Is this Love or Obsession

Rain drummed on the sidewalk as Nicole Xander stumbled along the empty road, her bare toes scrabbling on greasy cement. Her mind was in a mess, her head was spinning and she couldn't understand what was happening to her. Sarah, her college buddy and best friend appeared in front of her, pushing that final drink at her with a sly grin.

"Just one more, Nic. Relax for me."

Now Nicole understood. The men who had cornered her at the party, their hungry eyes and grasping hands, Sarah had organized it. Her own so-called best friend had drugged her drink and delivered her to them like an offering.

But she had escaped.

She heard the roar of an engine and looked up from under the rain. A black Maybach pulled up alongside her, its dark glass reflecting her disturbance.

The rear window dropped down, and the figure of a man was present. "Get in."

The voice was deep, commanding. Not a request.

"I. I don't." Nicole stumbled, clinging to a street sign for support.

The car door swung open and a man stepped out. Tall, imposing, wearing a high quality dark suit that somehow still appeared pristine even in the rain. His face was jagged lines and shadows, but his eyes dark and intense pierced her.

"You're not safe out here," he told her bluntly.

Something in the way he stood anchored Nicole when everything else was whirling around her. The drug she had taken fogged her mind, but it also dampened her inhibitions, made her body react to the magnetic field of this man.

"Who are you?" she breathed.

"Timothy." He extended his hand. "And you need help don't you?"

Nicole let herself be guided by him, allowing him to lead her into the warm confines of the car. As they sped through the city, she couldn't help but glance at him repeatedly. Something about Timothy permitted her to feel secure and drawn to him in a possibly dangerous manner.

"What is your name?" he inquired, his voice cutting through her trance like state.

"Nicole."

He studied her in the dim light, taking in her torn dress, her tangled hair, the way she trembled despite the car's warmth. "What happened to you?"

"My best friend." Nicole's voice broke. "She drugged me. Set me up with some men." She couldn't finish, but Timothy's jaw clenched with understanding.

The drug was making everything seem not real, and it was heightening all the feelings. When Timothy's hand brushed against hers as he grasped for his phone, Nicole could sense electricity course through her frame.

"I'm taking you somewhere safe," he said, but his voice was now harsh.

"I don't want to be alone," Nicole whispered, and meant it. The drug was courage building, taking away her usual reserve. "I just keep thinking about what nearly happened. what they wanted to do to me."

Timothy's eyes dimmed. "You're safe now."

But as they reached the Grandview Hotel, Nicole halted him. "Please," she begged, her green eyes welling up with unshed tears and desire precipitated by the drug out of her control. "Don't leave me alone tonight.... I want you"

Timothy froze, absolutely frozen. He'd made his reputation on command, on keeping himself removed from trouble. But there was something about this woman... her vulnerability mixed with the glint in her eyes, breaking down each of the walls he'd put up.

"Nicole, you don't know what you're asking."

"I know exactly what I'm requesting," she said, her head moving toward him in the back seat. The tension between them thick with electricity. "I want you inside of me... Let me feel you, will you."

As her lips met his, Timothy's finally lost his cool. He kissed and sucked her tongue like his life depends on it.