The Ritual: A Dark College Romance

H E PUTS ME in my passenger seat and gets in the driver’s seat. I had left my keys in the car, along with my purse and phone; he starts it up and drives us away from the building. I was in the middle of nowhere, so I wasn’t worried about anyone taking anything.

I stay silent, rubbing my hands together. They tingle as the feeling finally returns to my fingers. My wrists are raw and bloody. I still have cum on my face, my hair, and on my chest. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to wipe it off. I’m freezing cold, sitting in my wet dress, and my underwear are in his pocket. My thighs burn, and my pussy is sore. It wasn’t nearly as painful as I thought it was going to be, and it makes me wonder even more if I’ve already had sex with him. After everything that has happened since classes started, I don’t regret my decision to live my life how I want.

Yeah, some would argue that my agreeing to be his chosen one strips away any say I have over my body, but I see it differently. I see freedom in knowing that I belong to him. Someone who physically wants me. A person can only handle so much rejection before they start to question why? What is wrong with me?

“Where are we going?” I whisper, biting my bottom lip nervously, wondering what now.

He looks over at me for a quick second before placing his eyes back on the road. “House of Lords,” he answers before “I Don’t Give A …” by MISSIO and Zeala begins to fill the car.

_______________

WE PULL INTO the gate of the hotel, and he parks my car before opening my door for me.

Entering the place, it’s odd being here without it crowded with people. No flashing lights or blaring music. Just silence. “Everyone is still at the vow ceremony,” he states, knowing what I’m thinking.

He takes my hand and guides me to the bedroom where I once found my stranger in a mask. He steps into another door, and it’s his private bathroom. A long mirror and counter with double sinks are in front of us. A door to the right is where the toilet must be. To the left is a shower that runs the full length of the bathroom. It’s nothing but glass to see inside with three showerheads. One at each end and the third in the middle. The floor is white with dark gray walls. The countertop black. It’s weird to see nothing is cluttering it like all the stuff I leave out on mine.

He lets go of my hand, turning around, and his emerald eyes meet mine. My breath catches at the look in them.

He’s hungry.

They tell me everything that I was wondering. I know what we did in the woods was just a sample of what he wants from me.

“Take a shower.” His eyes look over my cum-covered, makeup-smeared face and then down over my body. “Get cleaned up.” Then he walks out, shutting me inside.

He didn’t tell me to hurry, so I take my time. The water hurts my wrists, but it’s not unbearable. I stand under the center sprayer and just enjoy the warm water before washing my hair with his shampoo. Then I use his bodywash, and it makes me wonder if this is why he brought me here. One more way to claim me. It’s hard to deny a man if you bathe in his scent.

Turning off the water, I exit the shower and dry off with a white towel I found hanging on a hook, being careful with my wrists. Looking around, I realize I don’t have anything to put on, but I have a feeling that’s on purpose.

I open the cabinet under one of the sinks and find mouthwash. Unscrewing the lid, I throw some back. I swish it around before spitting it in the sink. I’ve swallowed water that had no telling what was in it and cum. Multiple times. I’d like to brush my teeth, but mouthwash will do for now.

Taking in a deep breath, I open the door and step out into his bedroom. It’s what I would imagine a guy like Ryat to have—the dark walls are bare, and the bed is covered in black sheets, a black comforter, and two pillows with matching pillowcases. One tall dresser and one long dresser are dark gray. There’s no TV or mirror hanging. I never paid attention last time I was in here. Too drunk and also blindfolded.

He’s over by the long dresser with his back to me. He’s still wearing his wet clothes, and I see the way his shirt sticks to his back and arms. You can see every outline of muscle. They tense as he moves, digging around for something.

I clear my throat, and he shoves the drawer shut. Turning around, his tongue comes out, and he licks his lips while his green eyes look me over. “Drop the towel,” he orders, and my heart accelerates.

I reach up and untuck it from my underarms and let it fall to my feet. I already know he’s seen all of me. I swallowed that liquid, changed my clothes, crawled into bed, and woke up naked hours later. He had undressed me.

