Page 14 of Grotesque

T he room felt hot and airless despite the chills that spread over my arms as I searched for him. I had to win. He had taken a kiss as his first prize, and I hardly believed he would settle for only a second kiss, if the greed in his voice was any evidence.

“Work for it.” His voice whispered and echoed from every corner of the room. It was disorienting, the way he moved around me, taunting me. In the darkness the room had expanded, with seemingly infinite hiding places for him, while I was blind.

“Give me a hint,” I said.

A single knock came from my left, in the direction of the bedroom door…I think? I moved to it, one foot in front of the other.

A louder knock sounded on my right. I twisted only to hear a third ricochet above me. I flinched, moving into a half crouch as I pictured him crawling across the ceiling.

Screw not panicking. Now that the image was carved in my head, I couldn’t get it out. I staggered backward, following the sound of scuffling that trailed after me somewhere high above.

With a shaking hand I reached up to the ceiling. I rose up on my toes.

A hand gripped the top of my shoulder. “Time’s up,” he hissed.

I yelped in surprise, my arms flailing as I spun to push him away.

“Stop! Give me another round.”

“The game is over, little dove.”

Cool hands guided me back onto a plush surface. He had me against the bed. I reached for the blindfold, my fingers digging into the underside of the fabric when he caught my wrist.

“The blindfold stays on,” he growled.

“Please,” I whispered. I’d pulled the material up just enough that I could see the shine of his boots framing my bare feet.

He pulled my hand firmly, forcing the blindfold back in place and me into darkness.

His icy touch slid over the curve of my waist, steadying the tremors that now wracked my body. One remained planted while his other slid languidly up my front. He brushed my hair over my shoulder, exposing that side of my neck to the warm air.

Lips to skin. Teeth on my neck.

He was a vampire. He was a vampire , and he was going to rip my throat out.

Twin needles sank into my skin. The prick was sharp and thrilling, followed by a lush blanket of warmth that swam over my body; head to toe.

I hadn’t realized I’d latched hold to the front of his shirt until my grip weakened.

That line to my center intensified. It was throbbing now, and my breath was coming in ragged gasps as something akin to desire dripped between my thighs.

The hand on my hip turned, and he slid his fingers beneath the band of my underwear, pushing them down.

A flutter of panic blazed white-hot in my mind, then was gone as the sensation at my neck intensified, pulling me into a lavish embrace.

Eventually the pressure eased, giving way to something warm and wet. He was licking me, but it felt odd. Like his tongue was split in two. My head was full of fog, knees weak as I slumped against the bed, falling onto my back.

He followed me down. “Consider this a consolation prize,” he murmured against my lips.

What was he talking about?

His cold hands slid down either side of my waist, down until he gripped my knees and forced them apart. The elastic of my underwear kept my ankles trapped. Wait–

The delicious flick of a warm tongue swept across my pussy.

Except I was already slick, the strain of his game unspooling all the tension in my body.

A strangled sound came from my throat in surprise.

I bucked against him when he did it a second time and remained there, his tongue working slowly over my slit.

“Oh fuck,” I gasped.

“You are even more delicious here. Sweet Sorcha, you are a feast,” he hissed. Another lash of his tongue had me seeing stars.

I slammed my palm into the top of his head and tensed when his lips fastened over my clit. A stranger was eating out my pussy and instead of trying to fight him off I was holding onto him. Holding him right there– Oh fuck. Yes. Right there.

He hummed against me, sending thrilling vibrations straight to my core.

He worked his mouth lower, back over my folds and then slipped his tongue inside me.

A tongue that shouldn’t be that thick or that long and…

who fucking cared? I’d never felt anything so divine.

I dug my nails into the top of his head.

Soft caresses made their way across my thighs. His fingers took the place of his tongue as he withdrew, stroking the outside of my pussy slowly.

“Should I stop?” His voice was low and indulgent.

The taste of copper burst across my tongue when I bit my lip too hard. He should. Of course he should, but I was so close to the edge that I didn’t want him to.

I shook my head.

“Tell me,” he said, those two words coated with desire. The same twin pricks I’d felt against my neck fastened to the inside of the thigh he lifted over his shoulder.

I winced, leaning into the pain, seeking it out.

He slipped a finger inside of me, working it slowly until a second joined it. I tensed, expecting to feel the sharp claws I had felt previously, but there was only the soft pad of his fingers gliding in and out of me.

“You’re sick. You’re a devil,” I gritted even as I leaned into his delicious touch.

“That I am,” he said with a laugh. He twisted his fingers, angling them up as he started rubbing.

I shifted up on my toes, trying to get his mouth back on my center. My hand slipped across his scalp, knocking into something cool and hard on the top of his head. My heart slammed against my chest.

“A man, or what I thought was a man, walked out of the house.... he had big horns coming out of his head.”

Quint’s words came echoing back and were snatched away when the stranger fastened his lips once more over my clit and sucked.

Simultaneously he worked his fingers inside of me, moving too fast for my mind to break down that there was possibly a monster between my legs.

He sucked and pulled, drawing my soul out with every harsh breath that burst out of my lungs.

I was going to come.

His tongue worked wildly over my clit, his fingers moving faster, until bright white light exploded behind my eyes, squeezed tightly shut beneath the blindfold, and I was screaming as I came apart for him.

He pulled his head back, his fingers still working furiously. “Fuck,” he growled. He jerked his fingers free and rubbed them over my clit, jolting my orgasm to an impossible new height as I continued to come. Pleasure twisted into pain when he worked me harder.

“Fuck. Please. Stop,” I panted.

His only response was to pull my other leg over his other shoulder.

His wicked mouth returned with a vengeance, his tongue delving back inside of me. He worked me again and again until I was a shaking, sopping mess.

When at last he was sated, I felt the pressure of his arms around my neck and behind my knees as he carried me back to the top of the bed. Electricity buzzed through every nerve in my body. A piercing ringing sang in my ears.

He slapped my pussy. Was he going to fuck me now?

I swallowed, my fingers gripping the sheets beneath me. I wasn’t ready for that. Just because he had given me the best oral of my life didn’t mean I wanted his cock inside of me. Fear pitched in my gut.

A dark chuckle fanned through the air. His damp fingers ran over my throat, sliding between my breasts, over my erratic heartbeat. He paused before sliding his hand back down to my thigh. Something sharp cut into my skin and I winced, pulling my leg free.

“Something to remember me by,” he purred.“Stay in your room tonight. If you go out and wake him, I’ll know. Neither can you tell him that I was here.” When I didn’t respond he laced his fingers around my throat. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I said, still panting. “I won’t say anything.”

“Good girl. I want you to count to ten and then you can remove your blindfold.” He kissed me. I could taste my flavor against his tongue when he swept it across mine. “We are going to have so much fun, you and I.”

The force of his presence left the room slowly. I waited a few extra seconds before I started to count.

When I lifted the blindfold, the stranger was gone.