by Robin Rhodes
Amber wasn't faring much better. She walked, chewing her bottom lip, breathing getting heavier and heavier with every step she took. Her cheeks were stained scarlet.
Every few minutes she'd look over her shoulder at Aiden and they'd share a heated look. It was only a matter of time before they snapped.
A knock on the door of his cabin brought Aaron out of his spying, and he called, "Come in."
Elizabeth opened the door, head bowed. "I'm sorry to disturb you—"
"No, no, come in, I have a surprise for you."
They didn't seem to be the words Elizabeth wanted to hear. "A surprise?"
"Come here," he said again, tone harder. "Sit right here." He patted the space beside him on the bed.
Elizabeth did as she was told and Aaron took her hand in his and closed his eyes. "Watch," he said. "Close your eyes and watch."
"Aiden," she gasped as the pair walking through the jungle materialized behind her eyelids. "Aiden is here. Oh my God."
It was pleasure in her voice. For now. Aaron knew it wouldn't be staying that way.
"What are you going to do to him?" she asked, already fearful. "There are only two of them? How stupid could he be? Why is he here, just two people?"
"I've not done anything to them. The dungeon is running on its own. I haven't influenced a thing."
"You can't hurt him. Please, don't."
"I'm not going to do anything to him." Not yet, anyway. "I'm just watching."
"But—"
Elizabeth was cut off by Amber turning and saying, "What the fuck is wrong with me?"
Aiden stepped backward immediately, almost falling over a tree root in his haste. "It's the fucking lizards. They've poisoned us."
Elizabeth made a noise of protest. "You killed him?"
Aaron kept silent and let it play out.
"Well, how do I make it go away?" Amber asked, chest heaving. "This sucks."
"We just have to wait it out."
"But it's getting worse."
Amber took a step forward, and Aiden another one backward. "Just keep walking," Aiden said. "Just keep walking and pretend it isn't happening."
But Aiden was physically restraining himself already and it hadn't even peaked yet. It was going to get the better of him eventually. One of them was going to make a move, and neither would be able to hold themselves back.
"What did you do to him?" Elizabeth asked in a small voice, and snatched her hand out of his. "What have you done?"
He opened his eyes and saw tears in hers. "I didn't do anything. I told you, it's the dungeon. I just put the pieces there."
"And why did you put that piece there? Why did you put the fucking lizard that made him horny right there, where he could get bitten by it? Where him and that stupid bitch could get bitten by it?"
"I didn't put it there. It was by chance."
"I don't believe you."
He raised a brow. "I'm telling the truth."
"Right. Sure you are. That's why you brought me here to watch, is it? I just wanted some fucking food because I'm hungry, I don't need to see this shit. I'll wait to eat. I don't want to eat at all, ever again."
"Don't be dramatic," Aaron replied. "I'll get you both food later. You can tell Delilah that Mark is here too, when you go back. He's done well so far. His party of three is unharmed."
Elizabeth shut her eyes, but she wasn't touching him anymore, she couldn't see anything. It was just to block him out. "How many of them are there?"
"There were twelve. Now there are seven."
"You killed that many already? When did they get here?"
Aaron's feathers were ruffled by the way she kept blaming him. "I didn't do this. The dungeon did. All I did was make the dungeon."
"And you put the lizards in there. You thought that it would be fun to have people fuck where you could watch them. You did this."
"It's my job to make a dungeon that challenges people."
"It's not your job to make a dungeon that tortures people. You could just have monsters that try and kill them and they have to get past them for loot. You decided you wanted to take slaves and do all this shit to people who didn't deserve it."
"No, the game mechanics gave me the opportunity to take slaves and put these things into my dungeon, and I just used them. I wasn't a pussy who thought that things had to stay the way they were. Everything had changed. Things are different now. I can do this without being punished, and I'm going to."
Elizabeth laughed. "You think you aren't going to be punished, but you're wrong. Things aren't that different."
She left the room without asking first, and Aaron let her go. He got more and more tired of her every day.
She was wrong about this. He was the one who knew that the game mechanics ruled the world, that no amount of moderation would prevent people from getting away with things that were possible to do.
Aaron didn't have delusions that he was going to survive forever. Just like he could take slaves, it was possible for someone to destroy his dungeon core and he didn't doubt that someone would succeed one day.
What he was sure of was that he would get away with this for a long time. It was going to take a well-coordinated effort from a group of people who understood how to play the Braxian Expansion to take him down, and right now those kinds of groups would have no reason to destroy his core.
He was going to get away with this for a long time.
Elizabeth could stay hungry for now, as a lesson for her daring to speak back to him and leaving without his permission. He would feed his slaves when he was bored of watching Aiden, because it was bound to get juicy soon.
Only when he returned, he was disappointed.
They were nearly at the ship, and walked several paces away from each other. Their hair wasn't ruffled like they'd given in to a quick burst of passion that Aaron had missed while he was distracted.
