At seven p.m. sharp, Iâm at the location Jeremy sent me.
I must have some sort of a death wish or a loose screw, because I came here despite the million and one wrong reasons my brain came up with to dissuade me from doing this.
But if I followed logic, I wouldnât be able to fully live. I wouldnât be able to come out of my shell and try what I signed up for on that app.
I promised myself that if I had a tinge of the crippling panic attack and nausea that comes with anything related to sex, Iâd leave immediately.
On the drive here, I waited for that familiar anxiety, the sweating, and the metaphorical paralysis of my mind.
None of them came.
The only thing thatâs been bubbling in my veins is unbounded excitement.
The type that flows through your blood and confiscates your thoughts.
The type that simmers beneath the surface, unable to find refuge anywhere except inward.
From my car, I stare at the property surrounded by barbed wire. Itâs not a house, a mansion, or even a building.
Itâs more likeâ¦a cottage in the middle of a large piece of land. Itâs like the one Papa and his friends meet at and brought us along to when we were kids.
Only, this one appears unruly, unkempt, like a gothic cathedral that has been abandoned for years.
The darkness doesnât do it any favors; shadows extend over the length of the cottage that appears small in the distance.
Large trees appear like demons with horns, and the wild bushes and grass give it an eerie vibe.
If it werenât for the metal gate, one would think this is an abandoned property.
I search both ways down the road in case this isnât the place Jeremy sent me to, but the maps app clearly said, âYouâve arrived.â Besides, thereâs only unkempt land on either side and across the street.
The road leading here wasnât as smooth as the rest on the island. Hell, I didnât know this place existed. Itâs far away, secluded, and might as well be unknown. Definitely not somewhere I want to be during the night when predators come out to play.
A haunting screech assaults my ears and I flinch as the gate slowly opens.
I glance to the side again, then I drive through.
By the time I reach the cottage, the gate has closed and Iâm trapped inside.
Unless I just drive back out.
Iâm simply not allowing those second thoughts to dictate my life anymore.
After a deep inhale, I step out of the car, throw a fleeting glimpse at my surroundings, then shiver at the demon-like trees.
After a thorough inspection of the place, I raise my hand to knock on the old wooden door of the cottage.
Or cathedral. I think this was really a cathedral once upon a time and was renovated to something else.
A creak announces that the door is being opened and I step inside, my legs shaking despite the pep talk I gave myself on the way here.
âJeremy?â My voice is haunting in the otherworldly silence, interrupted by the occasional haunting owlâs cries in the distance.
My feet come to a stop right past the entrance upon seeing the vintage fireplace.
Itâs on the opposite wall, lighting what looks to be an antique living room. Old sofas, a washed-out rug, and wood flooring.
A gust of wind coming from the door disturbs the fire and a slight shudder creeps up my spine.
My gaze strays to the dark stairs on my right. I swear some creatures of the night are lurking up there, waiting for my demise.
Maybe ghosts, too.
âJeremy, are you there?â My quivering voice has decided itâs going to give away my fear and thereâs simply nothing I can do about it.
I take a step forward and stop when the fire dances again and then goes out, turning everything black.
My heart hammers and a chill covers my unsteady limbs. I donât have to see it, to feel the sudden change of atmosphere.
Thereâs a presence behind me.
Tall, harsh, and darker than the night.
But before I can move, something cold is placed at my throat.
A knife.
Heâs holding a freaking knife to my neck. This isnât what I signed up forâthere was no mention of knives.
âJeââ
âShh.â His voice has lowered, deepened, and is tugging on a secret part of me. âYou donât say my name.â
I swallow, my throat working against the metal blade.
Right.
Weâre anonymous now.
Itâs not about us as people, but more about how weâre both tools for pleasure. In this setting, I donât have to think about repercussions or feel shame for wanting this type of barbarity.
That knowledge fills me with unbounded peace.
I let my body relax and even the freezing weight of the knife doesnât scare me.
