CHAPTER SEVEN
CODIE
There was no sign of Stray for the rest of the evening. Even though I focused on hanging out with Athena and doing some schoolwork, I kept sneaking glances out the window. Part of me expected him to be there.
After Athena went to bed, I considered doing the same. Yet I couldn’t shake this little niggling feeling inside me. This need for a little thrill. A rush. Stray had ruined my night on Saturday. The spanking incident today had left me feeling strangely dissatisfied. I needed more.
But not from him. It was too easy to get caught up in him. I didn’t want that. I wanted a one and done encounter. Something to give me a rush. Someone I would never see again.
Flopping on my bed, I opened an app on my phone that I kept hidden inside the utilities folder. The app was for an anonymous hookup site. A perfect place for meeting a random stranger. Random was risky. Risky felt good.
I purposely searched for someone who didn’t have a lot of information and no photo. The more mystery the better. It didn’t take long for someone to reply to my message. Within minutes I had an encounter planned. We would meet at a roadside motel outside town in an hour.
I sat at my vanity, switching the LED strip lights to pink. I did my makeup heavier than usual. A dark look I would never wear in my day-to-day life along with bold red lips. I left my hair long and loose.
There was something powerful about becoming a different version of myself. Every passing moment made my anticipation grow. I stared into my closet, finally deciding on a tight red dress that barely covered my ass. After a moment of consideration, I decided not to wear underwear.
By the time I was ready to sneak out of the apartment, I was buzzing. Knowing I was about to meet a stranger and anything could happen left me reeling. I was especially quiet as I let myself out of the apartment. I didn’t want to wake Athena.
The drive to the motel really got my pulse pounding. I didn’t do things like this often. Only when I needed a surge of adrenaline that left me sated for days. I may have just agreed to meet any creep. Even a serial killer. That should have deterred me. However, it only made me more eager.
My hands were tight on the wheel as I drove.
There was a can of pepper spray in my purse in case things got out of hand.
I’d had to use it once before. A man who told me he was twenty-five turned out to be twice that age.
When I tried to leave, he’d blocked the door.
A shot of pepper spray in the eyes had disabled him long enough for me to escape.
As I drove, I couldn’t help but think back to Stray bursting into my apartment. Bending me over the armchair and spanking my ass. He’d proven there was much more to him than a flirtatious jokester with an ego. Stray had a dark side.
Unfortunately, it only made him more desirable. I couldn’t help but wonder what lurked beneath the surface. How much monster was in that man?
It didn’t matter. I’d never let myself find out.
He and I were no good. We were from entirely different worlds.
That may be fine for a one night encounter but I had to see him every day on campus.
If I gave in to the urges he inspired in me, I would have to look him in the eyes every day after. No thank you.
The closer I drew to the motel, the more creeped out I began to feel. Most people wouldn’t enjoy such a sensation. I liked not knowing what or who waited for me. That’s what made it so thrilling.
When I arrived, I parked at the end of the lot away from the door I’d been instructed to enter. I had to suck in several deep breaths to calm myself enough to leave the car. I double checked that I had the pepper spray. All good.
I stepped out of the car, pausing to adjust my cleavage. Running my hands through my hair a few times, I did a quick armpit check, making sure the anxious anticipation hadn’t made me sweat. Not that it mattered. Anyone on the other side of that door wouldn’t care.
Making my way along the sidewalk, passing numbered doors, I grew giddy with excitement. I almost jumped out of my skin when a figure stepped out of the darkness in front of me.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Stray’s low voice sent chills down my spine.
It took me a moment to recover and gather myself. He stood on the sidewalk in front of me, blocking my path. What was he even doing here?
“That’s none of your damn business. How did you find me? Are you following me?” I injected pure venom into my tone.
“Are you here to meet someone?” he asked, ignoring my questions.
The one flickering parking lot light slanted across his face, giving me a great view of the sinister expression he wore.
My feelings were conflicted. Something about Stray following me, stalking me, pissed me off.
What gave him the right? At the same time, knowing that he’d been watching me fed my need for a dangerous high.
Still, this man didn’t own me. He needed to stop acting like he did.
“Maybe. Maybe you don’t need to know everything about me, Stray. I’m a grown ass woman. If I want to go out, I will. Go away.” I made as if to shove by him.
He moved with me, making sure to continuously block my forward progress. Finally, I grew frustrated and reached in my purse. Maybe a little pepper spray would chase him off.
