And shit! It’s a tight hold.

Gritting my teeth, my hands move to his arms and I kick out. I struggle hard for a full minute before wheezing out, “I can’t do it!”

Lips to my ear, he says softly, “Close your eyes.” I trust Rock, so I do as I’m told. He goes on, “Feel me around you.”

Damn, that sounds like a line out of one of my erotic romance novels!

My stomach clenches as he says, “I know I got ya good, but think, Lily. Just think. What can you use to get free?” I’m already exhausted from struggling and getting nowhere. He says firmly, “Stop struggling. Now.”

And I do.

He whispers, “Think, babe.”

And I’m so damn tired that I lose the fight in me. Melting back into him, I utter hoarsely, “I give up, Rock. I can’t. Not today.”

A loud cough at the doorway draws my attention.

Well, well, well. If it isn’t Mr. You’re-My-Responsibility-But-I-Don’t-Have-Time-For-You!

Nox stands in the doorway, jaw tight, looking as if he’s holding himself back from doing something bad. His cold-blue eyes meet mine. The vein in his temple sticks out as he growls, “Having fun?”

Rock’s body shakes with laughter and his breath warms my neck. The strong arm between my boobs tightens a little and my eyes widen. So here I am, between two hottie-commando men. One has me wrapped up, the other looks like his order of protection just turned to an order of elimination.

And I’m just here, hanging mid-air in some hot guy’s arms.

My brain adds in a sing-song voice, “Awkward!”

Cheeks flushed hot pink, I thank the heavens above when Rock sets me down on my feet. He sounds amused when he tells me, “Tomorrow, you rest up. But you have what’s called an active rest day. So no lyin’ in bed all day, okay? Find something to do that keeps you moving. Go for a walk around the house or some shit, but don’t let your muscles seize. That’s your mission tomorrow.” Looking up at Nox, he smirks, “Laters, Lily.” Then he’s gone.

Standing face to face with a still pissed Nox, I find myself getting pissed, too. Nox just has that effect on me. I swear this guy must’ve been conceived through backdoor action. There’s no way being that much of an asshole is natural .

Turning my back, I gather my towel and water bottle before uttering casually, “Haven’t seen you in almost a week.”

When I turn back around, he slowly places his hands in his cargo pants’ pockets and grumbles, “Been busy.”

And that, my friends, is the straw that broke the camel’s back.

You know when you send someone a really long, heartfelt text message? You put so much effort into that damn text message and are so excited to send it and all they send you back in return is pissy ‘ok’?

Well, I hate that ‘ok’ text! And every second answer that comes out of Nox could be classified as an ‘ok’ text message.

Gah! Infuriating man!

My eyes flare at his short and curt answer. Placing a hand on my hip, I spit, “You’re such an asshole!” And that’s not all folks. Oh no. I don’t stop there. “And a bully!”

Nox remains impassive. Which, not surprisingly, only spurs me on. “And I don’t think I like you very much.”

A minute passes, we don’t take our eyes off each other. And now…I’m mortified.

Nox hasn’t moved an inch. His face remains blank. He never gives anything away. This, of course, makes me angrier. I fume in silence. What is it about this man that makes me go from zero to bitch in less than a second?

Apologize. Not his fault you’re takin’ the crazy train to loopsville.

I mentally sigh. Yeah. That wasn’t cool.

Just as I open my mouth to apologize, a shrill siren shrieks throughout the house.

What the frick?

Dropping to my knees, my eyes widen and I cover my ears while hyperventilating. Not a second later, I’m hoisted over Nox’s shoulder. He runs down the hall with me bouncing up and down like a rag doll.

This is serious. Something’s wrong.

Nox shouts orders over the siren, but I can’t make out any of it. That freakin’ siren is so shrill, it’s going to make my ears bleed! All I can do is grip the back of his tank tightly and hold on for dear life.

Petrified and about to pee myself, I lift my head to see Nox run me right out the front door. Right out the front door and into a waiting black van.

No. No. Not again!

With no care at all, he throws me into the back of the van. I land in a seat with an ‘Oomph’ and he quickly seats himself next to me. As soon as the door closes, Nox booms, “Go!”

And we do.

Shaking like a leaf, I turn my wide eyes to my protector and see something familiar in his hands.

Ahh, hello old friend.

Nox holds up the blindfold and I internally grimace. Clearly, now is not the time to argue. Nodding once, I turn my back to him and he places the blindfold over my head. My butt pressed against his thigh, I almost whisper, “Where are we going now?”

He sighs and answers just as softly, “I don’t know, Lily. I don’t know.”

Chapter Eight

One of these things is not like the others

Lily

So here I am, standing in the middle of a dingy motel room.

I’m here after spending almost seven hours in the back of a van with Nox. This might not have been an issue if the guy knew the meaning of the words ‘lighten up’. Alas, this is Nox we’re talking about. The guy’s meaning of relaxed is sitting in a hardwood chair while watching me sleep.

A little creepy if you ask me.

The van stopped suddenly, the back door opened and I found myself being dragged to a motel room that looked like its previous occupants were roaches.

Nox paces in front of me and barks into the cell phone, “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not there right now! It’s your job to tell me what the fuck happened!” Pause, then, “Yes, she’s fine.”

Um, hello? Kinda freakin’ out here but whatever…

He stops pacing, looks me up and down and says, “Uh huh.” Pause. “Uh huh.” Pause once more. “Yeah. Okay. Lily needs clothes.” Pause. “I don’t know! Underwear and bras and somethin’ that won’t draw attention to us.” Silence, then, “Nah. Lily’s my wife. I asked them not to disturb us. We’re on our honeymoon.”

My brows almost hit my hairline.

Married?

The thought of being married to Nox is so damn ridiculous that the laughter I try to quell forces its way out. Hard. And loud.

Busting a gut laughing, tears roll down my cheeks as I lean my hip on the small table for two. Nox watches me with a scowl. He does this a long while before he walks over behind me and covers my mouth with his hand. All that does is make me laugh harder. He whispers, “Shut it, Lily. This is important. I can’t hear a thing.”

Finally getting a hold of myself, I suppress the laughter and pull his hand off my mouth. His arm falls lower, across my neck with a hand resting on my shoulder. I try to pull away but Nox has other ideas. As if he doesn’t even realize it, he talks away with his arm still around me. Looking around the room with wide eyes, I’m not sure what to do here. When his thumb absently strokes my shoulder, my core clenches, and my eyes flutter closed.

My breathing deepens as I listen to him speak. Every word he says vibrates through his chest and onto my back. “What do you mean?” Pause. “Well, when can you get here?”

Jeez, he smells so good. Like soap and something fresh and outdoorsy. His body is so big and hard, yet toasty warm. With one arm, he has me wrapped up tight. And I like it. A handful of erotic scenarios run through my head. Nox throwing me on the bed and telling me he’s going to take me right there. Nox pushing me to my knees and demanding I make him hard. Nox joining me in the too-small shower, soaping up my body. Nox bending me over the-

“Lily?”

Suddenly, a record scratches in my brain, rudely ripping me from my delicious thoughts. Whoa. Totally need to give it a rest with the erotic stories.