Sold for the Night by Ki Brightly

2

Mark Fenson

My room, my room, where the fuck is my room? Wait a minute, why am I doing what this guy says? Fuck, I need to escape.

My heart hammered in the back of my throat as I glanced back again. Camden was a fairly innocuous name for what amounted to a kidnapper. It wasn’t fair that a creep who paid for sex looked fucking fantastic, with thick dark hair that was already fighting the product trying to keep it smoothed to one side, a sharp chin dusted with just the right amount of scruff, and so many muscles packed on his body not even a suit could hide them.

Were bad guys supposed to be hot?

He had his gaze fixed on my ass. If I wasn’t kind of flattered, I’d knock a point or two off his attractiveness for the ogling, but in the end it had my cheeks burning in a way I couldn’t quite qualify. I slapped my hand back there, for what little good it would do, since it wasn’t like I could hide anything much that way. My ass was not tiny.

He chuckled.

My face grew hotter until I thought it might be shining like the sun, and my stomach tingled, even though I was scared. Adrenaline tightened my muscles and had me overly aware of my exposed skin.

“You don’t want me to look?”

I walked faster along the hallway, past beautiful windows that belonged in a palace, not a brothel. I glanced outside into the starry night and my heart rate picked up pace. I needed to get out of here—get out there. In the distance the shifting water of Lake Ontario sparkled like gray glass and spread away. The horizon seemed endless, and the mere fact I couldn’t get outside to listen to the soft rush of waves cranked up the volume on my stress.

“No,” I finally forced myself to say. “No, I don’t want you to look.” The carpet under my feet was soft and luxurious, and I caught his shiny shoes out of the corner of my eye. Being barefoot made me feel even more underdressed.

“You want me to touch instead?” Camden’s voice was almost a growl and had my groin tightening the way it might if he was flirting across a dinner table—only more potent. This was insane.

Guys like him weren’t my type. At all. The men I dated were like me. They had steady jobs, went to the gym two days a week—and lied when you asked about it and said it was four—and they worked in an office downtown. They had shows they watched and knew all the actors’ names, and the more risqué ones might have favorite porn stars. After the third date and a few drinks, they might ask you to jerk off together.

Okay, maybe the men I dated were fucking boring, but they definitely didn’t spend thousands of dollars in their free time to screw strangers. We reached the end of the long, gaudy hallway with trashy gold curtains—okay, they were amazing, but to hell with this place—and I didn’t want to stop walking, so I hung a left instead of admitting I had no idea where I was going.

It wasn’t like I remembered how I’d gotten here earlier. I’d been so busy hating Darcy Winters that I hadn’t seen a single thing on my way to the wings of the stage where we’d waited before the auction. I walked fast enough that I almost felt like I was running, and I was certain the soles of my feet were going to get rug burn. There was a growl of sound behind me, very close to animalistic. I finally moved my hand away from my ass because I was feeling silly, and a second, more bestial noise from the man at my back had a thrill spiking in my abdomen.

I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad. I’d never felt this way.

We came to another intersection of hallways, and I went straight this time. I walked us around, not having a clue as to where I was going, and Camden seemed content to follow me for the moment. We went down a couple more corridors, and then I almost squeaked as the grand staircase—the one I’d ascended Thursday night and had never gone down again—came into view ahead. The ceiling opened up and swept away from us to dangling crystal-cut chandeliers, and I felt like naked royalty as I stuttered to a stop at the top of the stairs. Below, the shined-to-perfection marble floors, shot through with gold veins, glowed like a frosty sea. Plush red couches here and there broke up the area, and people milled around, talking with champagne flutes in their hands. A bored man in a Courtesan uniform leaned against the dark wood desk on the right while staring at his phone.

Body heat at my back gave me a shiver. Camden wasn’t touching me. He didn’t ask me what we were doing. Instead he buried his nose in the hair at the top of my head and inhaled deeply.

Like some sort of animal.

My stomach wobbled. It ached with hunger, and I felt… sort of floaty and bad, even though him snuffling in my hair gave me a nearly delightful shudder. I’d woken up on Friday morning with a hangover from hell and hadn’t been able to eat all day. This morning the nerves of knowing what was coming tonight had caught me, and again I couldn’t eat. He was acting like a wolf, but I barely felt human myself.

I stared down at two women holding hands, making their way to the front entrance.

The door.I rocketed forward, toward the first step of the staircase, my eyes fixed on my one and only chance at escape.

