Hitched: A Dark Hitchhiker Romance (Ride or Die Romances)

Selena

I can’t believe I let Lex spit on me. I’ve never had such a degrading thing done to me in my life. But when he was over me, with his lips pouting and his tongue moving to gather his spit, I let him. I’d let him do just about anything to me. Hell, I was even willing to let him kill me. A little spit is nothing in comparison.

The spit didn’t bother me as much as the way my body responded to it. The wet warmth made me throb. I watched it fall from his perfect lips and move toward my mouth in slow motion, and my stomach tightened with excitement. I hated that I liked it, but I loved how big and powerful he felt above me as his spit lived on my tongue. I swallowed a piece of him, taking it deep into my stomach while his cock drove upward.

“What’s on your mind, rabbit?” Lex asks as I drive. His words rip me from my thoughts. I don’t know how to answer him. Everything blurs together and makes it hard for me to focus on any one thing.

Red and blue flashes light up behind us.

“Fuck!” Lex says. He doesn’t look scared or panicked. He looks angry—annoyed with me and the situation. I’ve never seen fear on his face, and I don’t think I ever will. He flips down the mirror and brushes his hair over the tattoo along his hairline. He’s not panicking, but I am. My breath hitches as I pull to the side of the darkened highway.

Lex reaches over and grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him. “If things go south, put your seat down and get out of my way.” He gestures to the pistol tucked into his waistband. “You need to get your shit together, little rabbit. You look like a bunny who’s seen movement in the bushes—back straight as an arrow, nose flaring, eyes wide. I need you to be brave, or we’re both fucked. Do you understand that?”

“Lex . . .” I whisper with a shake of my head that won’t stop. I’m trying not to panic, but my nerves are rubbing raw from the inside out. I look so out of place beside Lex, and the guilt I feel from all the murders I’ve witnessed simmers beneath my skin, ready to ooze from me.

You’ve lied to the police before, I remind myself, trying to harness the bravery Lex thinks I possess. I seek the confidence that concealed my bruises so many times before.

“You can do it, rabbit,” he says as he moves his fingers from my chin to brush the hair off my face, wiping cold sweat from my cheeks. His words make me swell with a strength I didn’t have moments before. With his encouragement, I feel like I can do anything.

Including lying to the law.

When I hear the heavy footfalls outside the window, I lower it. The officer leans down to look at me, shining a blinding light in my face. The plastic expression I’ve used to cover for Bryce paints my face once more. “Good evening, officer,” I say, trying to control the tremble in my fingers by gripping the steering wheel.

“Nearly morning, miss,” he says as he leans closer to look beyond me. Lex is slumped over, as if he’s sleeping.

“Yeah, I guess it is.” I smile and gesture to Lex. “I got the crappy shift,” I whisper.

The officer tightens his lips. “Do you know why I pulled you over?”

“Not a clue,” I tell him, envisioning his sweet features blown off by a bullet if I fuck this up. The thought keeps me calm. I refuse to let this man die tonight because of me.

“You were hitting the lines on the shoulder pretty frequently. Have you had anything to drink tonight?”

I chuckle. “God no. I’m just really tired, and there’s not another rest stop for a little ways.”

The officer leans in and gets uncomfortably close to my mouth. Satisfied that he doesn’t smell any alcohol on my breath, he looks over at Lex. “Can he drive instead?”

“I’m sure he could,” I say, but when the officer just keeps staring at me, I prod Lex’s arm. “Honey,” I whisper, and it feels so weird to call him that. I hope the officer doesn’t notice. “Hey?” I say louder, prodding harder.

Lex lifts his head, making a show of a dramatic yawn. “What’s going on?” he asks, a believable confused look on his face.

“She was driving a bit reckless. Says she’s drowsy. Can you drive the vehicle? I’d prefer to not have it towed.”

“Oh, yeah, I can drive. I’ve been sleeping for . . .” He glances at the clock. “Jesus, like, four hours. Why’d you let me sleep that long, baby?” he asks. Him calling me baby feels even weirder than me calling him honey. Of all the things he calls me, baby is not one of them.

“Can I have your licenses? Insurance?”

My breath cuts off at my diaphragm, as if it’s all sucked out of me with just those few words. I don’t know if the insurance is current, and I curse myself for not checking sooner. Bryce didn’t want me driving this SUV because it’s older, and it wasn’t as easy for him to keep tabs on me without all the new gadgets you get in cars these days. I don’t know why he’d have kept the insurance up to date.

