Several exhausting hours later, Lola was fully prepped for her biology final. Marti had left a short while earlier, receiving a call from her strict father that being late for dinner was out of the question. She’d put up a good fight, not wanting to leave Lola to walk home alone, but in the end, she’d had to relent. Lola assured her she’d be fine; but now that she realized that twilight had fallen quicker than expected, she wasn’t so sure. She briefly debated calling her mom for a ride home, but pushed the idea aside. Marti was right, there was no one following her, no star of the stalker series. It was just her over active imagination playing tricks on her. Gathering up her books, she headed for the door, nodding a polite good-bye to Mrs. Kincaid, the middle-aged woman sitting at the front desk.
Outside, she again noted the late hour, silently cursing herself for letting time slip away. Setting a brisk pace, she headed for home. The library was only a short ten minute walk to her house, a fact she was suddenly extremely grateful for. Popping her air pods in her ears, she chose her favourite playlist and did her best to block out her surroundings. When she finally relaxed enough to unclench her tightened shoulders, she nearly giggled at herself. Why did she think she was so special that someone would want to follow her around, anyways? God, Marti must have thought she was the most arrogant person alive when she’d revealed her suspicions.
Feeling slightly embarrassed, she didn’t notice the movement in the shadows behind her immediately. Slick knots of dread slid into her belly, catching her off guard. Just like before, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she had the undeniable feeling of being watched. Tears sprang to her eyes as she furiously scanned the street, desperate to unveil whoever was trying to terrorize her. Removing her air pods, she listened intently for any sounds out of the ordinary; coming up empty. Not seeing anything or hearing anything, she began a light jog, stifling a scream when she narrowly avoided colliding with a stranger.
The tall, lanky man walking his tiny white poodle gaped at her in shock, obviously horrified for frightening her. Panting, she stared back at him, struggling to find the breath to offer an apology.
“Miss? Are you alright?” The man took what he likely thought was a comforting step back from her, intent on putting her at ease.
Mortified, Lola quickly sidestepped him, all but breaking into a full-blown run. “Y-yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry,” she tossed out before making her escape, leaving the man staring after her as though she might sprout wings and fly off at any second.
“I’m fine,” she whispered to herself under her breath. But in tandem with the stranger she’d nearly plowed over, she didn’t believe her own words. Not one bit.
Lola rolled over in bed for what seemed like the millionth time and buried her face in the pillow. The empty space on her queen sized mattress sank beside her, the undeniable notion of a figure sliding into the sheets beside her. Terrified, she sucked in a breath to scream, cut off when a large hand slammed down over her mouth.
“Shhhhh, Lola. I’m not going to hurt you.” Beckett’s voice whispered in her ear. She immediately tried to scramble off the bed, only to be hauled back into his powerful embrace. He used his free hand to smooth the hair back from her face, pinning her body next to his. “Please, just listen to me, okay? Don’t struggle, you’re okay, I promise.” Ignoring him, Lola bucked, attempting to use her position to throw him off balance. When that didn’t work, he did the unthinkable. Moving swiftly, he removed his hand from her mouth, but before she could yell for help, replaced it with his own in a hard kiss against her lips. Stunned, she froze in place unable to move an inch. The spark of chemistry as they connected so intimately was completely unexpected.
Beckett stayed still for a few seconds, before parting his lips and slanting his tongue across hers, stroking them gently. Back and forth he kept up the assault, coaxing her to relent. Against all common sense, Lola’s body took over and she parted her lips slightly, a fact he took full advantage of. He sought total dominance over her, his tongue aggressively tangling with hers. He slid one hand under her back, forcing her to arch into him further.
An unfamiliar feeling started to spread through Lola’s body, a heat that seemed to want to burn her from the inside out. “More,” she panted into his mouth, surprising herself. He groaned at her request, but was all too happy to obey.
When his right hand began to travel down her body to lift her tank top, she bolted upright in bed, sucking in huge gulps of air as the last remnants of her dream fell away. Her breath coming in gasps, she pressed her hands to her chest in an effort to keep her hammering heart inside her body.
A dream.
She’d had a sex dream about her step-brother. The realization filled her with shame, coupled with twinges of lust she didn’t quite understand.
“Oh, God. Beckett, I dreamed about Beckett,” she babbled to the darkness.
Inappropriate dreams. Imagining people following her.
You really are a head case, Lo.
Lola was so caught up in the aftermath of her fantasy, she failed to notice the dark figure slip from her room, morphing back into the shadows. A smile full of salacious