He walks over, his eyes on my breasts. Coming to a stop, he reaches out and cups my right one, and I moan as he squeezes it. He’s in no way gentle, but I love it. Whenever Matt and I would mess around, he’d be soft. I always felt like I wanted more.

Ryat lets go and slaps the side of it. Making the skin sting and the sound bounce off the walls in the room.

I jump back, gasping as a shock like electricity runs straight to my pussy, making it pulse and raise my hands to cover them. A cruel smile spreads across his face, knowing exactly what it did to me. Reaching behind, he pulls the handcuffs out of his back pocket, and I whimper at the sight of them. The cuts they left on my wrists start to throb once again.

“Put your hands down to your sides, or they’ll go behind your back.”

A choice. Willingly or forcefully. Why do I want him to force me? He arches a brow at my hesitation and steps closer to me, but at the last second, I decide to lower them to my sides.

“You’re such a good girl,” he whispers lovingly as he tosses the cuffs to the bed.

A weird sense of disappointment washes over me that I chickened out. He said he would hurt me, and I want that. If there’s no pain, then how do you know you’re alive?

“Aren’t you?” he asks. Lifting his hand to run his knuckles over the tops of my breast, he forces my thoughts elsewhere. My nipples harden as they travel lower over them.

I want to be his good girl, but in a bad way. “Yes,” I breathe. My body has never felt so alive. So needy for something that it’s already had. I didn’t get off when he fucked me. But I have a feeling that was the point. It was a show of ownership, even if no one was watching.

His eyes go to my neck. “Whose good girl are you?”

“Yours,” I answer softly.

“Mine,” he agrees.

He slaps the side of my breast again, and I yelp. It wasn’t as hard as the first time, but it catches me off guard. My hands go to shoot up, but I shove them back down to my sides.

The corners of his lips slowly turn up before showing me his gorgeous smile. That alone has more wetness pooling between my legs. The man knows exactly what he’s doing.

He does it again, harder this time, and I throw my head back, closing my eyes and letting out a cry. But it’s not because it hurts. It feels so good.

He does the other one, and I moan this time, my body just slightly jerking, starting to adjust to the sting.

“You like that, don’t you, Blake?” His voice is full of amusement. “So much potential for my chosen one.”

I’m not sure what that means, and I’m not about to ask.

“Look at me,” he orders, all sense of humor gone.

I open my eyes and lower my head to stare up at him. His gaze drops to my breasts. Reaching out, he takes both my hard nipples between his fingers, and he pinches them. Hard. I rise up on my tiptoes, screaming out, and he yanks me closer to him by them. I’m panting as he holds me in place. I fist my hands down by my sides, sucking in a deep breath.

Letting go of them, I cry again at the sensation it gives. It felt good. So good. “Get your heels.” He nods to the bathroom door behind me and then turns, going back to the dresser.

I walk into the bathroom to find them lying on the floor where I had taken them off for my shower. They’re still wet, and I pour what little bit of water remains inside into the sink and go back to the bedroom.

“Put them on,” he orders, not even bothering to look at me.

Using the wall as support, I slide my feet into the six-inch Guccis. They’re cold from the water, and my feet are already so sore from wearing them earlier. But I’m not telling him that. I kinda like the pain.

He turns around, and I notice he has something in his hand. He tosses it onto the bed. My eyes go to see what it is, but he reaches out and grabs me, pulling me toward him.

I trip in my heels, falling into him, and he catches me. Bringing me over to the foot of the bed, he spins me around to where I face it and lightly smacks my ass. “Spread your legs. As far as you can.”

I see that he had thrown my underwear from earlier in the middle. He smacks my ass again, getting my attention. And I place my hands on the black footboard for support to spread them as far as they’ll go. He bends down next to my left ankle, and I watch him reach under and pull out a chain. It’s short, attached to a black leather cuff, and the other end is attached to the post. He wraps it around my ankle, securing the buckle. I pull on it just to see how much slack it has. There’s none. Then he walks around to the other ankle, pulls it even farther to the other corner post, and does the same.

Standing behind me, he places his hand on my back and pushes me to lean over the footboard. It’s a little higher than where my hips are, so I have to get up on my tiptoes to where it doesn’t dig into my stomach.