Itâs one second in time, a second of silence, of mutual understanding.
But then heâs on me.
His muscular chest pushes into me from behind, firm and unyielding. I donât have to see it, but I feel his height dwarfing my frame.
Heâs tall and intimidating.
Dark and alluring.
Heâs every fucked-up fantasy and more.
I crane my head back a little and all the breath is knocked out of my lungs when Iâm met by the neon orange mask.
The same mask he wore that first time he chased me.
His dark eyes lack a sliver of light as they rip through the confinement of my flesh and peek into my soul.
It hits me then.
With the mask on, he has free rein to be deranged, with not one human bone in his body.
Not that he isnât usually, but at least he doesnât normally hold a knife.
âIâll give you a head start.â He tilts my head back further using his knife. âYou can either run or hide, itâs your choice. But if I find you, I fuck you. Youâll bleed and scream, and beg, but nothing will stop me from claiming you, breaking you, and tearing you apart. Either put an end to it now and leave or agree to my terms and run.â
His knife slides swiftly from my throat, but itâs replaced by the weight of his words.
My heart thunders and the safe word hangs on the tip of my tongue. Itâs the responsible thing to do, and I am responsible.
Iâm the good girl Cecily.
The mediator.
Daddyâs little girl.
But all of those titles vanish into thin air as I dart past him and run outside.
Superhuman energy buzzes through my veins and flares beneath the surface. I round the cottage, my shoes slapping against the wood and creating a haunting sound.
The noise mixes with the owlâs cries, the nightâs silence, and my heartâs thundering beats.
Slow, sure footsteps materialize behind me, spooky.
I know heâs on my tail. I can feel him, smell his leather and wood scent with my fear.
But I donât stop.
Donât look behind me.
I have no clue what Iâm doing or where Iâm going. The moment I spot the small set of stairs at the back of the cottage, I fly down them but pause when I find a lake.
The surface shines under the moonlight, murky, dark, and frightening. Two boats are tied to a deck and a few branches float in the water.
As Iâm studying my new finding, black creatures fly in the night, releasing squeaky voices.
I damn near have a heart attack, thinking theyâre actual crows, and then I realize theyâre either crows or ravens.
Or bats.
I do a quick calculation of the distance to the forest to the side of me and come to the realization that the boats are way closer.
One problem, though. Where the hell will I go on the lake? Actually, two problems. I donât even know how to drive one, and thatâs only if the engine works.
But if I choose the forestâ¦
I shudder at the thought of what could be lurking in the darkness.
Steps come up behind me and I yelp, then run to the deck. Screw it. How hard can it be to drive a boat?
Iâm frantic, my movements unsteady as I fumble with the rope of the newest-looking boat.
My feet shake and I know Iâm losing time with each passing second Iâm not undoing the knots.
Sweat trickles down my temple and glues my hoodie to my back. One of my nails breaks on the rough rope, but instead of focusing on that, I cast a fleeting glance behind me and freeze.
Iâm pretty sure I heard him on my heels just now, exerting a minimal amount of effort while I was giving it my all.
So how come thereâs no one there?
Another flock of ravens or crows or whatever in the Batman fly into the night and I jerk, then breathe in a choppy rhythm.
My gaze continues studying my surroundings as I keep trying to undo the knots.
A dark shadow flashes beside me and I flinch and start to whirl around, but I donât get the chance to.
My foot slips and I tumble off the edge of the deck.
Or I think I do.
A strong hand grips me by the wrist and pulls me back, then releases me as fast as it caught me.
I fall on my stomach on the coarse wood and a hard body flattens mine to the surface.
Overpowering, overwhelming, and knocks the breath out of me.
He crushes me with his weight, crowding my space, until only my gasps echo in the gloomy air surrounding us.
The rush of energy from earlier surges through my bones and I flail my legs, trying to kick him, to reach any part of him, but I might as well be hitting a wall.
He grabs my wrists and slams them behind my back as he eases off me. Or more like, his knees fall on either side of me and he straddles my arse.
