Page 21 of Better Hide

Jayden smiles again and releases some of the tension. “Good girl.” He stands. “Now, since we can’t trust you on your feet—crawl.”

What? Hell no. The ground burns me through my leggings.

“It’s hot,” I hiss.

“Good. It’ll teach you not to run.”

Cole pats my head. “It makes me hard when you run and even harder when I punish you for it.”

“Don’t encourage her.” Jayden snaps. “Let’s go, Jo.” He starts walking, pulling the leash with him.

The collar tightens around my neck again, yanking me towards Jayden. I growl as my hands hit the hot dirt. Jayden doesn’t let up, forcing me to crawl behind him.

The humiliation roars through me. Rocks dig into my hands and knees, and the summer sun has soaked into the ground, burning me every time I put my hands down. The pressure on the cuts on my arm hurts, too.

Cole walks beside me. I hiss as my knee slips on a rock, and hot pain explodes through me.

“Good girl. Look at you being our obedient slut,” Cole says.

I refuse to beg them to stop, so I clench my jaw and keep going. The heat blisters against my skin and the crawl seems to take forever, but finally, the shade of the car falls over me.

I sit back on my knees, panting. I’m hot from the sun, the humiliation, everything. My knee throbs. My arm throbs. My hands throb.

“See, that wasn’t so hard.” Jayden pops the trunk and reaches inside. “You thirsty?”

I nod. I am. My mouth is dry, and I’m covered in sweat.

Jayden yanks his shirt off, exposing his ripped abs and tattooed chest. He grabs a water bottle and cracks it open. If I had any spit in my mouth, it would have watered.

Jayden comes up beside me. “You ready for your punishment?”

Didn’t I just have it? I lick my lips.

Jayden watches my face and chuckles. “That was just some messing around for running. You haven’t been punished yet for locking the door on us.”

Dread sinks in my stomach.

“Up you go.” Jayden grabs me and sits me in the trunk of the car. “Lay down.”

I don’t like the looks in either of their eyes. They look dark, excited, and mean. At the same time, I can’t help but like it.

I scramble to get away, but Cole slides in with me, pulling my pants down and sitting on my hips.

My primitive brain kicks in, and I scramble. I claw and scratch and fight to get away.

“Easy, lemon drop.” Cole pins my shoulders down, his face over mine. “Easy, shhhh.”

But I won’t relax. I won’t let them win. “Fuck off! Fucking let me go!”

Jayden grabs my flailing arms.

“Careful of her arm,” Cole says.

“I am.”

Cole gets my arms from Jayden and pins them to my stomach.

“Eyes on me,” Jayden demands. “Cole’s gonna fuck you. And you are going to drown for me.”

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