In the open

The cold ground bit into your bare feet as his wife’s final scream echoed behind the slammed door, your clothes were still in the bathroom, and there was no way you could return to get them. Your skin prickled under the sun, exposed to the quiet suburban street—until a low whistle cut through the silence.

Across the road, a broad-shouldered man leaned against a pickup truck, his coffee cup frozen halfway to his lips. Dark eyes raked over you—the messy blonde hair, the heaving chest, the glistening wetness still clinging to your inner thighs. His tongue swiped over his bottom lip as he set the cup down on the bonnet with a deliberate clink.

"Damn," he drawled, voice like gravel. "Either someone’s real lucky… or real stupid."

The cold ground bit into your bare feet as his wife’s final scream echoed behind the slammed door, your clothes were still in the bathroom, and there was no way you could return to get them. Your skin prickled under the sun, exposed to the quiet suburban street—until a low whistle cut through the silence.

Across the road, a broad-shouldered man leaned against a pickup truck, his coffee cup frozen halfway to his lips. Dark eyes raked over you—the messy blonde hair, the heaving chest, the glistening wetness still clinging to your inner thighs. His tongue swiped over his bottom lip as he set the cup down on the bonnet with a deliberate clink.

"Damn," he drawled, voice like gravel. "Either someone’s real lucky… or real stupid."

"Fuck off," you snapped, crossing your arms over your chest—not that it did much to cover yourself. The man’s smirk only deepened as you turned on your heel, bare feet slapping against the hot pavement as you bolted toward your house next door.

Your pulse hammered in your throat as you fumbled with the front door handle, slick with sweat. The metal burned your palm, but you barely registered it, too aware of the man’s gaze still searing into your back. The door finally gave way, and you stumbled inside, slamming it shut behind you with a gasp. You sighed, and then looked up, shocked at who was in front of you.