The Devil's Barbie Doll

I have twelve more hours...

The thought loops endlessly in my head like a curse as neon lights flash violently across the nightclub ceiling, painting the writhing crowd below in shades of blue, pink, and blood-red...

It's just twelve more hours remaining until my worst nightmare becomes real... I stare down at the glass sitting in front of me and swallow hard before taking another shaky sip of the liquid inside it and instant regret burns down my throat.

God... It tastes like gasoline mixed with nail polish remover!

My face twists violently and I cough into my hand while I hear the bartender snort faintly under his breath from farther down the counter.

Okay...

Maybe alcohol is disgusting... Or maybe it just specifically hates me... Still, I force myself to take another sip because tonight requires bravery and apparently bravery comes bottled in amber glasses. At least according to every movie ever...

"Come on Barbara... this should be easy." I mutter under my breath and take a deep breath. Girls do this stuff all the time... Right? I mean... How hard could it possibly be to seduce a guy? Lure him into bed... lose my virginity... Boom! All done. Most men were practically rabid for sex anyway, that much I knew. I just needed to find someone decent or at least someone who looked clean enough not to murder me afterward?

Shit! This is a crazy idea...

The bass from the music vibrates through my body as I glance around the crowded dance floor again, trying not to look as nervous as I feel. There are several bodies grinding together under flashing lights, several women in glitter and leather laughing sultrily against tattooed men and the air is thick with smoke and sin... Everything about this place feels dangerous somehow...

I grip my drink tighter and just then I spot a guy across the room already staring at me... He’s tall with short cropped hair and conventionally attractive in a greasy sort of way. When our eyes meet, he grins immediately, then he winks and my stomach flips.

Well… that was easy...

I try to channel a sultry confidence I absolutely do not possess and I smile back at him or at least I attempt to. I’m pretty sure it comes out looking more constipated than seductive!

Still, he starts walking toward me and my pulse spikes...

Oh God! Oh my God he’s actually coming over here!!! Panic immediately crashes into me.

What do I even say now? How do these conversations usually go? Hi? Um... would you like to take my virginity before my forced wedding tomorrow???

Jesus Christ!

I get even more nervous as he gets closer but before he reaches me, a woman storms out of nowhere and throws an entire drink directly into his face. The splash is so violent I actually jump!

"What the hell, Vanessa?!" the guy shouts but the crazy looking brunette ignores him and glares murderously in my direction. I freeze! Her eyes are still raking over me like she’s deciding whether or not to skin me alive but thankfully she just grabs the guy by the ear and drags him backward into the crowd while he sputters apologies.

I quickly look away.

Okay... Definitely not that guy.

I glance down at my phone again and see it's almost midnight and my stomach twists violently... less than twelve hours left... Till the Wedding.

By tomorrow afternoon I’ll be standing at the altar beside Pierre Moretti... a grubby gangster with sweaty palms and bad breath while my stepfather, Gary looks on proudly like he didn’t just sell me off like livestock to settle his debts! The thought makes nausea crawl up my throat and I quickly take another large gulp of the alcohol. It turns out to be a bad idea... I cough again and my eye start to water. What was even in this thing? Poison??

God... this entire plan is so stupid! I probably look ridiculous sitting here alone like some desperate hooker from a cheap movie scene. My cheeks burn as I glance down at myself...

The dress definitely isn’t helping!

It’s black, tiny and sinful... The neckline plunges low enough to expose an alarming amount of cleavage while the hem barely brushes the tops of my thighs. Thin straps cling to my shoulders and the tight material hugs every curve of my body like a second skin...

I have never ever worn anything like this in my life... I'd grabbed it earlier on my way back home without even checking it properly and I’d spent nearly forty minutes staring at myself in the mirror afterwards wondering if I looked sexy or just deeply confused... Currently I’m leaning heavily towards deeply confused and even now I keep tugging the hem lower every thirty seconds even though it’s physically impossible for the dress to become less scandalous. But that’s good for tonight’s goal... Right?

Another chug of the alcohol disappears down my throat before I can overthink it.

"Okay, Barbara... Focus! You're here for a reason! Anyone is better than Pierre and his sweaty, clammy palms...

​I swallow the lump in my throat and cautiously take a deep breath, I force myself to scout the room and notice a few other men eyeing me appreciatively, their gazes lingering on my exposed skin and my sheer, skimpy outfit... I guess it's serving it's purpose after all...

​My breath stutters in my chest when my eyes lock onto a man sitting nearby and my brain short-circuits.

​As if sensing my stare, his gaze shifts directly to me and a slow, disarming smirk spreads across his handsome face as he casually winks at me. My heart leaps into my throat and a sudden panic detonates in my chest. Oh my God... He's looking at me. He's actually...

​Before I can even avert my eyes, he stands up from his leather booth and starts to approach me! his stride oozing casual confidence and every instinct inside me screams to run, but my thighs feel like lead, pinning me to the chair... Shit! What am I going to do?? What will I even say???

Oh my God! Abort mission! Abort mission immediately!!!

But it's too late...

​"Mind if I sit?" he asks and his voice is smooth and drips with practiced charm... He slides into the seat right next to mine without waiting for an answer. "Uh... uh, hi," I stammer shyly, clutching my hands tightly in my lap as he flashes a brilliant, blinding smile, "Hello gorgeous... You look fucking sexy in that dress... Had to do a double take to confirm I wasn't hallucinating. You're unreal..."

My face heats up and my brain scrambles. "Uh... Thanks." Seriously?... Excellent response, Barbara. Truly inspiring. He chuckles and leans forward, "You're cute... Haven't seen you around here before, are you new?"