Lex is acutely aware of my panic, and he smiles as he leans forward to pull out the proof of insurance. He puts it in my lap, and I see the end date is current. I hide my relieved breath, exhaling into the empty pockets of my wallet as I rifle through it to find my license. My eyes meet Lex as I reach out and wait for him to produce his fake fucking ID. He remains calm and collected as he pulls it out and hands it over.

The officer cocks his head. “Ben Gurgen Hoffe? That’s a unique name.”

Lex’s calm demeanor breaks as he lets out a small laugh that I see more than I hear. “It’s a family name. It’s actually pronounced JER-gen.” He tightens his lips and sobers. “Here, babe, switch spots. Your turn to nap.” He climbs out of the car. Hearing him call me babe is even weirder than baby. I hated that he called me rabbit and bunny at first, but now I can’t imagine him calling me anything else.

The glint of his pistol winks at me as his shirt rides up, and I can only hope the officer doesn’t notice it as well. I undo my seatbelt and open the door, stepping onto the pavement with legs that feel like they’ll give out on me. After I sit in the passenger seat, I fasten my seatbelt. I can hardly hear over the whoosh of the blood in my ears. I wipe my sweat-coated palms onto my shirt.

“Krause? Is that of German origin, too?” Lex asks as he leans closer to the officer’s nameplate.

The officer looks up at him and smiles. “Yeah, actually. No one notices that.”

“Have you visited Germany yet?” Lex leans against the door, looking suave as fuck. Even I forget he’s a felon for the moment.

“No, though I always intended to. My remaining grandparents live near Munich.”

Lex shakes his head. “Yeah, you need to go. First off, life’s too short, and second, it’s a beautiful city. You have to go during Oktoberfest if you want to get the full experience. Maybe don’t bring grandma, though.” A genuine smile crosses Lex’s face, and I almost believe he went to Germany.

The officer laughs. “She’d probably outdrink them all.” He taps the IDs against his open palm. “You know what? I don’t think we need to make this more than it is. As long as someone who is more awake can drive, I’m fine with it.” He glances at me with a scolding look. “Here you go, Mr. Gurgen Hoffe. Please drive safe.” He returns Lex’s ID.

Lex opens the door to get in the car once the officer steps away.

“Hey,” the officer calls back as Lex closes the car door.

Lex leans out the window, his hand moving to his hip and wrapping around the pistol’s grip.

“Maybe I’ll see you at the next Oktoberfest!” the officer calls out with a final nod of his head.

Lex’s shoulders drop and his hand releases from the plastic grip. “If you do, I’ll buy you a drink,” Lex says with a wave. “Have a good night, officer.”Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.

With tight lips, he puts on his seatbelt and drives away from the shoulder. He keeps silent until we’re a few miles down the road. “Ben Gurgen Hoffe,” Lex says with a shake of his head. I stare at him because I don’t get it. “Been Jerkin’ Off.” Lex sighs. “Fucking Rodney. If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him.”

I laugh. It rips through me and feels so foreign that it makes my stomach ache. Tears that aren’t from pain or fear fall down my cheeks.

“Stop laughing. That was pure fucking luck. I really thought I’d have a dead cop on my hands. On our hands.”

I can’t stop laughing. I rub the rabbit’s foot. “Guess it is lucky.”

Lex’s spine slowly relaxes, and his chest falls forward. He finally lets out a small laugh of his own. When he sobers, the tenor of his voice changes. “You need to be more careful when you drive. We’re lucky your pea-brained husband kept insurance on this car. I checked before we left.” He draws a sharp breath and slowly exhales, a very methodical set of motions he repeats until his rising chest slows. He clears his throat. “You did a great job, bunny,” he says with a reassuring rub of my shoulder. “But you have to be careful when you’re driving, because luck like that won’t happen twice. Even with that damn thing.” He gestures toward the rabbit’s foot.

Lex brushes back his hair, exposing his tattoo again. “Gurgen Hoffe,” Lex says through an annoyed laugh.

“Let it go, Ben,” I tell him, a smile drawing my lips upward.

“Aren’t you tired? Go to sleep,” he commands.

I shake my head. “I’m not tired at all.”

“Then why were you driving like shit?”

