Hunted Desires Ch 03

**Ian**

My legs were stuck to the forest ground where I was transfixed by what I saw unfolding before me. All my survival instincts were urging me to look away, to leave them in peace, but I couldn't move. Breathe. Their cries pierced the trees, mingling with the leaves crinkling on the fresh air of night. The noises put Jess into my mind, and my stomach churned. Was she out there somewhere, doing this? The notion whirled me around with. something I did not dare call. The closer I got the more I could smell the aroma of their passion, my own body shuddering with sensory overload.

"Fuck, you feel so big," the woman moaned, her toes curling around behind her lover's back as he drove her deeper into the trunk of the tree.

Alex's words echoed in my head: "Some couples need to leave their comfort zones." I'd nodded, recalling Jess's whispered confessions that night with Carly. "The group activities help break down barriers. Trust me, Ian. The element of surprise. it gets people to let go... to really live the moment."

My hand was laid against a large tree root and I leaned on it. The couple's movement increased in urgency, their shadows spinning beneath the moonlight. I needed to go search for Jess. But what if there was something that these two knew? What if they could tell me what was happening here?

"Oh God, yes," the woman cried out. Her scream rang out through the clearing and I winced. I rocked back on my heels, a branch snapping as I stepped down on it and I breathed softly. Neither of them seemed to notice, so immersed in their own world.

"Say it again!" He snarled as he rammed harder and harder into her without any thought for her well-being.

"I'm yours. I'm fucking... yours... Ugggh," the woman moaned as her orgasm hit her. My mouth was slightly ajar. How could she have- I adjusted the front of my pants not allowing myself to indulge in the thought.

The man's grunts grew louder, more bestial. My cheeks were burning with embarrassment. This wasn't me. I didn't watch people like this. I was not some sort of dirty voyeur. And yet here I was, standing there in agonized indecision and a knot in my pants. After all, wasn't this whole thing my own idea? A means of demonstrating that I was capable of something more than being "sweet, gentle Ian"? Of providing Jess with what I thought she needed?

Finally, mercifully, they finished. The clearing was still except for their heavy breathing. I started to walk away when the man's words stopped me in my tracks. He held up a finger, silencing his friend before she could speak, reaching up to the collar. There was a small click. "Camera's off."

"Thank God," the woman exhaled deeply. "Playing the surprised victim act is exhausting." She shifted her legs and braced herself against the tree with her palm. "Do you think the cameras caught all of that?" she gasped.

I froze in place. Cameras?

The man chuckled, a deep, satisfied sound. "God, I hope so. The way your body was shaking when you came. All of that I'm yours nonsense. They pay a lot for that."

She flushed slightly, biting her lip. "I still can't get over it being so hot still. I figured after the first few hunts it would get dull. Of course, I also can't believe you signed us up for the first one without asking me." Her voice was playful, teasing. "I nearly had a heart attack when they split us up and told us we'd be hunted."

"Mm, but wasn't the surprise half the fun?" He grinned. "The way you weren't sure if it was actually going to be you who caught me. priceless."

"You're terrible," she giggled. "Although I have to say, not knowing what was coming made it so much more... intense."

"Shh," he warned looking up at the top of the tree. "Don't talk so loudly. If someone heard us like this, it'll spoil the experience for the viewers and Alex would murder me. They require real reactions."

Cameras. They'd said it again. My eyes raked the trees, searching the darkness. Nothing was wrong. Just branches and leaves and darkness.

"Did you see anything about all the new faces in here tonight?" the woman asked, smoothing her dress. "Must be getting more popular."

"I couldn't help but have my eyes on the redhead in black," he said. "She looked terrified. I wonder who caught her?"

My stomach clenched at hearing the mention of Jess. I couldn't help but lean against the tree, still frantically searching for any tell-tale signs of surveillance equipment.

"Already thinking about someone else?" she mocked. "Maybe I should remind you why I was the one you picked tonight."

"Maybe," he laughed. "But first." He stretched again to reach his collar. "Camera's back on." His voice shifted, becoming darker, feral. "Run, baby. You've got thirty seconds."

Her fake fear drifted through the blackness. "Leave me alone!"

"Run," he growled. "Before I decide otherwise."

