Page 14 of Stray


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No such luck. He easily caught up to me. Pressing a hand against the car door, he held it closed while trapping me against the vehicle.

“What are you up to, Codie? Why would you come meet someone like that?” Stray searched my face, seeking answers.

He already knew too much. I didn’t want to tell him the truth.

“I don’t know. It was a mistake. I didn’t mean to.” I found it impossible to meet his inquisitive gaze. I tried to look everywhere but directly at him.

Stray caught my chin in one hand, forcing me to look into his piercing blue eyes. “Tell me what’s going on with you. I’m not leaving here until you do.”

I swallowed hard. How was I supposed to admit to him what I’d never admitted to anyone? My dirty little secret.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I tried and failed to jerk my chin from his grasp.

“Too fucking bad. Start talking.”

Across the parking lot, the man from the motel room sped away in a dark SUV. Coming here had been a huge mistake. I knew Stray wouldn’t let me go until I told him the truth. What did it matter now? He’d already seen more than enough to put the pieces together.

Finally, I blurted, “I get off on it, okay? I like the rush of not knowing. The possibility of danger. Day-to-day life is sofucking boring sometimes. I need some excitement. This is how I find it.”

Stray cocked his head to one side, considering my admission. “That’s why you took the drink from the guy even though you knew he drugged it? For the rush?”

“Yes. I know it’s stupid. I know it’s fucking reckless. Maybe it’s an addiction or something. I can’t help myself.” My face burned. My cheeks had to be flaming red. Thankfully, the scant lighting cast me in shadows.

Stray glanced around the parking lot. After a moment he pulled away. Nodding to my car, he said, “Get in. Drive straight home. I’ll be right behind you.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

STRAY

I’d already suspected that Codie was a bit of a freak. Now it had been confirmed. When I caught up to her on her way to the motel, I wasn’t sure where she was taking me. Once we arrived, I knew she was there to meet someone.

That didn’t sit well with me. In fact, it made me a little crazy. She wasn’t really mine, except that she was. The thought of her being with someone else made me homicidal. I wouldn’t allow it.

I followed her through town back to her apartment building. Time for Codie and I to have a little chat. Somewhere that wasn’t the parking lot of a seedy motel. She turned into the parking lot behind her building. I followed. I parked right behind her car, blocking her in. Not that she would be dumb enough to try to escape me now.

She didn’t get out of the vehicle right away. Her confession had come with shame and guilt. Although I understood why, I didn’t entirely support it. The girl had a kink. There was nothing wrong with that. The only problem was how she’d been going about it. That was about to change.

I got out of my own car and leaned against her SUV. There was no getting rid of me. She seemed to know that because after a minute she got out.

“It’s late, Stray,” she said. “I just want to go inside and go to bed.”

“You can do that when we’re finished here.” Folding my arms over my chest, I looked her over. Her tiny, tight dress left little to the imagination. No doubt it was sexy, yet it was also too much. Too forced.

“Fine,” she relented. “What do you want? Haven’t you done enough already tonight?”

Codie stood next to the car clutching her purse. She kept casting glances toward her building, like she wondered if she could run inside without me catching her. I’d love to see her try. I appreciated a good chase.

I suddenly pushed away from her car, making her gasp. Grabbing her upper arms, I pulled her close, feeling the heat of her body mere inches from mine. “If it’s danger you want, strawberry, I’ll give it to you.”

Her lashes fluttered a few times. She tripped over her words before saying, “Thanks but no thanks. I’m not interested.”

I brushed the hair back from her face, my hand lingering as it slid down her cheek to her throat. Ever so gently, I ran a finger along the pulse pounding in her neck.

“It’s cute that you think I’m giving you a choice,” I said. Codie hungered for danger. I hungered for her. She had no idea how dangerous that made me.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Suspicion made her features tight and pinched. The parking lot light we stood beneath cast us in a superficial spotlight. Anyone who looked out the windows of the rear facing suites would see us.

Slowly, I circled her throat with my hand. “It means that you’re mine now, strawberry. You wanted danger. Well, you found it. I’m going to make all your darkest fantasies come true.”