Run (8 page)

All the while Mr. Briggs spoke, Dare O’Shaughnessy remained focused on her. Aya couldn’t see him because she refused to look in his direction. She could feel him. Raising her chin slightly but not making eye contact with anyone in particular, Aya refused to keep her head down. All she had left was her pride and even that was hanging on by a thread.

“…and that’s how the game will proceed. But first, you’ll have thirty minutes to inspect all thirty-two women. You may touch them but please be mindful of the other patrons and try not to monopolize any of the women for any length of time.” This last bit did draw Aya’s attention. She took a step backward in reaction only to find that one of the big goons who’d forcefully undressed that poor woman was standing directly behind her.

Like a pack of vultures circling their next meal, the patrons converged on the women. Immediately three of the patrons stood in front of her; one man old enough to be her father, the other her grandfather and another whose beady eyes and pencil thin mustache gave him a weasel-like appearance.

“What’s your name, little darling?” The oldest man in the bunch asked. He reached out to touch her face but she flinched away.

The goon behind her gripped her by the upper arms, holding her still.

The old man chuckled. “A feisty one. I like that. I see you have a bracelet. You’d make a fine catch. Pretty dark skin. I haven’t had one like you before.” He could have been talking about an animal from the way he addressed her. He trailed his fingers down her arm and she just barely resisted the urge to kick him in his balls. “What’s your name?” he asked again.

When she didn’t answer right away, the goon squeezed her arms so hard she gasped in pain. “Aya.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. You’d do quite nicely for my collection. Of course, I did promise my wife I wouldn’t bring anymore new women home for us to house but with the allowance she receives, I’m sure she’ll get over it with some retail therapy.” He cackled at his own joke while Aya felt nothing but disgust. She’d heard about men having their own personal harems. It was like a status symbol for them.

Aya didn’t bother to hide the disgust she felt for this geezer. “You’ve had your time with her, Victor. I believe it’s my turn.” The one who looked only a little younger than the first man nudged him aside. “Hello darling.”

Aya refused to speak. She glared at him. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You don’t have to talk. We won’t need words for what I have planned for you. Why don’t you turn around and show me your ass.”

Without even giving Aya the chance to refuse, the goon forcibly turned her around until her back was to the patron. “Magnificent,” he murmured. And just as casually as he’d spoken, he palmed her bottom and gave it a squeeze. “Very nice indeed. Have you ever been fucked here?”

She gritted her teeth as rage bubbled to the surface. “Take your fucking hands off of me,” Aya barely managed to get out. A vein throbbed in her forehead and the little bit of self-control she’d clung so desperately to was now gone. She brought her foot down on his foot as hard as she could.

Unfortunately for her, she was barefoot and the pervert sported boots that seemed to be made of sturdy material which did more harm to her than to him. He chuckled seemingly amused like the first one. He chuckled. “Now, I can see why she’s wearing a bracelet. For such a little thing, she’s got a lot of fire. I’ll definitely be setting my sights on you, darling.”

The goon stared down at her, his eyes narrowed. “You try something like that again and you’ll regret it. Got me?”

“I already regret being here. There’s nothing you can do to me that will make me sorrier than I already am.”

“Behave.” And with that, he turned her back around and this time she faced the weasel. He was a tall thin man and there was something almost sinister in his gaze. He gave her a buck-toothed grin.

“You’re going to be fun.” Without warning, he pinched her nipples so hard she cried out. “You have a lot of fire, yes, but the best thing about fire is that it can be put out.” And just as quickly as the assault began, it ended giving Aya very little time to react.

Unlike the other two lechers, the weasel didn’t linger and he moved on to another unlucky woman. Aya had made her mind wander to make it through as the next rounds of men approached to ‘inspect’ her. What surprised her, however, was the one person she had expected to see didn’t come over to her. Still, she refused to seek him out. He was probably taking his sick pleasure in seeing her in this position.

Finally, after what felt like hours instead of the allotted thirty minutes, the patrons were called to another room for a light lunch before the hunt began. The women, were herded toward another exit to where Aya could only assume was the gaming grounds. When she would have joined the rest of the ladies, the goon who had guarded her held her in place.

What was going on? Was she going to be punished for lashing out at a patron? But, then, the goon released her and headed toward the exit leaving her in the middle of the room with one man leaning against the wall, his lips curled in a half smile, half smirk.

“Things could have been different, Aya.”

It was her nightmares come true.

Dare had anticipated this moment from the time he knew she’d signed on for The Run. Truth be told, he would have preferred that he didn’t have to expend so much energy just to have this one woman in his bed. But somehow, Aya Smith had become a bit of an obsession for him. She’d caught his eye albeit briefly even from across the street. Despite her small stature, she was the kind of person who was larger than life. She had that certain something about her that made people want to be close to her without quite knowing why.

