Page 96 of Smut Lovers

Chapter Two

Welcome to the Manor

D ear Ava Sims,

-The Society

The handwritten invitation, on heavy cardstock, burned Ava’s palm as she clenched it in her fist. The calligraphy swam before her. Though she’d read it so many times, she’d memorized it, it was still surreal.

The Society had chosen her. While everyone knew about The Society, no one knew who they were.

Whispers and conspiracy theorists said they were bloodsucking demons.

Others said they were spoiled, rich assholes.

Regardless, those who spoke against the games were quickly silenced, never to be heard from again.

The Society hosted special events across the globe throughout the year. The participants were randomly selected via a lottery, so receiving an exclusive invitation was a dream come true.

As Ava scanned the QR code, a familiar scene unfolded.

Footage of her cutting Vince and him fucking her roughly against the door, played.

His hunched back dwarfed her. She cried when he pulled her blue hair and bit her neck.

The face of the demon, on his back, smirked at her, as his eyes glowed with intensity.

The camera angle changed as though it were looking in on them from the keyhole.

Vince’s eyes flashed dangerously as his teeth became elongated.

His face twisted, resembling the demonic tattoo on his back, making her shiver.

She was about to shut off the video, when there was a loud bang on the door.

She jumped in fright, as her heart pounded in her throat. The phone slipped from her hand, as she stared at the apartment door. They’d occupied the apartment for two years. While they’d dealt with pesky neighbors, Ava had always felt safe, until the previous evening.

She looked over her shoulder, wondering if the secret camera was hidden in the light.

The landlord had told them to expect routine maintenance a week prior.

They were asked to exit the home prior to his arrival.

Now she understood it was merely a ruse.

How many more cameras were placed, watching them, not only go about their daily lives, but intrude into their private, most intimate moments.

Ava shivered, feeling violated as it had been done without her consent. How many witnessed Vince’s visceral reaction, as he punished her pussy. Her muscles clenched, feeling it with her entire body.

“ Little mouse… ” a voice growled, drawing her attention to the fallen phone.

She picked it up, just in time to see words pop up onto the screen.

Do you have what it takes, Ava Sims?

They faded away before being replaced by the words the courier had said to her.

Don’t be afraid, Ava. You were selected for a reason.

One week later…

“I don’t think you should go,” Vince said repeatedly.

“But it’s a down payment on a house with money leftover for a wedding,” she replied.

“Remember the Fair events? Four mutilated bodies were found, and the girl disappeared without a trace. I don’t want that to be you.”

He wrapped his arms around her and she closed her eyes before laying her head against his chest, letting his heartbeat soothe her nerves. This side of Vince was the man she’d fallen in love with. He taught her to accept his darkness with the good.

It was impossible to forget the carnage from the Fair event.

In anticipation of the upcoming Manor event, nationwide outlets began talking about the events from the previous year.

They talked about the men who failed to complete the twelve hours.

Then, they interviewed the man who lasted almost eleven hours.

His incoherent babbling at the time formed a story.

Some people called him mentally unstable, while others blamed hallucinogenics for causing his fall, even though his bloodwork was clean. He maintained he was drugged before being released into the park.

“Demons chased me,” he said. “They were grotesque things with dark leathery wings.

A gorgeous woman seduced me and turned out to be worse than the men.

As we kissed, she transformed into a creature, with a forked tongue like a snake, and a long tail that wrapped around my dick.

Her skin became gray and weathered, while her eyes glowed red like a gargoyle.

“I hid in the cornfield most of the time, but eventually they tracked me down. They taunted me and played games, making me feel like I was losing my fucking mind.”

Not all channels censored his obscenities.

“Professionally, I work on cell towers. I have no fear of heights. The Ferris Wheel seemed like the best place to hide for the last hour. I climbed as quickly as I could, but they gained on me. People assumed I slipped and fell, but that isn’t true.

I was about to climb into the bucket, when a demon popped out and pushed me.

