Library

4. Amy

4

AMY

T he man ran down the alley. He left me there, all alone.

One second, he was crashing his hot lips to mine, making me want to feel his mouth everywhere, dueling for a taste and growling with desire.

Then the next?

I huffed, feeling my hard breath against my fingertips.

The next second, he was just gone.

He'd run from me, and I couldn't withstand the whiplash.

I felt the phantom push of his body against mine as he held me to the wall. I shivered, recalling the sensation of his rough fingers gripping my chin, his firm lips tickling and teasing my sensitive flesh below my ear.

From utter, rabid heat and want… to nothing.

I stood there, continuing to stare down the unlit path he'd sprinted down. Catching my breath and trying to make sense of this sudden, abrupt stop to the pleasure he teased me with, I blinked and fought the urge to scream.

How could he just go like that?

I pushed off the wall, rubbing my lips and wondering how long the burn of his kiss would linger there. He'd zapped me with such need, I didn't know how to calm down on my own.

Just like that. He hunted me down, and then was gone!

What the hell was his game? Obviously, he only wanted to tease me and play with me. He was fucking with my head, and that was only after a single, torrid kiss in the dark.

No. What the fuck was I thinking?

I couldn't figure it out. The experience of that stranger kissing me lasted all of a minute, but it was seared into my soul.

That tall man had been checking me out in the club. I knew that. Even though gorgeous, naked women were dancing all over in plain sight and trying to get all the dollar bills, he'd concentrated on me . I couldn't lie. It felt good to know I had attracted a man like that.

When he'd followed and chased me, I fought a losing battle between the fear of being chased and hunted and the excitement of pulling someone closer. The anticipation of his reaching me in the alley felt thrilling somehow, and that was my first clue that something was gravely wrong with me.

"What the hell was I thinking?" I muttered as I resumed walking home. I licked my lips, tasting him there, and shook my head.

I hadn't been thinking. Not at all. I obeyed my body, letting my actions flow without logical thoughts to interrupt my reaction.

I had no business kissing a stranger. But I had. The second he'd leaned in closer, I felt like I'd fallen into a spell of déjà vu .

He seemed familiar somehow. For a fleeting second, I thought I'd heard Nate again. This man in the alley had a similar deep timbre, a hint of impatience and authority in his tone that made me think back to how Nate had coaxed me to come and ordered me to let him pleasure me like he wanted to.

"But that's impossible," I whispered. Talking to myself couldn't be a good indicator of my sanity, but I spoke the words aloud, lending them more credibility. Because it had to be impossible. There was simply no way that this stranger could have been Nate.

But… I frowned, wondering why that stupid thought wouldn't budge from my mind. When he'd kissed me, it was with that same drugging magic that made me want more and more.

Okay, I was drunk that night. Who knew what I remembered as actually having happened or what I'd dressed up as fantasy?

I sighed heavily, growing more concerned about how stupid I could be. I hated how hung up I was about Nate. He'd clearly lied about who he was, and that stung. I loathed the instinct to wonder if I had been good enough for him, this fear that I could've been so bad in bed that he'd wanted to lie and deceive me to get out of my apartment quickly.

As I walked back home, I wished I weren't only leaving that strip club behind, but also my damn doubts and misgivings.

Nate—and that stranger—were no good for me. And I should've known better than to let random men matter so much.

In the morning, I woke up unsettled and still bothered about how quickly I'd lowered my guard for that man who'd chased me into the alley.

I sat up in bed, frowning at the time. I'd overslept, but it was just as well that I had. When my alarm clock went off earlier, I lacked any energy to get up and start my day. Plus, my stomach was upset. Sleeping in helped, but I couldn't avoid reality for good. I had a second shift to deal with at the clinic .

Yawning wide, I stretched and slipped out of bed. I didn't have an appetite for toast, all that I had in the cupboards for breakfast, and I gagged at the smell of coffee.

"When is this going to be over?" I rubbed my stomach and sat down on the couch. The place wasn't messy yet. I'd only moved in a couple of weeks ago and I still hadn't emptied all the boxes.