“What are you doing?” Camden asked, not too far behind me. I made a split-second decision and shot down the stairs as fast as I could. The marble of the steps was freezing on my bare feet, and Camden’s shoes were loud a short distance behind me.

“Mark, what are we doing?” Camden asked, but he didn’t sound upset—just the opposite. “Oh, do you know what I like?” He almost seemed delighted. “Madam Winters did say you were into fighting.”

Jesus Tap Dancing Christ, what the fuck does this guy want from me?Fear tangled itself in a knot in my chest and I choked on the air I was supposed to be breathing. Did he want to hurt me? I booked it faster.

Romeo, one of the prostitutes who worked here—apparently without duress—had come in to talk to me last night, and I’d tuned him out. I’d been taken aback because while he was a man of some sort of Asian background, who was definitely good-looking, he wasn’t so outstandingly attractive people should want to pay for him based on his face alone; however, he had been very captivating. His likeableness had infuriated me. I’d wanted to smile and laugh with the man in spite of the circumstances under which we’d met. It wasn’t fair.

In the midst of all of Romeo’s flirting, I thought he’d said something about no one being able to hurt us at the Courtesan, but then again, it wasn’t as if I was one of the people who were here of their own free will.

My leg muscles burned with the effort of fleeing as my feet smacked the cold floor. I skirted a couch and raced toward the front doors. My lungs were tight already. I dodged people. Someone shouted at me, but I didn’t stop. There was a deep laugh behind me. By the time I was nearly to the doors I was running flat out. Raised voices behind me sent my pulse skyrocketing, and I was pretty sure it was Camden who called, “Let him go!”

Terror ate at me as I pushed out of the front doors. Two burly men on the other side were startled. I was past them before one lunged after me, but I twisted away like I was playing football and got off easy with only minor scratches as his fingernails caught on my forearm when I tugged free. He chased me with a curse, and I darted past stone pillars to my right along the Courtesan Hotel, where spotlights lit up the brick façade of the historical architecture.

My escape already felt futile with feet pounding behind me. My soles slipped on the dewy ground, but I sucked air deep into my lungs and determination set in. Sadly I was tired and in horrible shape after the hangover. I grabbed my side as a stitch started and ran along the damp grass of the lawn. Overhead, stars shone, and the moon was a distant silver glow. I wished, more than anything, I could be safe in my little house I’d bought, only big enough for me. I wanted to lock the doors and hide, the same way I did at the end of most workdays. People drained me all day long and I had to have time to recover.

This definitely hadn’t been a fucking field trip to a spa, and I was at the end of my rope. Sweat dripped down my forehead and stung my eyes.

As I hit the corner of the building, my choices were to turn left and attempt to scale the fencing around the lawn—which was so tall I wasn’t confident I had a chance of making it—or go right toward the lake. At least with the lake I could follow the beach and get the fuck away from here. The water always went somewhere, even if it was only to the bottom of the fucking lake.

There was shouting behind me, and I thought I recognized Camden again. Like hell I’m fucking a stranger tonight.

I went right, into the semigloom along the side of the building. There were no spotlights here. I sprinted past ornately framed glowing windows and balconies and didn’t bother to look inside. The lake wasn’t too far away. There was a path nearby dotted with trees and decorative pole lights that gave a soft romantic glow, and it appeared to wend its way around the lawn and down to the lake as a scenic walking route. I gasped as I stepped on a hidden sharp rock and hobbled in the direction of the path as fast as I could manage, even though it would let whoever was chasing me run easier, too.

Somehow the cement of the sidewalk was colder than the grass had been. I tried to go faster, but my lungs screamed with the effort. Sweat stuck my tank top to my body, and the cool breeze coming off the lake hit my overheated skin and had me shivering. Heavy footsteps pounded directly behind me. The trees on either side of the path felt sinister in a way they hadn’t when I’d first caught sight of them and had imagined a chance at freedom. I had a moment where it seemed like I was stuck in a bad slasher flick.

Don’t run into the forest, you ditz! Well, look at me now.

The monster was behind me, and I already knew it. I ran harder, hoping there was still a chance ahead at clear sailing. I pumped my legs but began to feel dizzy and tired, whether from the adrenaline, or not getting enough oxygen, or the fact I was still dehydrated…. Well, I could take my pick. It all equaled caught. I slowed and didn’t want to give in, but my body was giving up. Tears welled in my eyes and I furiously blinked them away.

