My eyelids shoot open and I suck in a huge breath of air. Light instantly blinds me and panic courses through my body, along with a fiery pain. The sensation is way too similar to what I felt in my dream and an unsettling feeling weighs down on me.

Something’s wrong. My body is broken or something. My mind is broken. I’m dead.

I’ve been dead before.

The thought causes adrenaline to course through my veins. Why do I keep thinking this? Am I dead? Did I die?

Then why do I feel awake? And why does my skin feel so hot.

“I can’t see anything,” I whisper, blinking my eyes several times. “Am I blind?”

“No, you’re just panicking.” The unfamiliar deep voice startles the shit out of me.

Great. Not only am I blind, confused, and maybe on fire, but also a strange dude is with me.

I rack my brain for memories of how I ended up in this position. All I can remember is the fishbowl dream, thinking I’m dying, and that I’ve been dead before.

What’s happening to me?

Panic blasts through my veins and the heat under my skin increases, my pulse skyrocketing. I feel as though I’m in a sauna.

“Are you the one who stabbed the needle into my arm?” I ask tensely, wishing to God I could see where I am, see the stranger, see something,

He chuckles. Fucking chuckles. And the sound makes me grit my teeth.

“No, sweetheart, I’m not.” His amusement is annoying. “If I was, though, you probably should be more frightened.”

I don’t believe him. He had to have kidnapped me.

Trust no one, Alexis. Ever. Once you do, you’ll end. My mom whispered those words to me once, granted she was drunk, which is why the last part didn’t make much sense. Still, after she died, I took those words to heart. I rarely trust anyone and I’m not about to start now.

“Great, you’re one of those creepy pervs who gets their kicks off of frightened women.” I shake my head, disgusted and freaked out. But I’m not about to show my emotions. I need to stay calm. Need to pretend I’m not scared shitless. Need to pretend my skin doesn’t feel as if it’s on fire. “Is that why you tranquilized me and then took me?”

“So you’re calling me a liar? That’s pretty brave of you.” The heavy silence that follows his statement makes my anxiety soar. “Obviously, you’re one of those stupid girls who doesn’t know when to keep their mouths shut.” His low tone sends a chill up my spine, but the heat in my body quickly wipes the sensation away. “Because if I had kidnapped you, this would be the part where I punish you for talking back to me.” A cold palm cups my cheek.

I jerk back, but another palm molds over my other cheek, and my face becomes trapped between a pair of hands. My insides shiver, but I refuse to show any signs of being scared.

“Let me go.” Frustration rumbles through me.

This would be a hell of a lot easier if I could see him.

Then again, maybe not. Perhaps he’s as creepy looking as he sounds.

“Again, I stress, if I had kidnapped you, this would be the part where I punish you for talking back.” His grip on my face tightens, not in a painful way, but the added pressure makes me feel even more trapped.

And the startling heat blaring inside my body is only adding to my skittishness.

What on earth happened to me? What sort of drugs did this guy inject into me? Is the heat a side effect? Is that why I felt like I was dying?

I gulp as he drags his finger back and forth across my lips. Yep, this guy is definitely a creepy pervert. This isn’t good. At all.

I’m so screwed.

And where the heck is West? Did he get kidnapped too? Or did this guy just take off with me?

“Let go of me.” I aim for a firm tone but epically fail. “And stop touching my lips. Who knows where the hell your hands have been.”

He fucking chuckles. Again. And it pisses me off. Well, more than I already am.

“You’re feistiness isn’t going to do any good right now. It’s only going to encourage me.” He traces his finger across my mouth again, as if to prove a point. That he holds all the power over the situation.

Powerless. I feel so powerless. It’s scaring me a bit. And pissing me off.

“I’ll f-fight you.” I despise my uneven tone. “Whatever you’re planning on doing to me, I’m going to fight you. I’m not going to make this easy for you.”

“And what exactly do you think I’m going to do to you?” He sounds amused as his finger brushes across my lips again.

“Who the hell knows, but I’m sure it probably involves living out your disgusting, perverted, creeper fantasies. Sucks for you, though, because it’s not going to happen.” Then I open my mouth and sink my teeth into his finger.

Take that, fucker.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t jerk back, allowing my teeth to sink deeper into his finger.

