Page 62 of Doomed
BIANCA
Knox unfastens the cuffs and helps me stand, my legs trembling. Without a word, he leads me from the circular room into a dimly lit corridor, his hand firm around my waist, supporting me as I struggle to find my balance.
“The rules of the Hunt say I can’t be done with you yet,” he murmurs against my ear, sending shivers down my spine despite my exhaustion. “The hunters have to keep hunting their prey until the horn blares.”
I look up at him through my mask, trying to process what happened between us. My body feels like a live wire, overstimulated yet craving more. The blue silk dress clings to my sweat-dampened skin, and I can feel the evidence of Knox’s release trickling down my inner thigh.
“You want me to run?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
His blue eyes darken as he traces a finger along my collarbone. “Yes. I want to hunt you again. And again.” He leans closer. “I want to see how many more times I can make you come apart for me.”
My heart pounds against my ribs. Part of me wants to collapse into his arms, to surrender completely. But there’sanother part—the part that’s been challenging him since the day we met—that wants to make him work for it.
“The maze changes,” he explains, gesturing to the corridor that now stretches in both directions. “New rooms, new... possibilities.”
I take a shaky step away from him, testing my wobbly legs. “How much time do I get?”
Knox’s mouth curves into that dangerous smile I’ve come to crave. “Two minutes. Then I’m coming for you, Bianca.”
I don’t wait another second. Despite my jellied legs and the delicious ache between my thighs, I turn and run down the corridor, adrenaline giving me strength I didn’t know I had left.
Behind me, I hear Knox’s low, predatory laugh echoing off the walls. “Run all you want, princess. I’ll always find you.”
I run through the corridor, my heart pounding against my ribs, but it’s not fear driving me anymore. Each step I take feels like part of an ancient dance—one where I’m meant to be caught.
I slow down, pressing my back against the cool wall of the maze. My breathing comes in short gasps, not from exhaustion but anticipation. The realization hits me with startling clarity: I want Knox to find me. Ineedhim to, it’s so much more than wanting him now.
The thought should terrify me. It should make me run faster, hide better. Instead, heat blooms in my core, spreading through my limbs like wildfire. I close my eyes, remembering the way he filled me completely, the possessive growl in his throat as he claimed me. The way he marked me from the inside.
Mine, he’d said, and God help me, I’d believed him.
I never imagined dirty talk could affect me this way. Never thought I’d crave the primal feeling of being claimed, of being filled with his release. Yet here I am, wanting more, wanting to feel it running down my thighs—proof of what we’ve done, what we are to each other.
I keep moving through the maze, tingling from Knox’s touch. The silk clings to my skin, damp with sweat and other evidence of our encounter. My mind replays his words as he finished inside me, that primal growl ofbreedingme that shouldn’t turn me on but absolutely does.
Thank God for reliable birth control. The IUD I got last year means I can indulge in this fantasy without consequences—the thrill of Knox “claiming” me without the reality of pregnancy. It’s just a kink, a dangerously hot game we’re playing.
I turn a corner and pause, listening for footsteps. Part of me hopes to hear him coming, that predatory stride that promises more pleasure than I’ve ever known. Another part of me wants to prolong this chase, to make him work for his next capture.
“Where are you hiding, Bianca?” His voice echoes through the corridors, closer than I expected.
My breath catches. I should run faster, find a better hiding spot. Instead, my feet slow down. I actually consider turning around, walking straight back into his arms, letting him take me against the wall this time.
I shake my head, forcing myself to keep moving. The hunt itself is exhilarating. I want him to earn his next victory, to see the hunger in his eyes when he finally catches me again.
The maze shifts around me, walls sliding into new configurations. I glimpse another room ahead—this one with ropes hanging from the ceiling. My imagination runs wild with possibilities of what Knox might do to me there, how he might restrain me, fill me again while whispering filthy promises about breeding me.
“I can smell you, princess,” Knox calls out, his voice a sensual threat. “Your arousal gives you away.”
Heat floods my cheeks. There’s a magnetism so primal, so forbidden about our breeding fantasy. The thought of Knoxemptying himself inside me again, pretending to plant his seed—it makes me dizzy with want.
I dash into the room with the ropes hanging from the ceiling, my pulse racing with anticipation. The space is dimly lit, with soft amber lighting casting long shadows across the floor. The ropes dangle like vines in a forbidden garden, some with intricate knots, others forming elegant loops. In the center stands a padded bench, its purpose unmistakable.
Instead of hiding, I position myself deliberately in the middle of the room. My breathing quickens as I smooth down the blue silk dress that clings to my skin. The evidence of our earlier encounter is visible on my inner thighs.
I hear his unhurried footsteps approaching.
Knox turns the corner and freezes in the doorway. His blue eyes widen, taking in the sight of me waiting for him instead of running. His chest rises and falls rapidly, and when our gazes lock, he makes a barely human sound—a deep, primal growl that vibrates through the room and straight into my core.