âCaught you.â His voice, gruff and gravelly, echoes with frightening finality.
I try to wiggle, to set myself free, but itâs impossible. Heâs gripping me with utter ease while Iâm exerting, panting, and completely at my witâs end.
He pins my wrists down with an elbow and grabs the waist of my jeans, and then a long slicing sound fills my ears before cold air forms goosebumps on my skin.
The knife.
He cut my jeans and underwear with his knife.
A foreign sensation flares through me.
The thought that the sharp blade could nip at my skin keeps me still as he slashes my hoodie and my bra from behind like heâs cutting through butter.
The cold knife touches my back and I shudder. With my clothes falling off me in shreds, Iâm fully exposed to him, his callous touch, and his merciless knife.
If I donât do something, he might act on whatever murderous thoughts are in his cold-blooded brain.
The need to fight and run pulses through me and I use his loosened hold on my wrists to do so.
He releases me, but the moment Iâm crawling away, something tears at my skull.
A tight fist grips my hair and drags me back onto the hard wood. I scream, and itâs heightened by the looming silence.
And yet I donât stop fighting, flailing, scattering the remaining pieces of my jeans and hoodie.
Iâve never experienced this sort of demented survival mode before. I donât want to escape, and I already agreed to be his prey by running instead of leaving, so Iâm not sure why Iâm doing this.
Maybe itâs to draw out the beast inside him, entice him, and turn him into a crazed being.
Jeremy effortlessly pushes me onto my back with his hold on my hair. The breath is knocked out of my lungs when I meet the solid deck.
But itâs not only due to the impact.
I freeze at the shadow hovering over me, chest rising and falling with terrifying calmness. I can make out the bulging of his muscles against the black shirt, the rippling of his ink, and the darkness of his eyes behind the mask.
Thereâs also the knife in his left hand.
âYou look so innocent, but that head of yours is a fucked-up place, Lisichka.
fucked-up place.â He kneels between my legs and slides the blunt side of the blade against my pussy.
I shudder when he lifts it under the moonlight and I watch, entrapped, as it glistens with my arousal.
My rasping breaths start tumbling out of my mouth the longer he forces me to see the sick evidence of my tendencies. A tinge of shame settles at the bottom of my belly despite myself.
Iâm lying here fully naked while heâs entirely dressed. And I donât miss the inequality of the situation and how much power he holds.
âYouâre so wet for my cock, so sensitive and horny. You act like a prude, but youâre nothing but a dirty little slut.â
My ears heat and I try to close my legs, but he digs his fingers in the tender flesh and slaps them apart.
Heâs on me then, his fingers pinching my nipples, torturing, squeezing. An onslaught of emotion rushes through me as he touches me everywhereâmy breasts, my throat, my stomach, my thighs.
Iâm trembling beneath him, a leaf with nowhere to fall.
This is the feeling Iâve always yearned for; the abandon of losing control and allowing someone else to do everything.
To take.
And take.
And Jeremy is definitely the type who takes.
He gives me untold pleasure in return. A raw lash of his fingers and knife so that I become a vessel for his depravity.
Iâm nothing more than a doll he molds into his plaything and manhandles any way he wishes, and all I can do is take it.
Or I can say the safe word.
But that would mean this whole thing would end.
As if hearing my thoughts, Jeremy lifts his head from the puffy flesh of my nipples and the air grows silent. He pants from beneath his mask, in sync with my heavy breaths.
Itâs a silent communication.
An understanding.
, his eyes tell me.
, must be what Iâm communicating back.
Still maintaining eye contact, he slides the blunt side of his knife through my folds. A sense of terror takes hold of me, but that slowly subsides when the rhythm becomes pleasurable.
He teases my clit in rough circles until Iâm bucking, reaching, arching my back off the deck.
And then, all of a sudden, he pushes off me and unbuttons his jeans.
The moment his hard shaft is freed, I gasp. Yes, I saw it last night, but I was drunk and he didnât fuck me. I still think itâs too big for sex.
