Ten seconds is nothing when you're running for your life.
Freezing December wind slices through my hoodie as I sprint across the rooftop, my lungs burning with each desperate breath. I'm counting down in my head with each footfall, each heartbeat hammering against my ribs.
Nine.
The gravel crunches beneath my sneakers as I push myself harder, faster, my muscles screaming in protest. I reach the edge of the building and don't even slow down.
Eight.
I focus on the next rooftop, about twenty feet away across an alleyway that might as well be the Grand Canyon. Golden energy surges through my veins as reality bends around me. For a split second, I'm everywhere and nowhere, my molecules scattered across space before snapping back together.
Seven.
I materialize on the opposite roof, already running. The teleport sends a wave of heat through my lower body, a primal sensation that mingles with my terror.
Six.
"Just keep moving," I gasp between ragged breaths, pushing my body past its limits. The city blurs around me, a maze of concrete and steel that offers no sanctuary.
Five.
Another rooftop approaches. I don't even think, just teleport. Flash of gold, surge of heat, and I'm still running. My thighs burn with exertion, but I can't stop. Not for a second.
Four.
Sweat trickles down my spine despite the December chill. My heart feels like it might explode in my chest. Another teleport, another rooftop. The golden light trails behind me like a beacon announcing my position to whatever's hunting me.
Three.
"Faster, faster," I chant under my breath, my voice barely audible over the sound of my pounding footsteps. I can almost feel it closing in, the invisible countdown ticking away the seconds of safety I have left.
Two.
I reach another edge, focus on a water tower about thirty feet away. It's farther than I usually go, but fear gives me strength.
One.
I land hard, stumbling as my feet hit the metal platform. The teleport leaves me dizzy, my vision swimming as I struggle to regain my balance. The heat in my core pulses insistently, a byproduct of my powers that feels grotesquely inappropriate given the circumstances.
Zero.
The roar that tears through the night sky freezes the blood in my veins. It's not human. Not even close. It's the sound of something ancient and hungry, a predator announcing its presence to prey that has nowhere left to run.
I spin around, heart lodged in my throat, but it's too late. The massive silhouette of Venom fills my vision against the night sky, her hulking form blocking out the stars as she lands on the rooftop with predatory grace. Each step she takes toward me sends vibrations through the metal platform.
"SHANE!" Her voice is a horrifying symphony of two beings speaking as one, echoing across the empty space between us. "GET BACK HERE!"
My legs are moving before my brain can catch up, desperate strides carrying me toward the far edge of the water tower. Maybe if I can just get enough distance for one more teleport…
The symbiote strikes without warning, black tendrils shooting across the platform and wrapping around my ankles. I crash face-first onto the metal surface, the impact knocking what little breath I had left from my lungs.
"Please," I gasp, clawing at the platform as the tendrils drag me backward. "Ellie, wait…"
She looms over me now, her monstrous form silhouetted against the city lights. The symbiote ripples across her body in agitated patterns, those blank white eyes somehow conveying hunger despite having no pupils. Moonlight catches on her fangs as her mouth splits into a terrifying grin.
And God help me, even now, even as I'm being hunted like an animal, I can't help but stare. There's something hauntingly beautiful about her in this form, powerful, primal, perfect in her terrible symmetry.
That momentary hesitation costs me everything.
She pounces, her weight driving me flat against the platform. I try to teleport, to escape, but panic scrambles my concentration. The golden energy flickers and dies before it can fully form.
"Caught you," she purrs, her voice a nightmare chorus that sends shivers down my spine.
The symbiote crawls up my body like liquid darkness, tendrils slithering across my skin. I thrash against her grip, but it's like fighting an ocean, everywhere I push, she flows around me, inexorable and patient.
"Stop struggling," she growls, her monstrous face inches from mine. "You know you can't escape."
Her claws tear through my hoodie like it's tissue paper, shredding the fabric with methodical precision. The December air hits my exposed chest, raising goosebumps across my skin. I shiver, but not from the cold.
"Ellie, stop…" My words cut off as she rips my jeans open with a single violent motion, the sound of tearing denim echoing across the rooftop.