The footsteps behind me weren’t slowing; in fact, they were gaining ground. Part of me wished I would have stayed inside the Courtesan, but that wouldn’t have ended well, either. Vane, Jaxson, and Ross might trust Ms. Winters enough to think she’d just let me go after tonight, no harm done, but I sure as fuck didn’t.

Anger at the men who were supposed to be my friends, and the world, propelled me faster for a few seconds, but then my toe caught on a ledge of cement in the path, and I groaned as I hopped around in the shadow of a weeping willow. Long branches caressed my face and left cool streaks of dew on my hot skin.

And then arms closed around me. I grunted as I was lifted off my feet and the breath was knocked out of me. Strength surged through me, along with bright pops of strange excitement, and I kicked and squirmed as I was dragged off the path closer to the willow tree. A hand dipped between my legs and squeezed none too gently. I let out a mortified moan as pleasure slashed along my shaft and excitement boiled in my gut. Since when was I fucking hard? I yelled wordlessly as I was wrestled farther off the path, but my attacker—fucking Camden, with a fat bank account—was built like a brick shithouse.

I lied about going to the gym four times a week, and it certainly wasn’t saving my ass now. The darkness and the low-hung branches would keep anyone from seeing us—stop anyone from saving me.

“Oh, you fucking want it,” Camden said, his voice hot in my ear. I gasped as arousal fluttered through my stomach. I was so shocked that I stopped struggling, and he let out a pleased grunt as he dragged me tight to his strong, hard-muscled body. I froze as the large mound of his very hard cock dug in against the small of my back. My brain scrambled. I had both a leap of excitement and a surge of dread. I almost stopped breathing.

Camden had his arms wrapped around me. I stomped on his foot with my bare one, but since he was wearing shoes, he only laughed as he spun me around. With an arm free I was able to pull back and punch, but I’d never been good in a fight. My fist grazed his chin. I whined and shook out my aching hand, and he let out an “oof” that turned into a low growl. We fought hard for about a minute, me trying to drag myself back to the sidewalk by flinging my weight around, and him struggling to pull me deeper into the shadows.

My stomach sizzled with nerves and heat when he managed to latch one of his hands around my right wrist, then less than a few seconds later he caught my left one. We both strained, and my wrists ached. He dragged me forward, tight against his chest, and thumped me back against the trunk of the willow tree. He moved both of my wrists into one of his hands and his firm grasp hurt. Fuck, when did we get this far from the path? The warm, safe glow from the lights was only about six feet away from us. I strained against him and let out a wordless cry that he smothered with his lips.

Warm, soft. Kissing me. Oh God. More.

I’d barely had time to realize I was leaning into him and tried to jerk away when he used his weight to trap me against the tree. His touch was harsh as he cupped my chin and forced my head up and back. And then his hot tongue was lapping at the seam of my mouth.

“You’re mine. The Alpha won. Open,” he whispered against my lips.

The strange words boiling this down to what seemed like a weird dominance contest confused me, as if he had a right to fuck me now because he’d run me to ground. I shook my head, and he huffed out an amused laugh. Next thing I knew, he’d sunk his teeth into my bottom lip. It fucking hurt, though I didn’t taste blood, but he gripped my flesh between his teeth and put more pressure on it, to the point I was squirming against him. The pain did weird, not entirely bad things to me, and I whimpered as agony and lust got confused together in my body. His cock—massive and fucking hard—dug in against my stomach, and my eyes fluttered closed. Need surged, shocking and swift, in my gut, and I was harder than a rock, too.

What is wrong with me?

I opened up before Camden could bite clean through my lip, and he groaned as he slid his tongue into my mouth. The invasion had my toes digging into the grass. He let go of my wrists, and I hated the way my hands wanted to curl around his neck to hold him in place. I forced my palms back against the tree bark. I tried to wriggle away and only managed to rub my cock against his hip and sigh into his mouth. He slid his hands down my sides and held me still as he rocked himself against me and teased his cock on my abs. I dug my fingers in against the tree until my nails hurt.

And then he had his hands in the waistband of my shorts. I grunted and tried to shove them away, but he pulled me from the tree and we went to the ground with dizzying speed. I took most of the impact and was stunned as he rolled me to my stomach and dragged the absurd shorts Darcy had handed me earlier this evening down my thighs and off. I tried to kick at him, but he grabbed my hips and yanked, putting me underneath him. My cock was at a bad angle against the hard ground, but I couldn’t move with the wall of muscle on my back. I tried to elbow him away.

