“Of course,” Preston replied.

“Okay. Sounds good.” As I rose from the booth, I once again caught the stranger’s gaze. Cocking his brow at me, he seemed to be issuing some sort of challenge. I cut my eyes away from his and looked at Preston. “Give me a few minutes. I’m going to run to the bathroom.”

“No problem.” He leaned in and bestowed a chaste kiss on my cheek before turning to follow the guys to the game room. With a sigh, I picked up my purse and started for the bathroom.

Just as I was passing the sexy stranger at the bar, his arm reached out and grabbed mine. “Excuse me?” I demanded as I slung his arm away.

“Don’t let that uptight prick ruin your evening. Sit down—have a beer with me. You deserve a night with a real man.”

The tug-of-war between politeness and temptation raged in my mind. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think so.”

“You know, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off you all night.”

My brows shot up, and with a teasing smile, I said, “You should work on your pick-up lines because that one is kinda creepy.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, I guess it is.” His dark eyes twinkled. “You’re a ballbuster, aren’t you?”

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“You know what, ballbuster?”

“What?”

“You’ve been checking me out just as much.” A wicked gleam burned in his dark eyes. “Since I’m not a gentleman, I would say you’ve been eye-fucking me all night.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh, is that right?”

When he leaned in closer to me, his breath scorched my cheek. Almost involuntarily, my eyes closed at his proximity. I hated the feelings he was eliciting in me, but at the same time I wanted to savor them and explore them. “You want to know what it’s like to be with someone like me—a biker. A good girl like you wants to know if all the rumors are true.”

“You’re pretty sure of yourself.”

He grinned. “As sure as the wet panties you’re sporting right now.”

My eyes widened, and I stared at him. “No one has ever talked to me that way before.” Secretly, I loved the boldness of his filthy talk. It made me wonder what would come out of his mouth next.

“And you love it.” When I started to protest, he shook his head. “Come on and let me buy you a drink, ballbuster.”

Nibbling my lip, I stared at the entrance to the game room. Everything in me said this was a bad idea. That I should make my way back to Preston as soon as possible. But I had always taken the safe route, and I was sick of it.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s already so into the game he’s forgotten he had the finest piece of ass he’ll ever have sitting across from him.”

“Do you have a bike?”

His brows rose in surprise. “Hell yeah, I have a bike. A fucking Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide Sport.”

This was it. Now-or-never time. “Then take me for a ride.”

“You’re serious?”

I nodded. “I’ve never been on a motorcycle before.”

He laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me at all, babe.”

Thinking about Preston’s disregard for my feelings gave me fuel to keep going. “So will you take me home?”

“You’re not waiting on your boyfriend?”

“He isn’t my boyfriend. And no, I’m not.”

The guy rose from the barstool. “Then let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Wait—I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Johnny.”

“And I’m Annabel.” As I fell in step behind him, I couldn’t help wondering whether this decision was a good one.

THREE

ANNABEL

My anxious feelings quickly disappeared. I’m not sure I had ever felt anything so freeing as being on the back of Johnny’s motorcycle. Any fear I’d had about riding on a bike faded. With the wind rippling through my hair and clothing, I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to Johnny.

In that moment, I enjoyed the freedom of the open road. I didn’t allow myself to worry what my parents would think about me being with some blue-collar stranger or how appalled they would be by my reckless behavior. Inwardly, I chuckled at what Preston’s face would look like when he realized I had ditched him. Would he even acknowledge he had been thoughtless? I wondered if he would buy some lame excuse that I’d had a friend take me home.

When the bike started to slow down, I raised my head from Johnny’s back. My brows furrowed in confusion as we pulled into the parking lot of a run-down motel. I had given him directions to my house, so I wasn’t sure what we were doing in this part of town. After Johnny eased up to the curb, he killed the engine and put the kickstand down.

I slipped off my helmet. “What are we doing here?”

Johnny glanced at me over his shoulder. “Thought we’d go inside and get to know each other a little better.”

Instantly, my stomach twisted into apprehensive knots. The reality of the repercussions of my decision crashed down on me. While I might have been extremely attracted to Johnny, I certainly wasn’t ready to sleep with him. Deep down, I should have known he would have expected more for taking me for a ride. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” Johnny asked, his brows shooting up in surprise.

“Because I barely know you.”

“Then give me a chance to get to know you.”

I shook my head. “No, you don’t understand. You see, I don’t have sex with a guy I just met.”

Giving me his most seductive smile, Johnny countered, “Maybe I can change your mind.”

I swallowed the rising fear in my throat and willed myself not to panic. “Look, I’m sorry if I led you on, but you were just supposed to take me for a motorcycle ride and then take me home.” My eyes scanned the desolate parking lot, and more than anything, I wished that there were people around. “So I would really appreciate it if you would take me home now.”

Johnny’s dark eyes narrowed at me. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, darlin’.”

“W-Why not?” I asked as a chill ran down my spine.

At that moment, the door to the room in front of us swung open. Three hulking men loomed in the doorway. They all wore motorcycle cuts like Johnny’s. “Whatcha score tonight?” one guy with waist-length dark hair called.

I glanced from them back to Johnny. “What’s going on?” I questioned lamely. In the back of my mind, I had already come up with the frightening answer. More than anything, I knew I needed to get away from Johnny. I needed to get my phone and call 911.

“Sorry, darlin’. But you’re going to make me an awful lot of money.”

Without further thought, I scrambled off the motorcycle and started sprinting away from Johnny and his friends as fast as I could. Although I could barely run in my heels, my fear pushed me harder and harder. I’d almost reached the motel office when strong arms grabbed my waist. As I was jerked back against Johnny’s body, his breath burned in my ear. “Don’t you even think about running again, bitch!”

I opened my mouth to scream, but the bite of a needle pierced the skin on my neck, silencing me. The raging fight I’d had within me succumbed to the drugs pumping through my system. As my eyelids drooped, I felt my feet leave the pavement, and I began to float.

My body felt like a buoy bobbing along the ocean waves. One minute I was outside gazing up at the darkened sky and the next I was in a hotel room. As I was lowered down onto something hard, my eyelids fluttered, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t wake myself up.

Conversation floated above me. I began to feel like I was in a coma—that level of consciousness where you are aware of your surroundings, but you can do nothing about it.

“I did good tonight, right, boys?” Johnny asked. Just the sound of his voice now caused my skin to crawl. Gone was any attraction I had once felt for him. Instead, I loathed him for the monster he was—a true wolf in sheep’s clothing.