A sense of apprehension rushes through me and I place a hand on his chest, shaking my head.
The neon mask camouflages his expression, but I can see his eyes through the holes, all dark and terrifying.
Heâs going to hurt me. I can read it loud and clear.
Jeremy snatches both my wrists and slams them on the wood above my head. âKeep them there and stop touching me.â
My lips tremble and I whisper, âIâ¦need more time.â
I canât let him take my virginity like an animal, on a deck, in the midst of owls, crows, and ravens.
Something I shouldâve thought about when he asked me to run.
Jeremy lifts his mask and throws it away, revealing his sharp, handsome features. I canât see him clearly due to the lack of light, but the little I do see causes my heart to beat faster and my core clenches tighter.
He slides the knife from my pussy to my hip, up my stomach, and then grazes the tip against my nipple. A droplet of blood gathers on the tight bud, then rolls down the side of my breast thatâs firm with arousal.
His hooded gaze watches the path of the blood, and I do, too, transfixed by the weirdly erotic sight.
But then an eruption happens.
His lips fall on me. He darts his tongue out and licks the droplet of blood, chases it and drinks it off my skin, and then bites my nipple. Hard.
Holy. Shit.
A zap of pleasure strikes the base of my stomach and expands to the rest of my body. Iâm still not used to the sensation when he yanks my thighs farther apart and thrusts into my pussy.
My insides recoil and I jerk on the rough wood.
Pain explodes where he tears through me and it hurts. It hurts so much that I cry and try to push at him, but that only makes him thrust again. Brutally.
âPleaseâ¦please.â I dig my nails into his chest, but I might as well be touching an unfeeling wall.
âShhh. I told you Iâll break this little cunt, didnât I? Youâre taking my cock so well, Lisichka. Mmm. So fucking tight. Your blood is the best lube Iâve ever had.â He drives in again and my limbs shake from the violence of it.
He doesnât take it easy. He definitely doesnât let me adjust.
Heâs a beast after his own pleasure and Iâm just the vessel at his disposal.
No matter how much I sob and beg, heâs not hearing me. A part of me likes this. I like the primal savagery of it all and how harshly he takes me.
I donât want him to take it easy on me.
Iâd never admit this, but a part of me enjoys how he massacres my hymen and uses my blood and arousal as lube.
He drives inside me with harsh strokes, pulling out to the crown, then ramming back in until my back scrapes on the deck.
He does that over and over until I think Iâm going to faint.
But something entirely different happens.
In the middle of the savage fucking and methodical thrusts, my belly tightens, my nipples pucker, and my skin heats so suddenly, I think heâs probably killing me with his thing.
âMmm. Such a good girl. Do you feel your cunt milking my cock?â
My mouth falls open, but only choked gasps escape. My heart thunders as the tightening heightens and the pain morphs into the exact opposite.
Pleasure.
Boundless.
Absolutely insane.
Itâs the type of desire that comes from extreme pain. The knowledge that he wants me so much, heâs hurting me.
He wants to hurt me.
He finds pleasure in chasing, manhandling, and fucking me like an animal.
My insides coil and rebel.
I fall into it.
Into being ravaged, taken, taken, and .
He craves my softness as much as I yearn for his dominant cruelty.
âYouâre addictive. I want to break you.â
âOwn you.â
âMark you.â
He accentuates the last statement by biting my throat in the exact spot he did yesterday.
Everything inside me comes crashing down as sharp pain and pleasure overlap and detonate me all at once.
Iâm falling and screaming and moaning, and heâs still fucking me.
Heâs thrusting inside me like a madman, and then heâs feasting on my neck, biting, sucking, licking. I can feel him stiffening before warmth floods my insides.
And then he lifts his head, chasing crimson red off his lips with his tongue.
My blood.
Heâs marked me fully, thoroughly.
Itâs painful, itâs erotic.
Itâs wrong.
But feels absolutely right.