For the Night, page 1
FOR THE NIGHT
THE GAME SERIES
BOOK 15
CARA DEE
For the Night
Copyright © 2024 by Cara Dee
All rights reserved
This book along with its cover are licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not be reproduced in any way without documented permission from the author, not including brief quotes with links and/or credit to the source. This work along with its cover may not be regenerated or processed using artificial intelligence (AI) in any capacity. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction and all references to historical events, persons living or dead, and locations are used in a fictional manner. Any other names, characters, incidents, and places are derived from the author’s imagination. The author acknowledges the trademark status and owners of any wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction. Characters portrayed in sexual situations are 18 or older.
Edited by Silently Correcting Your Grammar, LLC.
Formatted by Eliza Rae Services.
CONTENTS
Welcome to the Games
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
The End of Our Beginning
More from Cara
About Cara
WELCOME TO THE GAMES
The Game Series is a BDSM series where romance meets the reality of kink. Sometimes we fall for someone we don’t match with, sometimes vanilla business gets in the way of kinky pleasure, and sometimes we have to compromise and push ourselves to overcome trauma and insecurities. No matter what, one thing is certain. This is not a perfect world—and maybe that’s why the happily ever after feels so good.
The characters of the Game Series cross over in most titles once they’re introduced, and if you’re looking to read specific titles rather than the whole series, it’s recommended to look at each description where you’ll see if the book a standalone novel or not.
For the Night is the fifteenth book in The Game Series, and it’s Penelope and Nora’s love story. Their journey is standalone; however, at this point in the series, with the number of crossovers, it’s best to have read the previous titles.
The Game Series
Book 1: Top Priority – Lucas/Colt – Are you ready for the Games?
Book 2: Their Boy – Kit/Colt/Lucas – Welcome to the Games: The Hunt
Book 3: Breathless – Shay/Reese/River – The Game: The Cages
Book 3.5: The Air That I Breathe – River/Reese
Book 4: Doll Parts – Noa/KC/Cam/Lucian – The Game: Welcome to the Funhouse
Book 5: Out of the Ashes – Kingsley/Tate + Franklin – The Game: The Brat Boot Camp
Book 6: The Shepherd – Greer/Archie/Sloan – The Game: Canceled
Book 7: Adrift in the Embers – Corey/Sloan/Greer/Archie – The Game: Postponed
Book 8: Hostile Takeover – Franklin/Jack + Kingsley/Tate – The Game: Senseless
Book 9: Senseless – Multiple POVs – The Game: Senseless
Book 10: The Secret Plan – Colt/Kit/Lucas – The Game: Back after the holidays
Book 11: Apex Predator – Lane/Ty & Macklin/Walker – The Game: Picture Perfect, Part I
Book 12: Prowl – Lane/Ty & Macklin/Walker – The Game: Picture Perfect, Part II
Book 13: Hide With Me – Santiago/Lane/Dean – The Game: Mclean House Academy
Book 14: Parts of Us – KC/Noa/Cam/Lucian – The Game: The Easter Egg Hunt
CHAPTER ONE
Penelope Darling
“Honey, I love you, but I’m never helpin’ you move again.” Reese draped a sweaty arm around my shoulders, and I chuckled breathlessly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’mma take off all my clothes and jump in the pool.”
“Sounds cold.” We’d just opened up the pool a couple days ago.
Reese smirked down at me. “That’s why God gave me eight inches of dick. There’s room for shrinkage.”
Ugh. I made a face and shoved at him, and he laughed.
While he jogged off to cool down on the other side of the house, I trailed up the porch steps and reached River as he lit up two smokes.
“You weren’t kiddin’ about a fresh start,” he noted, handing me one.
“It’s all or nothing.” I nodded in thanks and took a drag, glancing over at my truck.
It was full, and that was the last of it.
The condo had been sold. All the furniture too—or donated. And I’d emptied my cabin out here at Mclean as well. New shit was arriving tomorrow.
I exhaled some smoke and felt a sense of peace settling over me.
Definitely a fresh start. Great timing too. Spring was giving way to early summer, and the football-field-sized front lawn was bright green and dotted with white and yellow flowers.
Coincidentally, I was also in between jobs. I started my new position in a month, and until then, I was just gonna enjoy some time off.
“So what’s next?” River walked over to the seating area, and I followed and aimed for the other sofa. “You gonna try to find a new condo right away?”
I’d thought about it, but… “I think I’ll ride out the summer in the cabin.” Besides, it was my turn next to help River, Reese, and Shay move in to their new house up the road in a few weeks. It’d be nice to be close by for that. And honestly, I didn’t wanna be alone anymore. I’d had months of moping and raging.
Ella was out of my life, and now I was ready for barbecue nights, pool days, and events.
I wanted to live again.
I wanted to be close to my friends.
“It’ll be a good summer.” River leaned back and kicked up his feet on the dusty coffee table. “The brats are on crack. We won’t be bored.”
I grinned and took another drag.