The moment my face hits the bed, I feel the muscles in my legs pull tight from the position. I suck in a breath, trying to readjust myself, but it’s not going to matter. I don’t think it’s supposed to be comfortable.

He walks over to the left side and bends down, grabbing another chain from underneath the bed. “Right arm.”

I slide my left to him, and he just stares at me. “Right arm …?” I trail off, repeating what he said, but he’s on the left side of the bed.

Leaning over, he grips my right hand and yanks it across the bed toward him. He wraps the leather cuff around it, securing it, and I almost smile at the feel of them. They’re not nearly as bad as the handcuffs. Then he walks back around behind me and to the right. This time, he doesn’t even say anything. He just grabs my left hand, crossing it over my right one, and secures that wrist too.

My whole body is pulled tight, my upper body twisted like a pretzel. My neck and chin sit on my upper arms, which makes it hard to breathe.

He opens up the top drawer to the nightstand and pulls out a small roll of duct tape. My breathing picks up. He disappears behind me, and I try to look over my shoulders, but I can’t. My arms crossed restrict the movement of my head.

His wet jeans rub against my thighs before he leans over my back, pressing my hips further into the footboard. The edge of the wood, digging into my skin, makes me whimper.

Reaching out, he grabs the underwear. With his free hand, he grips my chin and pulls it up off my arms, forcing my neck to arch back at a painful angle. Without saying a word, he shoves the underwear into my mouth, and then I hear the tape being ripped off. He slaps it over my lips, securing the underwear in my mouth like earlier. At least they’re not drenched in water this time, but they’re still damp.

He gathers all my hair and holds it at the base of my neck, still yanking my head back. “A chosen one must understand patience.”

I try to adjust my already aching body, but nothing even budges an inch.

“She must understand obedience.” His free hand comes around and grabs my neck, his fingers digging into the skin while taking my air away.

My body jerks, trying to fight it on its own, making the chains rattle and the bed shake.

“And she must understand that her body is no longer hers.” He kisses my cheek and releases my throat. My face falls to rest on my arms again, and I take in a deep breath through my nose.

His hands touch my inner thighs, and I jump. “Every touch, every kiss, every ounce of pleasure your body receives will come from me.” He softly runs them upward, and his thumb pushes into my still sore pussy.

I moan, pushing against it, my body humming. Heart hammering, I can feel my pulse racing.

“You will not even touch yourself.” Pulling his thumb out, he then replaces it with two fingers, pushing them all the way in to his knuckles, and it hurts so good. I whimper and tears begin stinging my eyes. “If you disobey, you will be punished, little one.”

I try to twist my hips as his fingers move in and out slowly. I know he’s taunting me, making me wet and needy. Removing them, I hear him drop to his knees. And then his warm, wet tongue runs along my throbbing pussy.

I moan when he licks it. His hands come up to my ass, and he grips my cheeks, pulling them apart. I tense as his tongue continues to slowly move higher. I start trying to tell him to stop, but it’s just mumbled nonsense while I yank on my restraints as hard as I can to no avail.

His fingers dig further into my cheeks when his tongue slides over my puckered ass. Then just as quickly, it’s gone. He lightly kisses it with his lips before letting go of my ass cheeks. But I don’t relax. I’m more tense than before.

No, no, no, I shake my head. Matt and I never did anything back there. He never tried, but I wouldn’t have let him anyway.

Ryat chuckles at my unease. “There is no need to fight it, Blake.” Slapping my cheek playfully, he adds, “I’m going to own that too.”

RYAT

I ENTER THE cathedral, checking my watch. They maybe have an hour left.

Taking a back pew, I slide in and sit down, fanning my arms along the back of it. A rule of the Lords is that you watch your brothers accept their chosen ones. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a need to be present. You can’t show ownership to an empty room. Plus, it makes all the younger members hungry. Reminds them why they have to abstain from getting their dick wet for three years.

I look up at the loft and see one of my brothers in the water. He’s got a black hood over his chosen one’s head while he fucks her from behind. She’s completely naked, her fake tits pressed against the glass side of the square tub, and her hands are also cuffed behind her back.

Makes me think of Blakely. I left her tied and gagged to my bed to return here.