Lovely. He’s a freak who loves pain. That’s going to make fighting back a pain in the ass.

Still, I continue to sink my teeth into his flesh until I feel a soft pinch through the fabric of my shirt, right below my left breast.

I wince and jerk back, releasing his finger from my teeth. “Ow. What the hell.”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t like it.” He pauses and the silence drives me mad. “And just for future record, when you go through with your fighting back plan, you should probably know that biting turns me on more than it hurts me.” His low tone conveys a silent warning that I’m unsure I fully comprehend.

I force down a shaky breath, trying to collect my nerves. Then my lips part to fire back a comeback, but my vision suddenly comes back into focus and my jaw snaps shut as I realize where I am.

What the heck? This is West’s bedroom. I know because I helped him paint the walls and hang up decorations when he moved in.

Oh my God, I’m in West’s bedroom. In West’s bed. With West’s comforter pulled over me. And now that I’m paying attention, I can smell West’s scent on the blanket. The problem is the guy sitting on the edge of the bed isn’t West.

He has short brown hair, a faint scar along his hairline, and his eyes are a crazy shade of silver. He’s wearing a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, dark jeans, a thick, leather watch covers his wrist, and a barbell piercing decorates his arched eyebrow. He’s gorgeous, but in a scary, intense, bad boy sort of way, kind of like West only way more intimidating. I don’t know why, but it feels like I know him from somewhere, but I can’t place from where.

“You look confused,” the guys says, observing me with his head tilted to the side. “Can you see now?”

I consider lying. After all, if he did kidnap me, it might be beneficial to have the upper hand. But if he did kidnap me then why am I in West’s bedroom?

I decide to ignore his question. “Where’s West?”

His gaze bores into me as he studies me closely—too closely. “He’s around.”

Okaaay… That’s vague… And not very reassuring. “Who are you?”

Again, his stare is unnerving. “Well, according to you, I’m a creepy pervert.”

“Maybe you are.” I’m pushing my luck. But I hate backing down from cocky people and everything about this guy screams, no one ever tells me no.

He crooks a brow. “Do I look like a creepy pervert?”

I shrug. I don’t even know why I do it. It’s not like he looks creepy, but sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Trust me, I know. It’s why I went from a pink and frilly sort of girl, to a girl who rocks a lot of black clothes, clunky boots, and leather jackets. Changing my style helped me alter my sweet girl image that I wanted to get rid of after my parents died.

“It’s hard to tell if someone’s a creepy perv just by looking at them.” I eyeball the distance to the door, contemplating if I should run for it. “And you do look sort of scary and intense.”

His intensely scary eyes bore into me. “Oh I do, do I?”

I nod, slowly sitting up, deciding that I need to at least try to get out of here. “Yeah, you kind of do.” I suck in a breath through my nose and then mentally count backwards from five. When I reach one, I fling the covers off me and bolt upright, ready to flee.

I barely get my feet under me before his arm loops around my waist. He effortlessly pulls me onto the bed and onto his lap with my back pressed to his chest and my ass against his manly goodies. The scent of his cologne engulfs my nostrils as he dips his lips toward my ear.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he whispers in a low tone that I swear feels threatening.

Warning flags start to pop up everywhere. This isn’t a drill, Alexis. This isn’t a drill. You’ve really been kidnapped.

I’ve never been one for showing vulnerability so instead of panicking, I growl out, “Who the hell are you and why did you bring me to West’s apartment? Does he know you’re here with me or did you do something to him?” Then to prove I’m a badass chick, I fling my head backwards straight into his face.

“Fuck,” he grits out in pain, his hold on me loosening,

I seize the opportunity to fling my weight forward and slip out from his hold. Then I run like hell across the room and throw the door open. But I slam to a stop as a guy with dark brown hair and a scruffy jawline steps up and blocks the doorway.

He takes one look at my face then raises his hands in front of him. “Just calm down. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Calm down. Are you fucking shitting me? This guy,” I gesture at the guy in the room, “Kidnapped me. And I’m guessing you helped him since you’re here. And you want me to just calm down.”

He blinks at me in shock. “No one kidnapped you.” His shock quickly wears off as he slants his head to the side to scowl at the guy in the room behind me. “Steel, what the hell did you do?”

