Page 17 of Thorn Kiss
Now what?
Once again, I was in need of being rescued. It was humbling that this was the second time within a week. Really, this is what I got for leaving my apartment. Nothing ever happened to me when I was holed up drawing.
IcouldcallMr. Knight in Shining Armor.
I looked down at my phone and considered it. It would be a silly reason to text him, especially on a Sunday. He was probably enjoying his day off. He didn’t need me bothering him.
But god, that man had been on my mind nonstop since we’d met.
Dallas Whynot.
It wasn’t fair that he was hidden away in a tiny forgotten town in the middle of nowhere. He should have been on the front of a magazine in nothing but gray boxers, showing off his dark chest hair and sparkling smile.
Okay, Madi.The horny brain needed to chill the fuck out.
Really, what had been on my mind were his hands. I didn’t know what he did for work, but they’d been rough. Calloused. Gorgeous as they flexed while he drove.
I’d told myself no relationships for a while, but sex? And sex with a man who could actually get me off?
I strangled that thought.
The bitter truth was that for the last two years with Justin, I should have known he didn’t love me the way I thought he did. The signs were there—I’d just been so consumed by work, I didn’t pay attention to them. He never cared about my needs or wants in our everyday life or in the bedroom, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to finally realize I deserved better.
Maybe that’s why the thought of Dallas turned me on. After eight long years with a man who still needed directions to find my clit, part of me wanted to take the first chance to fuck away the sadness.
I’d now had a full week of dreaming about the muscled anime nerd. A complete stranger.
Would he still be a stranger if he rescued me twice?
Not that I needed a man to rescue me.
The scorpion came back to mind.
Actually, I did need someone to save me. There was a time and place for taking care of things by myself, but now was not one of them. That thing was a demon from the pits of hell in the shape of a gnarly croissant with pinchers and a tail.
Be brave. Remember?No more being a wallflower.
I typed out five different versions of the same text message before finally hitting send.
Me
Hi, Dallas. Do you have a moment to rescue me again by any chance?
Ugh. That text was stupid. I felt like an idiot. A girl bubbling over some guy she’d just met. I was way too old to feel like this.
My vibrator suddenly died last night in the middle of me thinking about riding his bearded face. Imagining what it would feel like for his tongue to be inside me while my thighs clamped either side of his head. Surely that’s why I’d just texted him asking for a rescue like some damsel in distress? My old faithful had left me, and in its absence my thoughts had run wild, and now I was acting foolish and impulsive.
I couldn’t help my reaction to bugs, though. Especially scorpions. Even sitting here knowing it wason my stuffkicked my heart rate up. Sweat was already forming a river down my back.
Dallas’s response was quick.
Mr. Knight in Shining Armor
What happened? Are you okay? Where are you?
Me
There’s a scorpion in my room and I’m hiding in the bathroom