The symbiote flows beneath me, lifting me slightly as she strips away what remains of my clothing. I'm naked now, vulnerable beneath her massive form, my body betraying me with an arousal that has nothing to do with teleporting and everything to do with her.
"Look at you," she purrs, those blank white eyes somehow conveying hunger despite their emptiness. "Already hard for us."
I gasp, pushing against her chest with all my strength. It's like trying to move a mountain. "You can't do this!"
She stops me by grabbing a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back to expose my throat. A whimper escapes me.
"We can do whatever we want," she hisses, her monstrous face splitting into that terrifying grin. "You're ours."
I twist in her grip, a last desperate attempt at freedom. The symbiote responds by pinning my wrists above my head with tendrils thick as ropes. I arch my back, trying to break free, but succeed only in pressing myself against her.
"No," I protest, the word weak and unconvincing even to my own ears.
She laughs, the sound vibrating through both our bodies. "Your mouth says no, but this…" a tendril slithers around my cock, squeezing just tight enough to make me gasp "says yes."
Her face lowers to mine, that scary mouth crashing against my lips in a kiss that's all teeth and hunger. I turn my head away, still fighting, still pretending I don't want this as much as she does.
The symbiote parts around her hips, revealing Ellie beneath the monster. She positions herself above me and she sinks down onto me in one fluid motion.
A cry tears from my throat as she envelops me, hot and slick and impossibly tight. The symbiote pulses around us both, heightening every sensation to an almost unbearable degree.
She moves relentlessly, her hips rising and falling with inhuman strength. Each thrust drives me deeper, making my vision blur around the edges. I'm helpless beneath her, pinned by both the symbiote's tendrils and my own desperate desire.
"Ellie," I gasp, my back arching as she pounds against me with merciless precision. My eyes roll back, pleasure shooting through every nerve ending like electric current. "Oh god, Ellie..."
The symbiote bubbles between us, enhancing every sensation until I can barely think straight. Her rhythm intensifies, each movement drawing a broken moan from my lips.
Her monstrous face lowers to mine again, that terrifying mouth somehow softening as it claims my lips again. This time, I don't turn away. I kiss her back with everything I have, my tongue meeting hers in a dance that's all surrender.
"I love you," I whisper against her mouth, the words tumbling out before I can stop them. "I love you, I love you, I love you..."
I repeat it like a prayer, like a lifeline I'm clinging to as pleasure threatens to drown me. The symbiote pulses around us, responding to my declaration with undulating patterns that seem thrilled.
Suddenly, she stops moving, her massive form going still above me. The symbiote recedes from her face, revealing Ellie's flushed cheeks and narrowed blue eyes.
"Shane..." she sighs, sounding genuinely exasperated despite still being joined with me. "It's really hard to rape you when you keep telling me you love me."
Heat rushes to my face that has nothing to do with arousal. "I'm sorry," I mumble, feeling suddenly awkward despite our intimate position.
Her lips twitch with suppressed amusement. "You said this was what you wanted for your birthday," she reminds me, shifting her hips just enough to make me gasp. "So I'm taking it seriously for you."
"You're doing such a good job, Ellie," I assure her earnestly, my hands straining against the symbiote's grip. "Really."
She smiles down at me, completely motionless above me.
"Such a good boy, aren't you?" she purrs, her voice like velvet. "So in love with me."
Something twitches inside me at her words, my cock pulsing involuntarily within her. The sensation makes my breath catch in my throat.
Her smile widens, those blue eyes gleaming with wicked delight. "Oh, did you like that? When I tell you you're a good boy?"
I nod frantically, unable to form words as another pulse runs through me.
"My perfect, sweet boy," she continues, still refusing to move her hips. "So obedient. So eager to please me."
My hips strain upward, desperate for friction, for movement, for anything, but the symbiote tendrils tighten around my thighs, holding me firmly in place.
"Look how responsive you are," she whispers, her inner muscles clenching around me with exquisite control. "My beautiful boy, so hard inside me."
"Ellie, please," I gasp, sweat beading on my forehead despite the December chill. "I need…"
"Shh," she places a finger against my lips. "I know exactly what you need. My good, patient boy. Always so good for me."
