Chapter 6

  In the car backseat

  I’m sitting down, AirPods in my ears, listening to what I think is a Tecca classic, when I hear a knock on the window.

  At first glance, it’s a strange figure, but upon further inspection, it looks like a woman. A very beautiful one at that. Long silver hair. Firm red lips. A chest a man could explore for a lifetime. Hips like God had a blueprint. She’s standing right outside my open window, eyes teary, body shivering even though summer’s in full swing.

  “Excuse me, sir, please help me. Please let me in. I don’t want to die.”

  I freeze. This girl is too pretty to be saying something that extreme. And she doesn’t look like she’s joking.

  I roll down my window like any good citizen would… and instantly regret it.

  She jumps. Straight from the ground into my open window, colliding with my face in the process.

  “Lady, what the fuck?! You can’t just do that! You can’t just invite yourself into someone’s car!”

  My heartbeat racing. I want to blame it on the stranger breaking in, but that’d be a lie. In my many years on Earth, I’ve never seen beauty like this. Never been this close to a girl. No wonder my heart’s trying to escape my chest.

  “So this is your car, kid?”

  “No… It’s my dad’s.”

  What kid owns a fucking Range Rover? But immediately her teary face disappears, replaced by a stubborn pout. She glares at me like I’m the one intruding.

  “Okay then. I guess I’ll wait for your dad, since he owns the car.”

  Wait.

  WHAT?

  Did this stranger just decide her own plan inside my car? Suspicious as hell. I need to do something.

  “What do you mean wait? Leave before I call security.”

  I reach for my phone, which is unfortunately right next to her, and before I can grab it, she grabs my hand instead.

  Her hands are cold.

  “Please… stop. I’m sorry for being rude, kid.”

  “I’m just scared, okay? I’m trying to run away from my ex.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  She looks at me, her eyes piercing through me. The stubbornness is gone. Now she looks small, so small she’d jump face-first into the first car that listened to her cry for help.

  “Is that why you said you don’t want to die?”

  “Yes… among other things.”

  Her clothes tell a story: creased, stretched, pulled. Signs of force. She avoids my eyes completely. And now I’m wondering what the hell I’ve just walked into. And why I’m suddenly worried for her.

  Silence fills the car for what feels like ages. My thoughts shift from calling security to calling the police. But not before getting the whole picture from this girl whose name I still don’t know.

  “What’s your name, stranger?” I ask calmly.

  “Vivi,” she replies in a small, soft voice.

  “Vivi, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

  “No…” she says, but her voice shakes. So the answer is unreliable.

  “Do you need me to call somebody? Maybe the police?”

  Before I can grab my phone, she lunges at me fully, embracing me in a hug.

  The car, usually so big, now suddenly feels cramped. Our bodies are pressed together. Her face buried in my chest. And without trying, I smell her. Sweet—something between honey and nectar. Addictive.

  Her whole weight sinks into me. Her breasts press against me—soft. Too soft. And with that one contact, it feels like my body heat is draining straight into her. Her arms lock around me, and I can tell how weak they are. Fragile. Almost breakable.

  My head starts spinning.

  Guilt washes over me as blood starts flowing somewhere completely inappropriate.

  I pray she doesn’t notice. Luckily, her face is still buried in my chest, so she can’t see the red on mine.

  “Kid… are you erect right now?”

  Fuck.

  Guess I’m a pervert now.

  “Sorry, it just kind of happened.”

  Vivi raises her face toward me—no disgust, no shock. She leans closer. Lips closer. Almost touching mine.

  Before I can object, something warm and soft presses against my lips. Heat spreads through me. Then something even softer slips inside my mouth. Moist, warm. My nerves explode all at once.

  I think I’m dying.

  My first kiss.

  With a stranger.

  It tasted of lemon and flavors I don't think I’m trained to distinguish yet.

  I start to realize something’s off. Maybe this is why my body is reacting the way it is.

  And now the blood downstairs is rushing, my sword iron-strong, dangerous even. Like it’ll erupt any second.

  Then Vivi’s soft voice loses all sweetness.

  “Do you know the sentencing for rape, kid?”

  My mind goes 100 mph trying to connect dots. Nothing fits.

  “No… why?”

  The fuzziness in my head, maybe from the chemical taste of that kiss, starts clearing.

  “Well… that’s what you’ll be serving.”

  Those words shake something loose. Chemical taste?

  My erection persists, painfully, even though any normal response would have gone soft by now.

  “What do you mean serving? I didn’t do anything to you, you did things to me!”

  Face sweating.

  Stomach turning.

  Still painfully erect.

  The air feels thick. Her sweet scent is suddenly nauseating.

  I want to run. But I can’t. I’m trapped in a car with a stranger, and running now? Yeah, that would look very bad in court.

  “Kid, listen… no judge alive will take your word over mine.”

  My heartbeat is out of control.

  My life went from 0 to 100 in 10 minutes.

  I need help.

  Her calm, confident expression makes everything click:

  I’ve been honey-trapped.

  Just as I feel tears building in my eyes, a familiar hand reaches from behind Vivi, grabbing her hair, dragging her out the door.

  For the first time ever, I’ve never been so happy to see my father.

  He looks calm and furious at the same time. Eyes cold, but full of confidence. And God, that reassures me more than it should.

  “So this is Sebastian’s plan,” Dad says quietly.

  “He must have a death wish.”