The Game by L.P. Lovell

15

“Climb over, little lamb.”

The wind rushes past me as I cling to the metal bridge railing. It howls over the low thrum of traffic crossing behind me, almost drowning out the thundering of my heart.

I glance back at Tobias, waiting for him to laugh, to tell me this is another sick little joke, but he doesn't. He expects me to climb over and what? Throw myself a hundred and thirty feet into the murky depths of the cold water? And if I don’t? Will he consider it defiance and award me my final strike?

Although everything inside me tells me not to move, I do. I climb over the railing and lean against it, gripping the metal with such force that my fingers grow numb. My hair catches in the breeze and wraps around my neck like a noose. I wonder if it’s a sign…

The black depths of the water below beckon with the promise of an easy out. After all, I have nothing. At this point, I’m not even sure I have my sanity. I lean forward, watching the lights of a barge as it passes beneath me, then I look over my shoulder at the two men lingering in the dark shadows.

Curiosity dances across Preston’s face as he studies me. Tobias, though, is more passive. His expression is one of indifference. Like he couldn't care less whether I jump or not. That thought hurts, and why? Am I so desperate, so lonely that I need these depraved creatures to care? Would either of them try to stop me if I lean forward a little more— if I dangle one foot off this ledge? I want to believe one of them would, but I'm nothing more to them than a broken little toy. Something to be used and discarded. Discarded...

The wind picks up, carrying with it the foul scent of the river below.

Tobias steps into the moonlight. The way the shadows settle along his defined jaw makes him look even more cold and unmoving than usual. “The game is simple, little lamb,” Tobias says. “You can jump. End this madness right now, or you can stay with us. Which will it be?”

“I'm already staying with you.”

Preston trails a finger over the back of my neck. “Permanently.” The word seems to hang in the air and a very real fear works up my spine. “If you make it through the next four days, the game ends. And then what, sweet Ella?”

My hold on the metal railing tightens as the reality before me settles in. They never make it past day three. That statement echoes through my head like the clang of a bell. How many girls have they done this to? How many have jumped to their deaths instead of choosing to stay with them? And how awful must they be for someone to choose death over them? But I know how bad they are, don’t I? My palms grow slick with sweat and threaten to slip from the railing as I wonder if maybe the other girls were so desperate and lost, they’d have chosen to jump anyway, without the aid of Tobias and Preston. Or perhaps I’m the one who is lost because some twisted, damaged part of me wants them, even needs them, despite how horrible they are

“You could be ours, sweet Ella.”

“Or you could end it all.” Tobias pulls a cigarette from his coat pocket and lights it, nodding toward the water. “Does it not seem peaceful to you? The sheer nothingness and lack of existence?”

I follow his gaze, wondering what that moment where everything just stops would feel like. No one would miss me. Not a soul would care. The only people who would even know I was gone are the two men standing here with me, playing with me as though my very life were nothing more than a form of entertainment.

“Does it call to you, little lamb?” There's an amusing edge to Tobias' voice.

“Yes,” I whisper. It shouldn’t but it does. I lean away from the railing a little more, startling when Preston’s hand sweeps my cheek.

“Oh, how I would miss you, sweet Ella,” .

“At least someone would,” Tobias adds. “It must be so desperately lonely, having no one.”

It is desperately lonely. And with that thought, I let one foot hang over the edge. Something is exhilarating and freeing in watching it dangle freely with nothing but the void beneath it. The sensation is empowering, and it grants me a sense of control that I haven’t felt in so long. My heart hammers against my ribs. Fear tightens my chest. I'm scared to die, but I long for peace. I want… I want...

“But you have us,” Preston says. “You could have us permanently.” His fingers clamp around my wrists and he tugs me back against the railing. “Careful, sweet Ella.”

I turn on the narrow ledge to face him, my hold tightening on the metal rail that separates us. Standing on the edge of this bridge, death on one side, and Preston on the other, makes me feel alive, and isn’t that ironic? He grabs my other wrist, sweeping his thumb over my racing pulse as his warm breath caresses my lips. He leans in like he’s going to kiss me. “Move closer to the edge.”

I hesitate.

