I felt like I was floating on a cloud, held aloft by a soft, warm pressure against my back. I was sure I would sink down into whatever was beneath me at any moment, that I would be suffocated pleasantly within it.

It was a shame there were men coming to kill me.

I opened my eyes as that thought passed through my brain, idly floating by like it had nowhere crucial better to be—like the urgency of that stray idea had no meaning. But then I remembered the pain in my neck, my sudden descent into oblivion, and then all the horrifying memories of what had happened at Earthly Delights slammed into me like an out of control semi.

The light burned and I had to shut my eyes against it, the sting soon accompanied by a sudden throb right behind my forehead. I couldn’t help but let out a whimper of distress, instinctively turning onto my side and curling into a fetal position.

My throat was as dry as the Mojave, and despite the dull pain radiating through my skull, my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton—the kind you find in bottles of medicine to keep the pills from rattling around too much.

I let out a groan, cupping my hands over my eyes as I tried to push through the fog that was obfuscating my thoughts, chasing after every trail of memory I could.

Where the hell am I? I wondered, feeling the soft press of what could only be a mattress beneath me—which meant we definitely weren’t in the lot behind the motel.

We? I asked myself. I knew there was a we, that I’d been there with someone else—someone I knew I ought to remember.

I know their name, I thought. But there was so much pressure in my head. I felt like I was being...

“Crush!” I said aloud, sitting bolt upright, the world spinning dangerously as I tried to bring him into my field of view.

But I had no idea where I was, let alone where the man who was supposed to be protecting me might have gone. From the look of it, we were in another motel, though one that was a shade nicer than the last one we’d been holed up in. But there was no Crush, no sign of the man only moments ago I’d been fucking like my life depended on it. At least, I felt like it was only moments ago, but given that I had suddenly gone from the back of a seedy motel to a comfortable bed, I had no idea how long I’d been unconscious.

I touched the side of my neck, the memory of that sudden sting coming back to me as I allowed my mind to dwell on those final moments before I’d fallen into unconsciousness.

“Crush?” I called again, moving toward the edge of the bed to investigate the room. But before my feet even hit the floor I heard the bathroom door click open.

“Hey, you’re up,” he said, a smile dawning across his handsome face. I wanted to slap him. How could he be so calm after what had just happened? “You’ve been out for a while.”

“Where are we?” I asked, “And how did we get away? I don’t remember anything after—”

I let my voice trail off. All my mind could conjure was the sting in my neck and then… nothingness.

“I passed out,” I said. “Why did I pass out?”

“I don’t know,” Crush admitted, sitting down beside me on the bed. “I climbed out of the window and you just sort of… collapsed.” Try as I might, Crush refused to meet my gaze as he spoke, dodging me every time. “I grabbed you off the ground and hid until the coast was clear.”

“But then how did we get here? This isn’t our room,” I said, my chest getting tight. “Where are we?”

“Farther outside of the city,” he said, glancing toward the window. “We should be all right here for now. I haven’t told anyone where we are yet, so that should buy us some time.”

“This is starting to get out of control, Crush,” I said, my face in my hands. “I’m scared that no matter where we go, these assholes are just going to keep finding us.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” he said in an attempt to sound comforting. “I’ll keep us safe. This should all be over soon.”

“How could you know that?” I asked, looking up at him, fighting back tears. “They just keep finding us, and sooner or later, you’re not going to be able to protect me.”

“I—” he paused and frowned, chewing his words before looking me in the eye. “I’m going to make sure that they never get to you, Chrissy. I can’t tell you how I know. I just do.”

“So all of a sudden, we’re keeping secrets?” I said. If he knew something that could keep me safe, I deserved to know.

“It’s not a secret,” he said, turning his gaze away from mine one more time. I could feel my stomach tighten. I’d learned a long time ago what someone looked like when they were lying. “I just… I can’t explain it now.”

“That sounds like a bunch of bullshit,” I muttered, shaking my head. “If you know something, then tell me.”

“It’s just a feeling, I swear. We’ll be okay.”

I got up from the edge of the bed. I wasn’t in the mood to be jerked around, especially not by someone who had given me the cold shoulder right after he’d been inside of me—but now suddenly he was playing the knight in shining armor. My headache was getting worse.

“I don’t need someone else lying to me, Crush,” I said, looking into his eyes and thinking of all the lies and deception my father had ever inflicted on me. “That’s not what I want in my life.”

I felt his hand slide around mine, pulling me in close. It was a reminder of just how strong Crush was that he seemed to barely exert any effort to pull me, and it made my heart flutter.

“I would never do anything to put you in danger, Chrissy,” he said, his voice a low whisper as he looked up into my eyes. “I want you to stay safe.”

“Then be honest with me,” I urged him, my voice thinning as I became aware that I was so very close to him. “My father wanted to keep me safe too, but he lied to me to do it—I don’t need that from you, too.”

“I swear, I’m not hiding anything from you,” he said, reaching up to stroke my cheek with the tips of his callused fingers. And for a moment, I believed him.

Before I knew it, his lips we on mine, his hands running down my body and underneath my blouse. My breath caught as he pulled me onto him, and suddenly I was floating again.

He stripped me bare once more, this time lying me down on my back amid a much softer, luxurious set of sheets and pillows. He was already so hard for me, so ready, and by the time he was aligning his body with mine he found me open and ready, too.

I bit down hard on my lip as he thrust into me, instilling me with the sensation of utter completion I’d never felt with anyone else. “Crush,” I whined, fingers in his hair as he began to move on top of me, pushing almost all the way in on each closing of the circuit, then punctuating with a dirty grind.

“It’s okay, Chrissy,” he murmured into my mouth, fingers coming up to brush away tears I didn’t even know I’d shed. “I’ve got you.”

That was when I knew that what I felt for Crush wasn’t just going to go away, and that it would take more than a few good fucks to get him out of my system. I wanted him—totally and completely. I wanted him in all the ways a woman could want a man.

Most of all right then, I wanted him to make me safe, just like he promised.