I’d just headed down the sidewalk to my car when I heard a door open and close.

Deep inhale.

Clenched jaw.

Eyes forward.

I would not stop. I would not look back.

I knew who it was without having to look. Instead, I kept my pace even and steady—the strike of my heels on the pavement never changing. Of course, it was only a matter of time until he caught up to me, with his long legs eating up twice as much space as mine. I’d arrived late and had to park further down, where the streetlamps grew further apart.

I’d just made it to my car when he finally broke the silence.

“Are you running?” The deep timber crept through the dark night and stroked up my spine like a promise.

It annoyed me.

It turned me on.

It annoyed me how much it turned me on.

I whipped around, barely able to make out his face in the shadows. “Are you following me so you can take advantage of a woman alone in the dark? Hmm? Are you going to force yourself on me?”

His laugh rumbled in his chest.

I should have been scared. I was alone at night on a quiet street with a man who could easily overpower me. We stood in a large gap without lights, making it hard for anyone to see. All he had to do was pin me to my car, slip his hand over my mouth and take me. No one would know.

With each of his slow steps closer, my heart thundered harder.

I should have been scared…but I wasn’t.

Once he stood less than two feet away, I could see the lascivious smirk on his lips, and still, my body hummed.

“Something tells me that you’d like me forcing myself on you. Maybe you’d even find it fun.”

My pussy clenched at the quick flashes in my mind. I would like it. But I couldn’t tell him that. Lifting my chin higher, I did my best haughty stare. “There’s nothing fun about ignoring a woman’s consent.”

“Unless she gives consent for you to ignore her consent. Right?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Another deep laugh that sounded more like the warning growl of an animal about to pounce on its prey. “You don’t like me very much.”

“No. I don’t.”

His head tipped. “Why not?”

“Because I’ve been let down by enough egocentric men this week, and I don’t need to add another one to the list just so he can prove something to himself.”

“C’mon, Amara,” he crooned, taking another step. “Why don’t you let me help you relieve some of the stress coiling your muscles so tight.”

Yes, fucking please.