He comes and yanks her out of the pool. With them out, I can see just how low the water level is now. It’s not even waist-deep. Fucking in a bowl will do that. The water has to go somewhere.

“Where’s your girl?” Gunner asks, coming to sit in the pew in front of me. He turns in his seat to look at me.

“Not here,” I state. It’s none of his goddamn business where she’s at. I made sure to lock my bedroom door so no one can get to her. And I gagged her for that exact reason. I don’t want someone hearing her in there. The Lords may be here, but there is still staff there. Now that the seniors can actually use their dicks, it’ll be nothing but fucking orgies. They’ll pass their chosen ones from room to room while having other women join them. “Where’s yours?” I counter. He picked her best friend, Sarah.

“She’s passed out in my trunk.” He smiles.

“How many more are there?” I ask, looking around the room. All the freshman, sophomores, and juniors are still seated in their masks and cloaks.

“Two,” he answers, looking down at his watch.

Just then, I hear a woman say, “I vow.” As she stands in the water.

“You vow,” Prickett announces. “We vow,” they say in unison, and then he shoves her underwater, where he places his foot on her back, holding her face down to the bottom.

I look back at Gunner, and he’s checking his watch again. “Have somewhere to be?”

“Sarah will be up in about thirty,” he answers.

Ahh, I nod. He’s drugged her, and it’ll be wearing off soon.

I hear the girl gasping as Prickett brings her up from the water, and immediately, he pulls her out and goes to town on her ass. I’ve seen enough Lords take their chosen ones over the last three years that I could go without seeing them anymore. I couldn’t care less who and how they fuck.

Now that I’ve picked mine, I could do without everything else. I want to live in my bedroom with her. Fuck that, I want to move out of the house of Lords and go somewhere remote with her. Just us, no one around for miles. Then I wouldn’t have to gag her, and I could listen to her scream my name for hours.

Prickett and his girl finish up, and he pulls her out of the water while she sobs. We make these women think they have a choice to be chosen. But not all are. We are given a list of names that must be chosen before senior year even starts. Manipulation isn’t hard. If you have someone repeatedly tell you how great something is, you eventually want a taste.

One more.

Pulling out my cell, I pull up the live feed on my app. Blake is still in the same spot I left her. Just like I thought she’d be, but it still doesn’t hurt to look. I have ten cameras set up in my room, so I can see her from any angle. Plus, two in my bathroom. The house is littered with them. Every Lord has the same app and chance to watch his chosen one. She’s not struggling. I wouldn’t be surprised if she passed out. It’s been a long day, and I’m about to make it a very long night for her.

“I vow.”

Closing out the app, I drop the phone to my lap and look up at the loft. Matt stands in the water with Ashley. “You vow,” he growls.

I smile. Sorry fucking bastard.

“We vow,” they say, and he grips the back of her neck, shoving her into the water facedown. She struggles, the water splashing around. He’s got her hands zip-tied behind her back, and her ankles are also tied together. There is no rule on how you restrain your chosen one. As long as it’s done. Being held underwater will have anyone fighting, so the restraints help keep them from clawing our faces off. Plus, it’s just another way for us to dominate them. She’s naked, and he’s already put a collar on her.

I sit up straighter when he continues to hold her underwater. He’s baring his teeth like he’s mad at her. As if it’s her fault he fucked up and lost his toy.

She slows down, her body going slack altogether. What the fuck …? I jump to my feet. “Matt!” I shout in warning.

Everyone in the cathedral turns to look at me. I can’t see their faces because of their masks, but I’m sure their eyes are wide. A Lord never tells another member how to treat his chosen one. Matt gives me a go to hell look and then yanks her up from the water by her hair. Her head hangs back, and she’s completely still for a second before she spits water from her mouth. Sucking in a breath, she proceeds to cough.

Being a Lord isn’t about harming our chosen ones. They are a reward. If you break it or kill it, you don’t get to replace it with another one. He knows this.

Not going to say it’s never happened because it has. More than once since I’ve joined. These women go down as missing persons and are never looked for. When the public isn’t even aware your organization exists, no one suspects you committed the crime.

I turn and walk out of the cathedral, going back to play with Blakely. My cell rings when I fall into my car. “Hello?” I answer, letting the Bluetooth pick it up while I take off down the gravel road.

