Page 38 of Carnival

Rose

S leep slowly evades me when I feel something soft, almost fur-like, on my cheeks. My brows narrow, though my eyes are still closed. It’s like something is slowly crawling on my face, and that causes me to sit up straight, the little thing falling off my face.

A scream pierces through my lungs as I stare at the blanket that’s over my body. It’s covered with four spiders, one of which was fucking crawling on my face. I start shaking, too scared to move, and the little furry shits continue to climb all over me. These aren’t small spiders, either.

I’m pretty sure one of them is a black widow, from the pictures I’ve seen. I hold eye contact with the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had the displeasure of seeing, but it’s almost as if it’s taunting me — still climbing on me.

“James!” I yell out, my voice cracking.

Sound of footsteps approaching the bedroom fills my ears, and soon after, James pushes the door open, strolling inside with nothing but a pair of grey sweatpants. His eyes glance between the spiders on the blanket and me.

“Oh,’’ he chuckles. “I see you’ve met Steve,’’ he points to the very persistent black widow still climbing on me.

“Steve? You named one of the deadliest spiders Steve?”

He starts scooping them up, one by one, until he reaches Steve. He’s gentle with that thing, allowing it to rest on his palm, and surprisingly, the moment is almost tender. Almost.

“He’s a male black widow, and since he is too small, he can’t bite through human flesh. You’ll be fine.’’

The moment all spiders are off me, I visibly relax, my shoulders slumping. I take a few deep breaths, trying to ignore the feeling of dread and disgust that I felt a moment ago, and turn to look at James.

“Why and how did you get a black widow? And what are the rest of these… pests?”

“Ah, the other four are tarantulas. Two male, two female. They don’t usually bite.’’

“They don’t usually bite,’’ I repeat, with disbelief. “Why in God’s name would you keep spiders as pets?”

He shrugs and puts them in the far corner of the room, in their terrarium. My senses aren’t as sharp as I thought they’d be, because I’ve been staying with James, in his apartment, for the past week, and not once did I even see the fucking terrarium, let alone the little shitheads.

“Because they’re adorable.’’

“You’re such a psychopath.’’

“Yes, that’s the diagnosis.’’

“No, I meant it as an insult.’’

James falters at my words, brows narrowed. He slowly approaches the bed, like a predator staking out its prey, before sitting behind me and pulling me to sit between his legs, my back leaning against his chest.

His arms sneak around my waist, his face buried in the crook of my neck. He starts peppering the sensitive skin with soft, open-mouthed kisses, all while pulling me closer to him. If he pulls me even more, we’ll mold into one person, because there’s not an inch separating us at this point.

His fingers splay all over my stomach, stroking the skin. My eyes flutter closed, and I allow myself to just feel his touch, his kisses, and completely surrender to James. All of a sudden, his hands vanish from me, but it’s only momentarily.

He leans over, tugs the drawer of the bedside table open, and whisks out a satin fabric. I don’t get to question what it is, or what his intentions with it are, since he wraps it around my head, covering my eyes.

“James, what are you doing?”

“Just giving you a small punishment. Let’s see if you’ll be a brat again.’’

Ah, so this is about the little insult I threw his way. I want to laugh at the pettiness, but when his hands return to roam, squeeze, and grope my body, I decide to keep my mouth shut and let his touch consume me.

With one hand, he parts my legs and tosses the blanket down. However, he doesn’t remove my clothes and instead just pushes his hand inside my sleeping shorts, stroking my clit over the fabric of the underwear.

If this is a punishment, I don’t want to know what rewards would feel like.

The blindfold on my eyes forces me to focus on feeling it all. The way his fingers circle my clit, barely grazing it here and there, doing his best to get me aching, needy, and wet before he touches me properly.

But I don’t mind it. In fact, I’m loving how this is all playing out.

“You’re going to be a good girl for me and sit still, alright?”

I nod wordlessly, almost whimpering at the loss of the touch. James sits up from behind me, getting out of bed, and I can hear him rummage through his wardrobe. It takes him a while to grab whatever he went to grab, and once I hear the footsteps approach, I freeze slightly.

“Lie down,’’ he instructs, and I obey, my head hitting the soft pillow.

James grabs my wrists, pins them above my head, and in a quick, swift motion, my wrists are tied together against the bedpost. The material is the same as the blindfold on my eyes, and although I try to pull my hands free, it’s useless.

The bastard tied a tight knot, and without the ability to see it, I can’t find a way out.

Before my mind can truly process what’s happening, my legs are tied individually, spread wide open. He outright chuckles at my attempts to free myself, and my heart starts hammering against my ribcage.

“You look adorable when you fight back, hellion,’’ he murmurs. The bed dips with his weight as he sits next to me, his fingers gently stroking my cheek.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“As I said,’’ he leans in, kissing my throat. “This is your punishment.’’

“What do you plan on doing to me?”

“You’ll see,’’ he chuckles, and I can already imagine his smirk. “Blindfolding and tying you up is just the beginning. I’ll drive you absolutely mad, but I can also promise you’ll end up fucking loving it.’’

“That doesn’t sound too promising.’’

