Page 12 of Hunted by Them (Primal Desires #1)

SAGE

What day was it?

Time had ceased to matter. The blindfold never left my eyes, and the leather cuffs that had replaced the ropes remained on my wrists and ankles.

There was a chain firmly attached to the wall that didn’t allow me to move more than a few feet away.

All I had were scraps of sound and the temperature to know what time of day it was.

The chill of dawn, the warmth of midday, and the hush of night when coyotes howled and owls trilled.

That was my clock now. That and these men did sleep, not always at the same time, but there was usually a brief window of time when all I could hear was their heavy breathing as they slumbered.

Buck stayed close, sometimes holding me, but he seemed to be trying to keep his distance as well.

Oddly…I didn’t like that.

My world narrowed to sensations. Touch. Voice. Heat.

Day Three: I Think

The stone was cold against my back, but their hands were like fire. Rough palms ran down my arms, across my stomach, and forced my legs open until the chain rattled.

“Good girl,” Elk murmured against my ear. “Always so ready.”

There was no denying it. I couldn’t hold in the sounds spilling out of my mouth, and couldn’t stop the way my hips pressed forward.

“I have something new for you,” he chuckled.

I wasn’t sure I liked his tone, but I moaned when something smooth and cool touched my thigh.

He moved it up and down my leg. “You’re dripping, Sweet Daisy.

Look at how wet you are.” Elk pushed my legs further apart and lay between them, his mouth all but attacking my pussy.

“Ahh.” My body jerked against the restraints as his tongue lashed over my clit.

“You taste so good. Now let’s see if you like the new toy.”

The cool object touched my heated core as he continued to lick and suck, driving me wild. He teased my opening.

“Beg for it,” he ordered.

“Please…”

“Please what, slut?”

“Fuck me, please fuck me.”

I felt him smile against my skin and pictured the look on his face despite never knowing what he looked like. It was necessary to know he was smirking. The all-knowing, pleased-with-himself smile.

“Such a good fucking girl, Sweet Daisy.”

The object was smooth to start, but then there were hard ridges. It didn’t hurt, but I trembled from the extra sensation. He pulled it out to tease me once more.

“Did you like that?”

“Yes,” I breathed, arching myself up off the ground.

He moved the toy faster, while sucking my clit harder. I gasped and jerked as the object rubbed all the right places.

“Grab your knees and hold them open. I want you spread wide for me,” Elk ordered.

Quick to obey, I grabbed them and moaned as he worked me over.

“I’m coming.”

Once more, I was overcome with the rush of a release that had me seeing stars. I’d lost count of my orgasms at this point.

“Mmm, you really are sweet, Sweet Daisy. Here, try for yourself.”

Elk touched my lips with the toy.

My mouth opened for him, and he slid it over my tongue. I tasted myself for the first time. The toy wasn’t as long or thick as they were, but the deep ridges were just right.

“Do you know what this is?”

I shook my head as I sucked it clean.

“This is an antler from one of the biggest bucks that ever walked this forest. You were literally just fucked by a buck’s bone…or is that boner?”

“That was a terrible dad joke,” Caribou cackled from across the cave, making me smile.

“Fuck off…tell me, Sweet Daisy, how does it feel to know you had part of an animal inside you, making you come?”

He slowly pulled the antler free of my mouth.

“I thought the three of you were part animal,” I said, smirking.

He laughed, the sound loud and booming, echoed off the walls.

“That was actually funny. I like you, Sweet Daisy. Now roll over, I’m going to take you like one,” he growled.

Day Four: Maybe.

I woke to warmth. The fur thrown over me, the heat of the fire warming my body that was still trembling from the last time they fucked me. My blindfold was still in place, but I heard birds calling faintly outside. It was definitely morning.

A hand smoothed the hair back from my damp forehead. Another traced my mouth with a fingertip until I opened for him instinctively.

“Obedient,” Buck growled. “So sexy.”

Maybe I should have fought, but the compulsion wasn’t there. Instead, I leaned into him, my lips quivering around a touch that was never gentle for long.