“Get the fuck—ah!” Pain seared through me and blanked my mind as he sunk his teeth into my shoulder. The pinch burned, and I didn’t think he’d broken the skin, but I flopped to the ground, and then there was a massive cock poking at my asshole, looking for a way in. I really tried to get away. My heart crashed in my ears, and I dug my fingers into the ground, clawing. A humiliating, panicked sob flew from my mouth. He opened his jaw and let go of my shoulder, and the pain was almost as bad when his teeth unclamped from my skin as it had been when he’d bitten down. I was stunned breathless. He wrapped an arm around my middle and canted my hips up, his cockhead still hopefully poking my hole.

“You’re too big, oh my God, you’re way too big for that, please don’t,” I gasped out, horrified at how fucking scared and useless I sounded.

“You’re not ready,” he said on a sigh. “Thought for sure you would have been prepped to go after you took off that way, after I said not to run.”

The soft kiss he dropped onto my asscheek had me so confused. I let out another sob. “Stop.”

“No, I wouldn’t do that to you,” he agreed. For a few breathless seconds I let my forehead drop to the ground while I muttered a thank-you, though whether to him or God or the fucking lake monster that might be out there waiting to eat me—it was possible, with the luck I’d been having lately—I wasn’t sure which. My hands shook as I tried to push up onto my knees, and he sat back and let me go. I heard shuffling and thought he’d gotten to his feet. It appeared sanity had returned, or some of it anyway. I was too fucking relieved that he hadn’t pushed what had felt like a stallion-sized cock into my unlubed ass to look this particular gift horse in the mouth.

As I finally rocked myself up onto my knees, I let out a hiss. My sensitive cockhead dragged on the ground in an unpleasant way as I was straightening, and when I was upright, I was staring down at my full-on fucking traitor of a hard-on. I bit my lip, aggravating the injury there, and the pain zinged directly to my balls, then up to throb in my cockhead. It wouldn’t take much to get off with the way I was keyed up.

What the actual fuck?I’d only ever been this hard with someone in my ass, actively drilling. I breathed through the red-hot need burning away in my groin.

Tenderly I poked at my lip, and it hurt even more. Bruised, probably, by Mr. Moneybags. I sucked in a deep breath as Camden moved around in front of me. I was too wrecked to fight him anymore, and he was barely ruffled. Still looked like he could go for hours. And more importantly, he had his stiff cock loosely held in his fist.

There wasn’t much light from the pathway, and while I couldn’t see every ridge and vein, his cock’s outline was certainly scary and easily made out. I sent up yet another thanks that his meat hadn’t gone in my ass. He grasped the back of my neck hard, I thought maybe in warning, and then pressed his thick cockhead against my lips. There was slickness, precum, and the skin was silky soft as he rubbed it over my mouth. I loved the feeling of being fed a hard cock so much that it almost pissed me off to experience it this way. I pursed my lips but gasped because of the pain in my bottom one. He took the opportunity and shoved into my mouth. I opened around the thick burst of his musk on my tongue and found myself sucking instinctively, but then my anger set in and I eased my teeth onto his shaft.

“If you do that, I won’t be held responsible for my actions,” he murmured, mean and low, into the darkness. He brushed his thumb softly over my cheek, though, and that had my cock kicking up to smack against my stomach.

I opened wide, and he slid in farther. Tingles sizzled through my shaft and groin as I got another burst of his bitter flavor. I almost choked when he pressed against the back of my throat. I tried to remember that I did, in fact, have a passing familiarity with sucking cock, and opened my jaw wider. His cockhead was too fat to choke down, so I did my best, but that must not have been good enough because he cradled my head in both hands and rocked his hips, fucking my face without much help from me.

My bottom lip ached, and every time he dragged across it—in or out—my cock throbbed and jerked toward my stomach. I’d never been so fucking turned on in my life. Tears burned in my eyes as I wrapped my hand around my dick and pumped myself. I shivered. I tried to let my body relax, and he bellowed out something close to a roar when he was able to finally wedge himself deep into my loosened throat. I panicked for a few seconds because I couldn’t breathe and I’d never swallowed down anyone as big as him, but he pulled out, and I was able to snag some air before he shoved back in. I thrust up to meet my hand every time he hit the back of my throat, and it was too fucking good. The humiliation of being used by a stranger twisted through me and created a special tingle in my balls that had them drawing close to my body.