“Because I had a lot on my mind. I was hugging the fucking shoulder, not the center line. Not a big deal.”

“Kind of a big deal, rabbit.” He shakes his head this time. “What were you thinking about?”

I scoff. “Nothing.”

“Tell me, Selena.”

“I was thinking about when you spit on me . . .”

He groans as if he knew that I would bring it up and was waiting for it. “And? What is there to think about?”

I cross my arms over my chest and stare out the window without saying another word. I don’t appreciate his attitude about it. He has no idea what direction I was going to go with it, yet he got defensive from the start. Maybe I was going to tell him I fucking liked it, but now, I’m not telling him shit.

“Oh, stop, rabbit. You didn’t like it? Did it hurt your little feelings?”

His words and the way he says them enrage me. A fire smolders in my gut. I already felt bad for liking it, but now he’s being a condescending fuck about it. I cut my gaze to him and narrow my eyes. “Fuck. You.”

“Don’t get pissy with me, little girl, or I’ll make you sorry for that mouth.”

“You won’t do anything.”

“I’ll pull this car over and choke you with my dick until you see stars. I’m serious, Selena. You do not want to tempt me.”

I throw my hands up. “Why are we even fighting right now?”

“Because you’d rather fight than admit you liked it when I degraded you. That you liked feeling used by me.”

“I didn’t like it,” I lie.

His sadistic smirk rubs me all the wrong ways. I hate his annoying smugness. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, rabbit.”

We drive in silence. I’m angry enough that I’m thinking about smacking him, but I’m enamored enough that if he angrily told me to suck his dick, I’d drop to my knees without a second thought.

A sign for a lake draws up on our right. Lex looks twice at it. “Well, that will have to do,” he whispers, finally breaking the silence. He turns off at the exit and drives toward the lake, following the signs until we reach the blocked entrance to the park. He pulls ahead and takes a dead-end sideroad. The car dips and sways over each pothole. He pulls over, and we get out of the car.

A thin veil of moonlight casts a dim glow over the world around us, leaving us mostly in shadows. Lex walks toward a rusted chain-link fence covered in overgrown brush. He pries at the metal, rattling it before tugging back a broken section. He slips through, and I grab some of the clothes from the car and follow him.

“Hey, wait up,” I whisper. The fence claws at my skin as I try to squeeze through. Thanks for holding it open, asshole. He doesn’t slow down, so I quicken my strides to catch up.

The clearing opens and reveals the lake. I only hear Lex’s breathing over the sound of crickets and croaking frogs. A fish surfaces on the other side of the lake, and I hear the ripples it leaves in its wake. It’s that quiet.

“Get undressed,” he says before leaning against a tree and watching me.

I don’t want to cave to his demands, especially when I’m still so heated from his attitude, but he has a way of speaking that influences me like nothing ever has. It makes me want to do things he asks of me.

I grip the hem of my shirt and begin to lift it.

“Slower,” he tells me.

I do as I’m told, removing my shirt as slowly as I can. The heat of his stare is on me, and he watches as I toss my shirt away. The hunger in his expression makes me throb and forget about my annoyance.

I slip my pants down my thighs, and cool air embraces my body. Lex unbuckles his jeans, and I watch as he slips off his pants. My eyes rove down his body. I lock on to the cut on his stomach, glad to see it’s stopped bleeding. I still find myself worrying about him, even though he didn’t seem to mind being stabbed.

I walk toward the lake and dip my hand into the water to check the temperature. I desperately want to clean up, and it’s the best we’ll get at this point. Lex brushes past me and gets in, the water spreading around his strong body as he wades deeper.

“Is it cold?” I ask.

“Very. Come on.” He motions me in.

I wade into the water, and my breath catches in my throat when it reaches my chest. The blackness stops at the swells of my breasts, nearly covering them. Lex wraps me up in his arms and holds me in front of him. His expression softens for the first time since the interaction in the car.

“It’s not the degradation you liked. That isn’t who you are.”

Lex pushes me under the water and holds me there. I don’t flail until my lungs clench for breath, and even then, it’s weak. I reach up and grip his wrist, but I don’t push him away. I should be scared—that’s a normal reaction—but I’m not. I listen to the black emptiness and the thunder of my heart. I almost feel serene, even as my stomach tightens and my lungs scream for air. I just know he’ll pull me up. I don’t know how I know, but I do. I’m safe within his grasp, even in such an unsafe situation.

