Page 26 of Right Number, Wrong Man

HAILEY

The metal door slams shut behind me and my blood pressure spikes. Andrea was right. I forgot how lonely it gets out here late at night. A single, flickering light on the wall does little to illuminate the deserted parking lot and the driveway leading out onto a quiet road.

From where I’m standing, the short walk to my car looks like a parkour course through a murder lot. I fumble the car key from my bag, slotting it between my fingers like a weapon. For the first time, I wish I had a gun as Colt suggested.

My phone buzzes in my bag and I jump. Cursing, I take it out.

Jax

Terror becomes you. Some women look best in diamonds and pearls, but you wear fear like jewels. It makes you glow brighter than the stars in the night sky.

The hairs on my arms rise with the feeling of being watched, but I can’t see anyone in the dark. The fuck does he mean by that?

A rattle sounds from behind me and I spin around.

“Goddamn it!” I gasp, holding my chest.

A rat . It’s just a dumb rat running over a dumpster.

Laughing, I stuff the phone into my bag again, striding toward my car. I’m getting too paranoid with that weird Justin guy and the strange text from Jax. Pressing the key fob, I reach for the car door and?—

A gloved hand covers my mouth. I scream, but the soft leather against my lips muffles the sound. My nerves light up like fireworks as something cold slides against my throat and I freeze.

I instantly know what it is.

There’s a knife against my neck.

I drop the key and my bag. The scent of citrus with a woody note hits my nose and my head spins as I inhale deeper.

I know it’s him before he speaks. I know it even though his voice is too deep and growly to be natural, modified by some device.

“It ain’t polite to ignore my texts,” Jax drawls. “I don’t like you struttin’ around town without me, but I bet you love makin’ me chase after you, my pretty little prey.” He taps the flat side of the knife under my chin.

Adrenaline surges in my veins and desire coils in my center, wetness already building between my legs. He’s as hot in real life as he is over text. No, scratch that. This is actually hotter. I know it shouldn’t be, but it is.

“Are you gonna scream if I take my hand off your mouth?” he asks.

I shake my head and Jax’s palm slides from my lips, but the knife stays. His hand finds my stomach, pulling me back against a muscled, broad body. He grinds his crotch against my ass and I gasp.

He’s hard.

“What are you doing here?” I ask breathlessly.

“Told you I had a surprise, didn’t I? Tonight, you’ll learn what happens to naughty brats who disobey their Daddy.”

“You’re crazy!” I wheeze, trying to sound upset, but I can’t pull it off.

Jax trails the tip of the blade over my throat and my chest. “Yeah, I’m crazy for you .”

“How did you know where I am?”

“Wasn’t that hard to find a gorgeous brunette called Hailey working at the movies in Sunridge Hollow, WA. It’s a small town. Just had to ask around and tell folks I’m an old friend of yours. Then I waited outside your house and when you drove off, I followed in a taxi.”

Jax stalked me. How could I miss being followed? I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I didn’t pay attention.

Objectively, cornering me with a knife in a dark parking lot is a million different shades of fucked up. Subjectively though, my lizard brain purrs at his touch and my ego bursts with confidence. The man wanted me so badly he came all the way to stalk me.

Now that’s what I call putting in effort.

Jax spins me around, pushing me back against my car, and my heart skips when I see his face—or rather, don’t see it. He wears a dull silver skull mask with small horns.

I barely stop myself from drooling while I undress him with my eyes.

He’s even taller than I expected, clad in dark cargo pants with a bunch of pockets and combat boots. A thin, black turtleneck clings to the planes of his muscles like a second skin, stretching across a wide, defined chest and broad shoulders.

Just the way his biceps flex is enough to make me want to tear off my clothes and shout, Fuck me, Daddy !

His large hand wraps around the hilt of a hunting knife, but his palm makes it look small in comparison. How would those strong fingers feel around my neck?

Wordlessly, Jax slips the blade beneath my dress, hooking the tip under the band of my panties. All it takes is a quick tug before the pink satin falls to the dirty concrete. He steps into me, pressing his thick thigh between my legs, and I whimper at the friction on my bare pussy.

I grind my hips against him, seeking relief for my pulsing clit. At this rate, I’ll soak through his pants, but I can’t stop myself. I can’t look away from the mask, can’t help moaning, can’t help moving.

“Look at you, humpin’ my leg like a bitch in heat.

Are you that desperate for my cock, Sugar?

” Jax lets out a low, dangerous chuckle.

“You ain’t so bratty anymore when I’m right here with you and not just texts on your phone.

No snarky remarks? No teasing? All it takes is a bit of attention to tame that pussy and make it purr. You’re such an easy slut for Daddy.”