Tobias shifts behind Preston. “Do you want to know what it feels like to be free, little lamb?”

“Do you trust me?” Preston asks, a wicked smile curling his lips.

“Move closer to the edge, Ella.” There’s a sick lilt to Tobias’s voice. “See what freedom feels like.”

If these men want to kill me, they will whether or not I back toward the edge. Preston could easily shove me. Tobias could shove me. If I climb over and try to run, they could catch me and toss me over. It doesn’t matter what I want really, they’ll do as they please. Unless I jump...

Adrenaline crackles through me like an angry hit of heroin. Before my actions register, I inch toward the edge until the only thing keeping me from plummeting to my death is Preston’s hold on my now outstretched arms. My heels hang over the edge and I teeter, my heart stalling as the wind roars around me. I tip my head back until I can see the stars twinkling above us, hear the slap of the water hitting the foundations of the bridge. It’s as though the world has become a symphony destined to lure me to my demise.

“Just say the word, sweet, sweet Ella.” Preston’s grip loosens.

My lungs falter. Everything in me locks up, my mind coming to a full stop. Death is so final and the thought of it paralyzes me. Jump or stay with them. Stay with them or jump. Preston’s hold begins to slip.

They may do terrible things, and they may ask me to do terrible things, but a depraved part of me wants to be the only one to survive them. I clamp my fingers around Preston’s wrists.

“What’s the matter, little lamb?” Tobias coos over Preston’s shoulder. “Afraid?”

The smirk on Preston’s face causes a tremor of panic to rip through me. Is he going to let go?

“Don't let me fall,” I beg. “Please. I choose to stay.” His expression shutters. Have I made a grave error in placing myself in his hands? Has this all just been a trick, and they always meant for me to die? “I—”

He yanks me forward. My stomach meets the cool railing before he drags me over the side to safety. The minute my feet hit the solid bridge, every bit of strength leaves me, and I collapse into him.

“Beautiful, Ella,” he whispers as he pulls my face into the crook of his neck. “I'll never let you fall.”

“Very well then,” Tobias says, already heading toward the end of the bridge. “We should leave.”

That’s it, as though we just completed a business deal. Like he didn’t just try and persuade me to kill myself. Each step I take is unsteady, my mind fogged with a multitude of what the fucks. What did I almost do? What have I done by choosing to stay?

Questions swirl through my head as we make our way across the bridge and back to the waiting car.

Tobias ushers me into the back seat, and the moment the door closes, life is back to normal. Tobias on one side of me and Preston on the other.

Preston smiles at me, stroking his knuckles over my cheek. A newfound connection swirls between us, one forged at the precipice of death.

Tobias grips a handful of my hair and tugs me closer, until his lips are on mine, brutally kissing me. “I'm so glad you decided to stay, little lamb.”

My emotions swing on a pendulum between desire and disgust, right and wrong. I want this man more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. I crave his form of degradation, his touch—and why? Five minutes ago, he was willing to let me jump from a bridge. Why do I want him? Why do I like whatever the hell this is?

“Tell me the rules,” he whispers against my mouth.

“Never leave.” I open my mouth, allowing his tongue to sweep against mine. “Never speak of this. Never fall in love. Don’t ask questions. . .”

His hold on my hair tightens. “And what’s the last one, little lamb?”

“Submission,” I breathe.

My eyes may be closed, but I feel him smile against my lips. “Yes. Submission.” Then he yanks my hair hard enough to snap my head back. “Your complete, unfailing submission.” His lips brush my throat.

“You belong to us now, sweet Ella,” Preston’s warm breath washes across the other side of my neck as he takes my shirt strap and slips it off my shoulder. My jumbled thoughts cease under their combined touch, making me incapable of doing anything but feeling. Tobias said complete, unfailing submission, and while that should terrify me, it doesn’t. Because I want to submit to them. I want to belong to them, to have no one except them. Because I believe there may be a certain freedom in that, a degree of safety in being theirs.

Preston tears my shirt away from my body and palms my breast while Tobias’s hand inches up my thigh. My legs shamelessly part for him, and a low laugh slips from his throat as his fingers brush over my panties. Just a simple touch shouldn’t bring me so close to coming undone, but the combination of these two men touching me does.

