Mine

"Dammit!" I hissed to myself as one of the heels on the ridiculously high pair of stilettos Emma had forced me to wear snapped under me, causing my ankle to bend awkwardly and sending me sprawling to the hard, cool concrete. I untwisted my limbs and removed the offending shoes, inspecting my ankle in the process. It was tender, but thankfully, no real harm had been done. Throwing the medieval torture devices that masqueraded as fashion into my overly large handbag, I moved to grab the brick wall beside me and lift myself to my feet when a loud bang resounded overhead. Suddenly, the sky opened up, pouring bucket upon bucket of what could only be God's idea of a cruel, cold, wet joke onto my head and the world around me.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I screamed at the heavens, mentally cursing the God who loved to torment me so much.

Finally, I gathered my bearings, forced myself to stand, and, barefooted, began to clumsily limp along the street. A passing car honked at me, while proceeding to drive, full speed into a large puddle that had formed by the sidewalk. I was hit with tidal wave-like force, and pushed back into the same brick wall that had previously been my savior. I stumbled to the ground again, and this time, decided to stay there. With my legs spread out before me in a 'V', I huffed in a childish fit, slamming my fists against the bitter rock beneath me.

And the tears began to flow.

I'd never been what you would call a lucky person. Black cats had nothing on me. My friends refused to let me cross their paths. On Friday the thirteenth I wasn't allowed to leave the house, literally. My friends would try to lock me in my bedroom when that date came around.

It was funny at first, I admit. I'd laugh too, at the jokes, and quips, and little gestures everyone would make at my expense. But when I started receiving nothing but Rabbits' feet and horseshoes for birthdays and Christmas presents, the funny faded fast.

I sat, crying into the downpour that seemed a perfect metaphor for my miserable life, for hours. Or minutes, in reality, but hours was more dramatic, and I'm nothing if not dramatic.

"Bad night?" Came a husky voice from the dark shadows of an alleyway behind me, making me jump near out of my skin. I turned towards the voice and squinted through the sheet of rain and sopping wet hair shielding my view.

"W-who's that?" I called out to the darkness. From the gloom of the alley, a tall, lean, specter of a man stepped into the light cascading from a streetlamp; his face hidden from view by the large umbrella sheltering him from the storm. He wore all black; his style conservative, yet somehow graceful, like his gait. His heeled boots clicked on the pavement as he crept closer to me. Timid, like a mouse, more afraid of me than I was him, but predatory, like a tiger, ready to pounce on its prey. He was an absolute contradiction. And I wanted him.

He reached me and stood at my back, forcing me to crane my neck uncomfortably to look up at him. He watched me for a long moment in silence, and a feeling of unease swept through my body. Finally, bending at his knees, he lowered himself to me until we were face to face, and I involuntarily shrunk back in fear. Or surprise.

His features were handsome. They were more than handsome. Stunning. Beautiful. God-like. His hair was an unearthly shade of gold, sure to be found only on the highest peak of Olympus. His eyes were covered by a pair of dark glasses, which struck me as odd. Who would wear sunglasses at this time of night? But aside from the striking, chiseled line of his jaw, his prominent cheek bones, and his full pouty lips, his skin was the color of melting icecaps. Almost blue in its pallor.

"I didn't mean to frighten you." He flashed a smile that revealed the most perfectly straight, white, teeth I'd ever seen. I imagined that if I ran my finger along them, I would retrieve it covered in blood. Razor teeth notwithstanding, the smile only managed to heighten his dazzling appearance. I was suddenly reminded of a praying mantis.

My entire body was reeling. My brain told me to fear this strange, beautiful man, but the part of me that lies silent at the junction of my thighs had seemingly awoken from her slumber and was screaming at me to grab him, hold him, touch him.

Gathering my wits, but not my voice, I managed to nod my head at his initial question.

"Come now," he purred, his voice like melted chocolate. "Let's get you out of the rain, shall we?" He held his hand out for me, and I tentatively took it, allowing him to lift me to my feet and pull me close to him under the umbrella.

"There, that's better, isn't it?" he asked, pushing my wet hair behind my ears.

"Y…yes, thank you," I managed to squeak out.

"You're quite welcome, Faith." he said smoothly and started walking me down the street.

I smiled at him, but frowned suddenly. Something wasn't right. Something in my mind was telling me I should be going into DEFCON 5 right now, but I couldn't figure out what. I couldn't think straight. I could barely even form coherent thoughts. So why a code red blinking behind my eyes? I shook my head to clear it. It helped for a moment. Faith. Faith. Faith. My name repeated inside my head. My name? Something about my name?

"Your feet must be freezing, I should really get you home. You live this way?" he asked, his voice enveloping me in Novocaine-y goodness.

I smiled up at him numbly and nodded my head.

"I'm Johnathan, by the way." He dazzled me with another perfect smile and the world was all rainbows and puppies and the DEFCON alert subsided completely.

Johnathan the name rolled around in my mind. Johnathan. What a perfect name for such a perfect, beautiful boy.

We arrived at my apartment building, and suddenly, I was very aware that I hadn't told him where I lived. My fists clenched at the thought, and I tried to shrink away from him, but he held onto me tighter.

"Easy now, tiger. You look so tired. And you're shivering." And once again, his heavenly voice managed to wash all fears away. My hands unclenched and I found myself wondering why they had been in the first place. My mind fogged again and I allowed him to drag me, effortlessly, through the hallway to my apartment door.

Keys jingled in my door handle, as beautiful hands pushed the door open and hauled me inside. I tried to remember exactly when I had given him my keys, but the fog seemed to cloud over that little piece of information as well.

I shivered as the warm air of my apartment hit my freezing body. Johnathan walked me to the bathroom and grabbed a towel from the closet, wrapping it around me. In the moment his hand left my body, it dawned on me that this strange man seemed to know the layout of my apartment even better than I did. I shivered again, but this time it was most definitely not from the cold. He seemed to notice the shift in my stature as I involuntarily slunk away from him, my feet slowly moving of their own accord towards the open bathroom door. He was there within seconds, slamming the door shut behind me, and pinning me to it, his hands on either side of my head. The frightened little mouse had scurried away, and the hungry tiger had returned.

"Where ya going, sweetheart?" he purred maliciously into my ear. His voice, once dipped in honey, now seemed laced with venom. I stared up at him in terror, internally willing my body to move, but it wouldn't. Begging my voice to scream, but it didn't.

Lowering his head further, he nuzzled the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply. Hands slipping from the door, they landed on my hips, squeezing tightly, and for the moment at least, all thoughts of running melted away. In Psychology class, you learn early on about the Fight or Flight defense mechanism, and part of me knew I should be adhering to that, the part buried deep inside begged me to, but the part that was in front of this gorgeous, terrifying man right now simply could not be bothered.

"Take your clothes off." he commanded, and my body obliged without my consent.