“Fuck, you like this, don’t you? I thought I was going to devour you, but you’re eating me, aren’t you?” He rocked harder against my face, and I gagged on him. He slowed but didn’t stop, and then he forced himself deep, shuddering. His balls touched my lips and they twitched as he pumped spurts of his creamy cum down my throat.

I couldn’t breathe and panicked, but that translated into jerking myself faster to try to get rid of the scary anxiousness clawing through my insides like a wild beast. Something sharper than pleasure, harsher, almost awful rose up in me and exploded along with my orgasm. I felt like I was falling and falling and would never hit the ground as my cock spasmed. My balls emptied and I was floating.

He pulled out of my throat, smearing bitter drops of his jizz on my tongue, and I coughed and sucked in deep breaths as I fell backward onto my ass. My balls unloaded again with a sharp stab of pleasure that streaked through my groin and out to tingle in the rest of my body. I lay down on the cool grass, but it wasn’t like I had a choice. It was either put myself on the ground or fall there. My hand still gripped my cock.

Camden dropped to his knees, and while I remembered what he looked like from being under the lights inside the Courtesan, out here he was feral and scary, and his eyes gleamed in the shadows. He worked my hand off my cock and slid his fingers into my still curled fist. He pumped two into my tight grip, almost like he was fucking my palm the same way I had, and then he brought his fingers to his mouth and sucked them clean with a moan.

“Taste good,” he murmured.

I was surprised when he moved and spread my thighs, but I was too tired for more than a token attempt at squeezing my legs back together. His cock hung in front of him, satisfied and not ready again, so I was confused when he ran his fingers into my crack.

“No, what are you doing? Fuck,” I grumbled when he found my hole and wriggled his pointer into me. It stung, and I couldn’t relax.

“Mm, I just wanted to see what you felt like, so I can think about it until I fuck you later.” He pumped his finger deeper into me, and the spit and what was left of my cum wasn’t enough to keep it from burning, or maybe the problem was that I was wound tighter than a straightjacket. He tapped at my prostate, and I whined, even as I tried to shove at his arm with the little strength I could muster.

“Fuck, I love the way you fight.” He sighed and worked over my prostate harder. The sensations after freshly coming were too much because that orgasm had been more than I’d been prepared for and fucking wildly different than anything I’d ever had.

Camden wasn’t gentle as he fingerfucked me. He didn’t check in with me, or at least not with words. When I slid my hand down and squeezed his wrist hard enough that I knew it should hurt anyone with pain receptors, he slowed and eased his finger free of my hole.

Something that wasn’t damp grass was under my left elbow, and after a few seconds of pondering that mystery, I realized it was the fabric of my shorts. I snagged them and kicked at Camden. He backed off enough to let me slide my sad little pants on. I was fairly sure they were backward, and maybe even inside out, but I didn’t fucking care. I shivered hard as I sat up. Camden didn’t stop me as I got to my feet; he didn’t help me either, though.

When I was upright, I swayed in place and ran my hands along my arms. He hopped up and tried to step in and hug me, but last I knew, attackers didn’t get fucking hugs. I shoved at him and immediately wished I hadn’t as I started limping toward the sidewalk. My body ached all over. It just fucking hurt. My knees hurt. My feet hurt. My back twinged. My head throbbed. I needed about thirty-seven ibuprofens.

My cock was probably the only thing that was good to go. I huffed at myself in disgust.

“Hey, wait,” Camden said, and he had the fucking audacity to sound hurt. Behind me there was a noise like he might be zipping up.

“You got what you wanted, and I learned my fucking lesson. Tell Madam Winters. Now go away.” I cast an intentionally mean look over my shoulder, the same one that used to have Ross snapping into action to do work.

He chuffed out a laugh, apparently impervious to my glare. Defeated, I slumped forward a bit and tried harder to rub some warmth into my skin. It wasn’t exactly cold out, but I was freezing.

“You’re mine for the night.”

“No, I’m not. Fuck, I am done with this shit!” I tried to turn to glare again, but my muscles were stiffening up, and I just plodded forward to the path. “Now you can talk to me? You couldn’t speak to me before you scared the shit out of me and chased me down here? And….” I shook my head and stared out over the water as I stomped along.

“I told you not to run.” The laughter in his tone had me curling my hands into fists.

I reached the path and wasn’t sure where I was going. I had no idea what to do, but at this point… what did it matter? I stalked along the sidewalk back to the Courtesan because I didn’t have a fucking boat and knew there was no way I’d outrun him on the beach. I stumbled at the pain as I set down my right foot too hard. I sucked in a deep breath.