Except for the odd heated glance, they hadn't even touched each other. If they'd touched each other, they wouldn't have been able to resist, he was sure.
They were the first back to the ship—they had turned around first, and Aiden was the most proficient navigator in the group judging by what he saw in the jungle. Aboard the ship, they went below deck to rooms as far away from each other as they could get.
Aaron had the opportunity to watch Aiden jerk himself off, which he didn't take.
He wasn't even in the mood to watch Amber rub herself.
Opening his eyes and scowling at the ceiling, he was glad Elizabeth had chosen to storm off. Now she would have the doubt—the idea that Aiden was going to sleep with Amber would be a thought she couldn't get rid of.
She would never have to know that he'd been loyal, that he'd resisted even as desire was pumped through his veins.
At least Aaron could find a silver lining in the day’s events that would stop his mood from ending up completely in the gutter.
Sighing, he stood up and decided he should probably feed his women. They were much more work than Gonzo.
Chapter Seven
Elizabeth returned to her room feeling like she'd been punched.
She could barely breathe as she walked across the ship and looked at the inviting water it sailed on. The orcs there paid her no attention, but maybe if she provoked one they would attack her.
She wasn't sure she could keep going like this. Not forever.
Because Aaron was probably right. Who was going to rescue her when Aiden had made such silly mistakes?
If he died down there this time, it would be the end for her. She would have no hope to cling onto.
"What's wrong?" Delilah asked when Elizabeth shut the door to their room behind her. "What happened?"
"It's Aiden. He's here."
"What?"
"And Mark. They're in the dungeon."
"That's great!" Delilah said, perking up with a big grin. It would have been Elizabeth's first reaction too, if she hadn't just seen what had happened to them.<
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"I think Aiden is too busy fucking his colleague to be bothered about rescuing us," Elizabeth muttered, collapsing on the bed. The gnawing in her stomach had disappeared completely. She didn't have an appetite any longer.
"What? That bastard." Delilah laced her fingers through Elizabeth's and gave them a squeeze.
"I know. I can't believe he did that to them."
"Aaron?"
"Who were you talking about?"
"Aiden, of course."
"It's not really his fault. Aaron gave him some kind of love potion that made him really horny. I don't know. I just didn't need to see it, did I?" Tears stung in her eyes. "Why does he like hurting us?"
"Because he's fucked in the head. It's got nothing to do with us. He wants to hurt everyone."
Elizabeth pressed her free hand to her face, trying to cover her tears. "It's just not fair."
"People are here to rescue us. We won't have to put up with it anymore."
"You think I can just go back to Aiden and things will be the same as they always were?"
"I think that you can be happy."
"That's not the same thing."
Delilah squeezed Elizabeth's hand. "I know."
"You really think they'll come and set us free?"
"I know they will."
Elizabeth didn't bother addressing any of the questions about whether they could ever leave the dungeon, even if the core was killed. Would they be killed with it?
She had to cling onto the hope that she could leave one day, otherwise she would have nothing left at all.
Delilah held her while she cried, because she couldn't find any strength right now to be hopeful. Aiden was out there, so close, and he was fucking another woman. That was the only thought she managed.
That and memories of her and Aaron earlier that day. He'd charmed her again, and she'd been all over him as if she actually wanted it. Her ass was still sore from the fucking she'd taken willingly.
She should be more upset about that than Aiden fucking someone else, shouldn't she? That was her body being violated, not just the image of someone else's. It didn't sting quite as much though. She'd wanted Aaron, even if it was only in that short moment.
She'd never wanted this from Aiden.
Then Aaron burst into the room, making Elizabeth jump. She didn't try and cover herself. The urge had disappeared by now. She spent too much time pushing down the urge to run away to remember to hide her nudity.
Delilah squeezed Elizabeth's hand again. She stared straight at Aaron, defiance in every muscle. She wasn't a coward like Elizabeth.
Or maybe she was just stupid.
"Come with me," Aaron said, standing with crossed arms over his rough-spun tunic. He didn't even look over their naked bodies with the hint of desire that told her he was considering abandoning his directive and dragging them to the bed anymore. It was pure apathy in his gaze.
That had to be good.
If he wasn't interested in them anymore, maybe he would let them go.
Or maybe he would kill them.
He'd still enjoyed showing Elizabeth her boyfriend about to fuck another woman though, hadn't he? To think he was bored with them just because he didn't want to fuck them whenever he saw their tits was optimistic of her. He was probably just getting used to their nakedness, too.
"Come on," he said again, when neither woman moved.
"Why?" Delilah asked.
"Because I said so. You should know by now that's enough reason to do anything."
"I just want to know why."
He took a step forward and Elizabeth shrank away. Delilah held her ground. "Just because we're on a ship now doesn't mean I don't have the ability to magic a stock for the room and a whip for my hand with a click of my fingers. Don't argue with me."
Delilah didn't bow her head. "Don't you even want to have conversations with us?"
"No. I don't. I want you to get the fuck up and follow me outside."
"What about Mark? Will you let me see him?"
