STORY EXCERPT

Bryn was fishing around her purse for her keys when her phone rang. Pulling both out, she huffed in exasperation when she saw that it was her mother again. She’d been calling on and off for the past hour, but Bryn had been enjoying herself so much that she’d ignored the calls. Seeing as that wasn’t the case anymore, Bryn answered.

“Mom, I’m fine.” Bryn hit the button on the small key device, unlocking her vehicle. Coming around the side, she opened up the door and slid inside, throwing her purse onto the passenger seat. “Leaving Triple now and heading to Tucson.”

“You are so lucky I didn’t call the police, Brynny,” Frances snapped, her voice coming across loud and clear. Bryn pulled the phone away from her ear with a wince. Depression was starting to settle in with how her evening had ended, and the last thing she needed was to hear her mother say I told you so. “The next time you meet some strange guy in a town I’ve never heard of, you are to call me every hour on the hour.”

“Mom, I don’t feel like doing this tonight.” Bryn slid the key into the ignition. “I have a long drive in front of me, and I just want to get to the hotel and go to bed. I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Aren’t you going to tell me how it went?” Frances asked. “Was he nice? Did he have manners? Was he tall, dark, and handsome?”

“Mom—”

“Oh, I know that tone,” Frances replied, drawing out her oh. Bryn rolled her eyes. “He turned out to be a dud.”

“Mom, seriously, can we discuss this in the morning?”

Bryn had just turned the key in order to start her car when someone tapped on her window. Immediately thinking it was Des or Duke wanting to ask her to stay with them, Bryn turned her head toward the window. A cop was standing there with his black baton, tapping on her window. Shit, Bryn thought. Maybe she’d parked illegally and hadn’t known it. She rolled down her window.

“Officer, I swear I didn’t know I was parked illegally. Was there a meter I didn’t see?” Bryn asked, her words coming out at a fast pace. Why did cops make innocent people so nervous? It wasn’t like she was some criminal or something. “I can pay it now. I have quarters. I hadn’t planned on being here for so long, but the evening just sort of flew by. Is there a time limit on how long someone can be parked here? I—”

“Ma’am, I need you to step out of the car.”

Bryn tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. Oh, my God. She was about to be arrested. Images of her in an orange jumpsuit being beat to a pulp by a two-hundred-pound woman with missing teeth, permed hair, and tattoos swam through her head. Bryn wasn’t cut out for jail. Couldn’t he see that? Her mother’s voice cut through the fog in her mind.

“Brynny, did you get stopped for speeding?”

“Mom, I’ve got to call you back,” Bryn whispered, not really knowing why. It wasn’t as if the officer couldn’t hear her. “I think I parked illegally. Look up on the internet if I can be arrested for that and call me back.”

Bryn disconnected the call and looked up at the officer with pleading eyes. Maybe if she batted her eyelashes, he’d let her go. The women in the movies did it all the time. She tried to paste on a smile as well, even though her heart was beating fifty million miles per hour. Bryn was pretty sure it came across as a grimace.

“Officer, please, is that really necessary? Can’t you just give me a ticket and I’ll be on my way? Let me give you my license and registration. I’ll—”

“Ma’am, please get out of your vehicle.”

The severity of the officer’s voice told Bryn how serious he was, which only made her breathing more erratic and her hands sweaty. What could she have done that was so bad to warrant an officer asking her to step out of the car? That’s when it hit her. Bryn sighed with relief. He had to have seen the photos of those murder victims. He wanted to make sure she was all right and not in any danger.

“Officer, it’s very kind of you to stop and make sure I’m okay,” Bryn said, opening up her door and stepping out of the car. “Can you believe that I’m from Phoenix and didn’t even know that we had a serial killer on the loose? I saw the paper a little bit ago, and I know I look like them, but I’m fine. I’m on my way to Tucson and—”

The officer grabbed her arm and started to pull her toward his vehicle. It wasn’t a police car with the siren bar on top, but instead a black vehicle with tinted windows. Even in Bryn’s shock that he would act this way, she had the wherewithal to really look at him. His shirt wasn’t pressed, and he didn’t have a gun. He was wearing some sort of belt, but nothing was attached to it. He pulled her a few more steps, before she looked down at his shoes. They were dirty, white tennis shoes. Something wasn’t right.

“Sir, wait,” Bryn said in a panic, trying to plant her feet into the asphalt of the road. It didn’t help much, and now they were a few feet from his vehicle. “You can’t just haul me off like this. Don’t you have to tell me why you had me get out of my car? I want to talk to your sheriff. I—”

“Will you shut the fuck up,” the officer snarled as he spun around to face her. Bryn blinked and realized that he’d put a knife to her throat. She tried to swallow several times, but she couldn’t get her throat to work. “You are going to do exactly as I say, or I will kill you now. I am in charge. I am the one who tells you what to do. Do you understand me?”