As their words disappeared from my ears, I was gazing once more at the trees with newfound understanding. There, a tiny red recording light. And another. And another. They were a web spreading across the woods, recording each perspective, each moment. How many of them were observing? What had Alex involved us in and why hadn't he warned us about them previously? My mind rewound back to that first encounter in his office two weeks ago.

****

I hadn't spoken to or seen Alex Rothschild since graduation. Despite our parents' shared charity boards and country club memberships, I'd actively distanced myself from it all. Forged my own path, created my own life. Then I'd met Jess - intelligent, down-to-earth Jess - and my parents' disapproval had only strengthened my resolve. My parents had given me an ultimatum: the family social standing or life with her. I chose Jess without hesitation, turned my back on their privileged world of make-believe. And yet here I was, back in Alex's orbit, drawn by whispers of his elite "parties" that circulated through the old social circle during my obligatory holiday visits.

"Ian Thomas," Alex's smile was friendly, despite the chill in his eyes. He gestured to the leather armchair in front of his massive mahogany desk. "The prodigal son returns to the soul-sucking den of capitalism." His grin got wider. "Your words, I believe, if I remember them rightly." He settled back in his chair, every inch the cutthroat investment banker I'd sworn I'd never become.

"People change," I'd said, trying not to wriggle in my department store suit that was at least a size too tight. The same suit I'd bought to impress Jess's parents, to prove that I could still clean up well even after I'd rejected my trust fund.

"Do they?" His eyes narrowed into me like a lab sample. "And what is the reformed idealist doing in my office?"

"I... I've heard about your parties." My mouth had gone dry suddenly and I could feel the beads of sweat forming just below my hairline. "The exclusive ones."

His laughter was cutting, superior. "Did you know? And who was it that can't keep their lip zipped?" He'd stood up, walking over to his window looking out over the city. "Loose lips sink ships and all of that." He cast a glance in my direction, the sneer no longer on his lips and I suddenly recalled why the two of us weren't exactly buddy material in high school.

"I... uh... never mind. I'd like to go to one. With my girlfriend."

"Ian, let me be frank. These parties aren't for the likes of you. The guest list is extremely selective. Business titans. Power brokers. People who value... discretion."

"We can be discreet. Jess and I want to." Heat crawled up my neck. "To find out. Push boundaries."

"Push boundaries? You?" his laughter tore through the room. His face near-contemptuous. "The same Ian who couldn't even handle the debutante balls? These require a certain intensity." His lip curled. "And Jess. if what I've heard is true, she isn't quite made of our stuff, is she?" He moved closer to me, voice dropping. "No, I don't think you've got the right edge for what we do."

He extended his hand, and it was clear that the meeting was over. "It was good seeing you, Ian. Drop by and visit Marcy on your way out. She'll stamp your parking."

I slipped out of his office, his words confirming my worst fear, I wasn't enough for Jess. Not exciting enough. Not adventurous enough. Not...

It wasn't until almost a week later that I got a text at 3AM. I'd almost given up on Alex, had spent sleepless nights in bed beside Jess wondering if I should just accept that I was never good enough for her. My phone screen cut through the darkness: _Perhaps I was too quick to judge an old friend. It took courage in coming to see me. Your persistence over the past few days has been interesting. Let's talk about those parties. My office... Tomorrow._

I stared at the text until my vision blurred, Jess's regular breathing in contrast to my racing heart. Seven days of tightly written emails, each more and more urgent, had finally penetrated Alex's shell. Or maybe that's what he'd wanted me to believe. Even at school, Alex had moved people like pawns on a chessboard, never less than three steps ahead. But there in the shadows, looking at Jess's face in the dim light of my phone, I didn't care. This was my chance to be the sort of man she deserved.

By the time morning came, I was straightening my tie in the reflection-filled elevator of his building, stomach churning with equal parts excitement and fear. The heaviness of what I was doing, what I was possibly getting us into, weighed on my shoulders. And yet I couldn't help it. Not when I was so close to proving Alex wrong about me, to getting Jess what she actually desired.

"I've been considering," Alex said, not even glancing up from his papers. "Maybe I jumped to conclusions too quickly. New blood would be... interesting."

"What changed your mind?"

His smile had been mysterious. "Let's just say I perceived potential. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Ian."

