Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Fuck.
You must fuck.
But now that I had agreed to be part of The Hunt, it only made sense that I attended tonight.
Or at least that was what I was going to keep telling myself to silence the warning bells going off in my head.
But was going to The Vault pushing it too far?
Locke had forbidden it, and even if he hadn’t, I had never been sexually bold before.
At least not before agreeing to be part of The Hunt the other night.
Now, I was morphing into something… else.
The thumping bass of the drums grew louder and louder. The line to get in snaked around the block, giving us no choice but to join the masses. When we finally approached the entrance, I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Fiora was grinning from ear to ear, already slipping on her mask in anticipation. A sense of anonymity washed over me as I made my way inside.
I hoped my butterfly covering would be enough for Locke to not spot me in the crowd, but knowing him… it was only a matter of time until he did.
The bouncer at the door gave us a onceover, his eyes lingering on Fiora’s barely-there outfit. I could see the lust in his eyes when he cast his attention on hers and then the look of disinterest when he scanned my plain black dress I wore that didn’t scream sexy in the slightest.
As we stepped into the main room, I was hit with a wave of sensory overload. The air was thick with the scent of sweat and sex, and bodies writhed together on the dance floor. I could feel the heat of their passion from where I stood, and a flush crept up my neck.
Men in black cloaks chanted, drums were beaten by large leather mallets, animal pelts hung around them, bones dangled in the shadows, and everything screamed ritual.
The club was a riot of color and sound. People were dancing everywhere, their bodies writhing to the beat of the music. Some were dressed in elaborate costumes, while others wore nothing but a provocative grin.
Wild abandon surrounded us.
Fiora grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the bar. “Let’s get a drink,” she shouted over the music. “And then we can explore.”
I nodded, grateful for the distraction.
When we finally made it through the masses, the room was nothing but writhing bodies and pulsing lights. I could feel the heat from the tightly packed bodies around us, and my breaths came in short, sharp gasps.
There were far too many people around the bar to ever have a chance of actually getting a drink unless we were super aggressive. The good news about all the bodies was it made it easier to blend in. Locke actually may not be able to spot me after all with how many people were here.
Aside from appearing to have the entire population of Heathens Hollow present, it seemed as if half of Seattle had made the trip to the island to attend as well.
Fiora leaned in close to my ear, her breath hot against my skin. “This is a lost cause. Too many people here. Let’s go dance instead,” she shouted over the music. “I want to feel the energy.”
As we made our way through the crowd, I saw things that made my eyes widen in shock. Couples were openly having sex on the dance floor, and in dark corners of the club. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.
As we danced, a pair of hands slid around my waist, pulling me into a body that was hard and lean. I was about to pull away, but the scent of sandalwood and leather wrapped around me, and my resolve melted away.
I turned, coming face to face with a man who was a perfect stranger, but who seemed to understand everything I needed in this moment. His dark eyes danced with mischief behind the wolf mask he wore.
It was just a dance. It was just a night.
I needed to let go, right?
But what about Locke? It was just a matter of time until he found me here, and once he did, my dancing intimately with a strange and masked man would only enrage him further.
I knew I shouldn’t be doing this, but something about the danger made it all the more thrilling.
In that moment, with the stranger’s hands on my hips, his body pressed against mine, I couldn’t find it in me to care about anything but right now.
The music shifted, becoming slower and more sensual. The chants became haunting, and the drums nearly pulled the heathen from each and every one of us.
Bodies around us moved with a new rhythm, and I felt the stranger’s hands tighten around my waist. His lips brushed against the shell of my ear, sending shivers down my spine.