“Who did you end up with?” my father asks in greeting. He is a Lord. Most members got here because of their bloodline. My son or sons will one day be a Lord and so on. It is something that was not a choice but required of me. But I was more than ready and willing to accept.

“Blakely,” I answer, pulling out onto the road.

“Good job, son,” he says with a heavy breath.

“Did you ever doubt me?” I ask jokingly.

He chuckles. “No. Just make sure you do what needs to be done.”

“Always.”

“I’ll see you this weekend.” He hangs up, satisfied with our chat, and “Everybody Gets High” by MISSIO immediately fills my car.

Matt will not get anywhere near her. Not until I physically hand her over after graduation. And there won’t be anything left of her for him to take.

_______________

UNLOCKING MY BEDROOM door, I walk inside and find her still naked, bent over my footboard tied, gagged, and eyes closed.

Deciding to let her have a few more minutes of sleep, I walk into the bathroom and undress out of my still wet clothes. I need a shower. Stepping inside, I close the door behind me and stare down at my hard cock. I squeeze some soap onto my hand and reach down. Wrapping my hand around the base, I stroke it, my hand tightening so painfully on it that it takes my breath away.

“What …?” I stop and let go, placing both hands on the wall and stepping under the sprayer. I’ve had to do it myself for so long that it’s like a habit now. The amount of porn I’ve watched over the past few years is enough to make a hooker blush. That’s not to mention what I’ve seen happen here at the house of Lords. We knew going into our freshman year what our requirements were going to be. I lost my virginity when I was fifteen to our neighbor’s daughter. She was the same age as me. It wasn’t like we dated. We both wanted to fuck, and there was an easy decision. After that, I fucked my way through high school. The summer before I came to Barrington, I fucked as many as I could, knowing it’d be the last chance I got for a while. It didn’t do any good. The moment I arrived and knew I’d have to do it myself was when I started craving it.

Tell someone they can’t have something and watch them do anything in their power to get it done. Especially if they’ve already experienced it before and know how good it feels. We keep each other accountable. Men have been kicked out, stripped of their titles, and shunned for it. The Lords do not joke around. It is a zero-tolerance organization. There are no three strikes and you’re out. They can decide at any moment to tell you to pack your shit and get the fuck out throughout your duration of college. If you accept and become a Lord and then fuck up. Well, let’s just say, they chase you down and kill you.

Finishing up in the shower, I dry off and walk out into the bedroom, deciding it’s time to wake her up. I open my nightstand and get the lube out first. Then walk to the end of the bed. Dropping my towel at my feet, I kick it away and run my fingers over her pussy. She’s not that wet, but I didn’t expect her to be. I squeeze some lube on my fingers and softly rub it over her pussy and up over her ass. She freaked out when I touched her there before I left to finish watching the vow ceremony, but she will learn that I own that as well, and I will have it. Even if that means she leaves me no choice but to take it.

I plunge a finger into her pussy, watching to see if she reacts. When she doesn’t, I add a second one, and her head moves a little. “Wake up, Blake.”

Removing my fingers, I grab my dick and slide into her, not waiting. She jerks, pulling on her restraints, coming around. Slapping her ass, I hear her mumbled moan. Looking down, I watch my cock move in and out of her. I can get deeper now than before, and I can go harder. Grabbing the footboard on either side of her hips, I do just that. Not wasting any time. I know she’s sore, but going slow won’t do her any good. Plus, that’s just not me. I’m not going to give her any false hope that this is anything else than what this is.

I own her.

Her pussy clenches down on me, and I push into her, the headboard slapping the wall with each thrust. Leaning over her body, I grip her hair and yank her head off her arms. I wrap my free arm around her neck and hold her head in place. Her arms crossed in front of her pulled tight, hands fisted. “Feel that?” I ask her, making her whimper. “How fucking wet you are?” I pull out and shove my hips forward. “I love that,” I say, and she clamps down on me. Growling in her ear, I slam my hips into her, and her breathing picks up, her body tensing. A mumbled cry fills my room as she comes.