“Hungry…our Sweet Daisy is famished for hard cock,” he whispered darkly. “We’ll make sure you never forget how it feels to be fed. Given exactly what you need, when you need it, and to always feel desired.”

“Am I…desirable?”

My voice wavered, the question tearing free from a part of me I had kept hidden until they touched it.

“Yes.”

The Buck kissed me with the same possessiveness that he had the first night and every time after. He gathered me close and pressed his body up against mine.

“Anyone who says otherwise is a fool, but if anyone other than us touches you again…I’ll cut their fucking hands off,” he growled in my ear before kissing me again.

I moaned, the sound matching how I felt inside…

wrecked and needy. I hadn’t realized how tired I was of my life until that hike changed everything.

Despite being kept in the dark, there had been clarity.

I had taken the time to reflect and search my soul for what made me happy.

What I found was that I was clinging to dreams not my own.

I had a boyfriend who pretended to know me, and a job that, despite how hard I worked, I secretly hated.

It was all a lie. My life had been nothing but one large, perfectly crafted lie. It was so good, in fact, that I hadn’t even realized it until…them.

Despite the insanity of my situation, one thing had become very clear…

I wanted out of my life. I wanted to build something for myself.

I wanted to be happy, and not just accept what was handed to me.

I wanted and deserved to feel special, and that was never going to happen with Connor.

And…I was done being bullied by a woman who was supposed to be in my corner.

I loved my mother, but I was done letting her drag me down.

It was time for a change. Whoever emerged from this cave when they released me would not be Sage Harlow.

Day Five: Perhaps

The air was warmer when I rolled over and yawned. It was afternoon. That was the only time of day when heat permeated the cave.

“You’re awake. Did you rest well?”

Caribou’s soft, sultry voice felt like something warm blanketing me.

“I did.”

My arms were stretched above me, the cuffs chafing slightly as I shifted. The blindfold had slipped a little against my lashes, but I didn’t dare move it. I knew better.

Fingers trailed down my thigh, teasing, circling.

He had the kindest touch. I’d giggled to myself one evening when I thought about how Caribou was a little too soft at times and wished he would be rougher.

While Elk was all coarse hands and harsh words, and sometimes I wished he were softer.

Buck…he was just right. I felt like I’d been dropped into the middle of the most erotic version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears .

“Would you like some fresh berries and cream,” he asked, helping me to sit up. “We made the cream ourselves a few minutes ago.”

I froze, wondering if he meant what I thought he meant. I nodded, and a spoon touched my lips. I opened and found a sweet strawberry, a few blueberries, and yes…their come.

Day Six - Possibly

I didn’t remember falling asleep. One moment, I was gasping in the warm pool, my body being pressed to new limits, and the next, I woke to the chill of stone and the sound of coyotes outside. Night.

My whole body ached, my thighs were sore, and my lips were swollen from their mouths. And still, the hunger twisted in me. I reached for Buck, only to find the space beside me where he normally slept empty. Fear sliced through me. I grabbed the fur blanket and clutched it to my chest as I sat up.

A voice filtered in from the dark. “You wake so easy now. As if your body waits for us, even in dreams,” Buck whispered. I tracked his movements as he walked over and sat down with me. His fingers traced my jaw. “I needed to tend to the fire. It was burning low.”

“Oh…okay.”

“You looked scared, were you?”

Turning away, I nodded my head.

“I thought you’d left me here tied to the wall.”

His hand slowly wrapped around my throat and tugged me closer to him. My heart reacted immediately, pounding harder.

“Do you really think I’d do that?”

I licked my lips. “I…”

Now that he’d asked the question, I didn’t.

Was it stupid?

Maybe, but in their own way, they’d been more in tune with me than anyone else. It seemed unlikely that they would just abandon me here.

“No, I don’t.”

“Good, we wouldn’t.” His hand squeezed tighter. “I’m going to mark you.”

I nodded despite not knowing what he meant.

“You need to be still for me. Can you do that?”

I nodded again.

“That’s my girl, my Sweet Daisy.”

