Page 13 of Mark & Don't Tell

I shake my head and squeeze his hand.

“It’s a chase room.” He turns toward me. “You’ll go in first and hide. You’ll have two minutes.” He points to the little counter display on the wall next to our door. “And then I’ll hunt you.”

“Two minutes isn’t a lot of time.”

He smiles, and it steals my breath, despite of the almost wolfish nature. Like he’s already in predator mode. “That’s the point, little doe.” Tugging me against his body, he strokes his fingers over my curls but smartly doesn’t try to run them through my strands. “Your heart will be pounding, blood rushing through your ears, and you’ll try to hold your breath, hoping I won’t find you.” His palm glides down my back until he has a fistful of ass. “But I’ll catch you,” he rasps, keeping his hands on the outside of my teddy, despite me wanting him to reach under it.

“And then?” I prompt.

Chuckling, he moves his mouth to my ear. “That mouth will get you in trouble one day, little doe.” He swats my ass, then whispers, “When I catch you, I’m going to ruin you.”

Whimpering, I press my thighs together.

“Is that what you want? To have me fuck you until you don’t remember your own name?”

I’m so wet. It’s been a year since I’ve had sex, and this fucking guy may not know it, but my body does, and it very much wants everything he’s offering. “That sounds amazing,” I confess.

He smooths his palm over my ass, then releases me so suddenly, I almost tip over. I find my footing, glaring at him but stopping short when I see he’s opened the door and the clock is counting down.

“Time to run.”

I suck in a breath and glance into the darkness beyond the threshold. There are faint strips of lighting running along the tops of the wall, and one dimly lit light hangs from the ceiling. I spot more than a dozen obstacles, but I can’t tell how deep the room is or how much space I’ll have to work with.

My heart flutters.

“You can say stop.”

My gaze jumps to meet Vic’s, I shake my head and glance at the clock again. Fuck. One minute and forty seconds now.

“Don’t lose my toys,” he tells me as I walk through the door. Then it slams shut, making me jump, my heart skipping a beat as my fate is sealed, at least for the night.

The floor is soft, like a gym mat, and I quickly walk deeper into the room, swinging my head from side to side. The little alcoves at the front of the room are too obvious. There are raised platforms about six feet in the air, but that would leave me trapped once he finds me. No, I need to find a place where I can run.

The room is deep, and about two hundred feet later, I reach the end. I turn to see a clock above the door. Shit. Thirty seconds. My heart hammers, and I quickly head back to the half wall I found that had a little cutout, where I could slip under and run in the opposite direction.

I crouch, facing where he’d come for me, keeping myself hidden from the cutout, so he won’t spot me that way.

My breathing shaky, I press my lips together and try to calm my racing heart. If I’m panting, he’ll find me right away, and that’ll ruin all the fun.

The door bangs open, and I clap my hand over my mouth to hold back a squeak.

Oh my god, this is so fun.

When it slams shut, my heart jumps. This is it. We’re locked in here together. Quiet descends upon the room, so thick, I swear I can feel the silence whispering over my skin. My heart is beating so loud, I’m terrified he’ll hear it. The toys he slipped inside my bra are starting to bother me. He told me not to lose them. I’m not ready to find out what happens if I don’t listen. I press my hand to my chest, hoping the vibrator and butt plug don’t make noise when I run.

I count inside my head, waiting for him to reach the middle of the room, but I get to two hundred before I start to frown. Maybe he’s taking his time. Even though my thighs and ankles are screaming in protest of being crouched for so long, I can’t move. I have to stay perfectly still.

Another round of two hundred, and I have to shift, standing slightly but hunching over, so I’m still hidden. Where is he? I can’t even hear him walking. By the time I reach six hundred, I start to feel dumb.

Did he trick me?

Maybe he left me in the room. He called me a brat. Maybe this is some sort of punishment?

Mouth pressed into a thin line, I straighten and peek over the half wall, finding the room completely empty, or at least I think so. It’s so dark, but there’s no movement. The only sounds are my pounding heart and soft pants. What the fuck? No, it’s okay—maybe he’s slowly making his way between the obstacles. I wait and watch for another two minutes.

Nothing. No movement.

Mother. Fucker. With a frustrated huff, I leave my hiding space and glare at the door. Talk about the biggest disappointment ever.

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