Effortlessly, James rips the shirt off me — his shirt. My upper body is left bare to his eyes, and I don’t need to see him to know that he’s staring at my chest hungrily. His fingers graze my soft flesh, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake.

“I absolutely adore your tits,’’ he moans, taking one of my nipples in his mouth.

My body arches into his mouth, and he takes as much as possible in, sucking and gently biting on it.

His hand reaches to play with the other, rolling my nipple between his fingers and tugging on it.

“I’ll tattoo my name on your fucking tits, hellion.

Now that would be one hell of a sight, wouldn’t you agree? ”

A string of moans comes from me, and all reason is out the window.

Whatever he wants, I’m ready to give it to him right now.

So, I manage a weak nod; the feeling of his tongue on my chest, combined with the fact that my movements and eyesight are restricted, creates a wave of fire that starts burning from within.

He pulls back, then dips his fingers back into my shorts, this time into my underwear too, stroking my clit. He doesn’t push his fingers into me and simply works on my aching, swollen clit.

“So wet for me,’’ he murmurs. “But as I promised, this isn’t even half of it, hellion.’’

“What are you planning?” I ask again, breathless.

And that’s when I feel it, my entire body going rigid.

Those small, hairy legs. I can feel a few crawling up on my knees, one on the side of my stomach making its way up to my chest, and the last one right on my inner thigh, close to where James’ fingers are.

He let his fucking spiders crawl all over me.

Panic sets in me, my heart rapidly beating against my ribcage, threatening to jump right out. Cold sweat starts dripping from my forehead, and I’m frozen in the spot while he continues to stroke my clit.

“James, take them off me,’’ I whine.

“Not a chance,’’ he murmurs, then gently takes the blindfold off. “They won’t hurt you.’’

A gasp comes from me when I take in the sight. James starts ripping off my underwear and the thin sleeping shorts I have on, all while his little pets make themselves comfortable all over my body.

The spider — the black widow male, fucking Steve — sits between my breasts, his ugly, long legs splayed all over. His small body is in a deeper shade of grey, and I can’t focus on anything but the way his little eyes are staring at me. He’s ugly.

“James, I swear to everything that is holy, if you don’t move these pests off me, I’m taking them to Aria’s pet snake as a snack.’’

“You won’t,’’ he mumbles, confidently.

Words get stuck in my throat, and a moan follows when he dips his middle finger into me. He starts pumping it in and out, at a slower pace, while the spider close to him has its legs right next to my clit.

My eyes dart between all the spiders that are crawling comfortably all over my body; my skin crawls at the sight.

I’ve never been scared of spiders per se, but I’ve never had any desire to keep them as pets, much less to have them crawling all over me, and for one to be so close to my pussy. James stares at the spiders, then glances at me.

His eyes are mad.

He is mad.

He adds a second finger, my moans getting louder and more throaty.

The reaction to him, despite the bizarre situation, is still incredibly big.

Whatever he does to me has an equal, if not stronger, reaction.

At this point, I’m certain he could fuck me while we’re lying in a snake’s hibernaculum, and I’d still focus more on his cock in me than on the actual snakes that are around us.

“James,’’ I gasp, the spiders crawling from my legs up to my stomach. The one on my chest starts going up, his legs reaching for my cheek. My eyes squeeze shut, and that’s when James decides to add a third finger.

Everything inside me is set on fire. Every time James strokes that sweet spot inside me, every time the spiders move an inch, their legs stroking my skin, and the unmistakable, dark look that James is giving me.

I could thrash, toss, and turn, even scream for him to let me go, but I don’t.

Realization hits me like a ton of bricks — he stayed true to his words.

The cage he put me in is a mental one, but it’s very much there, and he holds the key.

The key that I’ll never see, and I’ll forever stay caged in the darkness that is James.

Tears stream down my cheeks, my vision blurry. Yet, despite the tears, I can’t hold back moans or the way my body arches whenever James pushes his fingers deeper into me. A smirk is on his face, his free hand soothingly stroking my hip.

“That’s it, hellion,’’ he says, voice soft, but there’s the sinisterity in the edges, the one I’m too familiar with. “Let me see you come on my fingers like a good girl.’’

My eyes roll to the back of my head as he picks up the pace. His fingers pump in and out of me, touching that sweet spot inside me, all while managing to stroke my clit with his palm.

Fear and desire mix together, and I no longer have any control of my body.

It all belongs to James. Every reaction, every single tear that rolls down my cheek, and every time orgasm threatens to spill out of me, it all belongs to him.

He controls it, like a puppeteer master, and I’m the willing puppet.

His other hand reaches to touch my clit, and when he pinches it, I come undone. I scream out his name, my body arching, and one of the spiders manages to fall off me. My eyes roll to the back of my head in pure ecstasy, the orgasm hitting me harder than any before.

“That’s it, hellion. Milk my fingers.’’

My inner walls squeeze around his fingers, pulling them deeper inside while I ride the wave of my orgasm until I’m completely spent. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart.

James pulls his fingers out of me, then sucks them clean, staring right into my eyes. My throat closes up, but I try not to let him see it. Instead, I focus on getting myself back to Earth from that soul-shattering orgasm.

“The next time you act like a brat, you’ll get an even worse punishment, hellion.’’