“Seriously. It’s my fault — I forgot the fucking trash. You two go. I’ll haul it out to the alley then lock myself inside until the big, strong man comes to rescue me.” I roll my eyes to emphasize my irritation with needing supervision.
Anne’s eyes are on my face and I know she’s debating it in her head.
“Go!” I insist, before she can argue. “I’m locking you out anyway.”
Yes, Anne has a key. No, I don’t care.
She steps away from Steve and gives me a swift hug. “If he’s already on his way, fine. You promise me you’ll stay inside after you haul out the trash? And if you have any problems, you’ll call one of us? We’ll all be within range if something were to happen.”
“I promise,mom. I’ll even cancel the male strippers.”
“Male strippers? Steve, I need to can…” She cuts off with a giggle, as Steve wraps his arms around her waist and hoists her into the air. He rolls his eyes at me over her shoulder before turning her around, lifting and flopping her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He winks at me and with a final warning to “call if you need anything,” he bodily hauls my friend into the night.
I smile, hearing her giggles and expletives. I close the door again, lock it and set the alarm. Tossing my bag, phone and drink on the table, I tuck my keys into my back pocket and make my way to the kitchen. While I did haul any food waste out earlier in the day, some recycling and paper trash still remain. I gather up what I can and let myself out the back into the alley.
I toss the bags into the dumpster when I sense movement behind me. I start to turn when a solid body is pressed against my back, pinning me against the cold metal.
I feel a warm breath on my neck as a voice I detest whispers “Hey, baby,” in my ear.
My mind goes completely blank as my body freezes. I feel my heart drop to my feet, then roar back to fill my ears.
FuckingBrett.
He’s got both arms caging me and is pressing my hips against the dumpster hard enough to hurt. The pain brings me back to the present moment.
“Brett, where the hell did you come from?” I try to push his arm out of my way, to get some space, anything, but he doesn’t budge. “You’re fucking squishing me.”
He eases his weight off my back but doesn’t move his arms. I turn around, deciding that facing him is less of a threat than leaving my unguarded back to him. Iimmediately regret my decision as I’m now stuck staring at his stupid smug face.
“I knew you’d be more receptive without the audience. And no white knight in sight.” His gaze rakes down my body, making my skin crawl and making me acutely aware that we are, in fact, very alone. Anne and Steve will be driving, if their reservation is across town. I put my hands against his chest, trying to push him off of me. “Looks like you’ve had a change of heart.” he smirks.
I want to claw his eyes out.
“Excuse me?” I squeak. I push as hard as I can and he barely gives an inch.
Fuck. This isn’t good. Where the fuck is Flint? Why the fuck didn’t I just let them change their fucking reservation?
Because I’m a strong independent woman. Who is probably about to be raped in a fucking alley.
“Oh, com’on, baby. I know you’ve been playing this hard to get game for months and frankly, I’m tired of it. It was cute at first, got me interested, but enough is enough. Using that new stock boy to try to make me jealous? It’s time to pay up.”
“Pay up?” Why do I feel like he’s speaking fucking Greek? “Pay up? Are you fucking kidding me? I haven’t been playing anything, you fucking idiot. I. Am. Not. Interested. I have tried being polite, I’ve tried being friendly, I’ve even tried being kindly direct. Fuck, I’ve even been mean. The man I’m with has been mean. I don’t want you! I don’t want to get to know you better, and I most certainly have no interest in fucking you! I want you to leave. Now!” I yell.
His face is an alarming shade of purple and his eyes have hardened. He moves his hands from thecounter and for a split second, I think he’ll just bow out gracefully.
Instead, he grips the tops of my arms hard enough to bruise and slams me back even farther.
“You cock teasing little cunt. I’ll get what’s mine, one way or the other.”
I’m still seeing stars when he slams his mouth onto mine and forces his tongue into my mouth. He tastes like stale coffee and desperation. One hand moves to my breast and squeezes, painfully, pulling a whimper from me. He apparently takes that as encouragement, as he pushes his knee between my legs and I can feel his dick pressing into my leg.
“Calida!”I scream with my mind. “Flint!”
And then I feel like I’m floating a million miles away. As though I’m watching both Brett and myself. I am internally screaming at myself to move, to fight back, to do anything. Instead, I see myself standing there, wide eyed and terrified.
Dimly, I hear the sound of his zipper and feel the cool air on my inner thighs as my skirt is hiked up to my waist.
Suddenly, I’m not there at all. There are clashing swords in the distance and screams of the wounded, the dying. I feel the rush of anger, bigger than any I’ve ever felt, taking over me and fire flies from my hands towards the approaching enemy. It’s the anger of those around me, filling me, overflowing me, until it boils over and flies from me in ropes of angry flame, burning the enemy to dust where they stand. I glance over my shoulder and see Flint, dressed in black metal armor, fighting against three monsters with only a broadsword. He lifts his bladehigh, leaving his ribs vulnerable. I open my mouth to scream, to warn him….
