before she could scream she felt something pressed over her mouth, hot, sweet, damp.
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Allie felt ropes digging into her wrists. She tried to shift to get comfortable. She couldn't sleep like that.
Wait.
Why would there be ropes in her bed?
She wasn't in her bed.
Her eyes flew open and she found herself in a trashy bedroom. She was on a king-sized bed with satin sheets, there was a mirror on the ceiling above her, posters of naked or half-naked women on the wall.
She tried to shake her head a little to clear it. Her thoughts were coming slowly, she felt groggy and stupid, like each thought was swimming through molasses to get to her.
She wasn't at home.
She was in a strange place.
She was tied up.
She was in danger.
The terror started to cut through the fog that she was feeling, and she looked around as much as she could.
Someone stood up in the shadows of the corner of the room.
"Ah, sweetheart, you're awake," he said.
Of course.
Of course it was Daniel.
She'd known that it had to be him, that she had been stupid to leave the apartment without someone to protect her.
He was wearing a satin robe, his hair was mussed. He looked debauched.
He would have looked handsome if she hadn't known him.
"I'm ready for your apology," he said. His voice seemed calm, serene, but it filled Allie with horror. Was he insane? Was he actually crazy?
The redhead said nothing.
"Are you ready to accept me?" he asked.
Allie shook her head.
He took another step closer to her, and then another.
"Oh, I think you are," he said. "Or, you will be soon."
She tried to squirm away when he sat on the bed next to her, but she was tied too tightly, too well.
“You have such beautiful hair,” he said, reaching out and stroking her head as though it were made of silk.
“No,” she muttered, jerking her head out of his grasp.
He grabbed her by the hair, holding her so tightly that she thought his fingernails were going to leave bloody gouges in her scalp.
“Listen to me,” he said. His voice was still calm, he was still smiling, even though his hands were clenched and shaking with rage.
He is definitely crazy, she thought. I’ve got to get the fuck out of here.
“Listen to me,” he repeated. “You do what I want. I shouldn’t even need to tell you what I want. Right now, I want to pet your beautiful hair. You need to hold still and let me, or I’ll dump you on the floor of my bar, tell everyone you’re drunk and horny, and let every man there fuck you for free.”
She believed him.
He would do it.
Every muscle in her body screamed a protest, but she managed to hold herself still and allow the man to stroke her hair.
After a few strokes, he started to hum happily.
Allie couldn’t imagine, at that moment, anything creepier.
She sat there, forcing her body to hold still and allow him to stroke her hair. The longer he did that, the better chance she’d have that she could get free before he really, really hurt her.
Her eyes were squeezed so tightly shut that the tears almost couldn’t escape.
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JESSE
It had been a long fucking day.
All Jesse wanted in the world was a drink, a smoke, and his girl.
He trudged up the stairs to Carlos’s apartment, trying not to yawn. He was hauling a few bags of groceries.
She’ll fuss, but she doesn’t need to walk two miles carrying all this crap, not when I can pick it up for her, he thought. Carlos’ll back me up.
He grinned at the thought of Allie’s indignation. She was adorable when she was trying to tell him off when she thought she should be pissed, but wasn’t really.
Hell, she was always adorable.
Two knocks on the door brought Carlos, looking worried and