Preston’s hand leaves my breast and he grabs the column of my throat, forcing my face away from Tobias. “My turn,” he says, then claims my mouth while Tobias thrusts his fingers deep inside me.

They are two sides of a coin. Fear and adrenaline. I can’t have one without the other, and maybe it’s that danger that makes this such a rush.

Preston breaks the kiss and leans over me to Tobias. The two, beautiful men draw together like a magnetic force. My heart rate climbs as their lips meet in a violent clash of teeth. Tobias laces his fingers through mine now tangled in Preston’s hair. It’s too much and not enough. I need more of them—all of them—but as soon as the thought tumbles through my head, they’re breaking apart.

“We’re home, little lamb.”

Tobias takes care, covering my breast with my shirt before the car door opens. I like that he doesn’t want anyone else to see me.

I stumble out after Tobias with Preston behind me, guiding me to the front of the building. My heart pounds in anticipation. Surely this isn’t where the night ends? These two men are too hungry, too ravenous, and so am I.

When we reach the penthouse, they lead me to the bedroom, and my gaze lands on the crumpled sheets. Was it only just this morning that they fucked me, and already I feel starved of sex, needy, horny? Desperate for every sordid thing they can give me.

Preston’s chest meets my back seconds before my shirt is removed. He slowly undresses me, and I know it’s a show for Tobias whose hungry gaze drifts over each exposed inch of my skin. For a second, I allow myself to pretend I’m not their toy, but that they’re mine. The thought emboldens me, and I slowly trail my fingers over my stomach, my breast, rolling my nipple between my fingers. Something dangerous flickers in Tobias’s eyes, but aside from that, he remains completely stoic. Preston, however, groans. “Oh, sweet Ella. Sometimes I think you're not so sweet.”

“Perhaps we've corrupted her,” Tobias says, his lips curling in amusement. “Have we tainted our innocent little lamb?”

Yes, I think they have. Corrupted. Tainted. Changed.

“Get on the bed,” Tobias commands.

I lie down, and they move to opposing sides of the bed. Alone, they’re each beautiful and terrifying. Together, they’re intimidating, powerful, perfect. Their predatory gazes; the unbridled hunger in their eyes sends a thrilling jolt through me. They are two of the most powerful men I've ever met and yet they stare at me as though I’m something to be savored. Used and abused. And it leaves me deliciously unnerved.

“Are you hungry, Preston?” Tobias asks, his intense gaze never leaving my body.

Preston yanks his shirt over his head with a grin. “Oh, I'm always hungry for sweet Ella.” His jeans hit the floor next, and then, he's naked and crawling onto the bed.

I spread my legs for him, and his grin widens as he inches between them. “And you're always so willing, aren't you, Ella?” His face lowers to my chest and his tongue flicks over my nipple.

“Yes,” I gasp.

He pinches my nipple between his teeth, stretching the flesh and releasing it with a small bite of pain before he works his way down my stomach then between my legs.

My head falls back on a staggered groan when his tongue swipes across my pussy. This feels too good, and I lose myself in it for a few moments until I notice Tobias moves around Preston.

His hand trails over his back, his touch sure and possessive. “He's beautiful, isn't he, Ella?” His gaze locks with mine as he slips his hand between Preston's legs and pumps over him.

Preston groans, humming against my pussy. I bite my lip and fight the wave of sensations rippling across my skin. It's so hot, so carnal to watch Tobias’s hand glide over Preston's ass. I can't see what he's doing, but I hear Preston's staggered, hot breaths pant over my sensitive flesh.

“Don’t stop eating her pussy, Preston.”

Preston goes back to work, groaning and panting. His fingers dig into my thighs to the point I’m certain he’ll break the skin, but I don't care. All I can focus on is Tobias's heated gaze focused on me as he pulls pleasure from Preston and Preston pulls pleasure from me.

Within moments, I'm grinding against Preston’s warm mouth, needing more friction.

“Come for me, little lamb,” Tobias commands, his expression feral as he thrusts his fingers inside Preston.

I’m so close to falling off the edge, so close to that bliss, and then, Tobias steps away and slaps Preston's ass. “Now fuck her.”