Rat Race (Devil’s Playground #2)

21. Aubrey

Aubrey

You did good, you little psychopath.

M aybe Cam was onto something about this winning thing.

Looking out onto the crowd of people, all of them vying for our photo, yelling questions, and overall just treating us like stars was something I’d never experienced in my life.

My after-dark channel had some similar perks along with my sponsorships, but standing here was… enlightening .

They absolutely loved us. Some of them looked at us like we were gods.

I mean, we sort of are.

In the maze, we chose who lived or died. We were the ones who’d stopped Elijah from winning. Collected Hiram’s prize money. Had the most viewership. Held them all in the palm of our hands. Baited breaths waiting at the edge of their seats.

Sounds pretty fucking godlike to me.

I stood straight, trying to ignore the pain traveling through my body form the burns and cuts littering my skin. The after-game medics were great and had dressed my wounds almost as soon as the photo-op at the maze exit was over, but that didn’t mean I was miraculously healed.

It’d been hours since we first stepped into the maze. I’d run for my life, fell from a hole to a shallow, water-filled concrete floor, gotten the life fucked out of me, and almost got burned to a crisp. Tired didn’t even begin to cover it.

I’m ready to get the fuck out of here.

Natalie’s face flashed across my mind. I’d almost forgotten her when Cam entered my life. The way her death was ripped from my hands by Hiram… It hardly seemed like it mattered anymore.

Maybe I should thank her.

As annoying as she fucking had been, she’d also been the reason I entered the Games in the first place. And without entering the maze, I would’ve never met Cam.

The thought was almost enough to make me cringe.

“Thank you,” Cam whispered as we did our obligatory photo-op on the winners’ podium. Their voice sending warm tendrils of electricity down my spine. It was painful having to stand there for all the paparazzi and Devil’s Playground photographers to get their fill when we should’ve been somewhere private enjoying a moment just the two of us.

At the very least, I wanted to thank them properly for saving my life, for choosing me.

What should’ve been five minutes ran on twenty, then thirty.

Cam’s family had left after the blowout, but they seemed like they were surprisingly okay with it. Maybe even a bit lighter, standing tall with their shoulders back proudy for the cameras.

There was no one for me in the audience. The only person I wanted to see was Vic, but God only knew what she was doing after the Games.

I still need to thank her for all the help she gave us. Who knows what we would’ve done if she hadn’t given us that hint?

I turned to Cam, raised an eyebrow at their lopsided, giddy grin.

“Did you hit your head on the way out or something?”

They looked even better under the winners’ spotlight, if that was even possible. Their golden tan skin still slick with a sheen of sweat and dried blood, their hair slightly matted and sticking up at odd angles. It was chaotic, messy.

I absolutely loved it.

I want to lick each and every inch of their muscular arms.

This earned me a chuckle from them, their lips turning into a sensual smile. A hand found my lower back, drawing me closer to a flurry of erratic camera flashes.

“You kept your promise,” they said, dark eyes trailing my body. “You helped me reach my goal.”

They took my hand, drawing it to their lips to place a kiss against my knuckles. It was such a simple gesture, incredibly tame in comparison to the rough fucking I’d ensured in the maze, but had my heart absolutely pounding. I didn’t even know I had the energy left for it to race like it did.

“After we get this grime off us, I’m gonna fuck you so hard you forget everyone you’ve ever been with before me,” I vowed.

This earned me a laugh, Cam’s sharp canine teeth catching the light.

“First the after party, Peaches,” they said. “Then I’m all yours for the takin’.”

“What happened to after the party?” I asked against Cam’s lips as they pushed us into an empty room, their hands pushing the short skirt of my dress up to my waist.

“No one asked you to wear this dress, Peaches,” they muttered through kisses.

The dress in question was skintight pink pleather and hugged my body. It was so tight that I couldn’t even wear any underwear under it. Much less move normally.

Honestly? It was a bit of a relief to have my thighs freed from their sweaty, pleather prison.