I didn't have much to unpack. I was orphaned when I was three, and my life had lacked stability ever since. I was in and out of foster homes, then once I was eighteen, in and out of junky apartments. Landlords could be such con artists, upping the rent or making up bullshit reasons to evict me even though I always paid rent on time.

Dealing with bills didn't improve my mood, but today was the day to handle it all. Rent, utilities, student loans, a medical thing from when I fell at the grocery store and sprained my wrist. I scowled at my laptop, still bitter that I had to foot that bill. It wasn't my fault they hadn't cleaned up a spill on the floor. Debt was my middle name. Between the usual things I had to deal with on my low pay, I would never get ahead.

I lowered my face into my hands, wishing I had something to look forward to for once. Before I could dip into a deep slump, my phone pinged. It was a text from Missy, and I wished I hadn't looked.

Missy: How are you feeling today? Talia and I stayed out so damn late. I'm glad I don't have to go in to work!

She added a selfie to her text. Her fiancé was kissing her cheek while she giggled.

"Oh, gimme a break." Jealousy filled me, and it churned with my upset stomach. I wished I could have a man in my life, someone to support me and help me when I was down and struggling. It was exhausting to know I was alone and had no one, that I had yet to meet a stable man I could marry. All I'd ever wanted was to be a part of something bigger, to belong and fit in with a huge family, where everyone looked out for each other. I'd never had a family, never had support, and it felt like a pipe dream most days.

I didn't reply to her. Instead, I showered and got ready for a long evening at the vet clinic. Even though I wouldn't have to deal with customers at the front desk all night, facing mountains of paperwork didn't appeal. The hours passed slowly, but I finished my shift by taking constant breaks. Every time I walked back to play with the puppies and dogs who were there to be boarded overnight, my mood lifted. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

It just wasn't normal to be this blah after a stomach bug. After my shift ended and I began the walk home, I considered whether I was ignoring the signs of something else.

Something permanent.

I'm not pregnant.

I couldn't be. I'd grown up assuming that I would never have children, and that was probably a big reason I wanted a family so badly. Because it was something out of my reach. I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome when I was a teen, and the doctors were very clear that I would never be able to successfully get pregnant or keep a baby.

Besides, I didn't sleep around much. The last time I had was Nate, and before him, it was probably a year-long drought of never meeting someone I'd want to be intimate with. Missy teased me that I was picky, and I was. I didn't care. If I were to get hot and heavy with a man, I wanted it to be something I was confident about, even if it was only casual sex.

And here I was, wishing I could see Nate again. Or even that stranger from last night. I was an idiot to lust for either of those men because they were prime examples of the kind of guy who wouldn't stick around. I was just a piece of ass to them, and I hated the reminder that I could be weak enough to want them. I had better standards than to want a deadbeat, right?

I shook my head, letting it hang low as I walked. I stared at the cracked sidewalk, knowing that even if there was a chance, however slim, that I could be pregnant, the father would never know. I had no means to contact Nate. I doubted he'd want to be informed, anyway. He sure hadn't wanted to stick around with me longer than that night.

It'll be all right. I drew a deep breath, forcing myself to know that things would turn around. Lifting my head, I tried to stand up straight and prompt my body to lose this clinging anxiety. If I thought positively, I'd feel better.

But it was too late. All I could do was react with absolute terror.

While I'd been walking and lost in my thoughts, I hadn't been paying attention to my surroundings. Maybe if I'd been more alert, I would've noticed the group of masked thugs approaching sooner.

A van idled on the road, and as the panel door slid open, the men rushed at me.

My mouth opened, and I braced myself to scream.

Before I could even squeak, let alone scream, they grabbed me, running toward me and hauling me right off the sidewalk. They'd sprung upon me so suddenly, I lacked the time or chance to react with anything other than paralysis.

Shock kept me locked in panic. They outnumbered me, their muscled arms stronger as they picked me up. Hands clamped on my legs, stopping my kicks. Another one covered my mouth with a gag, silencing me.

They swiftly carried me to the van and roughly shoved me inside the dark cargo space.

I blinked, trying to calm my racing heart as my mind caught up. Everything passed in a dizzying blur, and I resisted the urge to puke .

Just when I'd been so sullen and distracted, thinking that my life couldn't sink any lower, I was kidnapped, snatched right off the street.

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.