Page 6 of Mask & Strap
Jax hooked her fingers as she pressed deep inside, and I broke around her knuckles. My back arched as my fingers clawed into her biceps. Moans tore from my throat, echoing across the hollow metal rides and entwining with neon fog.
Jax leaned in. “Good girl.” Bringing her hand to her face, she carefully lifted her mask just enough to show her chin — and her lush, full lips sucking her fingers clean of me. As I caught my breath, and leaned up on my elbows, I found us alone once more, the circle of spectators gone as quickly as the change of light from pink to yellow.
Before getting up, a gasp stuck in my chest as Jax pushed her pelvis against my center. “Next time you run, you get this.” Something hard poked against me, and I struggled to see what it was, until Jax lifted and slightly lowered the waistband of her black jeans, revealing the tip of something illuminated in bright green.
My mouth dropped open in both shock and curiosity. “Is that… is that a…”
“BETTER RUN, LITTLE BIRDIE. IF I CATCH YOU, I STRAP YOU.”
BIRDIE
Jax stood,towering over me, all rippled abs and sweat stained sports bra. She looked positively menacing, projecting her green glow over my half naked body. Excitement surged through me, and I fought to stand and do as I was told…run.
When suddenly, a beep rang out over the loudspeaker. The rides stopped spinning and went dark in unison. The mechanical voice spoke into the fog again. “Players, it’s intermission, so you know what that means. It’s playtime. Predator and prey coexist, emerge from your foxhole and frolic with your hunter… until the next bell rings, of course.”
Jax extended a hand to help me up. “I usually hate this part of the game — but tonight… maybe it won’t be so bad.”
“What’s happening now?” Just as I asked, I startled at the music that blasted behind me as the swing ride spun to life. Likewise, all the other park games jolted awake, flashing their iridescent bulbs and chiming their circus music.
Jax stepped back and extended her arms. “What do you want to ride first?”
My lip quirked a small, suggestive smile, and Jax did something remarkable… she laughed. The sound sent a flurry of butterflies through my ribs as she took my hand, interlacing herrough fingers with mine. “Oh, you’ll get a ride on me later. For now, how about a turn on the magic roundabout? Which horse would you fancy?”
A small giggle erupted from my chest as Jax pulled me towards the ride. “You mean themerry-go-round?” We stepped onto the ride, and I chose a pink unicorn, while Jax mounted a black racing stallion next to me. Several other players, still donning both cute and grotesque masks, joined us and laughed as they picked their seats. “So… it’s like a break from the scary?” I asked, looking around.
Jax laughed again and gestured to the park. “This isalla break from the scary. This whole night, this one night on Halloween, once a year — it’s our reprieve.”
Her words tumbled through my mind as the ride started with a jolt, my horse lifting me up and down in the air. I wondered what my masked companion looked like behind her mask. I’d only caught a glimpse of her strong, square jaw and full lips earlier. Would she ever let me see her face?
“Do you come every year?” I asked.
“This is my fourth year, yes.”
“What do you do outside of… all this?”
“Those are questions we’re not allowed to ask, Birdie. But I can tell you, my daylight-life isn’t nearly as exciting as the game.”
“Neither is mine,” I confessed, holding onto my unicorn’s worn, copper horn. “If I hadn’t been dragged here tonight, I’d be at home reading.”
“Reading what?”
“Lady Venom Takes a Mistress, by Kat Blackthorne.”
Jax nodded. “Sounds like a book you’d like.”
“You’ve heard of it?” Surprise warmed my chest. Of course she read smut. Jax was perfect mystery all cloaked in intrigue and thoughtfulness.
Jax shrugged a shoulder. “Too much purple prose for me — but I can understand the appeal. Sorry you got stuck with a masculine, masked lesbian and not a femme domme snake demoness.”
I giggled. “Oh, no, I got stuck with an incredibly sexy, muscular, purge-masked hottie. What a letdown. However… I’m sure an experienced player like yourself isn’t thrilled that you got stuck babysitting me all night.”
“Who says I’m stuck? I’m exactly where I want to be, baby. I chose you the moment I saw you. It’s just lucky for me you wanted it, too.”
“And if I didn’t want it?”
“Then it’s a good thing for me that I’m a lot bigger and stronger than you are. Anyway, I take it you didn’t read what you signed earlier. Your safe word isred, if you really don’t want something, use it. Otherwise, ‘no, stop, don’t, quit it, I don’t want it,’ are all green lights for me and any other chaser here.”
My thighs clenched at that interesting confession and imparting of information. The ride stopped, and Jax picked me up off my horse and sat me on my aching heels. “Lu-Lu must really hate you to make you wear those tonight.”