Even gazing into the cold face of death.

Just as my body begins to lurch for air against my will, he grabs me beneath my arms and lifts me to the surface. I cough and spit water.

“It’s the trust you have in me that makes you wet. Not the act.”

I hear the seduction in his voice, though it’s muffled by the wet hair sticking to my ears. I spit more water and steady my breathing. “What?” I brush back my hair, hearing the droplets return to the lake and blend with the water.

“When I spit on you. You weren’t turned on because you like to be degraded. It’s because you trusted me enough to do it to you in the first place. You’ve let me fuck you, take care of you, shit, even put your life in my hands. It’s all trust.” He kisses me. “You trust that when I cut off your breath, I’ll give it back to you.” His mouth finds my clavicle, kissing above my breasts. “You always come because you trust me more than your husband. You trust me more than you trust yourself.”

“I-I . . . that’s . . .” I try to fight his words, but he’s right. I trust him. Everything inside me should mistrust him—he took me at gunpoint, for fuck’s sake—but I feel no fear when it comes to him. He holds all of me in his hands, and I never worry he’ll drop me.

“You’d let me do anything to you, wouldn’t you, bunny?”

I gnaw at the insides of my cheeks and swallow before my eyes rise to meet his. “Yes,” I whisper.

“Would you let me fuck your ass?” he asks, so casually.

My mouth drops open, and I let out an unintentional squeak. I’d let him do anything . . .

Except that.

“No!” I have never had anyone inside me that way. Not my husband. Not anyone. Lex has already gotten so many parts of me. He doesn’t need that too. I shake my head.

“Rabbit,” he says more sternly. “Don’t I always make you feel good?”

“No. I can think of a few times you didn’t.” He’s done plenty of things that didn’t make me feel good . . . or didn’t make me feel good at first.

“What if we play a game? I’ll let you run, and if I catch you, I’m taking your ass.”

My mind flashes to when he ate my pussy on the hood after he caught me. How hard he made me come. God, I want that, but I don’t want what he’s offering now. I don’t want him to fuck my ass.

“No, Lex,” I say in a firm voice that won’t waver.

“No isn’t an answer because it wasn’t really a question, Selena.” He releases me from his grasp. “But I’ll give you a head start.”

He kisses me, and it feels like a goodbye. My worry shifts from him taking my ass to him chasing me off to leave me. That idea makes me more scared than being held beneath the water. It makes my stomach clench and my heart gallop.

“When the wolf growls, the bunny runs.” Lex leans close to me. Cold water drips from my hair and mingles with his warm breath, creating the perfect storm against my neck. He growls in my ear, sending a vibration through my body. “Run.”

I stay planted where I stand, with the lake’s rocky bottom beneath my feet.

His eyes narrow and he begins to count. “Ten . . .” He smirks. “Nine . . .”

I draw a sharp breath. He isn’t joking. I can see the seriousness all over his face. He ticks down the seconds, giving me less time to get away from him. This is his little hunting game. Well, I guess it was mine first, but it has much higher stakes this time.

This game will hurt.

I turn and head for the shore, but the weight of the water slows every step. It’s like moving through a nightmare, only I won’t wake up when his fingers grasp my skin. Sharp rocks dig into my feet with each step I take. I ignore the pain. What he has in store for me will make these rocks feel like walking on cotton balls. I’m already winded by the time I reach the bank. He slowly walks behind me, still counting down. His usually pleasant voice becomes ominous as each number leaves his lips.

I scan the terrain, trying to adjust to the foreign surroundings. The only light to be found is from the glow of the sun just breaking the horizon. A path loops around the lake, and I bolt toward it. The soil is wet with dew, and my feet sink into the earth. It’s cold mush between my toes. Embedded stones cut at my feet, and I try to ignore the pain. I have to keep going.

I can’t hear him behind me anymore. I can only hear my feet pounding against the path. I run toward the trees, using the thick trunks to steady myself as I climb up a hill. I don’t have time to think about my nakedness or my healing bruises. I don’t even register the branches thwacking against my skin. None of that will matter if his hungry hands catch me.

At the top of the hill, I lean over to catch my breath, scanning the direction I came from. I can’t see Lex, and I again worry he’s done all this just to leave me, that he’s run me off like a dog he doesn’t want anymore. This thought hurts more than the sharp stab I feel in my side with each breath I take.

