Page 22 of Enter if you Dare: Part One

The net shifts, and I manage to get turned around enough that I am facing forward rather than sideways. Cave has moved from the doorway and is leaning against the far wall. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a flower. Noa follows my eyeline and stills behind me.

“Fine, tell me what I was supposed to know before running then,” I say to the men.

Cipher unfolds his arms and rests his hands on his knees. “The chases are consensual.”

“Nixie told me that part.”

“She told you the version she tells everyone. What she didn’t tell you is that for some people, it doesn’t end with being caught. For some people, the night keeps going.”

I glance down at him and Cave, then it hits me. “Things go further.”

Cipher nods. It’s then that I remember the story Kayla told me about her guys, and my eyes widen. “All three of you?”

“Yes,” Noa whispers from behind me.

“All of you at the same time?”

My pulse races as panic soars. I just met them. That is a lot of dicks at once; I would be like a stuffed pig on a spit.

Noa laughs, and I realize maybe I spoke aloud. “It doesn’t have to be at the same time, Valli. That can be a logistics conversation for another time,” he reassures me.

“Noa,” Cipher warns.

“What? I’m being honest with her. If she wants to be a pig on a spit for us, I am more than happy to accommodate her wishes.”

“It doesn’t have to be any of that,” Cipher explains to me. “Not the sex, not with all of us, or any of us. Tonight was supposed to be a trial run. We wanted to see how comfortable you are here, if the chase felt right for us and for you. We don’t normally do them, and honestly, we didn’t know how Cave would react. This is all based on you and how you feel.”

So I consider it all for a moment. I loved running and being chased—only by Cave. With the other guy it was too real, as he actually wanted to hurt me. And I’ve been in the cornfield at night and Cave was fine; so far he has done nothing to scare me.

“What if I don’t want the chases to be all this is?” I say.

Cipher nods. “Then we talk. You need to sign contracts, we need to know your limits, and we won’t touch you until we know what they are.”

“And what about Cave? Nixie tried to warn me about him.”

Cipher looks over at Cave, and once he nods, Cipher clears his throat. “He has a tendency to become territorial when he decides something is his. Over the cornfield, me, and even Noa.”

“What, me? Really? Oh, I feel so loved. I figured he just put up with me,” Noa pipes in.

Cipher shakes his head. “Cave doesn’t put up with anyone else. He likes the sound of your voice.”

“How territorial?” I ask, before Noa’s ego gets so big we’re stuck up here forever. Noa puts his chin on my shoulder.

“He followed Vero for three days after he took one of his coats without asking. He didn’t chase him or touch him, simply appeared wherever Vero was and stood there,” Cipher explained. “Vero came to my shed on the third day and told me he was certain Cave was trying to absorb his soul. This was over a jacket—now imagine what he would do for something more important.”

“That’s a terrible example,” Noa interrupted. “Someone thought it would be funny to put their hands on Cipher during a chase, though it was just a shove, nothing serious. Cave broke two of their fingers before anyone could intervene, and Clay had to use a Taser to take the big guy down. We don’t actually know how Cave was aware it happened. Which, when you think about it, is either comforting to know he is watching or terrifying because he appears out of nowhere.”

I gaze over at Cave, who is simply watching for my reaction. He is still holding the flower, which looks like something he made, but I can’t tell from up here.

“Can I see that?” I ask him.

He crosses the shed, and where I hang in the net puts me roughly at eye level with him. He holds the flower out, and I take it, pulling it through the mesh. “Thank you.”

Cipher finally stands and unknots the rope from the wall, lowering the net slowly until Noa and I are an inch off the floor and can step out. Noa stretches his back, and it clicks like someone twice his age. I step out and look down at the flower. Could I really want this with them?

What else do you have in your miserable life? I lecture myself. Work, and bailing your shitty brother out of hard situations. Why don’t you do something for yourself for a change?

My inner voice is a tad bitchy tonight; maybe I should have eaten before coming here.