Out of Darkness by Laramie Briscoe Read Free Book Online Page B

that someone would hurt her. It was nice, relaxing, and freeing. His presence seemed to be the only relief she could get from the jittery, nervous feelings that constantly resided in her stomach.
    Watching the miles tick away, she glanced at the next green sign that indicated how far they were away from certain destinations in Kentucky. This particular one showed Upton to be only a few miles up the road. Her stomach gave a lurch, but this time not in fear, in excitement.
    As the bike ate up the miles, she noticed a sign up ahead proclaiming Jesus saved. She raised her eyebrows as Tyler took that exit and slowed down the bike. A stop sign at the end of the road told they could go either left or right, he chose right and then hung another right at the next road. It looked like they were in the middle of nowhere and her curiosity was piqued. They passed a gas station and a run-down motel before pulling into a parking lot where the back side of the building proclaimed this was a sex shop that was open 24/7 including Christmas Day.
    He parked the bike and turned it off, getting off it as he gauged her reaction carefully.
    “A sex store?”
    The grin that came to his face looked like it couldn’t be helped. “Tell me exactly what your therapist said to you, because I’m intrigued. By the way, you’ll need your ID.”
    She took the moment to glance down into the saddle bag that she stowed her stuff in, fishing out her ID. It gave her just enough time to get the redness in her face under control. This was so far out of her element that she wanted to run screaming.
    “Masturbation,” she mumbled.
    This grin was shit eating. “Well, we’ve come to the right place, sweetheart. After you,” he ushered her into the store.
    Once inside, she did her best not to let her eyes pop out of her head. It was sensory overload at its finest. Before they could pass into the main store, a man requested both their ID’s and ticked them off with a ticker he held in his hand. The smile he gave Tyler made her blood curl just a little.
    “You come here often?” she hissed.
    “I’m not gonna lie. I’m a red-blooded male. I been here a few times.”
    That was so not what she wanted to hear. Had he come here with other women? Had they eagerly picked out toys to use and videos to watch and then gone back to his dorm room and put them all to use? It took the shine off the experience.
    “I’ve never been here with another woman, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
    He could always read what she felt, could always see inside her head, and she needed it so bad sometimes. “Thanks for not makin’ me ask that.”
    “I could tell you were interested.”
    An awkward beat passed between the two of them, and she had to look away from his face. Sometimes the intensity she saw there was too much for her to handle.
    “So what am I looking at here?”
    Tyler looked at her, eyebrows raised. “You don’t know? You never been in one of these stores or to any of your girlfriend’s parties?”
    “Let’s just say I’ve never really had that many girlfriends, and no I’ve never been to a store like this before.”
    He knew that this next question would be very uncomfortable for her, so he leaned in as close as he could. It was so close his hair brushed her shoulder and his lips lightly touched her ear. “Please tell me you’ve masturbated before.”
    She immediately tensed up and he took a step back. “No, I didn’t tense because you were that close to me, that was actually nice. I tensed up because of well, you know, the other thing,” her face flashed a hot red.
    “You are twenty-four years old, how can you be embarrassed about this?” he laughed, putting an arm around her neck and pulling her close.
    Meredith buried her head in his chest and blew out a deep breathe, collecting herself. “This just isn’t who I am, I’ve never been really good at dealing with this stuff. It’s always embarrassed me. I grew up in a home where sex