Page 9 of His Trick

“Want?” I echoed, chuckling softly, smiling under the mask. “I don’t want. I demand. I take. I devour. And you? You obey.”

I circled them slowly. Every shuffle, every glance calculated, leading them backward toward the silver-shaded pool. The moonlight made the water look like liquid metal.

“You two…think you’re clever, don’t you? Sneaking in early. Hiding. Laughing. Drinking like fucking fish. But now you‘re second-guessing your little wet dream of being destroyed by a man in a mask? Shame. I just wanted to play. Do you understand?”

They nodded, terrified, gripping each other instinctively.

“Good, then let’s…play.”

My black gloves were like a second skin, molding to my thick fingers. Every step forward, the girls stumbled backward, hand in hand, until they felt their feet sink in the shallow area of the lake.

“So pretty. That fear. Mmm…I can fucking taste it,” I said, my voice low, letting my finger glide along the sidekick’s lips. Hesitation. Fear. Their rebellion wavered under my gaze like cellophane.

“Do you want to taste it, whore?” I pressed my finger harder into the woman’s mouth, my words directed at the leader of their small pack. The best way to break an army was to convince its leader that it was worthless, show them they were just another drone to be controlled.

This woman clearly brought her shy friend here to prove some existential point that she was needed, and the only reason shy, sweet Kiki had any enjoyment was from the lust written all over her face.

What an unexpected turn of events.

Originally, I thought it was arousal for me, but now the way she held so tight to her friend, and the look of love swimming in her eyes, deeper than the lake behind them, was as clear as the sky.

“Kiss her,” I demanded. Yanking the redhead toward the other. “This night is supposed to be your fantasy come true?”

Thing One looked at her friend, bewilderment and confusion replacing her unease.

“Wh-what?” Thing Two stuttered. “That’s my b-best friend. You pervert.”

I laughed, letting the silence of the unsaid denial wrap around them like smoke, making it suffocating…agonizing.

“Kiki…?” Rai said, hesitance filling the space. “What is…I?”

I was bored watching the gears turn for these two dumbasses.

“Listen, Coco. It’s your lucky night after all. I am giving you one minute to do whatever you want to your best friend before I make you kill her.”

The girls paused, eyes fixated on the metal of my serrated knife. Unsheathing it from its plastic, fake covering felt like shedding a skin I was forced to wear.

“What the fuck? Okay, dude, this isn’t funny anymore. Where’s the exit, creeper? I am sooo reporting you.”

Queen bitch fumbled with her bag, the flashy spikes on her top brushing against her skin and leaving a red mark in its wake.

“Rai…”

Rai ignored her friend. She was the smart one who knew what was happening.

“Fucking asshole. This was a bad idea. I should have known?—”

“Rai!”

Finally catching her attention by physically shaking her, Thing One stopped fidgeting and looked at her friend. “What?”

Her nervous gaze trailed to me, and she swallowed. “Tick Tock, Momo.”

“Rai…what if…what if this isn’t a game? What if it’s…” Her voice lowered to barely a whisper as her eyes became pleading, glassy with unshed tears. “Real.”

I saw the goosebumps rising along their arms, though whether it was from the cold or from me, I didn’t know.

The mask clung to my skin, every breath warming the air inside it. I liked the weight of it. It reminded me I wasn’t just a man right now.