“Don’t even think about it.” He caught my arm before I could withdraw the spray. “Today was nothing compared to how hard I’ll spank your ass if you spray that shit in my face. Who are you meeting, Codie?”
“Nobody. You don’t need to know. Leave me alone before I call the police.” An empty threat at best. The problem was that he knew it too.
“Go right ahead. I’m sure they would love to know who you’re meeting here as well.” Being the arrogant jerk he was, Stray pulled out his own phone and held it out to me.
“It’s not a crime for two consenting adults to meet at a motel,” I snapped. “Now get out of my way. You’re going to make me late.”
Stray’s amused chuckle angered me further. “All right. Let’s go see who’s waiting for you. Which room is it?”
He caught my wrist, dragging me along the sidewalk next to him. I did my best to resist. This egotistical asshole was going to ruin everything.
“I’m not telling you shit.” Wearing heels made it impossible to stop. I was forced to keep up with him so I didn’t trip and fall on my face.
“Then I guess I’ll have to try every door until we find our mystery guy.” Stray jerked to a stop at the next door we reached.
The thought of him banging on every single door until he found my hookup was horrifying. This was already embarrassing enough without him bringing the entire motel into it.
“Room twenty-one,” I spat. “You really have a lot of nerve coming here. I’m an adult. I don’t need your permission to meet someone for adult activity.”
Stray made a noise of disgust mixed with disbelief. “After what I caught you doing last weekend, I’d say you do. You’re reckless, strawberry. So reckless I’d almost think you had a death wish.”
“Oh please,” I scoffed. “That’s a bit extreme.”
“Everything about you is a bit extreme. I like it. But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to sit back and watch you do something stupid. Not when you could get your kicks with me.” Like a man on a mission, Stray kept going, stopping only when he reached room twenty-one.
He paused long enough to open the camera on his phone and start recording a video. Before I could speak or react in any way, he violently kicked open the motel room door.
My jaw dropped. Inside the room, spread out on the bed, was a naked man. A much older naked man. I wasn’t one to body shame though his appearance was less than attractive. Even more worrisome were the handcuffs on the bed next to him.
I’d known this was a chance I was taking which was why I’d come prepared with pepper spray. Something about having Stray witness this moment made it all come crashing down with startling clarity.
I had a problem. A problem that was spiraling out of control as it placed me in increasingly dangerous situations.
The man on the bed shouted in surprise. Stray entered the room with his phone held up to record. As the man leapt off the bed, Stray punched him hard in the face. The man went down, splayed out on the floor with his unmentionables on display.
“If I ever find you anywhere near this woman, I will fucking kill you.” Stray stood over the man, daring him to get up.
“I didn’t know she was with anyone,” the man shouted. “I don’t want any trouble.”
Absolutely humiliated, I turned around and ran back toward my car. I felt Stray behind me, quickly closing the distance between us. If I could get in the car and lock the door, I wouldn’t have to face him.
No such luck. He easily caught up to me. Pressing a hand against the car door, he held it closed while trapping me against the vehicle.
“What are you up to, Codie? Why would you come meet someone like that?” Stray searched my face, seeking answers.
He already knew too much. I didn’t want to tell him the truth.
“I don’t know. It was a mistake. I didn’t mean to.” I found it impossible to meet his inquisitive gaze. I tried to look everywhere but directly at him.
Stray caught my chin in one hand, forcing me to look into his piercing blue eyes. “Tell me what’s going on with you. I’m not leaving here until you do.”
I swallowed hard. How was I supposed to admit to him what I’d never admitted to anyone? My dirty little secret.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I tried and failed to jerk my chin from his grasp.
“Too fucking bad. Start talking.”
Across the parking lot, the man from the motel room sped away in a dark SUV. Coming here had been a huge mistake. I knew Stray wouldn’t let me go until I told him the truth. What did it matter now? He’d already seen more than enough to put the pieces together.
Finally, I blurted, “I get off on it, okay? I like the rush of not knowing. The possibility of danger. Day-to-day life is so fucking boring sometimes. I need some excitement. This is how I find it.”
Stray cocked his head to one side, considering my admission. “That’s why you took the drink from the guy even though you knew he drugged it? For the rush?”
“Yes. I know it’s stupid. I know it’s fucking reckless. Maybe it’s an addiction or something. I can’t help myself.” My face burned. My cheeks had to be flaming red. Thankfully, the scant lighting cast me in shadows.
Stray glanced around the parking lot. After a moment he pulled away. Nodding to my car, he said, “Get in. Drive straight home. I’ll be right behind you.”