Page 154 of Masked Sins
Orion
One and a half years later
Sliding the balaclava down over my face, I adjust it and wait in the shadows of the apartment. It’s late, and the only light coming in through the large windows is the light from Downtown Crestwood. The ding of the elevator sounds through the quiet apartment, and just as Layla steps out of the elevator, my breath hitches in my chest.
She sets her bag down on the table and kicks off her boots, rolling her ankles a few times before she cracks her neck. Rummaging around her bag for her phone, she glances down at it. I see the minute she digests the words on her screen—the words I’d sent only a minute ago.
Starboy1997
Ten seconds.
Her head pops up and she looks around the dark apartment, and her hand comes to her neck as she slowly scans the atmosphere.
I count down in my head.
10 …
9 …
8 …
7 …
6 …
She walks farther into the room, unintentionally getting closer to me. She’s facing away, looking around as if she can find me, but she won’t. Not in the next five seconds, at least.
5 …
4 …
3 …
2 …
1 …
Her breathing turns ragged when I move from behind her, lunging forward and pulling her roughly against my chest. One of my hands flies over her mouth, and she bites down on the leather of my gloves.
“Ah, ah, Little Dancer,” I growl, keeping my voice low. “That’s not very nice.” She fights against me, but I don’t relent. I hold her close as she thrashes. “You remember what we had planned, don’t you?”
She whimpers.
I want one night with Starboy, and I don’t want it to feel consensual.
It took over a year for her to admit that little fantasy to me—to confess that her ultimate, deep, dark secret involved being ambushed and forced.
It was her way of working through her trauma, of giving herself power over what happened.
“You remember your safe word, both the verbal and nonverbal one. Use it.” I reach into my hoodie pocket and pullout my keys. “And since you’ll be restrained, here are my keys. Drop them if you need to get my attention.”
She kicks backward, but her hands clasp around the heavy key ring.
“Good girl.” I walk her over to the nearby couch, bending her over the back of it. When I drop my hand from her mouth, she hisses.
“Who are you? And what do you want?”
I smirk at the way she’s playing along. “I’m your worst nightmare, darling.”