I have no response for him. My entire being is consumed with lust.

He clicks his tongue. “Didn’t you say that you’d kill me if I came near you?”

My eyes widen. I did say that.

“Then why aren’t you fightin’ back?” he asks and I hear the grin in his modulated voice. “Why aren’t you callin’ for help? I ain’t stopping you, but we both know why you’re so eager, don’t we? Cause this is what you want, my little brat. You wanna get used and fucked by a masked stranger.”

I choke on a single word. “Yes.”

“I’m here to violate you and consume you. No soft touches. No sweet nothings. I’ll push you too far, hold you too hard, and bury myself so deep inside you, you won’t know where your body ends and mine begins. Because your place is here, impaled on my dick.”

“Right now?” I stammer.

“Yeah, right now. This dirty parking lot is perfect for a filthy whore like you.”

My stomach flutters. “What if someone catches us?”

Jax snickers, shoving the knife in a holster at his belt.

“Then I’ll let ‘em watch while I fuck you. But don’t you worry, I’m the only one who gets to touch you. I never share my toys.”

He wrenches my arms behind my back, my shoulders aching. Metal bites into my wrists and panic sets in.

Shit, my hands are cuffed!

“You’re helpless now. I could do anything I want to you,” he murmurs.

“I could kill you. I could slit your throat or spill your guts all over the concrete for the rats to feast on. Did you know that it can take minutes to bleed out? And I’d make it slow.

So slow. I’d use your blood as lube and fuck your ass while the life drains from your veins.

Do you want to die with my name on your lips, ridin’ the best orgasm you ever had? ”

Death threats shouldn’t qualify as dirty talk, but my pulsing clit disagrees.

If this was a horror movie, the audience would be throwing popcorn at the screen now, cursing me for thinking with my pussy instead of my brain. But it’s not my fault the masked villain is criminally hot. His filthy mouth is fair grounds for pleading temporary insanity .

Jax retreats just enough to grab me by the throat.

Effortlessly, he forces me down and my knees hit the rough concrete.

Butterflies riot in my belly as I look up at him.

From this position he seems like a giant, staring down at me from pitch-black eye holes.

His mask can’t move, but I swear he’s grinning underneath.

His hand around my throat tightens, and a tingle shoots between my thighs as black dots spread through my vision.

Oh, wow. Wow . This is what it’s like to get choked? No wonder everybody online raves about hand necklaces.

“Are you scared?” Jax asks.

I nod as best I can. Scared doesn’t begin to describe how I feel. I’m absolutely terrified and dripping down my legs, praying this fantasy won’t end with me six feet under.

I can already imagine the headline about my dumb death.

Local woman dies doing what she loves most: Ignoring red flags.

And because nobody reads physical newspapers anymore, the article will be online, which means the greatest horror of all internet horrors: Mean comments. Let’s hope I won’t turn into a ghost with Wi-Fi access, cursed to haunt the comment section making fun of my horny-brained decisions.

Jax lets go of my throat, two fingers softly grasping my chin. Unlike before, his caress is tender and the mood shifts. Confusion bleeds through me.

“Do you want me to stop? If you tell me to fuck off, I’ll uncuff you and leave,” he says and the voice changer can’t hide the concern lacing his tone.

My gut feeling tells me he means every word.

This man isn’t here to rape or kill me. He isn’t here to harm me. I’m handcuffed and on my knees before him, but I hold all the power .

If I end this game, I’ll be free.

But if I choose to submit, I’ll live out my wildest dream with my masked Dom.

“Don’t go, Jax.”

A dark noise of approval vibrates in his chest. “If you change your mind or you’ve had enough, say glitterbomb . That’s your safeword.”

I snort. “Why the hell did you choose glitterbomb?”

“Because it’s like you. Explosive, beautiful, and impossible to ignore. And glitter sticks to everything—like the thought of you always circlin’ in my head, even if I try to shake it off.”

I flush. How did he make that unhinged explanation sound like a compliment?

“But I don’t want a safeword. That’s not part of my fantasy,” I protest.

“Tonight, I’m not just a dangerous man, Sugar. I’m your worst nightmares and your dirtiest fantasies personified. I’m gonna fuck you like I wanna kill you, so you better accept the damn safeword.”

My belly flutters with a mixture of fear and anticipation. “Fine.”

“Snap your fingers for me,” he says.

“Like that?” I ask, doing as he ordered.

“Yeah. If you can’t say your safeword, click your fingers three times.

” His hand slips into my hair and he rips on my roots until it stings.

“ No won’t cut it. Help won’t save you. Squirming or begging or fighting back won’t make me stop.

Unless you use your safeword, I’ll ravish you mercilessly like the delicious piece of fuckmeat that you are. ”