blushes, and her eyes sparkle.
“Turn around.”
She does, and I help her fasten her mask to her face. My fingers brush against her bare arms when I’m done, and I watch her goosebumps rise. A small part of me is excited about what this round could entail. It could finally give me a reason to fuck Liesel.
I don’t want this twisted game to be the reason that I sink my cock into her. But my cock is excited all the same.
“Turn around,” Liesel says, repeating my words.
I do, and she stands on her tiptoes to reach my head where she can fasten my mask.
There is a knock at the door just as she finishes.
Instinctively, I step in front of her, and my hand reaches back to hold hers, to protect her.
“If you’ll follow me this way, we are about to start the final round,” the man says and then starts walking.
I don’t let go of Liesel’s hand as we start following the man out of the room. The man leads us down the hallway to the same room we both faced our previous challenge.
I stop and turn to Liesel before we enter.
“I will do everything I can to protect you. I can’t fail—not again.”
She releases my hand. “I can’t let you protect me,” she whispers.
Then she walks past me and into the room like she’s the CEO entering a boardroom—full of sass and determination.
I walk in behind her with her words ringing in my ear. She won’t let me protect her.
Well, too fucking bad. After the life we’ve both lived, she deserves my protection. I’m the only one who gets to kill her.
To my shock, we are the only two in the room. I glance to Liesel, who looks just as stunned. Are we the only two who made it to the final round?
The voice appears. “Welcome to the final round. Only two contestants remain. Each of you have cards lying on the table. The final round begins in five minutes.”
Liesel and I both walk over to the table with the cards.
We pick up our respective cards in unison.
I’m dying to know what’s on her card, but I doubt that’s allowed.
So instead, I focus on reading mine:
A woman you know will be tied to a bed. Fuck her so that your competitor thinks you’re hurting her. You will have thirty minutes to strike fear into your competitor. You will then receive new instructions. If your competitor shows no fear, you’ve failed.
I just have to make Liesel think I’m hurting this woman, not actually inflict pain. I don’t know who the woman is, but it doesn’t seem so terrible. Although, Liesel will hate me more than she already does.
Liesel finishes reading her card. She doesn’t show any emotion. I don’t know what her card says, but I’m guessing something similar to mine.
Just please don’t let it involve her being tied up again. I won’t be able to sit by and watch that happen.
Smoke starts billowing into the room, the indication that the game is about to start.
“Your thirty minutes start now,” the wicked voice says.
Liesel and I exchange glances through the evaporating smoke. Apparently, the smoke won’t be hanging around this time.
Two beds appear side by side in front of us.
“Phoenix?” I ask, looking to the woman tied to the bed right in front of me. It can’t be. Did they kidnap her? She would never agree to be here.
“Waylon,” Liesel whispers.
My eyes cut from Phoenix tied to the first bed to Waylon tied to the other.
What the hell is going on?
I look to Liesel, like she might have an explanation for this. If this happened last time, she could have at least warned me.
Liesel isn’t looking at me; she’s walking toward Waylon’s bed. His arms and legs are tied in an X to the bedposts, same as Phoenix.
I run to Phoenix’s side.
“It’s okay,” she whispers. “I agreed.”
My heart clenches. I don’t know if she understands what she agreed to or not, but her words at least comfort me. Now isn’t the time to ask questions, though.
I look deep into Phoenix’s eyes, letting her know what is about to happen as best as I can with just one look.
Phoenix and I aren’t as good at understanding each other with looks as Liesel and I are, but it’s pretty clear what I’m asking in this situation.
“Yes,” she whispers, her voice aching.
My eyes cut over to Liesel, who is already undressing Waylon. Her lips are pressed to his, just as they were to mine a few moments ago.
My stomach twists, wishing it were me tied to her bed.
Liesel doesn’t look over at me. She just keeps kissing and moaning.
Jesus, I can’t focus on that.
But how am I going to strike fear in her if she won’t even look at me? If she looks at me, she’ll know I’m just doing whatever is on my card. She won’t be any more afraid of me than she already is.
Phoenix is tied to the bed loosely with rope—rope I can easily pull off. I can fuck her in any position in any place in this room.
My mind races, thinking about what I can do to scare Liesel.
I remove my jacket and then roll my sleeves up.
“Lang—” Phoenix starts, but I throw my hand over her mouth, silencing her.
She takes the hint and doesn’t speak when I remove my hand.
Liesel and Waylon, on the other hand, are a non-stop moan-fest. All I hear is moaning and groaning coming from their direction.
I try to shut them out, but that’s impossible. My fists clench, and my body fills with adrenaline and rage. I actually think it’s going to be easier than I thought to get Liesel to fear me.
I growl. It’s loud, demanding the attention of everyone in the room as I grab the ropes at Phoenix’s ankles and rip them hard. The ropes break free from the posts at the end of the bed.
Phoenix gasps, but she’s