Each word of praise sends another jolt through my cock, making it throb inside her. I'm practically trembling now, caught in this exquisite torture of stillness while pleasure builds to an almost unbearable level.
"Perfect Shane," she murmurs, leaning down to brush her lips against my ear. "My hero. My beautiful, brave boy who fights so hard."
"Please move," I beg, my voice breaking. "I can't take it anymore."
"But you can," she counters, her smile turning predatory. "My strong, resilient boy. Taking everything I give him so well."
My entire body shakes with the effort of staying still, the symbiote's grip the only thing keeping me from thrusting up into her with desperate abandon.
"Ellie," I moan, her name a prayer and a plea. "I love you so much. Please."
Her expression softens slightly, something tender flickering behind those fierce blue eyes.
"I know you do," she says, finally, mercifully beginning to move her hips in a slow, deliberate rhythm. "My good boy deserves his reward."
The symbiote tendrils around my wrists suddenly dissolve, melting away into Ellie's skin as she leans back, her blue eyes locked on mine with an intensity that steals my breath.
"Show me how much you want me," she commands, her voice husky with desire.
Freedom granted, I don't waste a second. My hands fly to her hips, gripping her with newfound strength as I thrust upward, driving deep into her with desperate abandon. The water tower platform creaks beneath us as I establish a frantic rhythm, my body moving on pure instinct.
"Yes, Shane, just like that," she gasps, her head falling back, blonde hair catching the moonlight as her body arches above mine. Each thrust draws a moan from her lips that echoes across the rooftop, a symphony of pleasure that only fuels my desperation.
I'm lost in her, in the perfect heat of her body wrapped around mine, in the way her muscles clench with each movement. The symbiote dances across her skin like liquid shadow, enhancing every sensation to an almost unbearable degree.
"God, Shane, I love you so fucking much," she cries out, her eyes flying open to lock with mine. "Do you know that? I really, really fucking do."
Something shifts between us, the playful domination game giving way to something raw and real. I can feel it building, that perfect storm of pleasure cresting within us both simultaneously. Her inner walls flutter around me as her climax begins, triggering my own release with perfect synchronicity.
"Ellie!" I cry out, my voice breaking as the first wave hits me.
She lunges forward, her hands gripping my face with almost painful intensity. Her eyes are wild, manic with emotion as our bodies pulse together in shared ecstasy.
"I would do anything for you," she gasps, her gaze never leaving mine as we ride the waves together. "Do you know that?"
Through the haze of my orgasm, I manage to form words, each one punctuated by a moan as I continue to release inside her. "Yeah, I would for you too. I love you."
Her thumbs stroke my cheeks, her expression almost desperate as pleasure continues to crash through us both. "Just keep looking at me like that, Shane," she whispers. "Never, ever stop looking at me with that hunger you always have."
I groan, my hips jerking upward one final time as I finish completely, my body emptying everything it has into her. The symbiote pulses between us, absorbing our shared release, feeding on the intensity of our connection.
As the last tremors fade, Ellie collapses against my chest, her breath hot against my neck. The symbiote forms a protective cocoon around us both, shielding our naked bodies from the December chill.
For a few minutes, we just lie there, tangled together under the symbiote's protective embrace. My breathing gradually returns to normal as I trace lazy patterns across Ellie's back, feeling the symbiote shift beneath my fingertips like living silk.
"So," Ellie finally murmurs against my neck, her voice vibrating pleasantly against my skin. "Was that what you wanted? The whole primal play thing?"
I grin, pressing a kiss to her temple. "It was perfect. You're perfect."
She props herself up on one elbow, those fierce blue eyes studying my face with that intense focus that still makes my heart skip. "You know, if I take you home now, we could get you another set of clothes and try again." Her lips curve into that dangerous smile I love so much. "But you have to stay in character this time."
Instead of answering, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her closer until there's not a molecule of space between us.
"No," I whisper, my lips brushing against hers. "Let's just be lovey-dovey like normal."
Ellie's expression softens, something tender replacing the predatory gleam in her eyes. She leans down, pressing a gentle peck against my lips.
"That sounds fun too."