I sucked in a sharp breath as something bit into my chest. Buck’s hands held me firm, but there was no need. He had told me not to move. It hurt, but it also lit a fire in the pit of my stomach. He licked my chest, the flat of his tongue stinging and yet erotic as it slid along my skin.

“Fuck you taste good.”

He repeated his movements over and over, and each time I embraced the pain. When he was done, he kissed me, and my mouth filled with the flavor of something metallic…blood. He’d been cutting me.

“You feel that ache?”

Buck tilted my head up and bit my lower lip. The heat from his body pressed into me, and I moaned despite barely being able to breathe. His hand was just tight enough around my throat that it felt like a threat, but also a promise, and I handed myself over to whichever it was.

“Yes.”

“You’re craving me, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” I panted.

“That’s your body’s way of saying it needs to be filled…to be bred.”

He slowly pushed me back, his body hovering over mine, his hand loosening slightly, but still pinning me to the ground.

“Yes.”

I wrapped my legs around his waist, wanting him to keep me forever.

“You’re getting too attached,” Elk said from somewhere nearby, and Buck snarled.

“She’s ours until she can’t remember a time before us, that takes as long as it takes, and don’t tell me what I can or cannot do. Sweet Daisy is mine. Understand.”

Elk swore and stomped away.

Buck’s words had ignited a fire under my skin. He released my throat and smoothed back the loose strands of hair covering my face. For just a second, I thought he was going to remove my blindfold and let me see him. But he didn’t.

“Open your legs for me,” Buck coaxed.

I obeyed. Always for him.

“Please…”

“Please what?”

“Please don’t stop.”

The laughter that followed was devilishly wicked. “I wasn’t planning on it.”

Day…

The air was cooler and smelled crisp. It was morning again, but there was also the faint scent of a change in the weather. Summer was coming to an end, and fall would be here very soon.

Birds sang faintly outside, but inside the cave all I could hear was the drip of water and my own ragged breathing. I’d lost track of how many times they had used me, how many times I’d fallen asleep only to wake at their touch, their voices, or my own need.

I drifted in and out of consciousness for half of the day and was delirious the other half.

Sometimes I thought I heard their whispers above me, arguing in low tones.

Sometimes I thought I felt three sets of hands, other times only one.

It didn’t matter…nothing mattered here. It was like Neverland, where time stood still.

But this time when I woke, the voices were sharper, louder, and angrier.

Cocking my head, I knew that they were outside the cave, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t hear words.

There was a definite rhythm to it. They went from talking to low growls and sharp replies, then the scrape of boots against rock. An argument.

“Fuck you,” Buck bellowed.

The sound of his voice had me sitting up straighter.

My pulse spiked. For the first time in days, something like fear coiled inside me.

I had nothing to go on, and yet, I knew they were arguing about me.

Elk hadn’t been happy with how close Buck and I were becoming.

He kept whispering, “ We can’t keep her .

” I wanted it to be a lie, but knew deep down this couldn’t last forever. I really didn’t want it to end today.

Couldn’t I live in this fucked up fantasy world just a little longer? A day even?

The voices cut off. Footsteps returned as they marched toward me. All three of them, and there was something so final in their stride.

Buck stood in front of me. I knew it was him, I always did. I felt him. The air shifted, and the chain creaked as I slowly kneeled before him.

“Have I done something to anger you?”

“No. Just open your mouth, Sweet Daisy,” he ordered.

I was tempted to disobey him, to fling myself at his legs and beg him to keep me forever, but I didn’t.

Lips trembling, and a tear sliding down my face, I opened my mouth.

Cool liquid coated my tongue, bitter and sour.

I choked, but his fingers touched under my jaw, tilting my head up and forcing me to swallow.

“Good girl,” he whispered, his voice laced with a hint of an ache.

“Please…”

That was all I got out before my stomach started to burn. My head spun, and the cave tilted sideways.

“Sleep now,” he murmured. “Sleep, Sweet Daisy, and see me again the next time you close your eyes.”

Another tear slipped free. The last thing I felt was his hand cupping my cheek, and the blurred outline of a skull mask as my blindfold was removed.

No…please keep me.

Then the darkness took me.