Her eyes widen. Her voice chokes off the end.
My body tenses in response. Something is wrong.
Tracking the line of her gaze, I sweep the landscape and immediately see what she sees.
It’s Ty.
We’re at the back of the women’s section, with at least four rows of clothes between us and him. He pauses in front of a rack of panties, glancing around furtively before plucking out a white, lacy pair and drawing it close to his face to inhale deeply.
“Jesus, what a weirdo,” I mutter under my breath.
Libby doesn’t say anything, but I notice that I have instinctively positioned myself in front of her. She stands behind me, totally still, with the tips of her fingers resting against my lower back.
“He didn’t see you, Libby,” I reassure her.
“I know,” she whispers, but I can hear the unease in her voice.
Ty is sure taking his time. Is this what he does for fun? Loiter around the women’s underwear displays?
“Okay, come on,” I command her, reaching back to take her small hand in mine. The moment that Ty dips his head to investigate a different design of thong, I lead Libby quickly along the back wall to an opening that I’m happy to see is an unstaffed room of dressing alcoves. They’re all empty, so I pull her to the farthest one, the family-sized room with the locking door.
She follows me without objection, and I thumb the button behind us, closing us off in what I am pretty sure is a foolproof escape plan.
Turning around, I see the confusion and alarm in her expression.
“Hey… Hey… Look at me,” I tell her in a low, confident voice. “You’re cool. We’re fine. He didn’t even see us.”
She nods tightly, her breath pulsing out through pursed lips. After a few moments she takes a deep, sustained breath and lets it out in a trembling shudder.
“You were amazing!” she breathes.
This catches me off guard.
“Who me? I was amazing? Just doing my duty, ma’am.”
“Don’t call me ma’am,” she mutters, just before she dives forward, wrapping her arms around my neck and jumping into my arms.
Chapter 19
Libby
Seeing Ty knocked the wind out of me.
I don’t know why. He didn’t see me. And even if he had, what would he have done about it? Nothing.
Probably.
But still, the sight of his sunburned face and stringy mullet stopped my heart in my chest. After that, I wasn’t sure what happened. Cass stepped in. His voice low and commanding, I automatically did whatever he said. Without thinking, without questioning. I just did what he said.
Now, here in the tiny room with the door locked, he is everything I need.
I reach up, practically climbing him like a tree, holding on for dear life as I kiss the breath from his lips, filling myself with his scent, with his strength. After a surprised moment, he kisses me back even harder, sucking my tongue to the root, his fingers digging into my ass cheeks as he holds me astride his hips.
We are silent, hidden, refugees from a comic book villain. Still, my need is monumental. Huge. I need something solid.
Untangling myself, I climb down him and unbutton his jeans, pushing him back against the mirror. He spreads his heels shoulder-width apart as I strip him naked to his knees.
He is already hard for me, thick and heavy. His cock stands out straight, curling slightly downward. The head is dusky and fat, with the slit filling up as I watch.