A raindrop splatters on my arm, and I look up at the sky. Lightning cuts the waning darkness above me before the sky opens and the rain falls in a steady downpour. Fantastic. The drops roll over my skin and ice my bones. They travel over my chest and chill my breasts, hardening my nipples. I wrap my arms around myself to warm them.

“Rabbit?” Lex calls out, and I whip my head toward his voice. I spin on my heels and take off again toward a small pond surrounded by large rocks. The rain cuts across my eyes, blinding me. I blow it from my lips as I run. Just as I reach the first large rock, Lex pops up from beside it.

“God, I know you,” he growls.

I dodge his grasp and take off around the pond. My lungs burn, and it feels like there’s not enough air in the world to satisfy my need for oxygen. My heart races, thumping against my chest almost painfully. A sharp rock cuts my ankle, and I limp a few steps before the adrenaline helps me forget the pain.

My thoughts are wrapped up in Lex.

In my mind’s eye he looks like a predator, transforming into an actual wolf in front of me. I imagine his paws moving the earth as he runs after me. I’m the rabbit, using sheer speed to keep ahead of his gnashing jaws.

I stop at the tree line and turn, looking back as I lean against a tree to catch my breath. There is no sound. Nothing but the patter of heavy rain. He can easily hide his steps beneath that sound. I can’t see anything through the thick raindrops, and blinking does nothing to clear the haze collecting around my eyelashes.

The rain is relentless, just like Lex.

“I don’t want to play anymore, Lex!” I yell to nothingness.

An arm wraps around my waist from behind, and I scream out. A hand covers my mouth.

“Got you,” Lex snarls against my ear.

He presses his chilled, wet body against me, and I whimper into his hand. He keeps his arm around my waist and pushes me toward a large rock. He bends me over it, running his hands along my arms until he can grip my wrists and put them out in front of me, dropping my chest to the cold, slick stone.

“I’ve never let myself be fully selfish with your body,” he whispers, “but right now, the wolf is going to be a wolf.” He drops his hand from my mouth.

“Lex,” I say with a shake of my head.

“Shh, rabbit.” He comforts me for a moment by running his hands over my sides. I feel the grit of mud on my skin. “Do you trust me?”

I swallow. His hard cock presses against my ass. “I have to,” I whisper.

“Yes, you do.”

The rain patters against me and drips down the pebbled skin of my back. I tremble, not only from the cold but from fear of the pain he’ll cause me.

He surprises me when he pushes inside my pussy, and I gasp as he presses my pelvis against the rough rock in front of me. He fucks me with the selfishness he promised. Hard and rough. Rougher than I’ve ever felt. He rips through me. A feral groan leaves his lips, and that sound embeds itself in my pussy as much as his cock does. His fingers dig into the flesh of my hips, and I’m exactly where I need to be. Both of us are. We’re living in a moment where rain washes away our sins and makes us pure.

We are one.

With his cock still buried deep inside me, he spreads my ass, rubbing his finger along my skin before pushing it inside me. I clench, and it makes him moan. “Relax,” he says as he slips another finger inside me. And a third, working me up to his cock. I kind of like how full it makes me feel to have his fingers inside me while his cock is in my pussy.

Lex pulls his fingers out, spreads me, and spits. I bite my lip as his warm saliva mixes with the cold rain. He leans over me, and my ass nestles against the crook of his pelvis.

“You ready?” he asks.

I didn’t expect him to ask. He knows I’m not ready. I’ll never be ready for this. My body thought it had a choice for a moment, but I tense all over again when I realize this was never the case.

“Lex . . .”

He drops his hands to either side of my head, leaning his weight onto me. “Don’t say my name like that. I won fair and square, bunny. Your ass is mine.”

I want to give him that part of me, but I’m scared. He pulls out of my pussy and draws his hips back to get a better angle. As he pushes the head of his cock inside me, I tense. It isn’t like his fingers. It feels nothing like his fingers.

“Remember what I said to do. Relax,” he whispers as he strokes wet hair from my cheek. “Let me inside, bunny.”

His smooth words make me melt into the granite. I take a deep breath and try to relax my body. He inches further inside me, and I bite my lower lip. He’s hardly the selfish wolf he claimed he’d be, too tender to be a predator.

