Sanctuary Found (Pelican Bay 2)

“Fudge? Heck? Are you for real?” he drawled as he moved closer to me. A flood lamp attached to the front of the house illuminated his hard features. Not surprisingly, there was no smile to accompany his words.

“Jesus,” I snapped as I rubbed the knot that was already forming on my head.

“So is calling out to the lord a punishable offense or not?” he asked as he stepped into my personal space. I realized with dismay that I hadn’t moved quickly enough to keep him from caging me between the open car door and his body. A vision of the many times I’d be calling out to God and Jesus and any other deities who were willing to listen as this man’s big body moved over mine had me swallowing hard. I drew in a breath and reminded myself that I knew how to deal with guys like him.

“Depends on who’s doing the punishing,” I said, injecting a huskiness into my voice that I knew guys liked.

Well, the not-so-straight ones, anyway. But it would serve a purpose in this case too. I let my fingers slide down my cheek and then slowly along the column of my throat. It was kind of a girly move, but it rarely failed me.

But of course, nothing about today was going my way, so why should this be any different?

Maddox held my gaze as he planted a big hand on the car next to my head.

“That shit really work with guys?” he asked.

“Does this?” I asked as I motioned to his big body. “What? Am I supposed to be trembling in fear? Should I be asking you what you want or begging you not to hurt me?” I asked. “Please, I’ve eaten pricks like you for breakfast,” I said with false bravado. It was true, I’d dealt with my fair share of different kinds of assholes, some who’d even managed to scare the hell out of me, but I’d always been able to find their weak spot pretty quickly. Usually it was just a matter of trying to tailor my temperament to match theirs. Most wanted compliant or sweet or coy. A few of them had wanted kinkier shit. It was only on the rarest of occasions I ran into men who were only interested in inflicting pain and terror, no matter what version of me I gave them. Fortunately, I’d learned early on how to spot those guys and steer clear of them.

To prove my point, I turned around and bent over so I could grab the duffel bag from the far side of the back seat. I was pretty much putting on a show for Maddox as I wiggled my ass while pretending to struggle to reach the bag, but that was the entire point. He already thought I was a thief. Add in slutty, over-the-top fag and I’d have him on his way in no time.

Or so I thought.

But when my ass brushed his body, he didn’t move back. So I waited for him to grab me and grind his dick against me, but he didn’t do that either. I snagged the bag and forced myself to turn around.

“Quite the show,” he said.

“Bite me,” I responded before I could stop myself.

“Now what would your kid think of that?” Maddox asked as he studied me.

My kid?

Huh?

“Was your football helmet on too tight in college, Mr. All-American? Newt’s my brother, not my son.”

Maddox held my gaze for a moment. His eyes seemed to slip to my mouth for a second, but the move was so brief, I was sure I’d imagined it.

“Thought you were a little young to have a kid,” he observed.

“Yeah, and a little too gay,” I added, though I wasn’t sure why I needed to point that out, since he clearly knew what I was.

“Figured him calling you by your first name was some kind of newfangled new age thing.”

“Newfangled?” I said. “Um, I hate to break it to you, Grandpa, no one says shi-stuff like that anymore. Unless I ended up back in time in addition to the middle of nowhere,” I added. I wasn’t sure where the jab at his age was coming from, since I figured him to be around thirty, but I held my tongue.

Maddox sighed, then suddenly reached for me. I couldn’t help but shrink back, and I regretted it immediately because something flashed in his eyes.

Fuck.

Now he’d go for my metaphorical jugular for sure.

Since I had no place to go, I had few choices when he wrapped his fingers around my arm. Yeah, I could scream, but what would that accomplish? He’d slap his hand over my mouth before I managed to even get the first sound out.

“Relax,” he said, his voice surprisingly soft. “I just want to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself when you hit your head.”