ADULT EXCERPT

Bryn tried to look as innocent as a virgin, hoping that he wouldn’t catch on to what she had planned. She wanted—no, needed—to touch him in a way that would show him she wasn’t just leaving to never come back. Bryn would be back once this killer was caught, and they would be able to resume what they started. But she also didn’t want their first time to take place when he was hurting. Sometimes, concessions needed to be made.

Duke gritted his teeth, but after a moment of silence, nodded. Taking that as consent, Bryn continued to stroke his legs, loving the feel of his coarse hair that abraded her fingertips. Upon taking his jeans off, Bryn had opted to leave his white briefs on and was pleased that she’d made that decision. It was like opening up a present on Christmas morning.

In normal circumstances, Bryn would have been nervous about taking the lead. And in that situation, she would have made it worse by rambling on and on to try and cover that apprehension. But as it was, Bryn felt nothing but arousal and the need to please. She knew it had everything to do with who was underneath her.

“Bryn, I’m not sure how much of this I can take,” Duke murmured. He was looking at her through hooded eyes, although the green was still very noticeable. “If you don’t do something quick, I’m going to have you naked in three point one seconds.”

“I haven’t even touched you yet,” Bryn exclaimed, wondering how she could have made him reach arousal so quickly.

“You’ve been running your fingers up and down my legs for what seems like forever. That is touching, in my book,” Duke declared.

Did she truly have that kind of effect on him? A heady feeling washed over her, making Bryn want to see how far she could push him. Her creative mind immediately popped up a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. The angel was reminding Bryn of what her mission was, while the little devil was rubbing her hands together and encouraging Bryn to see how long it would take to break him.

The angel won out. Bryn had a feeling that Duke wasn’t one to mess around and could turn the tables on her in the blink of an eye, injury and all. Her fingers ran underneath the elastic band and lifted the stretchy material up and over her present. Bryn’s mouth watered at what she revealed. At least ten inches of cock lay swollen against his stomach, looking angry that it wasn’t getting the attention it deserved.

Bryn was happy to be situated on her knees in between his legs. Her muscles went weak at the sight of his cock. Her pussy quaked, letting Bryn know that she wanted to be filled by such a massive dick. Seeking relief, Bryn rubbed her clit on her heels through her jeans. It didn’t even come close to scratching the itch.

Pulling Duke’s briefs down until they were right underneath his balls, Bryn left them there to concentrate on bigger things. She was lucky if the size of his sac fit into the palm of her hand. Bryn couldn’t help herself and tried it out, letting his two balls find a home in the center of her palm. His skin was hot, so much so that Bryn thought her hand would catch fire.

“Bryn, I’m giving you one more warning,” Duke said gruffly.

Not wanting Duke to stop her exploration, Bryn leaned down to where her breasts lay against her knees. She brought her mouth down to where her hand cupped his sac and licked the large globe. Bryn felt his testicles move against each other. Separating them with her tongue, Bryn drew one of his balls into her mouth and suckled. Tingles shot through her body as Duke moaned. It was an intoxicating feeling to know that she aroused him.

“Your mouth feels like paradise, Bryn,” Duke uttered, causing her to look up at him. He was staring at her with his green eyes and making her feel sensual in the act she was undertaking. “Take me in your mouth.”

Bryn released his ball and slowly licked her tongue upward, over his shaft and his tip, eventually reaching his slit. His flavor burst over her taste buds. The order he gave caused desire to travel over every inch of her skin. She’d only been with two men previously, and neither one of them really spoke during sex. It was either his voice or Duke’s demand she take him in her mouth that got her juices flowing, but as long as the police caught this killer, she’d have plenty of time to find out which. Her panties were wet, her nipples were hard, and her breathing was labored.

Not wanting to disappoint him, Bryn widened her mouth and slowly sucked his cock in her mouth. With each inch, her mouth became fuller. She flattened her tongue to fit more. Bryn wanted as much of him as she could get. His tip hit the back of her throat, causing her to pull back a bit. She’d never been good at deep throating, but by the sounds emanating from his throat, Bryn would be willing to learn.

“More.” Duke seemed to choke his words out.

Knowing she’d made his shaft wet, Bryn wrapped her hand around the middle of his cock and started pumping. With her hand sliding over his skin, Bryn timed it so that when her hand was lower, her mouth closed over his tip. When she brought her hand higher, she released him but dragged her thumb across the sensitive underside. Bryn had only repeated the action twice when she felt Duke’s fingers grab ahold of her hair.

“Deeper. Tighter.”