Sure, she was attractive, but he’d had many beautiful women. It intrigued and angered him at the same time that Aya had consumed so much of his time since their initial confrontation. She’d taken over his fantasies as he imagined all the dirty things he intended to do to her.

He’d already pictured her undressed in his mind, but his imagination hadn’t prepared him for the real thing. She was nothing short of magnificent with breasts just big enough to fill his hands capped with nipples like succulent blackberries. Her tiny waist flared out to round hips and her ass was high and round. There wasn’t a single flaw that he could tell.

He wanted her on his dick right here and right now but he had already decided their first time together would be more than just a quick fuck on the floor. He wanted to properly savor his victory.

Dare wasn’t used to being thwarted but he couldn’t help but admire how spirited she remained despite her current circumstances. She was a Dreg, the bottom of the social order. He had expected someone like to her jump at his original offer but she’d surprised him. Even as he set forth his campaign to show her she’d made a huge mistake, he’d expected her to come to him. And when she didn’t, it had surprised him. Dregs were always looking for handouts. He didn’t think she’d turned him down because of some high moral code she held. She was holding out for a higher prize. Everyone had a price. Even Aya Smith, whether she wanted to admit it or not. She made a worthy adversary, but in the end this was a war he intended to win.

She scowled at him, tapping her small foot against the hardwood floor. “Are you here to gloat?”

“I have no need to gloat. I told you what would happen in the beginning. You chose not to believe me.”

“Well congrat-freakin-lations. What do you want? Shouldn’t I be outside with the rest of the women?”

“This is one of the perks of being the boss, Aya. I get to do what I want.”

“Again, congratulations.” She rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest, obscuring his view of her breasts.

“You have a lot of attitude for someone in your position, but we’ll fix that. When I have you—”

“What makes you think I’ll allow myself to be caught? Maybe, I’ll make it out.”

Dare narrowed his eyes, while he found her spirit amusing to a point, he was getting tired of her incessant backtalk. It was time to remind her of a few things. “Trust me, Aya, you will be caught. And when I have you, not only will you do what I say, you will love it. How well you’ll be treated will depend on my largess. And if you behave, maybe your uncle won’t spend the rest of his days rotting in a prison cell. I hear it can be pretty rough where he is. I imagine being incarcerated would be stressful for a man of his advanced age.”

Aya’s large brown eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “You asshole!” She charged at him, but he easily caught her against him. The hand she would have used to hit him, he twisted behind her back, applying enough pressure to hold her in place but not to hurt her.

“Did I hit a nerve, Aya? Good, because it’s time that it sank into your thick little skull that you do not cross me and that’s exactly what you did from the very beginning. As I said before, this could have gone a lot easier for you but now you have to pay the price for making me wait. And you know what the ironic part of this whole thing is?”

Her chest rose and fell and she blinked rapidly. She was on the verge of crying and fighting it. “What?”

He smiled. “The irony is that even as you fight so hard against this, you want me, too. I saw it when you looked at me. The attraction is there.”

“I don’t! You disgust me. Just because you have money, doesn’t mean you can have me!” She attempted to twist out of his hold, but Dare applied more pressure to keep her still.

“And that’s where you’re wrong.” He lowered his head to capture her lips beneath his.

Aya wriggled against him, but Dare wouldn’t be denied what he’d wanted for what felt like forever. He cupped the back of her head with his free hand to hold her still as he pushed his tongue against the seam of her lips. When she tried to turn her head away, he followed, determined to taste her sweetness. Releasing her arm, he grasped her by the throat and squeezed just enough to make her gasp.

Taking advantage of her slightly parted lips, he thrust his tongue inside the depths of her mouth. He cock was so hard he thought about changing his plans and fucking her here after all.

She whimpered against his lips and she pressed her hands against his chest but he wouldn’t let go, not when she tasted so good and felt this amazing in his arms. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, biting down gently.

Aya moaned. The hands that had initially attempted to push him away now grasped a handful of his shirt. Without breaking the kiss, he cupped her generous ass and lifted her until his erection aligned with her pussy. She wrapped her legs around him and returned his kiss, matching his passion.

Dare ground his dick against her to relieve the tightness in his balls. He tore his mouth away from hers to attack her neck, nipping and sucking the skin to insure there would be a mark. He wanted Aya to have a constant reminder that she belonged to him.

Realizing if he continued any further he would indeed fuck her right there in the middle of the room, he lowered her to the floor and stepped away. It took a considerable amount of control to pull himself together.

She stared at him with wide-eyed confusion.

“Just as I said. You want me, too, Aya. And you may convince yourself that you hate me, and maybe you do, but your body doesn’t hate me. See you on the hunt.” Dare shoved his hands in his pockets to keep himself from grabbing her again as he walked away.