"Uh... Yeah." I answer tentatively and he hums. "Well that explains it... I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you around here..." My cheeks heat up again and for a fleeting, delusional ten seconds, I actually think to myself... Maybe this won't be so bad...

But, the illusion shatters into a million terrifying pieces when without warning, his charming smile twists into something creepy and he reaches into his tailored jacket, pulls out a thick wad of cash, and slides it onto my lap and I stare down at it in confusion... It's more money than I've ever seen in one place!

"Alright, sweetheart..." he murmurs and his voice drops into a low, demanding purr. "Mind giving me a peek of what I’m paying for."

A cold shiver runs down my spine, "Wh... What...?" I breathe out but before the word can even fully leave my lips, his hand shoots forward! His fingers grip my thigh squeezing hard enough to leave a mark and his touch is rough as he leans in close, his breath smelling heavily of alcohol, "Don't play hard to get..." His hands trail up to my breasts and it instantly fills me with disgust... He thinks I’m a hooker?!

My stomach drops. Oh no... I can't do this anymore, this was a bad idea...

"Let me go!" I say immediately and push his hands off me. His smile disappears and he glares at me. "What?"

"I... I think you've misunderstood me... I'm not..." His hand grips my thigh harder and I flinch. "Don't be such a tease..." He reaches for me again and every instinct inside me starts screaming!

I shove his hand away and his expression darkens again. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"I'm leaving..." I say shakily and he grabs my wrist tightly. My heart rate stutters and a surge of pure adrenaline floods my veins... Without thinking, my hand flies to the glass on the table and in one swift motion, I fling the contents of the glass straight into his face!

He gasps and recoils instantly, releasing me from his grip as he sputters and wipes at his face. I don't waste a single second... I scramble out of the chair, knocking the cash to the floor, and take off running as fast as my heels can carry me!

​Behind me, I hear him cursing over the loud music. "You fucking bitch!!!" I look over my shoulder and see him scrambling to his feet, and he starts to storm towards me. He looks completely psychotic now with his face twisted in a mask of rage!

​"Oh my god, oh my god..." I sob under my breath and my lungs are burning as I run! I don't even know where I'm going! The exit's blocked by the throng of bodies on the dancefloor so I burst through a nearby set of doors instead and I hear the sound of his angry footsteps echoing closely behind me and gaining ground!

Stupid Barbara! Stupid!!! Why did I even come here?! Now I'm about to be murdered!!

"Get back here bitch!" He snarls.

Absolutely not!! I sprint even faster and turn a sharp corner, looking back one last time to see how close he is and... BAM!!!

I collide violently into something solid! It feels like sprinting full-force into a brick wall and the impact knocks the wind completely out of my lungs, and a pained gasp escapes me as I stumble backward, instinctively rubbing my forehead.

"Ow..." I wince, blinking rapidly to clear my vision as I look up to see what I just clumsily crashed into... And my breath is knocked right back out of my chest, but this time, it has absolutely nothing to do with the collision!

Holy moly... Standing right in front of me is a man who doesn't even look real. He is utterly... breathtakingly hot! Tall doesn't even begin to cover it... He's enormous! He towers over me completely that I have to crane my neck just to look at him. His dark hair is slightly tousled and frames a face with a jawline so sharp it looks like it was chiseled from marble! Massive, muscular shoulders stretch the fabric of his dark designer shirt, and intricate, dark tattoos crawl up his thick neck and wrap around his powerful forearms...

But it’s his eyes that completely pin me in place. They are a striking, piercing amber color... intense, calculating, and dangerously cold. But he's so hot! In fact It should be a crime for anyone to be this attractive!

For several seconds I simply stare at him and my lungs forget their purpose.

Then footsteps echo behind me and I freeze... remembering the furious man on my tail. I tense, waiting for him to catch me but the footsteps suddenly halt dead in their tracks and when I look back, the man is standing a few paces away but his eyes are narrowed on the tattooed stranger I just crashed into and the rage completely drains from his face. Instead, his eyes widen in shock and he goes completely pale, swallows hard, and without uttering a single word, he spins on his heel and flees back the way he came as if he’s just seen a ghost!

​Um... What on earth was that about??

​The tall stranger barely even notices the man's presence or his abrupt retreat. His piercing amber eyes are locked entirely on me, tracking the erratic rise and fall of my chest and I realize now that he has a phone pressed to his ear.

​"Let me call you back..." he murmurs into the line and his voice makes my heart skip a beat... He even has a sexy voice to match! His voice is a deep, low, gravelly baritone that sends an involuntary tremor straight down my spine. He slides the phone into his pocket and his jaw ticks slightly, a muscle leaps beneath his smooth skin as his amber gaze slowly begins to roam over my body... His eyes trail down from my flushed face, lingering heavily on my exposed cleavage and scanning every single inch of my scandalous, tight outfit.... It feels like he’s stripping away whatever little defense I have left!

​My throat goes completely dry and my heart flutters nervously as I try to explain myself. "I... Oh my God... I am so so sorry," I blurt out, my voice trembling. "I didn't mean to run into you! I was..."

​The stranger cuts me off suddenly by stepping forward and crowding me against the wall! I gasp and my next words catch in my throat as his large, warm hand shoots forward and wraps firmly around my chin! He tilts my head up so I have no choice but to look directly into those blazing amber eyes of his..

​The sudden, intense physical contact startles me and a sudden wave of delicious, electric shivers cascades violently throughout my entire body... Up close, the height difference is staggering and does something feral to my brain... He tilts my chin up a fraction higher, studying my face with an intense gaze that flickers briefly at the slight, faint dusting of freckles across the bridge of my nose, and his jaw ticks again...

​"Are you one of the new girls?"