Chapter Twenty-Seven

" S he's fine," a man whispers. His voice seems familiar, but at the same time, it doesn't. Everything sounds far away but close. It's a strange feeling and not something I can break free from, no matter how hard I fight to rise.

I mumble and fall back into the darkness I've been in for however long. At some point, I become aware again but can barely open my eyes.

"I don't think it's a good—" another man says through the murky depths.

"I don't care what you thin?—"

Darkness.

I swim to the surface like I'm at the bottom of the ocean and running out of air. It's right there, and yet, so far away. Something keeps pulling me down, preventing me from taking a full breath.

"Say, I do," the first man whispers in my ear. Fingers trail over my forehead and down my temple in a loving gesture. I don't understand why he's touching me like that. I don't know him .

I mumble again, not understanding what I'm saying.

"Open your eyes."

My eyelashes flutter, fighting the sleep that holds me. Everything's so blurry that it's hard to make out the masculine face in front of me. All I see is tan and black. I jolt at the feeling of his lips on mine. His kiss is rough and demanding, with his teeth nipping my bottom lip. He smells like he ate candy corn before this.

I freeze in surprise. The man continues kissing me, urging me to respond with little nips here and there as his fingers tighten in the hair at the back of my head. He still seems familiar, but I can't put my finger on it.

I shiver and attempt to pull away. Instead, I slump forward into his embrace and kiss him back. In my mind, I imagine it's Jaxon because of the way he sucks my bottom lip and squeezes my ass cheek. He pulls away from my mouth and leaves a trail of kisses from my jaw to my ear.

"You're mine," he says huskily. "No one will take you from me."

Then everything goes dark again.