I slow my rhythm and let go of her hair and neck. Her face drops to her arms when I pull out completely, and she sags against the bed. I push my thumb into her wet cunt a few times before replacing it with my cock once again.

When I slide my thumb up to her ass, she starts fighting me, but she’s got no chance. I push my thumb over her lube-covered ass, just applying some pressure. “Relax,” I say, slapping the side of her leg with my free hand. “It’ll hurt less.” Whimpering, she stops struggling. I pull my cock out of her pussy and slowly enter her while my thumb starts circling her ass, gently applying more pressure “Good girl,” I say, repeating both. “Just breathe.”

She’s panting, her body trembling. I watch her back muscles tense while fighting the restraints. When I push my thumb into her ass, a muffled cry comes from her taped lips. “Such a tight ass,” I say through gritted teeth. It’s going to feel amazing when I take it. “I’m going to take it, Blake,” I inform her. “My cum will fill this tight ass just like it will your pussy.”

I leave my thumb inside her while my hips pick up their pace again—my cock fucking her cunt. I’m close.

My breathing picks up, filling the room while the headboard pounds into the wall. I try to hold it in, but it’s just been too long. I remind myself that I have tomorrow and the next day and the next day. She belongs to me until graduation. I can do this as much as I want.

Feeling my balls tighten, I shove all the way into her one last time. My muscles tensing and my cock pulsing inside her fucking sweet cunt as I come.

I pull my thumb out first, and her body sags against the bed while I remove my cock. Leaving her like that for a minute, I bend down and grab the towel that I kicked away and run it over her, cleaning her up. Once done, I drop it and lean over her back. I rip the tape off her mouth and pull her underwear out. Then I get to work on releasing her arms and legs before entering my bathroom, grabbing some pills for her. Walking out, I see her sitting on the side of the bed, head down and hands in her lap. She’s rubbing her wrists. “Here. Take these.” I hold out my fist.

She looks up at me, and her tired eyes go wide with excitement.

Interesting. “It’s Advil to help with the soreness.”

“Oh,” she says, shoulders slumping in disappointment when I open my hand to show them to her.

“You thought I was going to drug you again,” I comment.

Her cheeks redden, but she takes them from me. Her eyes fall to the floor, unable to meet mine.

Walking over to her, I gently cup her chin and lift it to where she has to look up at me. “Tell me.” She’s got something on her mind. And Blake needs to understand there is nothing she can’t talk to me about. I’m not the kind of guy who runs to his friends and tells them what we did. If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I can keep a secret. In fact, I will be buried with many. What I do with her will be added to the others.

“Did we have sex that night?” she whispers. “That night you gave me the stuff to drink.”

I tilt my head to the side at her question. Did she not think tonight was her first time?

She sighs at my silence. “I, uh … it’s just that I was really sore the next day …”

“No,” I answer. Of course, she was sore. I was rough with her. I hate to tell her, but she’ll always be sore from now on.

“Oh.” Once again, she looks disappointed by that answer.

“You told me you were a virgin in here the night of the party.” I’m not going to tell her that’s not why I didn’t fuck her. Because honestly, it wouldn’t have stopped me. It’s the path I chose. The Lords can kick you out, strip you of your title and power. And as much as I wanted to, making her mine for the duration of my senior year is fucking better than just one time.

Her eyes widen, and her cheeks go red at the thought of her telling me that information. “Matt never would sleep with me,” she whispers.

I hate her even mentioning his name, but I understand that he was a big part of her life. I’m going to erase any thought of him from her memory. She won’t even know who he is when I return her to him. “You don’t have to be embarrassed,” I tell her. “I like that I was the first to fuck you.” I let go of her chin and run my thumb over her lips.

Her breathing picks up as she asks, “What did you do … that night at my apartment?”

“I can show you.” I’d love to watch her watch me play with her while she was drugged. See if it turns her on. I have a feeling she’d get off on that.

“Really?” Her eyes widen and her nipples harden at that thought.

“Yeah, but not tonight.” I pull the covers back, and she crawls under them naked. I slide in next to her, and she snuggles into my side. I go to shove her away but don’t. Instead, I pull her closer, knowing that this house is full of almost a hundred men, and any one of them would gladly take her from me.