Wild Thing (Naughty Things 3)

He stops at the door and looks at me with concern. “You OK, Lyssa?”

I push my wild hair away from my eyes and nod. “Sure. I’m good.”

But when he opens the door and tugs me through it out into the dark, empty alley, I’m not sure I am.

Something is wrong with me.

The cool night air hits my face and I draw in a deep breath of relief.

Maybe it was just too hot in there. Because the wind refreshes me for a moment.

He stops in the alley and turns around, smiling.

“Better?” he says, his voice low now. Kinda growly and sexy.

“Hmmm, yeah,” I say, pushing my hair up off my forehead to let the air flow over me. “Much better.”

“You buzzed?” he asks. “I can get you a ride home if you’re not up to talking.”

He pulls out his phone, like he’s about to summon an Uber. But I place a hand over his phone and say, “No, no. I’m good.”

He smiles again. God, that smile should be illegal.

“Then come on. There’s a little alcove over here where we can have some privacy.”

I follow him. Mostly because he’s still got a hold of my hand and he’s tugging me along. But also because… I really don’t feel right.

I’m stumbling, and dizzy, and a little bit nauseated.

“Take off your shoes,” he says, stopping and bending down. He reaches for my ankle and his touch… Oh, God. His touch is soft and sends chills up my back. I actually forget about how sick I feel and picture him fucking me.

He slips off one gold shoe, sets it on the cement, then reaches for the other ankle and takes that shoe off too.

“Don’t worry,” he says, picking up my shoes in one hand and placing his other hand on my elbow to lead me. “I’ll take care of them for you. This way you won’t trip and fall. I can’t bring you in damaged.”

I laugh at that, finding it unreasonably funny.

Until the meaning of his words actually hits my brain and I realize what he just said.

“What?” I say groggily.

He looks over his shoulder as he pulls me around a corner and smiles.

And that’s when I see the van.

That’s when I realize what’s really happening here.

He charmed me.

Drugged me.

And now he’s gonna take me.

CHAPTER THREE – MASON

She stops dead in the alley as fear floods past the drug I slipped into her champagne.

Some guys might panic at this. Some guys might worry she’ll scream and that the people on the beach, less than a hundred yards away, will hear her. Some guys… but not this guy.

This is what I do.

Her father hired me because I’m the best. And believe me, I’ve dealt with every kind of capture scenario there is. And all of them were big men, like me. All of them could put up a real fight. And none of them were stupid enough to accept a drink from a stranger in a fucking nightclub.

So I don’t panic and I don’t worry.

I just smile. “What’s wrong?” I ask. “You OK, princess?”

She makes a face at me. If she wasn’t drugged I might worry. Because I’ve heard how she reacted to the last guy who attempted to bring her in a few months ago.

“Where are we going?” she asks, swaying a little.

“Just right here,” I say, slipping my hands around her waist and backing up into a wall. Then I lean down into her neck and kiss her, whispering, “We wanted some privacy, right?”

She hesitates. Like maybe this isn’t what she thought.

It is, but she wants to believe me. They all want to believe they’re gonna get one more chance. One more day of freedom. That I’m not the one who brings them in.

I just need to string her along for a few minutes and let the drug overtake her. Then I throw her in the van, drive her up to some private country estate, and collect my payment.

So fucking easy.

“You don’t want to kiss me, Lyssa?” I ask. “Because I’m only here for one night. So… last chance.”

She tilts her head up. Eyes locked on mine. Smiles.

And then she knees me in the balls.

I am wearing a cup. I come prepared for all possible scenarios. But that shit still hurts enough for me to double over.

It’s one second. Just one.

But they don’t call her Wild Thing for nothing.

She turns and runs.

Bolts down the alley and I chase her. She’s mostly stumbling forward on momentum alone, but she’s still fast.

I dig down and stretch my long legs out, pumping my arms to gain speed. Then, just before she reaches the corner, I snatch her by the back of her dress. She crashes backwards into my chest, knocking me off balance a little.

She turns on me, teeth bared, eyes wild, and drags her perfectly manicured fingernails down the side of my cheek.