Page 87 of Wicked Games

“Wait.” Jasmine suddenly sat up straight, gaze flicking between me and Maverick. “You said you guys explored a bit the other night, when you broke the curfew. Because of your secret passage theory.”

“Yeah, but we didn’t find anything.”

“You said the drawing room was locked. Have either of you tried searching it since then? Like, when we have breakfast or whatever?”

My eyes widened, and I looked at Maverick. “I forgot all about the drawing room.”

“Me too,” he said, head shaking. “And we were right fucking there today. Twice. Not to mention yesterday.Fuck.”

“Well, if this secret passage theory has any weight to it, there’ll be an entry in there, just like you guys suspected,” Jasmine said, lowering her voice like she was afraid the Game Master was listening. “We can look once it opens up for dinner.”

By the time the drawing room finally reopened at six, we were all buzzing with excitement. Unfortunately, our search turned up nothing. The large oil paintings weren’t concealing any extra doorways, and none of the wooden panels on the walls sounded hollow. Our last attempt was a search under the carpet, in case there was a small trapdoor with a ladder that led to the room below, but the floorboards were all uniform with no hint of a hatch.

“Well, there goes that theory,” Jasmine said, shoulders glumly slumping. Her eyes flitted over to the nearestsurveillance camera. “And now the Game Master totally knows we were looking, too.”

“So what?” Zach clenched his jaw. “What the fuck does he expect? For us all to give up and not even try to find a way out?”

I lifted a hand and cut in. “He would’ve seen me searching for a secret door the other night when I broke the curfew. Maverick, too. I don’t think he cares, because he’s so arrogant that he assumes we’ll never find anything.”

“Right.” Jasmine looked around the group. “Does anyone else suddenly have any bright ideas on how to escape?”

“Well… there’s that rope and boat idea someone had a few days ago,” Brooke said. “But we already figured that there’s no way the Game Master would leave a boat lying around outside.”

Jasmine threw her hands up. “Great. We’re all screwed,” she said. “I’m going to shower and go to bed. Might as well enjoy the hot water and comfy mattress while I still can, right?”

She stomped out of the drawing room. Brooke and Zach decided to follow her, and Hudson left as soon as he finished his last bite of dinner.

Maverick reached over to squeeze my hand. “Want to stay? Or should we go to bed?”

Suddenly all I could think about was his strong arms, warm skin, and big hands. That was exactly what I needed to distract me from my grief and terror right now. I might not be able to escape this place, but I could escape the pain, even if it was just for an hour or two.

“Bed,” I declared. “But I don’t want to sleep.”

We made it to my room in record time. “Are you sure you want this right now?” Maverick asked, one hand stroking my back as I locked the door.

I didn’t answer. I just turned and kissed him roughly. He growled deep in his throat and kissed me back, his lips just ashungry as mine. Then he pulled back, took my hand, and pulled me across the room.

We pulled our clothes off as we headed toward the bed, not caring if anything got ripped or torn. Desire rocketed through me as we tumbled downward and landed on the soft mattress, lips and hands wildly exploring each other’s mouths and bodies.

Maverick pushed me onto my back, grabbed my thighs, and yanked them apart. He slid down the bed, tongue tracing a teasing path down my left thigh as he went. I could feel the heat radiating from him, and it made me crave him even more. When his mouth finally reached my center, I gripped the sheets on either side of me and lifted my hips, moaning as he licked and sucked at my clit. It felt like every nerve ending in my body was on fire, and I couldn’t get enough.

“Omigod,” I moaned, writhing beneath him as he continued his assault on my senses. It was exactly what I needed right now; the perfect mind-numbing distraction from a reality that had never looked darker. “Yes!”

Maverick slid a finger inside me, curling it upward as his tongue worked its magic on my clit. I was already teetering on the edge of a climax, but just as the pressure was about to explode from within me, he pulled away, leaving me gasping. I lifted my head and looked down at him, eyes silently begging for more.

He positioned himself above me, the tip of his hard length pressing against my entrance, and I gasped as he pushed inside me, stretching and filling me completely. When he began to move, I wrapped my legs around his waist, urging him deeper. He groaned in response, movements quickly becoming faster and more aggressive.

My muscles tightened as tension built inside me. I could feel myself drawing closer and closer to the edge, every inch of me straining and quivering.

“Come for me,” Maverick muttered in my ear, roughly gripping my hips as he thrust into me. “I need to feel you come on my cock.”

His words sent me over the edge, and I cried out as my body shook and convulsed beneath him. He let out a low groan, his own climax following soon after mine.

For a long time, we just lay there, bodies entwined and hearts racing. I didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to speak. Didn’t even want to think about anything beyond this bed. I knew as soon as I did, the grief would flood back, and I’d be sobbing and screaming all over again.

Maverick seemed to understand all of this, because he didn’t try to make me talk about yesterday, or anything else. Instead, he stayed quiet, gently stroking my hair and occasionally leaning in to kiss my forehead.

We stayed like that for hours, wrapped up in each other’s arms. At 9:45, Maverick finally sat up and stretched. “It’s nearly curfew,” he said. “Should I stay with you?”

---