<><><><><> 

Aya was still rattled from her encounter with Dare by the time she finally joined the other women. She wasn’t sure what had come over her when he’d kissed her. One second she was fighting him off, but the next she’d practically melted in his arms. Something had happened that she couldn’t quite explain. Her knees went weak, her pulse raced and her nipples grew painfully sensitive from the sensation of rubbing against his chest. A fiery ache spread from her core throughout her entire body. Before she realized what was happening, Aya had returned the kiss. But just as quickly as it had begun, it was over leaving her confused and mildly disgusted with herself for responding to him so easily.

She despised him from the depths of her soul which was why she couldn’t figure out her body’s betrayal. It wasn’t like she’d never been kissed or intimately touched before. Though her uncle had discouraged any of the customers at the bar from hitting on her, there had been one or two who had caught her attention. Like any red-blooded woman, Aya had wanted to experience sex first hand instead of what she’d read in books or heard other people say about it. The times she’d managed to be alone with the men who’d caught her interest, sex had been awkward at first but not unpleasant. It was actually nice. But neither of her lovers had come close to making her feel the passionate rush that Dare had with just one kiss. And it gave her yet another reason to hate him.

The guards had lined the women up and handed them each a canvas bag before shoving them into vans. There were three vehicles to accommodate the number of women and Aya was grateful to see Macy’s familiar face, even though the girl sat huddled against the window clutching her bag as if her life depended on it. Aya was seated in the back of the van making it impossible to engage in conversation with her.

Opening her bag to distract herself from the event that lay ahead, she carefully took inventory of each item. Before they’d been lined up, each of the women were fitted with proper running shoes which seemed ridiculous considering they were still stark naked. She doubted the shoes were to give them an advantage, but at least she didn’t have to worry about stepping on the rough terrain of the gaming grounds with bare feet. Aya supposed she should at least be grateful for this little concession.

As she looked through her bag, she noticed it contained survival items that included a couple bottles of water, some freeze-dried food, trail mix, sun screen and a thin blanket. She wished at the very least they would have been given underwear. But Mr. Briggs had stated earlier, when one of the girls had asked why they couldn’t wear clothing as they waited for the supplies, that it gave the hunt authenticity. In Aya’s opinion, it was just another tactic to dehumanize the women involved.

When the vehicle began to move, Aya clutched her supplies tightly to her chest. This was it. She wasn’t sure if she’d make it through the weekend without one of the hunters tracking her but she’d do her damnedest to make sure the one who caught her wasn’t Dare.

The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach made her feel nauseous. It was a testament of her strength of will to hold down the bile that slowly eased its way up her esophagus. It was silent in the van as it ate its way across the rugged terrain of the gaming ground. Aya briefly glanced at a few of the other women. They looked how she felt: terrified and resigned at the same time. One woman cried silent tears while another stared at the door longingly, possibly plotting her escape.

Aya attempted to remember the landmarks they went by in hopes it would help her formulate a plan to navigate the land but all too soon, the vehicle came to a halt. The guards vacated the vehicle first.

“Okay ladies, out.” Without waiting for them to move, the black-clad guard gripped the closest woman by the arm and yanked her out of the van and proceeded to do the same to another.

When he reached for Aya, she flinched away. “I can do this myself.” She glared in his direction as she slid across the seat.

“Shut the fuck up, bitch.” He gripped her arm in a bruising hold. His massive hand was wrapped around her arm like a tight manacle. Without warning, Aya was pulled so hard across the seat and out of the van that she slammed into the guard’s brick-like body.

She attempted to pull her arm away but he squeezed even tighter, cutting off her circulation. Aya gasped. “Lemme go!”

“You have a lot of spirit now but that won’t last for long when they get ahold of you.” And just as quickly as he’d grabbed her, the guard shoved her to the ground.

She cried out as a jarring pain seared through her body from her hip to the top of her spine.

The second guard stepped over in their direction. “You idiot! What the hell did you do that for? You know we’re not allowed to hurt them.”

“Bitch needed to learn her place,” the first guard muttered, shooting a malicious stare in Aya’s direction.

The second guard jerked his thumb toward the vehicle. “Maybe so, but she’ll get hers. She’s labeled. Get back in the van.” Once Aya’s assailant shuffled reluctantly toward the van and got back in, the second guard looked around at the women who had yet to take off. “You guys better get a move on. You have an hour’s head start and you’re going to need every second of it.” He headed to the driver’s side of the vehicle before halting. “Good luck,” he added in what sounded like an afterthought.

Aya remained on the ground as they drove away as if they hadn’t just left them to their doom. When she tried to make it to her feet, she hissed in pain. “Fuck!” Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t check herself to insure nothing was broken. She didn’t have the luxury of time.

A small thin hand touched her shoulder. “Are you all right?” Macy eyed her with concern.

Aya managed a weak smile. “I’ll be fine. I just fell down the wrong way.”

“Are you sure, it looks like you landed pretty hard.”

“Yeah, I just need a minute. Shouldn’t you take off? I don’t want to hold you up.”