Page 80 of Rat Race

“Vic is going to fucking love this,” I murmured with a smile.

Cam was at my side, a small huff of a laugh falling from their plump lips.

Hiram was nailed to the wall with spikes from the previous trap, blood still falling from the wounds. His face, which had slowly turned gray, and his eyes wide in fear, were surrounded by a painting in his own blood.

A clown.Complete with a twisted big smile and a large red nose.

Behind him on the wall was written,Happy Birthday, Vic!

It was gory. So gory. And everything I had wished for Natalie at the beginning of my time in the maze. A deplorable, embarrassing end that would forever go down in the game’s history.

I’m going to make history. Alongside Cam.

Children would look back on our Games, watch our live streams in detail. Try to recreate what we had done for years to come. They would know who we were.

My fame wasn’t just limited to my after-dark channel anymore.

The Aubrey that came into the Games with the intention of killing her archnemesis from high school seemed so far in the past that it was almost hard to believe we were the same person.

ThatAubrey was hell-bent on getting her enemy and not stopping until she felt satisfied. She probably would have goneafter Hiram if it wasn’t for a certain thembo cowboy hauling her ass out of the way as water rushed toward them.

But they did. They grabbed me by the hand and—literally—swept me off my feet. Up until then, not a single person had blown me away like they did.

Had excitedme the way they did. And ultimately put me in my place like they did.

And fuck, I enjoyed being put in my place.

They knew what I needed, desired, and they weren’t afraid to give it to me.

“Good job, Peaches,” they praised. A thrill ran through me at the tone of their voice. The feeling of their hand slapping my clit still fresh in my mind had a shiver running up my spine.

Fuck.How did I get so lucky to run into this fucked-up thembo cowboy? For the first time in my life, I truly feltlucky.

I hadn’t met Cam because of my own skill or because of something I could control. It had been all them.

They had single-handedly changed the trajectory of how the Games were supposed to go for me. Fuck, if I was being honest, they changed the trajectory of my whole life.

Even when we got out of the maze, there was no going back. They had tattooed themselves on my heart, there was no getting rid of me or the bond we had forged.

“Welcome to the dark side,” I said and threaded my fingers through theirs. “Glad to finally see the real you.”

Their smile had my heart skipping a beat. I wondered if they knew how tightly they had me wrapped around their finger.

“I’ve always been here, darlin’,” they said and pulled me closer. They had to lean down to brush their lips across mine. “Are you ready to win this thing?”

I ran my hands up their muscled arms. I wanted to do so much more. I didn’t give two fucks about winning. I wanted to hole up in the maze and fuck them until I forgot my own name.

They were the only person that ever broughthatlevel of pleasure to me. I wanted more of it. Wanted to see what they would do once I was all theirs. No camera. No audience. No death game.

Would they let the darkness loose if they knew no one was watching? Would they whorship me or would they degrade me?

A shiver ran through my body.

The need to please them was something I’d never felt before.

I wasn’t stupid. I knew more sponsors would come from this. That Cam and I would be set. Prize money aside, companies were going to bounce at the opportunity to havethemaze duo promote their shit.

But the real world meant nothing to me anymore. Sure, the money would be nice. So would the attention and sponsorships. But it would be nothing withoutthem.There was nothing more exciting waiting for me out there than the continuation of my life with them.

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