So the asshole in the room’s name is Steel. Seems fitting, especially with that crazy silver eye color.

“I didn’t do anything.” He gets up from the bed with his hand cupped over his nose. “She panicked before I could tell her what was going on.”

I shake my head. “I’ve been awake for at least five minutes and you’ve told me nothing, other than that I was stupid and that if you did kidnap me, I should be more frightened.”

Steel gives me a dirty look, but I detect the faintest amused smile playing at his lips. Apparently, he thinks my attitude is entertaining, which would definitely be a first.

The guy in the doorway sighs. “I knew he shouldn’t have let you keep an eye on her by yourself.”

I glance back at him. “Why is anyone watching me… And where’s West?”

The guy in the doorway trades an unreadable look with Steel before his gaze settles back on me. “West is around.”

I cross my arms and stare him down. “Quit being vague and give me a damn answer.”

Steel snorts a derisive laugh. “Word of advice. If you ever do get kidnapped, you should probably keep your mouth shut. Because if we had kidnapped you, this would be the point where I lose my cool.”

I peer over my shoulder at Steel, hoping I don’t look as nervous as I feel. “You say that like you’re an expert kidnapper.”

“Either that or I’ve been kidnapped a lot,” he replies in an emotionless tone.

My head spins with dizziness. What in the wild monkeys is going on? How did I get here? And who are these guys?

I’m about to demand some answers when the guy in the doorway sighs again.

“We didn’t kidnap you,” he says. “Nor do we plan on kidnapping you. West is in the apartment in a… special room doing special things.”

I cock a brow. “Special things? Do I even want to know what that’s code for? Because it sounds like he’s locked up in some room, living out some sort of perverted fetish.”

“I think you might be a little obsessed with the concept of perverted,” Steel says. “Makes me wonder how perverted you are.”

I throw him a nasty look from over my shoulder. “You’re the one who wouldn’t stop sticking your finger in my mouth.”

“What the fuck?” Doorway Guy exclaims.

Steel ignores him, keeping his gaze welded on me. “And you’re the one who decided to fuck my finger with your mouth.”

I turn around to face him, fuming mad, my cheeks warming from embarrassment. “I didn’t fuck your finger with my mouth.”

“You sucked on it,” he says simply. “That’s pretty much the same thing.”

“I bit it,” I annunciate.

Steels eyes glimmer wickedly. “Bit. Suck. What’s the difference?”

“A lot. Biting is usually more of a violent act while sucking is…” I trail off as more warmth rushes to my cheeks.

Wonderful. Now I’m getting embarrassed.

He totally notices too, his lips tugging into a cocky smirk. “Sucking is what? Kinky? Sexy? Is solely for the purpose of getting someone off?” He leans in toward me, lowering his voice. “Biting can be all of that too, sweetheart. And maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll show you.”

I refuse to let my jaw drop, but seriously, who is this guy?

“No thanks,” I manage to get out evenly while giving him a bored look. Then for added emphasis, I yawn.

Instead of getting annoyed, his amusement doubles. “You know what. I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with you.”

“Steel,” the guy in the doorway warns. “You’re crossing a line.”

Steel rolls his eyes. “Lines only exist to be crossed.”

“That’s the most twisted logic ever,” Doorway Guy says, shaking his head.

“Yeah? So? I’m a twisted guy.” Steel shrugs, his gaze never wavering from me.

Now I’m the one to sigh. “Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on? Because right now I feel like I’ve gone mad. Like I’m Alice but instead of being in Wonderland, I’m in Wonderhell and you two are about to pull an ‘off with her head’ on me.”

Steel’s eyes dance with amusement. The other guy appears more rational, shifting his weight uneasily.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Doorway Guy tells me. “We’re going to help you.”

“Help me how?” My eyes drop to a bruise on my arm, the same spot where the needle pierced my skin. My lips curl with irritation. “By doping me up again?”

Doorway Guy tracks my gaze and then his mouth curves to a frown. “We didn’t do that to you.”

I suspiciously glance back and forth between the two of them. “And how do I know that for sure? I don’t know you guys at all and from what I’ve seen so far, I’m not impressed. So how do I know you’re not going to hurt me?”

“Because I’m here.”

The voice comes out of nowhere, but I don’t need to see a face to know who the person is.

West.