"You'll see him soon enough, you don't have to worry about that."
The words pleased both Aaron and Delilah. One of them had to be wrong. One of their hopes was going to be flattened.
Elizabeth knew where she'd be putting her money.
Elizabeth stood up because she was worried Delilah would push him too far and they would end up both being punished. Delilah tried to stop her, but as always Elizabeth pulled free and went to stand by Aaron in the doorway. He didn't touch her, thankfully.
Delilah watched them, waiting for some sign of what was to come, but when Aaron raised his hand like he was going to slap Elizabeth, she stood.
"Fine," she muttered. "I'll come with you."
On deck they were greeted by two structures that hadn't been there before. They were cages. Rickety-looking things made of wood and metal, not tall enough for them to stand.
Because Elizabeth knew the moment she saw them that they were made for her and Delilah.
"Get in," Aaron said.
Elizabeth snatched his hand, wrapping her fingers around him. "Please, you don't have to do that. I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean any of it. I was just angry that Aiden was going to sleep with someone else."
He looked down and their gazes connected. Something deep inside her said that maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she had to stay here forever. Aaron was kind to her, when she didn't do anything wrong. If she just did what he wanted he was perfectly nice.
It wasn't like she had Aiden anymore, and Aaron was good-looking enough.
She didn't even shudder at the memory of how he'd fucked her earlier that day and she'd enjoyed it, even though she knew she should.
Aaron just looked at her with hard eyes, though. There was no budging from him, even though she gave concession after concession.
"This was always going to happen, whether you'd said anything to me or not. I'm not punishing you. You won't get hurt." He gave her hand a small squeeze which should have been of reassurance, but the fact that his face didn't budge at all stopped it from being effective.
"What about food?"
"Your food is in the cages."
"Please, Aaron. Let me stay with you instead."
Finally his face softened, and he caressed her cheek with his palm. "You can come back to me tomorrow, and we'll celebrate my victory in bed together. For now, though, you really need to get into the cage."
Two tears slipped down her cheeks as she turned away from him and walked toward the cage. So, she was to be paraded in front of Aiden.
She was forced to crawl inside the tiny cage, cheeks burning in shame as she showed her bare ass, brand and all, to the orcs behind her. She was certain they carried on working and didn't even notice her, they probably couldn't even feel desire, but it was still mortifying.
Sitting cross-legged inside the cage, the sight of food made her stomach growl.
Delilah did the same, not bothering to argue this time. She seemed reassured by the promise that they wouldn't be hurt, even though neither had a reason to trust Aaron an inch. She was probably motivated by the food, too. It had been so long since they'd eaten, Aaron was normally punctual when it came to feeding them.
Something was on his mind recently, and Elizabeth wanted to know what. Maybe she could fix it, and they would have an easier time down here.
She made a small noise in the back of her throat when the cage she was in was hoisted off the deck. It wobbled enough to make her seasick, and she peered down at Aaron.
Aaron stared right back, though she wasn't sure if he was staring at her or through the bottom of the cage at where her cunt was in full view to anyone beneath her.
He stopped the cage a few feet off the ground, high enough that no one could reach it by jumping. She would be out of Aiden's grasp.
Tears threatened her again as she munched on the piece of bread in the cage beside her. Aiden was going to see this. Aiden and all his friends. They were going to see her mortification.
If he could only rescue her, it would maybe be worth it.
Chapter Eight
Aiden didn't really sleep, but he did stay below deck for a good six hours to make sure his crew had gotten some rest. He waited until the aphrodisiac had fully left his system before emerging, scared that if he saw Amber again his control would snap.
Knowing she was on the ship with him, probably with her hands between her legs, had been the biggest test of his control of his life so far.
Aaron was watching, though. Aaron had definitely been watching all of it, and Aiden refused to give him any ammunition, any enjoyment.
The fact Aiden had resisted would have pissed Aaron off, and that alone had kept him in his bed.
Jerking off had been just as much of a fuck you to Aaron. He doubted the dungeon master would have been interested in watching that at all.
As much as he was glad he'd probably gotten to Aaron, staying below deck had been at a cost. He should have been talking to his crew, consoling them on their losses and telling them that they could still win, that they just needed to stick together from now on.
Instead he'd sent Mark up to do that in his stead. Mark was the only other who really understood what went on in the dungeon, and the only one who understood why Aiden refused to go above deck.
Aiden just hoped his absence hadn't been too influential on their morale.
Now that he was feeling back to normal, he trekked up the stairs and onto the deck. A few people sat looking through the wooden railings surrounding the vessel, watching the calm sea beneath them. Palm trees fluttered in the wind on an island they were slowly heading toward.
They looked around when Aiden emerged on deck, and he saw the black circles under their eyes. He came and sat beside them, finally ready to give some comfort to his party.
"I'm sorry about what happened in the jungle," he said, recognizing two members of his precinct that had lost one of their trio on the island. "But this isn't the end. We can still kill this dungeon."