Cam took my new found mobility as the perfect opportunity to push me against the wall, fall to their knees, and stick their face between my legs.

They grabbed two handfuls of my ass and forced my cunt to their mouth.

I gasped as their tongue ran along my folds.

“Is this my real thank you?” I asked, my hips jerking against their face.

They hummed against me as they took my clit into their mouth for a heady suck . It absolutely sent me spinning, my hand tangling in their hair and forcing them closer.

Unlike in the maze, it was just me and them.

For the first time, I wasn’t getting fucked for the camera. It was just the two of us in here. Strangely, I felt even more vulnerable than when millions of people were watching.

With the stream, I could hide how I felt through overexaggerated moans and expressions, but with them, I couldn’t. They pulled orgasms out of me with ease and left me writhing with even the simplest of touches.

They controlled me. And that was hard to get used to when I’d spent my entire life in control of everything I laid my eyes on.

Unable to take being worshiped, I tugged them up and forced their lips back to mine. They didn’t fight me, the unspoken request between us loud and clear.

I moaned at the taste of myself on them.

My hand slipped into their suit pants, my fingers coming into contact with wetness.

They groaned against me, their hand coming to rub circles against my clit. Heat unfurled in my belly, my beat-up body feeling like it’d been dunked into a warm bath as my muscles began to loosen at their coaxing touch.

“We don’t have much time,” I breathed. “Better make this fucking worth it.”

They laughed against me before their other hand grabbed the hair at the base of my neck and forced my head back.

“Like you fuckin’ care about time. Keep goin’,” they commanded against my neck, their teeth dragging across the sensitive skin.

I was so taken off guard by their quickness that I forgot what I was doing, but I quickly remedied my mistake and began rubbing hard, fast circles on their clit, pulling a few good moans from them.

I teased their folds before pushing two fingers inside. They did the same to me, both of us writhing against each other as we played.

It should’ve been illegal how fast Cam made me come. Little stars bursting at the corners of my vision as I fucked myself on their hand.

Honestly, it was downright embarrassing.

But when my pussy clenched and a tingling heat started from my core and moved outward, I didn’t complain.

Cam was groaning against me, their movements becoming erratic. Breathing heavy against my neck, and every so often they biting down on my skin, sucking and nipping along my throat.

I hope to God they leave marks.

I came in an explosion of heat, not too unlike the fire I was trapped between in the maze. After all the craziness and barely making it out alive, the orgasm Cam gave me felt like the strongest, most mind-blowing one I’d ever felt. Leaving my legs trembling under my weight and forcing me to lean heavily against the wall of support.

And they didn’t even fucking do much.

“Come for me, cowboy.”

The simple command did it. They fell into me as their cunt clenched my fingers in waves, shudders running through their body as they came. Their hand tightened in my hair like they were worried I’d leave.

I wouldn’t. There was no leaving. They were mine, and I was theirs.

Of that, I was sure of.

They pulled away, a huge smile on their breathless face interrupted by their fingers as they removed them from inside of me and popped them into their mouth to suck them clean.

“ Fucking delicious ,” they groaned, dropping their hand to my waist to crowd me further against the wall. “Do y’know how tempted I was to get on my knees for you after tasting that bat?”

“I bet we taste even better together,” I said with a wicked smile.

Instead of bringing my fingers to my mouth, I forced them into theirs. Cam sucked, tongue rolling around the digits as their eyes narrowed in bliss.

“Fuck, I don’t know how much more I can take. I need you in every way possi?—”

“Clear the room!”

A pounding caught our attention and had us both turning to the door.

Anger ran through me. Can’t they leave us alone? We won, for fuck’s sake. The killer urges from the maze still hadn’t fully disappeared, and I was ready to smash someone’s brain in for even daring to look at us the wrong way. Much less outright interrupt our privacy.

“I guess we gotta make a show of it,” Cam said, sending me a look that told me to cool it.