"What really happens at these parties?" I'd asked, trying to sound casual. "I mean, how far do people go?"

"That's all in the players' hands." He'd started shuffling papers on his desk. "Every person has their or her own level of comfort. His or her own desires."

"The night starts off like any other," he barely looked at me. "Drinks, dancing. Then we do a couples' break-up. Builds tension." He'd smiled to himself over some inside joke. "The hunt is the real excitement."

"The hunt?"

Alex shrugged, his expression thoughtfully blank. Another sheet crossed the mahogany desk. "Sign here."

"What are they?"

"Standard NDAs. Waivers of liability. Nothing to worry about." He'd waved the air. "The issue is, making sure everyone feels at ease. That's why we use the pendants."

"Pendants?"

"Safety beacons. One pull, and everything stops. Though," he'd slow-drawled with a wicked grin, "in three years, no one has ever used one. People learn they're... braver than they anticipate."

I'd signed sheet after sheet, each time asking for clarification. Alex had always provided me with exactly what I'd wished to hear. "So couples would observe one another?" He'd nod. "Perhaps engage with others?" Another nod. It had all seemed so consciously evasive, and yet somehow exactly what I'd required to legitimize each signature.

"Just remember," he'd told me when I hit the last page, "once you get things started, they can get intense. Some couples find it... overwhelming at first. But that's normal. Natural even."

"What do you mean, intense?"

"Let's just say it makes people discover who they really are. Who they wish to be." His eyes had locked onto mine. "The thing is, Ian, are you prepared to discover who you really are? Who Jess really is?"

I'd signed the last page without considering.

"Some couples require a push," he'd said. "Trust me, Ian. You'll both be thanking me once you've done it."

****

I gazed out at the house in the distance, lights just visible through the dense woods. The answers were in there somewhere. But Jess was out here, being hunted. Being... tested.

A scream pierced the night, distant but clear. My heart stopped. Was that her? Was this how it was all supposed to go down?

I clapped my hands across my eyes, focusing. I had to find Jess. I couldn't bear for her to be out here alone with all these... I had to find her.

A scream carried on the wind, but this one was nearer. Different voice. How many were here? How many hunters? How many like Jess, discovering what they really wanted?

"When it starts, you might be uncomfortable," Alex had told him, shoving the contract across his desk. "But sometimes discomfort is needed for growth. Do you want to grow, Ian?"

I looked back over my shoulder at the house once before continuing deeper into the night. I needed to find Jess. Needed to see, needed to know if this was what she required. What we required.

The trees seemed to shut in on me as I moved alongside the lights of the manor, using them as a guide. Each step brought me nearer to the house, yet the cries of pain and joy still echoed between the trees, so direction and distance could not be discerned.

Another couple strolled through the undergrowth before me. I clung to a tree, thumping heart, as they passed by. The laughter drifted back, heaving and urgent. "You'll have to catch me first!" Not Jess.

This wasn't how I'd envisioned tonight to turn out. I'd hoped to be with her, to... see her? Escort her? I wasn't even sure what that meant. What the hell was I thinking? Bile burned the back of my throat as I struggled to hold it together. Whatever I thought tonight was going to bring, I hadn't anticipated feeling this.. lost.

An owl hooted in the distance, and I stopped. Moonlight highlighted movement up ahead, shadows shifting against the darkness. A woman was shoved to the ground, her face turned away from me. Something about how she lay there made my stomach curl. This wasn't like the kind of fun interactions I used to see.

Her whimpers sliced the night air, not desire, not pleasure. My legs moved before my head caught up, but I halted abruptly as a second man emerged from the darkness. The stranger's low laugh mingled with the first man's grunt of acknowledgement.

I should help. I should do something. The pendant on her chest caught the moonlight, a quick pull and this would be done. She wasn't reaching for it. Why wasn't she reaching for it?

My heart thudded against my ribcage as I prepared to turn, to head in a new direction. What if Jess... No, I couldn't allow myself to think about it. I had to reach her before.

That's when I heard it, a moan that stopped me in my tracks. My body recognized it before my mind did, a sound so ordinary but so out of place here.

"Jess?" I exhaled, my feet already moving in the direction of the sound. But a second moan echoed through the trees. Not fear, not pain. The noise hit me like a punch to the gut. I had heard that sound before, but never so... enthusiastically.

