Page 37 of The Bitterness of Venom

She giggles, because she obviously hasn’t seen what I’ve seen. “Hide-and-seek. Do you want to play?”

Fuck it. “Why not?”

She claps, placing her arm around my shoulders. “Great, we needed one more player to have as many as the hockey team.”

Regret.

That’s what I feel as she leads me into the forest surrounding the haunted castle. Leaving me by myself as sheruns to her hiding spot. It’s as if everyone has played this before because in the blink of an eye, I’m the only one visible. Maybe they do this every year? Like an idiot I walk deeper into the forest. I’ve seen a million horror movies and yet I think somehow, this is different. I spot a bush and a huge boulder and nudge myself between them. Sitting down, I pull out my phone and wait for one of these goons to find me.

The moon rises higher and I’m not sure whether it’s my imagination or if I hear howling. I rise after what feels like an hour and dust my ass off. Huffing, I stomp back the way I came. Sticks and grass crunch under my boots, and I hear feminine screams not too far off, so I keep going toward them. I roll my eyes when I see a person in a banana costume chasing a girl dressed as a butterfly. But when a stick snaps behind me, I pause. Turning over my shoulder, I come face to face with the masked figure from earlier. My mouth opens to scream, but a hand covers my lips while the other latches onto my throat, dragging me farther back into the forest.

I should be scared—fuck, Iamscared—but I’m also… turned on.

Why am I turned on?

I get pushed to my knees, but instead of staying put I hop up and dash off. I can hear footsteps behind me, and no matter how hard I push my body I’m not fast enough.

I crash to the ground, a heavy weight on top of me as I struggle to get them off. By the weight, and build, how the legs are much longer than mine, I can tell it’s a man.

Strong hands lift me to my hands and knees, a ripping sound coming from behind before I feel the cool breeze on my ass.

I wiggle and try to crawl, but then I hear it… the sound of him spitting followed by the slickness landing on my puckered hole. And then I feel so much pressure there. I cry out, my hands sinking into the dirt as I stretch to accommodate the masked man’s length. My pussy throbs and I have to squeeze my thighs together.

I’m pulled up further onto my knees, my back to his chest as his hand comes down and rubs my clit, fucking my pussy with his fingers. He thrusts in and out of my ass and my pussy basically cries with the noises it’s making. A hand tangles in my hair and my neck is arched back. My eyes meet Desmond’s. “Open.”

My lips part and he spits in my mouth. His saliva sliding down my throat sends me over the edge. My pussy spasms around his fingers, my ass arching and hitting his hips. My knees wobble and I fall onto my stomach. Desmond’s hands shove my face into the dirt as he fucks my ass hard before groaning. Pulling out and coming on my ass. He rubs his cum into my cheeks, smacking them before climbing off me.

I wait for his footsteps to recede before I turn my head in the dirt, but I don’t move.

Holy fucking shit. That was hot.

I yawnas I take my seat next to Elisha on the bus. He refuses to sit next to the window, which is fine with me. It’s why we always sit together. My mind flashes with the vision of chasing Blaise through the woods a couple of days ago.Her ass jiggling in the tight romper as I prowled after her, marking her skin and soul with my touch.

I’m keeping her, if that shit’s not obvious. Unfortunately, she’s the only one who doesn’t see it. It’s fine. She’ll come around.

I flip my hood up over my head, blanketing my face in shadow so I can get some shut-eye. The bus is barely off before my eyes close and I succumb to sleep.

I wake to a loud and chaotic bus. Pushing my hood back, I look out the window to see where we are. I see we arrived in Preston Heritage, the town we have a game in.

A pang of envy hits me when I see some of the players’ girlfriends run to them in excitement, giving long hugs as if it’s been months since they last saw them instead of hours.

I have no reason to be envious. Blaise would never run to me and give me a hug. A kick in the nuts? Absolutely. But not a hug, or a kiss. She would rather be dead than caught out in public with me. And fuck, do I even want that?

Yes.

I laugh to myself, standing and stretching. No, the fuck I don’t. I never want to see the hate she feels for me leave her eyes.

I walk off the bus, grabbing my duffle from the underside and walking into the hotel. I booked my own room, which I do most of the time even though we are provided rooms to share, but I don’t care for anyone in my space unless it’s an angry pink-haired menace.

Going up to the counter, I check in, grab my key, and take off to the elevator. Once I’m in my room, I pull out my phone and tap into the security system I had put into the apartment, not excluding her room. She doesn’t seem to be at home, so I pull up the feed of the bar I’ve illegally tapped into. There she is, smiling at the two old men who always frequent the place. I can’t decide if I should leave them be or eliminate themfrom her life. But then she smiles—a real smile with teeth and dimples. Pulling out my phone, I send a text.

Desmond: Don’t fucking smile at people.

Freckles: ???

Desmond: Just fucking don’t.

Freckles: Psycho.

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