All right, then. No big deal. Get this done and go. I head down the steps, moving with purpose toward the dumpsters.
A low groan echoes in the alley.
I freeze, dropping the garbage bags in a clatter of cans and broken bottles. It makes a terrible racket but I don't care. I flick the lid off my pepper spray and hold it up, turning around. I don't see anyone, but the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up. "Charlie? You got that other bag?" I lie, in case someone's watching me and ready to spring. "Need me to hold the door open for you?"
There's no sound other than that of my harsh breathing, and my tense muscles start to relax. Did I hear a cat in heat, then? Or a skunk—
The groan comes again, but it sounds more pained than threatening.
I swallow hard, tempted to head back inside and grab Charlie. Sure, he's a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet, but someone else nearby would be welcome, and if someone's injured out here…well, I don't know that clean-freak Charlie would be much help after all. "Hello?"
Another low sound, and it sounds like…pain. "Help…me…"
Ah, fuck. Really, universe? Despite my better judgment, I head for the sounds. If someone's dying and I abandon them, I'm going to feel terrible. Of course, if someone murders me, that will also feel terrible, but I feel like I don't have a choice. It's like I'm being compelled to head into the shadows, where the darkest parts of the alley aren't lit up by moonlight. "Who's there?"
Something soft and wispy brushes over my face. I fight back a scream as I realize it's just…cobwebs. Somehow I've managed to find the only spider in the area who's making a web, and I shudder, scrubbing at my face.
"Hello?" I call again.
There's another groan, and my feet hit something hard and solid before I realize I've nearly tripped over the man. I bite back another scream, stumbling as I struggle to keep my balance, and drop my pepper spray—
—right next to a hand.
Oh fuck. Oh fuck.
The hand is spattered with blood, the palm facing the sky, the fingers half-curled. It's a man's hand, and as I look up the tattooed arm, I see even more blood, and then a dark, huge body nestled amongst the trash bags.
The whole guy is covered in blood.
"Oh my god," I whimper, pressing my fingers to my mouth in horror. This guy's been murdered. Even as I think I'm going to be sick, I'm horrified to realize that my nipples are pricking and my pulse is throbbing between my legs. What the fuck is wrong with me? Why am I reacting like this?
The man groans again and to my surprise, he opens his eyes and looks right at me. I stare into a pair of stunningly silver eyes, so intense that it takes my breath away.
"Carly?" Charlie calls from the bar's back door. "Are you out here?"
"There's a man over here," I call back. "I think he's hurt! He's covered in blood!"
The stranger just looks at me. His hand on the asphalt twitches, and then he lifts it toward me, as if asking me to take it.
Automatically, I reach for it. "You're going to be okay," I whisper to him. "You—"
The moment our fingers touch, my entire body shudders. To my horror…I orgasm.
Then, I black out.
2
"Carly! Carly? Wake up, please."
A hand taps me on my cheek, over and over again, and I groan, opening my eyes. My pulse is throbbing through my entire body and I feel both exhausted and curiously blissful.
I'm lying on something hard, and there's a stink of garbage all around me. I squint, trying to make sense of the shadows, and see Charlie's frantic face.
"Oh thank god," he breathes. "Are you all right?"
"There's a man," I murmur, memories flooding back. "A man covered in blood."
"What? Did you hit your head? Can you sit up?" His hand moves to my shoulder, tugging on me.
Slowly, I sit upright. I don't feel…bad? If anything, my pulse is throbbing and my head fuzzy, but I don't understand why I collapsed. I put a hand to my forehead, trying to remember what happened. The man in the alley was covered in blood….silver eyes…he touched me…
Oh boy.
I shift my hips a little, and the sensation of my pussy, wet and slick and sensitive, hits me like a ton of bricks.
I totally orgasmed and passed out. What the ever-loving fuck?
Swallowing hard, I look around. It's as dark as ever, but I don't see anyone nearby. "How…how long have I been out?"
"I don't know. A few minutes? You were taking a while and I came out here to see what was wrong and found you sprawled." Charlie's face is full of worry. "Do you need me to take you to a hospital?"