Wicked Games
Page 28

“Dean!” I gasped as he began to tug my bikini bottom down with his fingers, momentarily jerking my legs together. He left the piece of fabric dangling from one foot, which he had thrown over his shoulder before moving in and nuzzling at my thigh. I squirmed, trying to keep my moans muffled as he moved ever closer toward the spot I needed him the most. “We shouldn’t,” I began to protest and then moaned loudly when his breath fanned across my slit, my hips bucking slightly.
“Hush, woman. I’m busy renewing my alliance with my teammate. I need to win her over if I want her to vote for me,” he said in a husky voice, and his tongue slid lightly along the seam of my skin, already damp. His fingers slid my folds apart and then his mouth moved over my flesh, and I lost the tart reply I’d come up with as his tongue grazed my clit.
And after a few seconds, I didn’t care if the cameras in the forest caught my cries of pleasure after all.
 
***
 
I stared down the endless, sandy beach and had to force myself not to touch Dean. The others lined up on the sand next to us, and as usual, curious glances were being directed our way. I knew they were waiting to see if we’d explode on each other, but the ruse was getting harder and harder to keep up, and I felt their scrutiny intensely.
Next to me, tall and tense, Dean had his arms crossed over his chest, watching our host tensely. If he felt the same awkwardness that I did, he hid it amazingly well.
Down the row, Lana seemed to sense my nervousness, and she gave me a long, meaningful look and a slight tip of her chin as if saying straighten out. Head in the game.
I nodded at her and turned my focus back to Chip. Focus.
“This is your final team challenge,” Chip said in a boisterous voice, as if he were more excited about that than we were. He held up a colorful length of rope. “This will join you to your teammate, and together, tied at the waist, you will both make your way through the most grueling obstacle course imaginable.”
Oh gee. Great.
“This last challenge is, of course, for immunity. The two teams that finish last will be taken to Judgment, where one team will be eliminated.”
The last one. We just had to get through this one, and we’d make it past the first round. After that, it would be individual challenges, and our secret alliance would quietly clean up behind the scenes. I wanted to look over at Dean and see if he was relieved or unhappy that we’d soon be lumped in with everyone else, but I didn’t dare glance over.
I remained calm and silent as I was lashed to Dean’s side with a bright purple bungee cord of some kind. It separated us by about a foot—just enough so that we’d trip over each other—and had a bit of give, but not enough. I could quickly see how the producers wanted this challenge to go—one partner dragging the other through the obstacle course. Lovely. I peeked ahead at the obstacles through the trees—yup, sure enough, I could see some sort of swinging vine and a pool of mud up ahead.
Poor Dean, stuck with me.
“Teams ready?” Chip shouted, dragging my attention back, and as one we hunched forward, one knee placed in front of the other, readying to run.
“Last two teams across the finish line head to Judgment.” Chip lowered his arm. “Good luck! Go, go, go!”
The teams surged into action. Dean and I surged forward as well. The rope tying my waist to Dean’s jerked as he leapt ahead, and I had to scramble to keep my feet, the breath sucking out of my lungs. Adrenaline rushed through me and I began to charge forward. I wanted to beat the others at their game, suddenly—show them that Dean and I truly were a force to be reckoned with.
And I really, really did not want to go home tonight.
The first obstacle was a low climbing wall, and the teams crammed together, pushing and jostling to try and get over—not an easy feat considering we were lashed together. Dean was right at my back and nudging my shoulder, and as soon as I felt an ounce of give in the rope, I began to climb, swinging my legs over.
I still wasn’t much of an athlete, but the rush coursing through me helped. I managed to wobble my way down the other side without more than a skinned knee as I fell forward. Dean grabbed me by the arm and helped me back to my feet and we dashed forward.
It wasn’t long before we were ahead of the other teams by a long shot. No surprise, really—Dean was so athletic he was dragging me along when I faltered, and his momentum spurred me on. We’d also had protein (the peanut butter) to fuel us. I was hanging in with him, while my other female competitors seemed to be wilting. Even Lana, who was quick and fast thanks to her tiny frame, wasn’t quite keeping up with Leon.
We were going to win again. Joy surged through me, and I grabbed onto the rope, trying to urge Dean forward. The line of obstacles continued—a rope net, another wall climb, and a digging challenge. Dean seemed full of endless energy, and as other people caught up with us and then fell behind again, pride surged through me. I watched his shoulders flex, tawny with the sun and gleaming with sweat.
Perhaps I was a little too focused on watching my partner, because after we both grabbed onto a knotted rope swing and flung ourselves over a mud pit I landed on my ankle.
There was a nasty pop as my weight landed awkwardly on my foot and pain shot through my leg. I yelped and collapsed, and the short length of rope ensured that Dean fell on me. Pain—red and blinding—flared, and I nearly blacked out.
Dean cursed as he pushed off me, not realizing how hurt I was. “Get up, Abby. We almost have this!”
The pain was excruciating, but some stupid part of me was rushing with adrenaline and at his urging hands, I tried to stand on my foot anyhow… and promptly fell to the ground again as white-hot agony shot through me. Dean fell back over me again.
As we fell back to the ground, I saw the first team rush past us, heading for the finish. It was close.
“My ankle,” I said, my voice sounding too close to tears. “I can’t walk.”
“We have to finish or we’ll be eliminated,” Dean said, trying to help me up. “You have to try and walk. Just a few feet.”
I nodded and leaned on Dean, trying to shift my weight so I could limp along with him. We did that for a few moments. One team whizzed past us, then another. I made a frustrated sound in my throat, and Dean sucked in a breath. He was thinking the same thing I was—if we were one of the last two teams, we’d be on the chopping block. The last place I wanted us to be. But I couldn’t seem to swallow the agony. The pain was overriding all rational thought as I leaned heavily on him.
Another moment later, Dean hesitated. I thought he was going to get mad at me for my slow limping, but to my surprise, he swung me up in his arms. “It’s okay, baby,” he whispered and pressed his mouth to my hair, hauling me into his arms. “Almost done.” I buried my face in his chest as he carried me across the finish line, moving heavily into last place.
All my fault.
 
***
 
I hung my head at the Council of Judgment as Chip stood in the front, ready to read the votes. The questions we’d received from him hadn’t been warm and had mostly been about how I was dragging my team down. There wasn’t a lot of sympathy in the expressions of my other competitors, either. One or two had a look of glee on their faces, though they’d tried to hide it. After all, I was pretty much out of the water in any sort of physical challenge. The last team immunity and I’d lost it for Dean.