With a pout, I pushed past them, pulling down my insanely tight dress as I walked.

When I pushed open the door, one of the guards Devil’s Playground employed to watch the winners was waiting outside with a scowl.

“Ten minutes is up,” he said and motioned for us to get out. “You’re lucky I even gave you that much.”

I opened my mouth to say something that would’ve no doubt ruined his day, but Cam was there, their heavy arm over my shoulder in seconds.

“You got it,” they said and pushed us both out of the room and back into the party.

There was a reason I left it in the first place, and it wasn’t just to fuck Cam.

It was overwhelming at best. It wasn’t just the winners who got invited, but also the top twenty contestants, various media outlets, Devil’s Playground higher-ups, previous winners and some randos that had connections with the Games. All of us were forced into a large penthouse that overlooked the area. It was one of the only livable buildings on the island and was reserved for only the most high-profile people in the Games. A sort of box suite to enjoy the Games from.

The lights were dim, music was blasting, drugs were flowing. And there we were, forced to stay and ‘enjoy’ it.

At least they cleaned us up first. I was worried that they would have me parading around in my dried, bloody outfit to make it more interesting.

“Just a few more hours,” Cam whispered in my ear, their hand rubbing soothing circles on my shoulder. “And then I’ll have my face between your legs again, Peaches.”

I shivered at their tone.

“Well, the least we can do is get fucked up,” I said and grabbed two drinks from a server that happened to be passing by. I acted like I was giving it to Cam, but as soon as they reached for it, I jerked it back and downed it.

“Brat,” they said and reached for the other, but I pulled that one away two.

“Oh, sorry, did I say we?” I asked with a raised brow. “I meant me since I helped you win and all.”

They let out an irritated chuckle that warmed my body. “You’re beggin’ for a lesson in manners.”

“You did good, you little psychopath.”

My head swiveled around toward the familiar voice.

Vic stood with her arms crossed and a slight smile on her face, Kohl just behind her shoulder, looking anxious to be in a room so full of people.

I let out an excited squeal and threw my arms around Vic. She let out a laugh but returned my hug, even if her movementions were hesitant.

That’s fine, she’d always been prickly.

“I knew you’d like it! Oh my god look at your hair !” I said and pulled away to look at her. “What are you doing here? Lemme guess, divvying up my prize money?”

It was meant as a joke, but there was no humor in Vic’s face. She looked back at Kohl, who’d been surveying the area, their eyes falling over every single guard before turning back to her and giving her a nod.

“There’s something bigger happening. We need to go back in,” Vic said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I don’t have time to explain all the fucked-up shit that’s happened, but I need help.”

Vic needs help? Out of all the people in the world, Vic would be the last to ask for help from anyone.

“Anything,” I replied quickly.

Cam was by my side, a possessive hand on the small of my back. Vic’s eyes flitted to them, then back to me. Kohl stepped closer, the tension rising.

“Do you trust me?” Vic asked.

“Always. Whatever you need.”

She gave a stiff nod.

“I need you to go back in. I need you to enter Truth or Dare with us.”

My heart skipped a beat in my chest. If it were anyone else, I would turn it down immediately. I had no reason to join the Games. I didn’t want money or fame.

But for a friend…

“Well,” I hedged, giving her a beaming smile. “I have nothing else planned.” I turned to Cam, who was looking at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher. “Are you coming?”

Truth and Dare was more personal than the Maze. A bunch of people put together to have their secrets exposed while millions watched. Cam would learn things about me, I would learn things about them. Dangerous, dark things.

Maybe they won’t like you anymore once they find out.

I pushed the thought away as Cam gave me their award-winning smile.

“You're crazier than a bedbug if you think I'm letting you go in there alone,” they said and pulled me closer, distrust in their eyes as they touched on Kohl.

I leaned into them and looked back at Vic with a smile. “Play hard.”

She offered her hand, which I took immediately to shake. “Win, win.”