“Good fucking girl,” he groans as he pushes himself inside me. He keeps his hips still, allowing me to adjust to his size and stretch around him. “You take everything I give you, don’t you?” His words mimic what he said in the car when I took his spit. Now, with him this deep inside me, I want to take everything he can give me.

To make him proud.

I whimper and nod. His thrusts grow hungrier, and the gentleness dissolves. His left hand grips the rock so he can get more leverage. He fucks me harder, but not as hard as when he was in my pussy. The leaves of the trees melt into the ground along with their big, strong trunks. The pond in front of me spreads and takes over everything, blanketing it in blackness. The world becomes abstract, and the only thing that remains real is Lex and his body against mine.

“You feel so fucking good, bunny. So tight. So goddamn perfect.”

His words warm me until I only feel the heat of him. It’s a fire burning behind me, erasing the cold rain and brisk air. I get used to the pain of him inside me. It never goes away, but I adapt to the hurt like I did with my marriage.

He fucks me harder and deeper, and I feel his full strength for the first time. I feel the selfish hunger he promised me. He uses me as if this is all I’m good for.

My body remains rigid no matter how hard I try to relax. My muscles ache for release. He finally notices that my clenched jaw isn’t from the chattering of my teeth. He becomes aware of the tense tremble of pain in my body and transforms back into the Lex I know. He leans over and kisses my shoulder. It’s a tender touch I need so badly at this moment. I need it more than my next breath.

“Sweet bunny,” he whispers. “I’ll stop.”

“No!” I cry out. “I want to take everything you give me.”

He chuckles, but it turns into a growl at the end. “You have, Selena. You really fucking have. This was a lot for anyone to take. The chase. The rain and the bloody cuts on your feet and ankles. Taking my cock in your ass with nothing more than my spit and the wetness of your cunt. You’re such a good girl. Even when your body isn’t willing, your mind is.”

“I’m sorry,” I say as I fight back tears. The prospect of disappointing him incites more emotion than most anything in my life has.

His hand glides down the curve of my spine. “Don’t apologize. I wanted to fuck your ass, and I needed you to let me. And you did.” He grips my ass, and the rain makes his fingertips bite harder. “You won’t like everything I want to do to you, that I will do to you, but I’ll always reward you for being the good girl you are. No matter how bad you become from being around me, you’re my good fucking girl.”

He pulls out of me and lifts me to my feet. His mouth finds mine as he lays me back on the rock and spreads my thighs. His lips trail down my body, and he drops to his knees. They sink into the earth. He parts me, and his tongue finds my clit. I lift myself onto my elbows so I can watch him. He tosses back his wet hair as rainwater drips down his temples. Droplets of rain roll over the muscles in his arms and shoulders.

My eyes wash over his prison-etched tattoos, and I realize he’s someone my family wouldn’t have allowed me to talk to, let alone fuck. I’m in over my head with him. Way over my head. He’s an enigma, a mystery that should be left unsolved and untouched, yet he eats my pussy like the answers to all I need to know are in his mouth. He selfishly fucks me with his tongue, his hands gripping my ass as he holds me at his mercy.

“Lex,” I whisper.

“Don’t say my name unless the words ‘I’m coming’ follow it,” he growls, giving me a dark look before devouring me again. His commands, like always, make me weak. Make me tremble as his words vibrate my clit.

When he realizes his harsh words made me buck against his mouth, his voice lowers “Come for me, bunny. Get off to the one man you shouldn’t.”

And I do. I come hard against his mouth, with the rain painting my body and the trees crawling up from the earth and surrounding us once more. I grip his hair as he relentlessly tongues my clit, making my body shudder with a pleasure that morphs into discomfort. He smirks up at me and swipes my clit once more, my body jolting from his touch, before he rises to his feet.

The rock rakes my soft skin as I sit up. “What about you?” I ask, feeling guilty as my orgasm wanes.

His broad frame towers over me, and water cascades down his firm chest and stomach. “What about me?”

“You didn’t come.” I feel bad that I tapped out before he could get his release, but Lex seems relaxed, satiated almost, despite not coming at all.

He reaches out and helps me to my feet. “It’s fine, bunny. I’ll fill you up the first chance I get.” His eyes scan the horizon. “We’ll take another quick dip and then we gotta get going. It’s morning.”

I nod. I have no idea what will happen to us, but Lex is opening me up to a world I never knew existed. One where the risk of losing my freedom is the most freedom I’ve ever felt.