Page 187 of Wanna Play A Game?
The clothes turn out to be bright orange leggings and a neon yellow jacket - sans bra - and the material is sweat-wicking. I come downstairs in it.
All three men stand around the kitchen table. They’ve also changed and are in dark clothes. They look at me hungrily. The mood has changed. I feel like I walked down into a trap, and I pause.
“Hey, bunny.” Sawyer smiles slowly. “New game.”
My stomach clenches, but excitement runs through me as well.
“You have a thirty-minute head start. You can go anywhere on the island. If we catch you, we’ll do whatever we want to you.” Sawyer slides a map across the table. “There’s a shack on the island. It’s a safe zone.”
I grab the map.
“Oh, Ryder’s playing so here.” Miles clunks a large hunting knife down on the table. I snap my gaze up to Ryder. He winks at me.
“Tick tock, bunny. Time starts now.”
My heart hammers. I snatch up the knife and dart to the front door. Their jeering whoops and whistles follow me out. And I’m filled with joy and satisfaction.
Once outside, I’m hit with the humidity again. I slide to a stop, looking at the map. Fuck, I don’t know how to read one of these, but I head in the direction I think the safehouse is marked. It’s close to the edge of the island, and I hit the beach so I don’t have to run through the woods.
Exhilaration runs through me. Two can play this game.
It takes me longer than I’d like to find the shack. It’s a small garden shack sitting in a group of trees, almost invisible from the shoreline. My heart is pounding, and I heave for breath. I know they expect me to go in it. So I dart up and prop the door open. I hesitate. These clothes are going to be impossible to hide in, and they know it. I debate for a minute, then yank them off and throw them inside, leaving me in just my panties. I dart back into the woods to find a place to hide, not even cold from all the running.
When I spot movement, it’s a large, quiet form just inside the tree line. I catch my breath. Ryder. He prowls forward, eyes locked on the shed. He’s covered in a fine sheen of sweat, but his breathing is completely controlled. He smirks, seeing the door propped open. To get there, he has to walk right past my spot. I stay crouched, my heart hammering.
Just as soon as he steps past, I dart up.
Ryder crouches and whirls. I have too much momentum and run into his body, angling my knife into his side. “Don’t move.”
Ryder laughs but complies. “Oh, pretty little woman. What are you going to do with that knife?”
I pant. “Cut you if you aren’t careful.”
In a move too fast for me to combat, Ryder spins out of my hold and is on top of me, pushing me to the hard, freezing ground. His strong hand grips my wrist with the knife. “Since themoment they told me about you, I knew you were going to be trouble.”
“Get off me!” I screech, struggling to get away. But it’s half-hearted.
Ryder gets up on his forearms, leaving just enough weight on me to keep me pinned. “What if I like my women helpless and at my mercy?”
“You sound just like Sawyer,” I hiss.
Miles’ voice comes from behind me. “He rubs off on people.”
I crane my neck to look, and Ryder takes that opportunity to rip the knife out of my hand and place the cold blade on my neck. Miles stands over me, smirking. “In multiple ways.”
“Where is he?” I growl, looking around as best I can without moving my neck.
“Here, bunny.” Sawyer steps into my field of vision. He rubs his dick. “I almost came watching my naked girl jump on my boyfriend waving a knife.” Sawyer crouches down, looking into my eyes. “Cut him a little next time, will you?”
I feel my pulse pound in my neck and glance at Ryder’s dark gaze. The black pupil has almost overtaken the brown. “You ready for your punishment?”
“For what?” I narrow my gaze.
“Running,” Sawyer says simply.
“You told me to!” I struggle slightly, and he just turns the knife so the flat is against my neck and presses on my windpipe.
“Do you just do everything you’re told? I swear you’ve fought us at every turn.”
