Chapter 8

8

THUREL

M a?l pulls his mouth back on a string of kisses he sprinkles all over my ass cheeks, before slowly dragging his way up to my spine. Without removing his finger from my ass, he crawls over my frame, his knees touching the back of my calves as his chest collides with my back. With one hand he keeps my face palmed against the blanket while the other one still controls my pleasure. My hole clenches as he slides in a second finger. I tense, the sound of his soft hush floating in the air as it makes its way into my ears. It echoes inside my head, toying with my common senses.

"You're doing really well, ange . Tell me if I need to use more lube."

I let out a sigh and my muscles give in, relaxing slowly under his probing digits, replacing the sting with a rumbling pleasure that coils in my stomach and makes my toes curl.Moaning against the plush material, I can't help but lift a hand to touch the suede collar. It feels stiff against my fingertips, the material strained from its attachment to the metal pole.

"How does that feel, hmm?" He brings a hand over mine, clutching the rope. When I don't reply, aside from my pathetic moans, he whispers, "I'll tell you what it feels like to me. I'm feeling fucking euphoric, sweet Thurel. I get to have you, baby, after I chose you. After I hunted you down, I'm about to claim you. You'll become my world. Serré, mon ange . Je t'ai serré. "

Tight, he's got that rope tight around my neck. And he's about to fuck me, how ironic, this little twist of words. Serré.

Am I a deplorable being to admit that I want this? That the idea of this devastatingly handsome and powerful guy choosing me , chasing me, then owning me, is something I really, desperately want? My ears buzz at the thoughts. Part of me is trying to create a mental distance, because after a high like this, the low can only be an absolute disaster, but my scrambling brain is having trouble pinpointing any rational thought right now.

Ma?l's fingers choose that moment to crook inside me, and I cry out in pleasure, hips jerking uncontrollably.

"There you are," he hums, sounding awfully pleased with himself. "Does that feel good?" He presses against that bundle of nerves again and I let out a guttural, unrecognizable moan.

His face takes cover in the crook of my neck, causing goosebumps to erupt as his nose touches the tender skin of my neck and cheek, then shifts to my ear. And all the while I'm still sitting there, like the pet he claims I am, ass filled with two of his digits, hanging on for dear life.

"I love the way your mouth felt wrapped around my cock," he mutters in my ear. "And the way your ass lets me sink my fingers inside as if it has been waiting for me all your life. Have you, angel? Been waiting for me?" He doesn't wait for my reply, instead hoists me back up and against his chest, fingers digging just that little deeper to make me jolt like an electric live wire.

" Putain de merde ," I swear on a moan. "This feels amazing."

"So do you, angel. You are perfection." He presses a kiss against my neck, right above where the collar is clasped snug around my flesh. "I'm going to remove my fingers now, and replace them with my cock." He takes his time pulling out, then presses another kiss on my flushed skin, this one on the back of my head. Then another one on my shoulder blade, my spine, the other side of my shoulder, and then he softly blows into my ear. Goose pimples break out.

Spreading his legs to give me space, he finally maneuvers me onto my back, then lifts one of his legs to grab mine. Folding it in front of me, he spreads my thighs a little wider, then repeats the same movement with my other leg until they are both bent over his shoulders.

I can only watch as Ma?l crouches between my lifted knees, stretching them wider, until his entire frame sits in between my practically split half.

"You look like you've done this many times," I try to joke, but the tremble in my voice gives it away. I'm feeling incredibly, horribly vulnerable.

Ma?l's lips tick up faintly, and then he leans in, his long and slender fingers caressing the studs on the collar. His gaze is one of pure concentration, despite the amused smile on his lips. "I have practiced for the both of us," he finally muses. Blinking, he drags his gaze up to mine. " T'es tellement beau ," he whispers. "You're exactly what I wanted."

I shake my head. "You don't even know me."

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Ma?l chortles. "We know more of you than you think. The board does. The brotherhood does. I do. We don't leave anything to chance. We are power, ange . We predict the future. We rule the world. And we know exactly how to do so."

