Mia slowed as she passed the mouth of an alley. She couldn’t articulate what slowed her, but she knew there was something in the dark shadows of the deserted access way that she was supposed to see. The hairs on the back of her neck felt as if they’d been infused with electricity as they crackled against her skin. Taking deep breaths, she was thankful she’d declined her coworker’s offer to walk her home. They lived in opposite directions from the coffee shop they both worked at, but Mia’s destination would take her through the less savory area of the neighborhood, and her coworker worried about her walking it alone. Suggesting instead to accompany Mia and have the coworker’s boyfriend pick her up from Mia’s place.
It was a sweet gesture that spoke of kindness Mia hadn’t quite gotten used to. She had never been abused with the Family but little niceties had never been part of her existence. One either thrived or didn’t, and the thought that someone cared for her safety warmed her enough that she almost gave into the temptation, but as she stared into the too-quiet darkness of the alley she realized she’d made the right choice.
“You might as well get this over with, because I’ve had a long day and don’t have time for bullshit.”
She infused her statement with as much bravado as she could muster. Mia really was tired; she hadn’t slept the night before, as her dreams were plagued with dreams of submission. They were torturous, promising fulfillment but never taking her where she needed to be. She’d woken several times in the night after the sensation of the cool press of leather against her skin or the tingle of her hair being pulled by familiar, strong hands sent her body into a frenzy only to have her mind squelch the pleasure with reality. Mia was grumpy, and if the family wanted a fight, she felt obliged to give them one tonight.
“Oh, piss off!”
She screamed into the dark alley and turned to continue on her way only to be stopped by a whimpering plea for help. Mia knew it was a mistake, but the siren song of that plea drew her forward and caused her dark half to rise out of the deep, dark place where she’d been sequestered. Someone was possibly injured, weak, and vulnerable inside that alley, and Mia’s darker half salivated in anticipation. She was just at the lip of the alley and held herself back from making that final crossing. Clenching her fists, she took a deep breath and shook her body sharply, displacing some of the need that had overcome her.
“I’m going to call 911. Just stay calm,” she called out as she fumbled in her bag with numb fingers.
Calling for help was so counter to who she was that she focused on who she wanted to be, a person that didn’t prey on the weak, or she would falter in her decision. If there was someone injured inside the alley, there was nothing she could do for him or her without the aid of medical professionals. She would only tempt the tenuous hold she had on her control after her sleep-deprived night, and if she was going to beat her inherent drive to conquer by subduing the predator that resided inside her, she had to avoid all opportunities for temptation.
“You really aren’t any fun anymore.”
Mia almost dropped her phone at the sound of Galen’s voice. This was the second time he’d caught her unaware, and she wanted to kick herself for being so stupid. Growling with frustration, she shoved her phone back into her purse and stared into the smug face of her tormentor.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“Yes, but the person I want to do better with isn’t willing to play,” he said with a lecherous grin.
She wanted to knock out those perfect white, too-sharp teeth. Not only that-she want to shave off that rakish mop of wavy raven hair and mess up the perfect angles of his strong jaw. Mia wanted to shake him until he fell apart and wasn’t such an archetype of sex and sin taunting her back into the life she’d chosen to step away from. Giving him the bird, she pulled her hobo bag closer and walked away. His husky laugh should have irritated her but instead it strummed a primitive tempo against her clit.
“If you are committed to being a part of the herd, I insist that I walk you home,” he said as moved alongside her.
“I don’t need anything from you,” she answered tersely.
Her hardened nipples called her a liar, but she knew they were confusing the brisk night air for the promise of his fingertip caress. Grinding her teeth, she ignored her wayward nipples and the incessant throbbing of her neglected clit and looked at Galen from the corner of her eye, scowling more at how he seemed so at ease, her bad-boy predator. The crooked smile he gave her when he caught her staring only infuriated her more, causing her to speed up her pace in order to get to the sanctuary of her home. She would need a calming lavenderand jasmine-scented bath again tonight, and possibly the expertise of her newest electric toy.
“I’ve missed you.”
She hunched her shoulders at his confession, refusing to hear truth in his words.
“I know you don’t believe me, but I have.”
Mia pressed her lips tightly together and resisted the urge to respond. The industrial building that housed her apartment was in sight, and if she could stay silent long enough, she’d make it home where she could shut out his words and their possible meaning.
“I miss how responsive you were when I applied the right amount of pressure. I can still feel how wet you’d get in the palm of my hand after I’d given that lovely little pink clit of yours the spanking it deserved.”
Mia almost faltered in her step as he finished his declaration in a voice gone even deeper from arousal. She didn’t respond though, because she was afraid of what might come out of her mouth if she spoke, and more importantly what might find its way in. Instead she squared her shoulders and gave Galen a scathing look. He was completely unrepentant and gave her a mocking wink as he kept pace with her hurried steps. The little light she kept on above her door was a beacon in the night, promising salvation from the torture he was bringing.
“No comment, sweet Mia. Usually that lovely mouth of yours was quick to put me in my place. Which inevitably was inside you.” He chuckled to himself at his own statement.
Mia practically ran the final yards to her door and fumbled around in her bag, searching for her wayward keys. She could feel him at her back, waiting patiently for an invitation she couldn’t give if she planned to keep her sanity. If she let him in, he would have her-dear God, would he have her-and when she was at her weakest he would convince her she didn’t need to stay away. He would be all rational facts and examples of how centuries of evolution could not be wrong, and she wasn’t a monster when she fed her darker half’s needs. Those sea-green eyes would stare into hers, and she would believe every single word, and there would be nothing of her left. She needed to stay strong, walk in her front door, and shut it firmly behind her.
Focusing on what she needed to do to put distance between her and Gale became a mantra she chanted as she tried desperately to find her keys in her ridiculously large purse. She kept repeating each step in her plan as she felt him behind her, waiting patiently in the shadows of the night. It was on a continuous loop as she fitted her key in the lock and pushed her door open to freedom, closing out her bad-boy predator. It was even the thing that kept her grounded as the husky sound of his laugh slipped into her studio, reminding her just how patient a predator can be.