I’d heard about the brat shenanigans. River, Reese, and several others had just come home from a cruise, and the Tops were all up in arms about something the brats had planned. No one knew yet, though River had a solid theory he’d shared with me.
We fell into a comfortable silence, and I reveled in the serenity. This was the right move for me. Fuck love and relationships and all that nonsense. I was going to spend this summer—and presumably the rest of my life—just chilling with my second family here at our kink haven. A big, three-story Victorian filled with torture devices and bright, sadistic minds.
In a way, the seven men I’d started this community with were all my brothers. We were completely different and yet all the same. Greer was the big oaf, the gentle giant, the former Marine, the Master who got on my case for smoking occasionally. Macklin was everybody’s little brother, who was also one of the kindest. River and Reese were my partners in crime. River and I could sit like this and do nothing. Reese took me to the shooting range when he felt I needed to blow off some steam.
Lucas was the fusser. He took me out to lunch and brunch and coffee dates to check up on me. His man Colt sent me memes, Spotify links, and actual steaks.
And Lucian…the stiffest of them all. The high-protocol Master who’d turned into a teddy bear since getting together with his foursome… He was kinda like Lucas lately, actually. In his own way.
I didn’t need anybody else, did I? I had them and their partners.
“Are you gonna be here this weekend?” I asked, putting out my smoke in an old coffee mug.
River made a face. “I don’t know. I have half a mind to distract Reese and Shay with a hike or somethin’.”
Yeah, that sounded like him. Not only was it Easter this weekend, but some members had decided to host a play party for kinksters interested in exploring new fetishes. Events like that attracted newbies and people on the prowl for hookups and eternal love.
“You?” he asked.
I blew out a breath. “I’d like to say fuck Easter and the bunny it rode in on, but I signed up to cover Lucian’s DM shift.”
Lucian had finally realized he was completely burned out a few weeks ago, so we’d come together to remove him from monitor duty. He wasn’t allowed to host events for a while either, including our monthly Game.
“Have fun with all the newbies,” River drawled.
I stuck out my tongue at him.
He smirked and clasped his hands behind his head.
Whatever. I could survive one Easter weekend with giggling newbies and jumping in whenever someone got too reckless. This was part of the lifestyle we’d signed up for. We welcomed everyone, even though our personalities, to some degree, screamed “Get off my porch.”
At least I’d have Lucas and Colt with me. They’d volunteered to be dungeon monitors too. Oh, and Ash. I’d tricked him into coming out here for a drink or two. Since the cruise had been an all-sausage-fest affair, I hadn’t gotten my chance to catch up with him yet. He’d returned to our community after a year’s absence following his separation from the unofficial leader of our bondage crowd.
If anyone asked me, those two just needed to figure their shit out and get back together. I was by no means a romantic, but they were two halves of a whole. Dumbass dudes who refused to communicate when they got hurt.
I woke up the next morning with a sore neck, after having spent the night in one of the guest rooms in the main house.
Thank fuck my new bed was arriving today. I’d timed the delivery for later when I knew more members would be around, because I had every intention of bribing brats with donuts, candy, and pizza if they helped me carry everything inside.
After a shower, I changed into a pair of leggings and a too-big denim shirt—fairly sure I’d stolen it from Colt at some point—and I tied a belt around my waist. Perfect dress.
In my defense, his idea of sampling my baked goods whenever I orchestrated a bake sale or brought dessert to an event was to take half of it for himself.
“I’m just tastin’!” he’d say with his mouth full and sticky with frosting.
I’d earned this shirt.
My messy hair ended up in a haphazard bun at the top of my head, and then I was ready to face the day in big shades and pink flip-flops.
I headed downstairs and trailed through the empty club area till I reached the terrace doors. The deck with all its tables and barbecue area and two hot tubs was deserted, but I spotted a familiar Tenley swimming laps in the pool. Shay was reading a book in one of the loungers too.
Just as I walked outside, River came out from their cabin with a cup of coffee, and he nodded in his silent way of saying good morning.
It was going to be hot today.
The six founders’ cabins formed a neat row along the western perimeter, leading down to the forest where we liked to host takedown events and primal play. It’d been a long fucking time since I’d joined. Ella hadn’t really been into primal kinks. A masochist through and through, but not for the adrenaline. Pain had brought her peace and emotional release.
I loved both.
I missed the chase, the playfulness of a brat, and the constant push and pull.
I bundled up my laundry under my arm and crossed the deck, and I jumped down onto the grass right around the time Reese slapped a hand on the wall of the pool and panted out, “Fifty.”
“Okay, Daddy,” Shay snorted in amusement. “I counted thirty-eight.”
River and I exchanged a smirk.
Reese huffed. “Then you definitely need to go back to school, you little bratfuck.”
“I’m studying!” was Shay’s defense, and he left his lounger and nodded at me. “I’ve been waiting for Mistress Penelope.”
Oh?
“Good morning, Ma’am.” He jogged my way as I moseyed toward my cabin. It was the fifth one, nestled in between Greer’s and Macklin’s.
“Morning, pet.”
He sidled up next to me and showed me the book he was reading. Environmental rezoning. All right.
