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Xavier swiped my key from his father’s collection and started breaking into my apartment a few weeks ago. He left behind enough imprints to give me nightmares for the rest of my life. I found the cameras he tried to hide in my ceiling fan, on my bookshelf, and in the vent above the bathroom shower. Last week I went to get a drink from the two-liter of soda in the fridge, and I caught a glimpse of the roofie he’d slipped in it.
I saw the suspicion in his eyes when I came out of my apartment later that evening with the empty bottle and wasn’t the least bit drugged. He doesn’t know how I’ve been avoiding his traps, but he knows I’ve been doing it intentionally, and it makes him angry. As angry as the fact that I haven’t fallen for his charm. Tonight it seems he’s reached his breaking point. “But it’s your birthday,” he insists.
I shrug. “I’ve never really celebrated my birthday.”
His smile returns, wider than before. The victorious gleam in his eyes churns my stomach. “All the more reason to make sure this one is special. You’re twenty-two, right? That’s as good an age as any to celebrate.”
“Sorry. I had a long day at work today, and I’m exhausted. I’m going to have to pass. Thanks, though.”
I try to maneuver around him, but he grabs me by the waist and steers me toward his waiting friend. “I don’t think so.”
My heart starts racing. I dig my feet into the ground. When I try to escape him, his grip becomes painfully tight. “You’re not ditching me again,” he snaps. I startle at the venom in his voice, and he immediately calms himself. “There’s no way out of this, Nora. You’re all mine tonight.”
I don’t need my gift to recognize the double meaning in his words. When I glare at him, his cheeks flush with anger, and I suddenly feel a knife poking in my side. “Don’t embarrass me. You’ll regret it if you do.”
Thanks to the knife, I have no choice but to go with him. I know he won’t hesitate to use it. His thoughts prove that.
Xavier smiles at his friend. The guy nods back and slips into the front of the car while Xavier yanks me over by the arm and forces me into the backseat. “Hey, Parker, you don’t mind playing chauffeur, right? My girl wants me to sit with her.”
His knife hidden again, Xavier slides in after me. He looks at the guy in the driver’s seat. “Parker, this is Nora.” He points to Parker and says, “Nora, this is my new friend, Parker.”
Xavier looks a lot like all the guys I saw on the bus. His hair is hidden under a do-rag, and he’s wearing clothes ten sizes too big for him. It’s a typical look for guys in Detroit. Parker, though…he’s different. He’s a little older, maybe late twenties, and he looks like a GQ model. On top of the nice outfit that fits him like clothes are supposed to fit a man, he’s got dark, short stylish hair; beautiful alabaster skin; and striking blue eyes. He’s gorgeous.Too bad he’s hanging out with Xavier.
Parker nods at me and then starts the car. “It’s nice to meet you, Nora. You’re even lovelier than Xavier said you were.”
I’m more thrown off by the manners than the compliment, but I don’t have time to dwell on it, because Xavier snakes his fingers up my thigh and says, “And tonight she’s all mine.”
I shove his hand away. “That’s not happening.”
Parker glances at me in the rearview mirror with shrewd eyes while Xavier chuckles and slips his arm over my shoulder, dragging me into his side. “Nora loves to play hard to get,” he says to Parker, “but I’m feeling lucky tonight.”
He pulls me even closer and pushes his free hand beneath my shirt. I try to squirm away, but he’s holding me too tightly. He brushes his lips along the length of my neck and says, “You know you want it, baby. I’ll have you begging me for it before the night is over.”
He laughs as if he’s just said the world’s funniest joke.
“Getoffme.”
I try to break free again, and this time, thankfully, he lets me go with a sigh. “All right, all right, relax.” He rolls his eyes at Parker in the rearview mirror. “Apparently we need to get the virgin a little looser before she’s ready for me. What do you think, should we hit up Club Noir?”
Parker frowns. “That’s a bit rough for her. Let’s go someplace better. Perhaps Vortex?”
“Too many rich white people,” Xavier says. He smirks at Parker. “No offense.”
Parker ignores the jab. Apparently he’s a rich white guy, not that I couldn’t have guessed by the car and the clothes. “What about Motown?” he asks.
Xavier thinks about it and nods. “Yeah, that could work.”
My head starts spinning with ideas. If he plans to take me to a club before dragging me back to his dorm room or some cheap motel, I might have a chance to escape. Especially if I can get him drunk. But I have to get him to let his guard down first, which means playing along a little. Hopefully I can do that without getting sick. “Are we really going dancing?” I ask. “I’ve never been to a club before.”
Xavier grins at me. “It’s your night, birthday girl. You like dancing?”
“Ilovedancing.”
Batting my eyelashes at him might be a bit much, but he falls for it enough that he slides a possessive arm around me again. He looks down at me through hooded eyes and speaks in a low, husky voice. “You never told me you like to dance.”
The lustful thoughts I’m picking up from him are enough to drown me. Swallowing back my revulsion, I force another smile and shrug. “You’ve never asked. I’m not very good at it, though.”
“I doubt that.” Xavier shivers and graces me with a vision of the two of us grinding on a crowded dance floor. His hands are holding me in places that shouldn’t be touched in public. “Motown, it is,” he rasps, “and step on it.”