"I don't understand. And what about the other participants? Did all of you choose…"

"Yes." Ma?l huffs out a small laugh, then shakes his head a little remorseful. "Not quite. I mean, yes, we all chose someone. And those students all had their background check prior to receiving their invitation." He dips his gaze as he lines up his dick to my hole, then brings his eyes back to mine as if silently asking for my permission. I give him the faintest of nods, swallowing thickly as nerves flutter through my stomach.

The head of his dick presses against my hole and I breathe in, forcing myself to exhale through a ragged breath. And then I can feel him pushing into me, slowly, carefully, while his gaze flits to mine and our eyes lock.

"But I left a bigger check, sweet Thurel." His lips curl into a small, pinched smile as he keeps his eyes on mine but visibly concentrates on the way his cock slides further inside my tunnel, making my breath hitch as my ass begins to burn. I try to catch his meaning, but my brain feels like mush as the sensation grows. Ma?l's presence is overwhelming, his seduction alluring and over-stimulating. When those expressive, almond-shaped eyes are on mine, everything else fades away.

"Victory is so fucking sweet," he muses when he's finally fully sheathed. Rubbing the inside of my legs with firm, even strokes, he's clearly giving me a moment to adjust to his intrusion. It's a lot. This feeling of completely surrendering after tonight's chase.

"Surely you can find a more experienced guy than me?" I shiver when his fingers reach for my balls, fondling them gently. He smiles. Because of my question, or perhaps because of the way my body trembles at the tingles he injects into my skin like the finest of ink.

"Have you never wanted something so badly after just one glance?" He asks. "A pair of shoes, an ice-cream, a house?"

"A house?" I huff out a laugh that morphs into a ragged wheeze, because Ma?l chooses that moment to start moving. Slowly, almost tenderly, he pulls his cock nearly all the way out, leaving only the tip buried inside, before he rolls his hips forward, sliding his cock back in. Dipping his gaze, his blue irises shimmer in the dark space, the fine circle nearly entirely absorbed by his dilated pupils. Our noses nearly touch.

"A house, yeah," he muses, breath tickling the curve of my mouth before he uses his teeth to nip at my lips as he pulls them apart. I expect him to kiss me, but he lingers, his transfixed gaze on my mouth as he nips and sucks. "I once bought a house in Spain because I loved the place so much. The owners didn't know what was happening to them, though they were fast to pack their bags."

I frown. "What do you mean? They—they were still living in their house?"

"Hmm. They were, but they were very happy to leave once they saw my payment." He licks at the sting he's caused at my bottom lip, the smacking sound obscene, before he finally flicks his tongue inside my mouth and brushes against mine. One of his hands squeezes my thighs wider and he lowers himself as his rolls become more urgent.

"So, so you—" I moan when he slides his hand over my leaking cock and tugs at my shaft a few times, swiping precum from my slit over my girth as he uses it to stroke faster. And still the rhythm of his thrusts increases.

I can't keep up, my gasps and desperate cries sounding faraway through the blood that buzzes through my ears. My body becomes pliant as arousal electrifies my limbs, making my core shudder in my wish to comply.

"Yeah," he purrs. "I did. Remember that one time when you nearly had an accident with that motorcycle?" I swallow and he catches the moment and bites down on my Adam's apple, licking up from my neck to the dip between my cheek and ear.

I do. I'd been late for football practice because of a visit to the local supermarket. I'd ran over the gravel drive away from the fence to the main entrance of Monterrey Castle, when a motorcycle appeared out of the blue. I'd believed he was going to hit me, approaching at a terrifying speed, but at the last minute he'd diverted his direction, avoiding our fatal collision. He had stopped and stared at me from behind his helmet and time had slowed. Then he'd climbed back on and driven away.

"Was that you?"

Ma?l grins, heat and sinfulness flickering in his eyes. "That was the moment I knew. I'd never seen someone so fucking sweet before." His words come out on a whoosh, and he plants a hand over mine onto the blanket as he continues to fuck me, faster and faster, until everything around us trembles. "Fuck, you feel so good, mon ange . That tight ass of yours, the sounds you make. Your delicious scent." He buries his face in my hair, and I free my own hands from under his to take off the hood of his cape. Black strands, loosely put together in a messy bun, frame his square face. His front glistens with a bead of sweat, and as he continues to pound my ass, some of those raven locks fall free from his plait, only to decorate his cheeks. Some of them tickle my ear, the feeling light as a feather. It ignites more sparks of pleasure.