***

_Jess_

My feet were trapped in the loose folds of what was left of my dress as I half-stumbled down the spiral staircase, my heart pounding against my ribs. The fight above had been my moment, a momentary lapse of disarray when Caleb's attention fragmented from me to the two hunters. I'd been able to slip away before Caleb could, before we...

My face grew hot as my I replayed his hands on me, his intent clear. The worst was not what he'd almost done, it was that some sneaky part of me had wished he would. Even now, racing down the stairs, I could still sense the tension curling in my gut. A warm, wet trail dripped down the inside of my leg, making me loathe myself further with every step.

The torn dress wrapped around my legs like tiny hands, almost throwing me off balance. Something had crashed above. Someone had yelled. Had Caleb actually sacrificed himself against them just to save me, or to claim his prize for himself? A shiver ran down my spine as my nipples cramped with the idea. I shouldn't mind one way or the other, but the question plagued me.

I paused in the tower entrance, gulping big breaths of the cold night air. The dress clung in shreds to my shoulders, now more a nuisance than a garment. On a whim, I stooped and drew the fabric over my head, the few remaining seams giving way without protest. I dropped it in a clump at my feet. In nothing but my shredded bra and underwear, I was vulnerable but somehow liberated. The woods didn't care about my underwear, and if I got caught again by someone, all the modesty in the world would be meaningless for what ensued afterward.

I vanished into the darkness, relying on muscle memory to navigate through the trees. My steps were now sluggish, a marked difference from the mad rush earlier. Each step was like walking through quicksand, my body finally surrendering after hours of forcing it beyond its breaking point. The adrenaline that had fueled me was beginning to ebb, replaced by bone-aching tiredness and an empty pain that had nothing to do with the exhaustion of body.

I stumbled involuntarily, my legs trembling with exhaustion. I leaned against a tree, trying to quiet my labored breathing long enough to listen for pursuit. That's when I spotted it, through the forest, lights flickered on in the distance. Consistent, man-made light that most likely must be windows. Was it safety, or an even more sophisticated trap?

Ian should have found me by now. Where had he gone? Caleb's mocking words echoed in my head: *Maybe he's doing this same thing to some other girl? Or maybe he's cowering alone in the house, too afraid to run out into the woods at night even to protect his pretty girlfriend?

My throat tightened. Had Ian orchestrated what tonight would become? Was this his idea all along? No. Sweet, predictable Ian couldn't have orchestrated this. Could he?

I walked on trembling legs in the darkness, the soft light leading me on. I was getting farther and farther away from Caleb with each step, but I couldn't shake the sensation of his touch from my head, the way he'd made me feel. He was a monster, wasn't he? But he'd driven those men off, saved me from... I tossed the thought aside. He'd only done it to keep me for himself, hadn't he?

I struggled harder against the darkness, my flesh seared by thorns and branches. The lights within the mansion grew brighter with each step, a promise of liberation. But even as I sprinted toward them, a disturbing reality taunted me, half of me wanted to look back. To know if he followed.

I heard laughter somewhere in front of me in the dark, followed by a long moaning noise. I bit my bottom lip and went in the opposite direction, not taking my eyes off the light. *What kind of messed up place is this? Why am I the only one that wishes to get out? I need to get out*, I say to myself despite the ache I am experiencing between my legs.

I have no idea where I'm going, or how far away the lights on the horizon really are. But I had to move. There has to be some place safe that I can reach to wait out this. whatever the hell this is.

"You're not moving as fast as you were." His voice was behind me, closer than I'd expected. My heart leapt into my throat but my legs refused to move any faster. "Are you even trying anymore?"

"Sorry to disappoint," I snapped back. "Some psychotic asshole wore me out earlier. Though I guess that was the idea all along?"

"You think I'm the villain here," Caleb chuckled, matching me stride for stride. "But when we're... together, you seem to have a pretty good time."

I drew a deep breath, making my voice stabilize. "That's what I don't get. Why hasn't anybody else used their pendant? Why does everybody else seem to enjoy this so much?" The cries of ecstasy still echoing through the woods sent shivers down my spine.

"Maybe they've just found out who they really are." His voice dropped, sending shivers down my back. "While you're still trying to deny it."