“So from one engineer to another—in the same field, technically—I wanna pretend to discuss this book for two reasons,” he said. “For one, I’m still struggling to find the motivation to go back and get my master’s, but it means a lot to River and Reese that I try. And two…it’s possible I’m up to no good.”
I side-eyed him. “And you thought it was a good idea to casually mention that to one of the toppy Sadists around?”
“A genius idea, actually, which I won’t take full credit for,” he answered. “Two things can happen here. You rat me out, and I take my punishment. No biggie. It won’t make any headlines. But the chance of you actually teaming up with me…? No one will suspect that.”
He had my attention.
I motioned for the book, and he extended it. If this was going to continue, we’d need to keep up the charade.
“I’m listening,” I said. I flipped to a random page somewhere in the middle, and then a few more pages. At the same time, we slowed down because we’d reached my cabin. “What’s your plan?”
“We fuck with both the Sadists and the brats,” he told me bluntly. “We pit them against each other.”
A spark of giddiness buzzed through me—I couldn’t deny it.
Shay truly was a smart opportunist. In the last year, a heated debate over our community’s name had sparked more than one attack from either side; we had the brats claiming House Mclean sounded way better, whereas most of us Tops, and particularly those of us who’d actually founded the community, remained firm on Mclean House.
I’d never observed Shay taking a stand on the issue, and no wonder. He waited for the right cards to play. And right now, we had the perfect storm brewing because of that dumb debate. The Sadists were on high alert, and the brats were scheming.
I dropped my gaze to the book, and Shay casually traced two fingers along a paragraph.
“Who else is with you?” I asked.
“Nobody.”
I quirked a brow at him. “You said the idea wasn’t entirely yours.”
“True,” he conceded. “But once this person sort of threw out the idea, I made no mention or showed any sign that I might run with it.”
I hummed. “I want to know who it is, just so that I have all the facts.”
Shay had several friends at Mclean, though he was particularly close with Tate, Lane, Ivy, and Gretchen.
“Does that mean you’re in?” he asked hopefully.
He was cute. A bad-boy-looking young man with tons of tattoos, one with a tough exterior, but River and Reese—probably mostly Reese—had drawn out a sweet Middle who wasn’t afraid to show his emotions.
“Unless the unknowing coconspirator raises red flags,” I answered.
First and foremost, however, Shay was a primal bottom who paid attention to how his behavior might look to others. Like his Owners. As he considered my demand, he didn’t fidget or glance over at River and Reese; he kept up with the act and flipped to another chapter in the book.
“Okay, fair,” he decided. “It was Nora.” Goddammit. “We were talking about pranks and mindfucks, and she mentioned the ultimate one would be to find a Top to team up with since the sides are so divided. We never hear about Sadists suspecting Sadists, and so on.”
“And you just breezed right by that?” To be honest, I wished Nora had never joined us. She’d only been here roughly a month, maybe two, and she was already turning heads. She was making me react, and I didn’t fucking do that. Not to a virtual stranger. Far as I knew, we’d never actually spoken beyond introductions, so I had no reason to have her occupy space in my mind.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Shay replied firmly. “At most, she will suspect me once we get started—definitely not you. Not a founding member. Given she’s close with Lane, maybe she’ll suspect Ty or Master McKenna.”
That sounded logical. Lane was also one of Macklin’s partners, because apparently all my closest friends out here had to create poly-houses and harems. Walker, or Master McKenna, and Ty were the co-Tops of both Macklin and Lane, and their cabin was right next to mine. It would do me good to observe the brat aspects in their dynamic some more. Macklin was a wild card. As a switch, he was an opportunist, much like Shay. Lane was 100% primal prey. A ballsy, funny, and sweet addition to our community. Ty…? Pure hedonist. And Walker certainly had a devil on his shoulder too.
“Okay. I’m in.”
He smiled, his blue eyes lighting up. “This is gonna be fucking epic.”
I chuckled and closed the book. “I wouldn’t join for anything less. Let’s meet up over lunch in town after the weekend. Out here, your Owners are always watching.”
He nodded. “It’s a plan. I’m supposed to help my youngest brother with a school project on Monday anyway, so anything before three would be great.”
Then let’s get this show on the road.
Shay took a few steps back, ready to return to River and Reese, when I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
“Hey, Shay?”
He turned back to me.
“If you’re struggling to go back to school, don’t force it,” was my genuine advice. “Before I got my master’s, I took two years off because my mind was fried.”
He grew pensive but nodded a little. “I feel like my time is running out. I’m already gonna be older than most when—”
I spluttered in surprise. “You’re what, twenty-five, twenty-six? You have all the time in the world, sweetie.”
He grinned ruefully. “You sound like the Tenleys.”
“Well. They’re known to say smart things occasionally.”
He chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
By noon, I’d finished cleaning my cabin. I’d pushed bags of clothes up the stairs to the otherwise empty sleeping loft, and I’d filled a final trash bag with remnants from Ella. A few tops, the last of her knickknacks, her favorite coffee mugs, and whatnot.
