Page 17 of Collared

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve got you collared like my pet. Cat, dog—” Maël shrugs, “Doesn’t matter. As long as I’ve got you crawling next to me on all fours.”

I puff out a derisive snort. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Crossing both his arms in front of his chest, he eyes me with raised brows. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“Well, do I look like I’d get down on my knees for you?”

Pursing his lips, he drops his gaze before slowly dragging it back up, taking in each centimeter of my trembling body. My skin flushes with heat, embarrassment, and something entirely different. When he takes too long to answer, I let out an impatient scoff in an attempt to hide my uneasiness.

“Hmm, as a matter of fact, you do.”

My gaze flies back to his, catching the wicked flicker in those almond eyes right in time, before he gives the leash one, firm jerk that catches me in surprise and makes me loose my balance. I topple forward, crashing down onto the floor, barely finding my balance with my hands. Humiliation coats my cheeks when I realize that he’s got me exactly how he wanted. From above me, Maël hums an approval. “That’s it. Now stretch your hands, and—”

Looking up at him, I snarl, “I know how an animal crawls.” Maël crouches down in front of me and cradles my face surprisingly gently. His fingers trace the heat of my cheeks, the look in his eyes calm, even serious. Gone is the earlier mockery.

“I don’t want you to crawl like an animal. I want you to crawl like my pet.” His mouth brushes over mine, and I feel how my palms search for the coolness of the ground, as it somehow helps me to shed a light on my inner turmoil. I’m so confused right now, and so, so horny.

When he finally pulls back, he keeps his face close to mine. Our gazes interlace, examining, searching. I don’t know what it is we’re looking for, but I can feel my heartbeat slowly calming down, and I inhale deeply, then let out my breath in a long, solid puff of air.

“Good boy,” Maël mumbles, ruffling my hair, before getting back up to his full length. “Viens.” I let out a growl to cover my internal perturbation, but he ignores me. Instead, he leads us forward and toward the other side of the shed. His words…something flutters in my chest at his praise. He guides us both into the first stall, one that’s clearly not used for any horses judging by the way the floors are clean. He drops the leash and walks to a cherry-red, antique cupboard with two drawers, where he takes out a plush, thick blanket. He lays it out in front of us.

“Come here, sweet Thurel. My chosen one. You decided to participate in the Wicked Chase. I hunted you down. Now, I’ve come to collect my prize.”

6

THUREL

Maël drapes himself on the blanket onto his back, and with his hold firmly on the collar, lowers me onto his cloaked frame.

“There’s no way that you can be for real now,” I bark. Nothing like what I felt before can compare with my current trembles. I can’t believe we’re here. Never thought that someone might actually want to be with me.

My head is spinning. I have so many questions, about him, about the brotherhood, about his intentions. I need my brain to rebel, to fight this very moment, because my body feels too hot and bothered.

I can’t believe it’s finally happening. Arousal floods thickly through my veins and I have never been this turned on before.

Still, I need to stay focused on what matters. The game. The other participants.

The winner.

I am the winner, right?

“Tell me more about the brotherhood,” I demand, my voice treacherously hoarse when I slowly give in to Maël’s motioning gesture. “You said it was founded after the French Revolution? What kind of activities do you do? You f-fuck each other, but do you also operate like a—a normal frat house?”

He huffs out a snort as he spreads my legs, motioning for me to straddle his thighs. Once he has my eyes on his, he licks his lips slowly, visibly contemplating my question. The gesture makes me shiver. “Not really, ange. Being part of the Alpha Fraternarii comes from our heritage,” he says, his posture collected as if manhandling another person, another collared person, is the most normal thing in the world. My palms land on either side of his shoulder, bringing our faces close together. I take in another hit of coffee from his breath. Normally, this position would put me at an advantage, but with the leash loosely in one of his hands, there’s no mistake who’s in control here. His eyes are on mine, and I can feel his erection straining against the crease between my ass cheeks. It makes my own dick throb and beg, and he knows he’s got me desperate, already, because he flicks out his fingers and caresses my hardened flesh through the merciless stiffness of my pants. I stifle a groan.

“Participation is upon invitation only,” Maël hums as he continues to pet my dick. “Our fathers, who are members, pass on membership to us. It has been like that for centuries. But recently, we’ve wanted to change things a bit. Perhaps you’ve noticed how the school board is trying to modernize things? Well, we’re following their direction. Times are changing, you know?” His blue irises flicker with mischief. ”And we got hungry.” Dipping his hand inside my pants, his fingers crawl straight under my briefs and curl around my shaft, slowly stroking up until he reaches my wet slit. His gaze is fixed on mine, and when I let out a choked hiss, he grins. “You’re so wet for me, mon ange. Did you like being chased in the woods?”

I shake my head, but my body jerks when he uses his other hand to roll my pants down. Exposing my naked cock, we both look down at it, both watch how he collects the bead of pre-cum from the tip with his thumb before lifting it to my mouth.

“Ouvre ta bouche,” he drawls. I swallow, searching for the courage to stop this madness, but my strength crumbles. My body is shaking with arousal. Sprawled out above him, I shake my head, then choke in defeat, right before I obey, opening my mouth for him. “Good boy,” he mutters, pressing his digit inside. My eyes flutter. “Now, lick it clean.” I expect to feel humiliated, but instead a quiet thrum settles in my mind, and I relax into it, surrendering myself to this desire. My tongue swirls around his finger and I moan as my taste buds capture my own salty flavor. I’ve never tasted myself, but watching him staring at my mouth with animalistic intention, makes my limbs shiver with want. Maël hums his approval, then takes his time chasing my tongue with his digit, before pulling it back and over my lips, smearing spit over my mouth before he drags it down to my thumping neck. My abs clench when he traces his fingertips over my shirt and down to my exposed, hard length.

“Why me?” The question leaves my mouth in a shaky tone. Maël smiles as he continues to tease my slit, that’s once more leaking with pre-cum.

“Take off your mask,” he rasps.

“Wh-what? We’re not supposed to—”

“Take it off, ange. You know you’ve already won.”

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