Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Wyn

Later that night, I'm sitting in a hotel room with Alexis, my hair still dripping wet from the shower I just took. I've been at the police station all night, giving my statement, then at the hospital getting swabs and tests done.

Alexis is sitting on the bed opposite mine, staring at me like I'm going to shatter into a million pieces at any moment. "Any updates on Kai?"

I shrug one shoulder. "He's okay. He has a pretty gnarly head injury, but he keeps saying he just passed out. He doesn't remember anything about an intruder being at my place."

Alexis purses her lips, nodding. "And the police? Do they believe you?"

I swallow. "I don't know. They kept asking me questions like, ‘How much have you had to drink tonight?' and ‘Why didn't you scream?' or ‘If you saw the flower on your bed, why didn't you leave immediately?'"

"What the fuck? So they're blaming you?"

I push out a breath, wrapping my arms around my body. "I'm not sure they even believed it happened."

"Well, the tests they did at the hospital will prove what you're saying is true."

I shrug again. "Yeah, I don't know. This isn't really being treated like a top priority."

God, this is so fucked up.

"So did you…uh, recognize his voice or anything?" Alexis asks delicately. I know she doesn't want to ask me to go back to that moment, but it's a legit question.

I cast my mind back to the moment the stranger spoke in my ear. "I don't know. His voice was muffled by the mask, plus, I was panicked, so…"

She nods slowly like she's taking it in. Thank God for her, honestly. She dropped everything and rushed to my side the second I called her.

"There's something I didn't tell the police," I say, looking at her. It's been eating away at me since it happened, and I have to tell someone, even as shame settles like silt in my stomach.

She pulls her legs up to her chest and rests her head on her knees, turned toward me. "Yeah, what?"

"I—" I swallow down the bile that rises in the back of my throat. My heart is hammering against my chest. "I…liked it."

Alexis lifts her head but doesn't say anything. She doesn't need to. Her eyes are wide like she can't believe I said what I just said. This is exactly the reaction I was afraid of.

"Does that make me crazy?" I ask, terrified of her answer. But I need to ask, otherwise, the question is going to eat me alive.

Alexis's expression softens and she clears her throat. "No, I mean…" She shakes her head, thinking. "You thought it was Kai, so…"

It's true. I did think it was Kai…at first. But when the stranger's voice rasped in my ear, I knew, with cold certainty, it wasn't Kai, and excitement rushed through me. The panic and everything else came later.

Maybe my body hadn't caught up with my brain yet, or something? That seems plausible. A delayed reaction. Maybe that's all it was…

I nod, comforted by that thought.

Alexis yawns. "So how long will you be staying at the hotel?"

It's a good question. I have some money saved up. I can't ask my parents for hotel money, because then they'll want to know what happened. And if they know I'd brought a guy home, they'll blame me for everything that happened. Then they'll completely shut me out because that's how they punish me.

This town is small, though, so they might find out anyway.

"A couple of days," I say. "I'll ask my building manager if they can have cameras installed, and new locks. Plus, the police said they'd do extra patrols in the area, though they might have been lying about that just to placate me."

Alexis gets under her covers and lays down facing me, scrunching the hotel pillow under her head. "Well, I'm happy to stay while you're here if you want. It'll give me a break from the chaos at the sorority house."

I lay down, too, pulling the covers over me. "Thanks," I say, turning the light off. "G'night."

"Night," she mumbles, already half-asleep.

It's been a long night. We were out clubbing for hours before all this happened. I glance at the clock. It's nearly four in the morning.

Rolling onto my back, I close my eyes and try to sleep. My mind is whirling, though, and I already know sleep isn't happening tonight. I keep going over every detail of what happened. And maybe I'm just imagining it, but something about the stranger felt….familiar.

You're definitely imagining it, I tell myself.

Maybe it's just easier to think it was someone I might know, rather than a complete stranger.

The memory of the stranger slapping my ass invades my mind, the sting that echoed through my body, driving my pleasure to new heights.

Ugh.

Pushing the thought away, I flip onto my side, and pull the pillow beneath my head, blinking at the darkness. I force my thoughts to something boring, like folding laundry. I'm mentally folding a t-shirt when I hear my phone vibrate against the nightstand. I have it on silent, so it doesn't wake Alexis up.

Reaching over, I grab my phone and glance at the lock screen. It's a text from an unknown number.

You've been very naughty…

My heart leaps into my throat, and I bolt upright. Who the fuck…? I quickly unlock my screen so I can read the full message.

You've been very naughty. You went to the police. You'll need to be punished for that…

I read the words over and over, taking a screenshot to save to my phone. I'm betting the police can trace the number unless it's a burner phone or an app that conceals the user's information. If that's the case, then I have no idea if they can trace it or not.

I itch to respond, even though I know I shouldn't. I glance over at Alexis. It's too dark to see her face, but I can hear her slow, steady breaths, and I know she's fast asleep.

Settling back against the feather pillows, I reread the text several times, taking in every possible meaning. Finally, after the fifth reread, I type out a quick response, my thumbs flying over the keys before I can second guess myself.

Of course, I called the police. They know who you are, and it's only a matter of time before they arrest you.

It's a bluff, but I'm hoping he believes me. The police couldn't be any less interested in my case, so that statement is about as far away from the truth as I can get. But it's all I've got.

I wait, breath held, for his response. My blood is buzzing, and my heart is flopping around in my chest like crazy. Suddenly, something comes through. It's a voice memo.

A voice memo? Wow, ballsy.

Sitting up straight, I grab my earbuds from the nightstand and shove them into my ears quickly. If I can place his voice, then maybe I can figure out who he is. If I already know him, that is.

Swallowing, my hand shaking, I press play. A deep baritone fills my ears, the smooth voice snaking down my spine.

Hello, my little whore. You think you're safe from me, but I will always find you. And the next time another man touches you, you'll both regret it.

When the message ends, I listen to it again, and again. The voice sounds familiar, but it's almost like he's purposefully lowered it a few octaves to disguise it. Either that, or he used an app that altered the depth and timbre of his voice.

Swallowing, I lean back against the headboard, letting my breath slowly leak from my parted lips. His voice. It commands attention, and my mind is cast back to him whispering in my ear as he fucked me.

I glance in Alexis' direction and I can hear she's still sound asleep. Creeping out of bed, I walk over to the bathroom. Switching the light on automatically activates a loud exhaust fan, so I leave it off. I don't want the noise to wake up Alexis.

Once inside the bathroom, I shut the door gently, locking it. In the darkness, I lean back against the sink, and press play on the stranger's message, setting it on repeat. As his deep baritone fills the small space, I spread my legs, and slip my hand into the waistband of my sweats and panties, touching my clit.

It's fucked up. I know it is. But as the stranger speaks, I touch myself, remembering how he felt inside me. By the third replay, my toes are curling, and my climax hits me so hard that the breath is torn from my lungs and I'm arching into my own hand.

As a wave of warm tingles washes over me, I pull my hand out of my sweats. Using my phone as a light, I open the little hotel bar soap and wash my hands with it.

That's when the shame hits.

I'm afraid of this man—I have no fucking idea who he is—and for some reason that fear also feeds a weird sort of hunger inside me.

God, I'm so fucked up.