"You're everything I hoped for." He brushes his thumb and index finger over my sensitive slit and I buck my hips, groaning as I roll them forward, silently begging for more. More friction, more speed, more of everything.

Ma?l chuckles. "You want to come, huh?"

"Ugh," I choke. His cock hits my prostate with every thrust, and it's making my body shiver. I'm fucking crazy for him. Crazy for this moment. Despite the location, or the hour. I want it all.

"Tell me, sweet Thurel, will you let me take you under my wing within the brotherhood? Will you let me take care of you?"

"I—" Everything's a blur, his voice nothing more than echoing shockwaves that somehow manage to infiltrate my mind. I can't think straight, this intense feeling of being breached for the first time, of opening my body to another person, so powerful. It forges a pleasure so frantic that I can only mewl in reply.

His cock is buried deep inside my ass, his thrusts touching me in ways that make me see stars, and his hand… Oh, his grip on my cock is heaven. Long fingers curled around my shaft, swiping over the glistening tip as they collect the proof of my arousal, making the rest of my erection slick as he pumps me steadily into bliss.

Leaning in, his teeth find my earlobe, and he sucks.

"Will you?" Ma?l insists, tone morphed into a growl that forms a contrast to his light touch ghosting my balls and sac. My hips buck and I can't swallow the pathetic whine in time. Too late I realize that my face is already nodding desperately.

"Say it."

"I—" I choke and my body tremors when another shock of pleasure blasts through me. Fuck, I never knew that sex would be such a blissful experience. "Yes," I finally let out. Ma?l growls in reply, tightening his hold around my shoulders, teeth leaving my earlobe, only to attack the sensitive skin of my neck. I let out a yelp when he sucks on my flesh, and I swear I feel a hint of teeth before his tongue laps up the stinging sensation. I shudder.

"I want it so badly," I admit on a whisper.

"Fuck, angel, you are perfect. Spread your legs a little further, show me your pretty, tight hole."

Lead by his words of praise, I obey, even stealing a glance myself at the sight of him fucking me raw. No words can express my wish for his words to be true. That he really thinks I suit him perfectly.

It's insane, I know. But I want him to keep me.

Changing his angle inside me, Ma?l gives me another series of thrusts that feel like his cock is driving even deeper, making my body sputter and shudder. "Fuck, baby," he pants, eyes glittering with hunger, "You feel so good. I'm going to come." His breathing is unsteady, and his movements turn sluggish. "Come with me."

" Oui ," I moan. I can already feel the orgasm building, the carnal desire making my toes curl and words in my throat shatter as they bubble to the surface, void of any real meaning. A string of pleas, and then I explode, spurting my release all over his hand. Ma?l tenses right above me and my eyes flutter open to watch. I'm right in time to see the glorious expression of the orgasm adorning his face, making his features softer. His mouth opens in awe and I wait for him to come down from his high, struck by this other side of him.

Ma?l's a riddle after all.

When his eyes finally drift open, they catch my gaze, and he smiles, his peruse soft and a little hazy. It makes the contrast between those raven strands and his clear eyes stand out even more.

It's fucking gorgeous.

I don't know for how long we stay like that, our bundled forms entirely interlaced, when Ma?l slowly pulls out of me. Leaning back onto the blanket, he drags me up, wrapping his limbs around my spread ones and the cloak over both our bodies. It's warm, and snug, and with my head leaning against the curve between his neck and collarbone, I rest, allowing myself to bathe in this sweet moment for just that flicker of time.

"How was that for you?" He asks.

"Yeah," I croak, swallowing thickly as I'm hit by a wave of shyness. "That felt good."

That felt fucking amazing.

"Does your ass sting?"

"Uhm," I wiggle it experimentally. "It feels a bit weird? As if someone has just invaded it with a big rod?"

Ma?l lets out a laugh. "That's right, ange , that's exactly what happened." His purr sounds satisfied. His hair tickles my cheek, and his hand is draped possessively around my shoulder to keep me close. "I could stay like this forever, but our brothers are waiting in the Atrium."

Licking my dry lips, I scramble for words, my mind slowly filling with a chaos of unhinged thoughts. Is it awfully naive to admit that I had forgotten about the others for a moment?

