Corrupt(24)

I pulled my hand out of Michael’s. How far would I go?

I held out my hands, stepped toward the noises, and shook my head, wondering instead if I’d ever stop.

I knew from pictures that the catacombs were a small collection of tunnels and vaults, or rooms, underneath the church, and I wasn’t waiting for an invitation from him or his permission. He brought me down here, he wanted to play with my head, but I wasn’t playing anymore. I’d do it myself.

And he seemed to finally realize that. He hooked the inside of my elbow and jerked me back. I let out a small gasp as I stumbled.

“You stay with me down here, you understand?”

I stood still and remained silent as I swallowed the lump in my throat. He’d suddenly become more protective than he had been upstairs. Why?

He took my hand, pulling me gently along down the tunnel. My legs broke out in chills, but my neck and face heated up as the moaning and deep male voices got closer and louder.

Michael made a turn, taking me with him as we rounded a corner—or a doorway, I couldn’t be sure—and slowed our walk as the air suddenly changed, smelling of sweat, hunger, and men. My heart pumped in my chest so hard it hurt, and I couldn’t slow my breathing.

A young woman’s moans and pleasure-filled panting filled the air, and I instantly touched my blindfold, the urge to take it off strong.

But I held back. I didn’t want to give him an excuse to send me back upstairs.

I dropped my hand and let Michael take me further into the room. At least I thought it was a room. He stopped, both of us facing the sounds, and my whole face warmed with embarrassment. I turned my head, my nose touching the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

“Ah, Christ,” a guy groaned. “Fuck, she feels good. You like that, don’t you, baby?”

I heard her sexy, lustful laugh as she breathed hard, and my stomach flipped, hearing the sounds of approval and laughter around the room.

From all the men. Oh, God.

I opened my mouth in shock, speaking quietly to Michael. “Are they hurting her?” I asked, knowing he could see everything.

“No.”

I licked my lips, listening to the grunting and kissing, the gasping and growls. Was she the only girl in here?

I faced the noises again. “Are they…?” I trailed off, not sure how to ask what I wanted to know.

“Are they what?” Michael’s low voice taunted.

I opened and closed my mouth, hating the amusement I caught in his tone. He was laughing at me.

I cleared my throat. “Are they….” I inched out, “Are they f*cking?”

I rarely ever used that word, but it felt appropriate.

The sound of skin hitting skin, hard and fast, filled the room, with the girl’s moans matching the rhythm, and I gritted my teeth to stifle the groan in my own throat, feeling the heat grow between my thighs.

“Michael?” I called when he didn’t answer me.

But he still said nothing. A white-hot heat fell on my left cheek, and I turned my head to face him.

“Are you staring at me?” I whispered.

“Yes.”

My breathing got shallower, and I adjusted my hand in his, not sure if it was his sweat or mine I was feeling.

“Why?” I asked.

He hesitated a moment before answering. “You surprised me,” he said quietly. “Do you use the word ‘f*cking’ a lot?”

My shoulders started to drop. Was I too crude?

“No,” I admitted, looking away. “I—”

“It sounds good on you, Rika,” he cut me off, putting me at ease. “Use it more often.”

Excitement rushed under my skin, and I wasn’t sure I would heed his request, but I smirked anyway. I didn’t care if he saw it.

The men in the room started to roar, and I wasn’t sure what was happening, but they were getting more excited.

“They are, aren’t they?” I asked again, but I really didn’t need Michael to confirm.

If the panting and the dirty words weren’t enough to give it away, I couldn’t mistake the pleasure in her hot, sweet whimpers that picked up rhythm, going faster and louder as the heated vibes of the onlookers surrounded me. I could only picture what was happening to her.

“Why are people watching them?” I asked.

“For the same reason you want to,” he shot back. “It gets us excited.”

I paused, thinking about that one. Did I want to watch?

No.

No, I didn’t want to see her on display for anyone that cared to look. I didn’t want to see all these guys—and a few girls, from the voices I heard—watching her do something that should be private. And no, I didn’t want to know who she was or the guy she was f*cking, so I wouldn’t have to think about what I’d seen every time I ran into them in the halls at school.

But…

“Fuck,” she whispered, sounding so desperate and high. “Oh, God. Harder.”

But maybe Michael was a little right. Maybe I wanted to see what she looked like and what she was feeling written all over her face. Maybe I did want to see the men watching her, because I wanted to know what turned them on, see the lust in their eyes, and feel a measure of it when I looked at them.

And maybe I wanted to see Michael watching her. To see if there was need and hunger there, and how hot it would feel to be her and have his eyes on me like that.