“When I was waiting to be rescued, the female unbuttoned my pants and tried to fuck me, while the others laughed. A man in a masquerade mask saved me and drove them all away.”

Footage from the night Tallulah Daniels was in the park followed his interview. Bloody sheets covered four mutilated corpses of the scare actors. She disappeared shortly after that. Nobody reported her as a missing person, but there was heavy speculation about her mysterious disappearance all over.

Serious injury or death were a hazard in The Society’s events, but not the standard. Despite her fear, Ava would overcome them.

“Please don’t go, Ava.”

“I’ll be careful,” she promised.

“If you’re hell-bent on going, so am I. I won’t let you go alone.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek.

“My name was the only one on the invitation. I don’t think they’ll take kindly to you showing up, or trying to sneak in. Have faith in me, Vin.”

“I do, Ava.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, little mouse.”

She looked up at him, and he kissed her on the tip of her upturned nose.

With no way to prepare for the event, they spent the rest of the day in bed.

Ava desperately needed Vince to help take her mind off things.

She hadn’t slept well since the invitation arrived and it sat like a bomb on her nightstand.

She opened the drawer and dropped it inside, so she no longer had to see it and pulled out the coil of rope.

“Tie me up until morning,” she said as she handed him the graphite-colored cord.

He took the rope from her hand and grasped her chin. He kissed her gently and bit her lip as he pulled away.

“Shut your little whore mouth and let me work,” he growled against her lips.

Vince anchored the rope around her wrists.

She watched as he wrapped three times around and threaded through the bight, locking and cinching the rope.

He pulled her wrists up and over her head, wound the rope around her chest, beneath her breasts, and finished tying the knot.

She pulled once to ensure it was tight enough.

A feeling of Zen slowly settled upon her, as Vince kissed down her spine and worshiped her body before fucking her, giving her everything she needed to last until after the event.

The city streets became less congested, as they traveled to the manor, at an undisclosed location.

An hour later they had passed through the suburbs and into a more rural area.

Another hour later they were in an area that Ava had never seen before.

They drove past farmhouses and corn fields, until it became dark.

Ava brushed the tattoo of a lotus flower on her inner wrist. The flower’s ability to grow and thrive in beauty from dirty water, symbolized what she’d overcome. Each petal was part of her story.

All she had to do was remember, she was the lotus.

The car turned off the lonely stretch of rural highway, onto an unpaved, winding road. Ava gripped the side door to hold herself steady, as invisible bumps caused the car to dip and bounce. She didn’t expect it as part of the estate’s charm.

About a mile down the road, the dense trees cleared to a sprawling landscape on one side and a cornfield on the other. The manor came into view at the crest of a hill.

When she heard the word ‘manor’, she assumed something like an old English-style manor as they showed on TV. What she saw befuddled her, as it shattered her predictions.

They pulled up along the perfectly landscaped drive and came to a stop. A man dressed in black, with white gloves, opened the car door. He bowed as she handed him her invitation.

He led her up the stone steps to a breathtaking manor. Dark stone and wood siding were used to construct the exterior of the manor, making it country luxe at its core, like a modern log cabin, with chimneys standing like turrets. Warm interior lighting shone through the open windows in welcome.

The butler opened the door for Ava with a flourish, ushering her into a multi-story foyer, with a glowing chandelier made of antlers.

“Welcome, Ms. Sims,” he said. “Please join the others in the great room.”

A crackling fire was burning within an opulent fireplace with a dark, molded hearth.

An attendant added another log, causing embers to pop.

The large bearskin rug failed to detract from the room’s focal point.

Another antler chandelier, smaller than the foyer, emitted a soft glow around the room.

The heads of various animals lined the walls—deer, moose, boar, lion, white rhino, bear, zebra, and taxidermy animals in different poses, lined shelves or stood on the floor in different poses—fox, hare, pheasant, raccoon, calf, and a cougar.

It was disturbing to peer into the glass eyes staring back at her. But the others quickly grabbed her attention.