Bears & Beauties - Complete by Terra Wolf, Mercy May Page A

thunder crashing as the sky ignited with fierce and dangerous lightning. Head turned down and shoulders hunched against her neck, Amber stumbled her way down the darkened city streets, her mind still reeling from the events that had just unfolded. She still couldn’t get past it. The tall, dark, and handsome stranger had been the billionaire playboy she’d ranted about to the same tall, dark, and handsome stranger. It was embarrassing to say the least. Devastating to say the worst. The man, Grayson Days, had looked playful enough when giving his speech, but Amber knew that men like that - men like him - weren’t fond of having their names mocked in the quiet corners. For all he knew, Amber could have been trashing him and his guests all night. And if he assumed that, Amber knew she was toast.
    The best she could do now was run away, get as far from the party as possible, and hope that she had a job to go to in the morning. Grayson had obviously spoken with her manager, though, so the chances of that were slim to none. At some point, Amber considered returning to the party, begging the handsome billionaire for forgiveness, then groveling until she got her job back. Turns out, though, that even in the face of unemployment, Amber had enough self-respect to stay her course. If there was one thing she had left in this world when everything else vanished or failed, it would be her dignity. No man - not even a muscular charmer with alluring eyes - could take that from her.
    After strolling a few blocks away from the party, Amber looked up to take in her surroundings for the first time. She realized then that she’d made a mistake. Somehow, Amber had wandered into one of the less seemly parts of Manhattan. The streets were all but empty, and large buildings cast darkened shadows across an already dark street. Cavernous alleyways opened up in either direction, and streetlights flickered the midst of the surging storm.
    “Great,” Amber managed, disbelieving her luck as she searched for a cab but finding none. If she stayed out in the rain for too long, she’d be sick on top of being unemployed. Even worse, if she spent too much time wandering around in the rundown neighborhood, she’d likely find herself in an even worse predicament. If her memory served her correctly, this particular neighborhood had turned into a cesspool of crime as of late. All things considered, Amber thanked the rainstorm for at least keeping the crooks at bay while she wandered aimlessly through the streets.
    Amber made her way up the street and through the neighborhood, her eyes scanning relentlessly for some sign of a cab. Eerily, however, the streets remained empty except for her.
    “How is it that in a city this large, I’m the only one out and about tonight?” Amber barked, the rain still drenching every inch of her physical being. By that point, the water had already soaked into her clothes, even to the point that her panties were dripping cool streams down the inside of her thighs.
    The sound of an oncoming car quickly alerted Amber, and she raised her head to scan for the source. At the end of the block, a dark colored Crown Victoria made its way toward her. Much to Amber’s surprise, the car slowed to a stop as it neared her, and the driver’s window rolled down.
    “Hey, honey. You look a little wet, need a ride?” shouted the vehicle’s occupant. From where she was standing, Amber could barely make out the driver’s features. He had an Italian look to him, with dark hair and olive skin. The man’s nose was sharp and looked like it had been broken a few times, and his eyes came across as threatening.
    Amber just stared silently at the man, unsure of what to say or do. On one hand, she absolutely needed a ride. More than anything, she needed to get out of the rain and find a way back to her apartment. On the other hand, something about the man came across as utterly wrong to her. There was something very aggressive about his appearance,