I remember now. And it's causing an instant surge in my heart and lungs. Trepidation creeps inside, causing my breath to hitch. This is the moment where I should tell him that I want a time-out, that this…intimacy…was fantastic, but that I don't want anything to do with the others. But that treacherous feeling of expectation and plain fear combined with those fragments of pride, knowing that I'm making Mamie proud, is a sentiment that outweighs any other feeling.

"Your lover is a crazy fucker, ange ," Ma?l grins. He gazes down at me and smiles, dotting my forehead, nose, cheeks and mouth with featherlight kisses that make me feel all warm inside. "But he's crazy about you." His lips leave a final smooch on my ear, before he finally gets up, leaving me vulnerable once more to my own inner debate.

"The Atrium?" I frown, watching as he detaches the rope from the metal pole before giving it a little pull. Getting the message, I drag myself to my feet as well, frowning. "I've never heard of the—ooh, you mean the green house?"

There's a big, glass house in the woods that, according to history, was used by the monks who used to occupy Monterrey Castle. It looks beautifully creepy, with its large, ceiling to floor windows and its countless lead decorations. Ivy plants and flowers grow against parts of the glass house, obscuring its view. "I thought that was empty?"

Ma?l gives me a small smile, before bending forward and grabbing the remainders of my uniform. Giving me my clothes, I move to get dressed, although I don't miss the way his lips curl up into a mysterious smirk. "It is most of the time, except when we have special occasions. Right now is an occasion, because we will welcome you into the brotherhood."

With only one leg dressed, I grab his arm in blind panic. "Ma?l, I'm not sure about this. Let's just—" I shrug sluggishly. Stop this game .

But I can't say it. Because deep inside of me, I don't want it to finish.

"Let's just what ?" Ma?l's eyes flash as he turns to face me, his taller build looming over me.

I give him a half-hearted shrug. "Let's just forget about it? I mean, we had a good time, you and me. Perhaps that's all…"

"I don't think so. You're mine now. Plus, you signed that NDA, didn't you?"

"So?" I clear my throat, internally cursing that goddamn document that has been the source of my trouble ever since we started this chase. Of this metamorphosis my life seems to be in. My thoughts must be visible on my face, because Ma?l sniggers as he folds the blanket, before putting it back into the drawer.

"Just saying." Then he tugs harshly on the rope until I take a forced step toward him, he instantly wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me flush against his chest. He is once more wearing his tank top, the cloak fluttering loosely around his vigorous frame. I inhale his musky scent, his sweat, his self assuredness, and let him squeeze me close, caress the collar with his lips before he brushes them against my ear.

"You fit in just perfectly, ange , is what I mean. My beautiful pet."

I yank my face up right in time to catch the naughty shimmer in his eyes. " Pet ?"

He smirks. "Well, yeah. We all had different…instruments tonight, I don't know if you noticed?"

"Of course I did," I snarl. I think of the bola and the guy on the horse. Terrifying. I think of the knife… "Did he kill that guy with his knife?" I blurt out, frowning.

Ma?l clicks his tongue. "We want to play, not to murder anyone. Everyone got caught, angel, but you lasted the longest." He pushes a lock of loose chestnut hair behind my ear, then tugs on the leash as he makes his way toward the door. "And now I get to bring my prize in for all the others to see how you're mine." He glances over his shoulder, taking me in slowly. "Don't be afraid. I know tonight's your first time, but I'll take good care of you."

Something flutters inside my chest and I stop in my tracks. "Maybe this is not a good idea after all," I mumble to myself.

"You'd rather have me make a few phone calls and be picked up by your new brothers?" He cocks his head, that challenging smirk once more visible. "That can be arranged, sweet Thurel."

Anger bubbles up inside my chest, intermingling with something close to bashfulness.

No. I fist my hands. I'm not fucking backing out now. He wants me to make a scene, like the spoiled ass he is. Always getting what he wants. I won't give him the satisfaction.

"Very well." Tilting my chin, I turn away from him and move toward the exit. "Let's do this."

Ma?l whistles, his chuckle a sensual rasp. "There's a good boy, sweet Thurel. You see? You and I were made for each other."