A strong, warm hand landed on my shoulder. “Are you okay, Mark?” When I slowed and glanced back, there was concern in his dark eyes.

I shook my head.

He let out a low, nearly angry growl and slid his hand down to my elbow. I didn’t have the energy to shake him off. “Do you want to go back into the Courtesan?”

“No. If I never see the inside of that place again, it will be too soon.”

“I’ll take you to my house.”

My heart squeezed and I hated how conflicted I felt. It would be easier to get away from his home than the Courtesan, though, so that decided me. His touch didn’t feel terrible right now. Fuck, I’d never come so hard in my life. What did that say about me? I glanced at him again, and when he caught me looking, he flashed me a lopsided grin that sent a jolt of heat through my chest. Goddamn it.

“I don’t know you.”

He dropped his gaze and somehow did a good job of looking shy. “Sorry about that. I know we didn’t talk first, the way we should have. I just thought, since you signed on to be used for the night….”

I snorted at that and was embarrassed at how my eyes prickled like a few tears wanted to slip out.

“But I won’t let you have a crash all by yourself, even if you’re… you know. Paid for. And I don’t want you to sit around hurt. You don’t look like you feel very well.” He clamped his lips together and leaned closer to me. I jerked away from him.

“Is that guilt I hear? Good,” I snapped. “I’ve been held here against my will for two days. Let me go. You and that woman are both lucky I don’t want to bring any more attention to the mayor’s office, or I’d be at the police station already.” I hugged myself and walked faster. The reality was I wouldn’t say a fucking thing about this to anyone, and that simple fact had me pissed off all over again.

“What? You were held… talk to me.” There was desperation in his tone, but I didn’t care.

“I feel weird.” That was not the scathing reply I’d wished to spit at him, but it was sadly true. My legs were shaky, and in spite of the temperature not being too low, I felt like a block of ice. My stomach was sick, too. I gasped when he stepped in behind me and scooped me up into his arms. The swooping sensation from being taken off my feet had me clinging to his shoulders. I tried kicking, but he shook me a little.

“Be still.”

“No, I’m always calm and quiet. It never helps.” I stared directly into his glittering brown eyes, and I was very satisfied to see a tiny spot on his chin was already bruising from where I’d hit him. “I’m tired of being used.” He met my gaze and didn’t look away. For a few strange seconds, heat sizzled in the air between us.

He nodded carefully, as if my babbling made sense to him, and kept walking. Soon we were around the side of the Courtesan and the overflowing parking lot was in view. Two men stood near the corner of the front, like maybe they’d been waiting for us to come back around all this time. One man raised his hand like a traffic cop, but Camden didn’t slow down.

“I’m taking him with me,” he said, all confidence.

“We can’t let you take him off the grounds.”

There was no way I should feel comforted here—safe. But I didn’t want to go back inside the Courtesan, and hell, at the very least I had something to use against him. I shivered and felt absolutely nuts as I dropped my head against his chest. Camden wanted to fuck me. Madam Winters and her vile son just wanted to humiliate me, and maybe murder me. Camden had literally chased me like a wild animal and then…. I tried to bite my lip, but it hurt too much, and tingles spread down my stomach and woke up my cock. I sucked in a breath, and Camden’s arms tightened around me.

“I paid for him for the night, and I’m not sleeping here.” I peeked upward. He glared at the men.

“I’d rather go with you than stay here, but for the record, both choices suck,” I said softly.

He quirked another smile my way, and my face scorched as one of his eyebrows slid upward. “I could go for a chase again.”

“That’s not what I—”

“I know,” he said.

He ignored the men and stalked across the lawn, over to a heavy-duty black truck, the type I sometimes saw on construction sites, with wheels that seemed too ridiculously large, and probably had a second gas tank. He set me on my feet and opened the passenger door with a gesture for me to get inside.

I stood there, still not convinced I’d made the right choice. He could take me home and turn my skin into a hat.

“If you’ve really been trapped here for two days, and I just….” He bared his teeth in a grimace and looked away. “Get in the truck or go back inside, but I’m not standing here all night.”

I glanced toward the front of the Courtesan where the two men were standing awkwardly, staring at us like they were also confused as to what they should be doing. One had a phone to his ear. I shuddered at the thought of going back inside to Darcy Winters’ “tender” supervision. I climbed into the truck and felt like my fate was being sealed as Camden closed the door behind me and sent a predatory smirk through the window.