I wake up as he opens the door, but I don’t open my eyes. Not yet. I let the darkness fade into dark brown behind my closed eyes. I let them flutter for a moment, and then quickly shut them, pretending to be asleep.

I steady my breathing. I’m afraid if I breathe too fast, he’ll know I’m faking. If I breathe too slow, he’ll know I’m faking.

I hear some noises in the kitchen. The water starts to run, and a cabinet opens and shuts softly. It makes me think of all the times I was sick on the couch as a kid and the soft sounds of dad getting me soup or juice would lull me peacefully out of my sleep, making me feel better.

My knees dip down as I feel Sean sit on the corner of the bed. His hand comes to my calf and he leaves it there, unmoving.

Slowly, reluctantly, I open my eyes. I have to wake up sometime.

“How are you feeling?” His fingers squeeze around my leg and he moves it down to my ankle. My feet are sore from all the running I did in those heels today.

I let out a big sigh through my mouth and sit up, crossing my legs under me. Sean moves a little closer and smiles.

“I’m feeling a little better, I guess.” I push my fingertips to my temple as he hands me a cup of water. “Thank you.”

“There’s something I need you to do, Cherry,” he says. I know I shouldn’t let my mind wander where it’s about to go. His tight t-shirt clings to his abs like nothing I’ve seen up close before. I know there’s a vee down there under his clothes, trailing down inside his pants. Pointing lower...to something. He puts his hand out and takes the cup from me, and as he does, our fingers slip past each other’s. I breathe heavily as the cool air becomes heavy between us.

“What do you need from me?” I say as his hand slips away from mine. He leans across my body to put the cup on the nightstand, and I breathe him in. He’s divine. Dark, musky wood, leather and gravel. Fresh morning air, before the sun’s come up.

A wave of heat curls between my legs, sending a shiver through my body as his hand comes down on my knee. But it doesn’t seem that he’s hitting on me. His touch is protective. He steadies his gaze on me.

He pinches the skin on the bridge of his nose, his arm flexing. I can nearly see the muscles bulge out of his leather jacket.

“I need you to come with me. To meet a man I’m doing a deal with. I could explain, but it’s fucking stupid.”

I try to swallow the lump forming in my throat, but I can’t. My mouth goes dry, even though I’m becoming aroused by the man who’s sworn to protect me.

“No,” I protest. Thoughts and questions crowd my mind. I don’t know where to start; I don’t know what to ask. “Tell me why I have to go with you.”

He stands up, taking his hand off my knee, and starts pacing the room.

“This man, a friend of my uncle’s, he wants to meet you. He wants to test me. Push me a little. It doesn’t matter what I think. And my uncle...he’s already pretty fucking skeptical of this whole thing between you and me, so I just want to go along with whatever the fuck he says so I can keep you safe until we get you the hell out of here.”

I laugh and shake my head, stretching my legs out in front of me. I’m angered, but I find it funny at the same time.

“Is that really all that crazy?” I say as he looks at me, puzzled at my reaction. “Think about all the guys who want their girlfriends to dress all sexy so they can parade them around on their arms. How is this any different from that?”

He laughs and crosses his arms, staring down at me from across the room.

“Is it?” I repeat.

“Is that why you dressed like that today?” he asks, putting his hands on the kitchen counter. His fingers grip the edge, and he tosses a look over his shoulder like I’m a little puppy he’s trying to train. “Is that why you wore those pants that look painted onto your ass? Because you want me to parade you around in front of other men?”

My breathing hitches in my throat as I become wet at his words.

“I wore this outfit because some guy who called me told me to dress like this. He said you would like it.” He doesn’t move. His chest heaves under his deep, sharp breath, but he doesn’t move.

“Do you like it, Cherry?” He turns slowly to face me. I suck my trembling bottom lip between my teeth as he walks over to me.

“I don’t know.” His steadies his gaze on me, his eyes moving between my eyes and my lips, making me feel wild inside.

“I saw how you bent over that roulette table. You felt me behind you, didn’t you? You knew my eyes were glued right to where your legs meet your ass. You felt me.”

He comes over and stands right in front of me. I look up as his hands go to his belt buckle.

“Yes,” I whisper. I can’t help it. I’m becoming wetter at his words, his eyes, the way he looks at me with piercing intensity.

“Yes what, Cherry?” His strong, thick fingers play against the edge of his pants. He shrugs his jacket off his shoulders and tosses it on the bed behind him, causing his shirt to ride up. I feel my eyebrows knit together in the middle as I silently whimper for his body.

“Yes, I liked the way you looked at me,” I say obsequiously. I feel almost desperate for his body.

“Tell me more, Cherry,” he growls. His voice booms out of his chest, though it’s barely a whisper. “Tell me about how you wanted me from the second you saw me.”

He doesn’t let me respond, though. He unzips his pants as my fingers fly greedily to him. I can see the outline of his dick through his dark, faded jeans. He’s thick and big, and my pussy clenches up, desperate for him to be inside me.

My eyes grow wide as he takes it out, revealing himself to me. Every inch of his aching, throbbing cock stands erect in front of me, and I can feel the desire growing inside my core. He strokes it in one hand as the other comes to my lips, pushing his thumb between them. I marvel at how good his rough flesh feels against my tongue, and he drags his finger out of my mouth, scraping it along my bottom teeth.

“Baby, you know what to do.” He strokes his length strenuously and excruciatingly slow. I can almost feel it inside me, but my pussy clenches again, soaking through my panties, and I’m on fire to feel him stretch me open.

I feel my cheeks color as part of me comes alive for this man. I open my mouth up obediently and he drags the tip along my lips, placing it just past my parted mouth. I close down around it, swirling my tongue around him, tasting the salt that’s dripping from him already. The thick head slides forward as he puts his hands on the back of my throat, pushing himself deeper inside me, gently rocking back and forth inside my mouth.

“Who do you belong to now, Cherry?”

His words send a shiver up my spine.

This is wrong. So fucking wrong.