Annabelle hitches a ride from a stranger in a small town, where every day is the same. She longs for adventure and is looking to get out to find it…but it turns out that, even in the backwoods, nothing is as it seems after all… —————————————- This story originally appeared in the anthology Shivers This title contains graphic language, sex, and elements of erotic horror, including a twisted ending that will shock you to the core! —————————————- “Open your eyes, Annabelle.” Her eyelids felt too heavy to lift. His hand under her chin felt like fire, and it was hot, so hot. She could feel the sun on her face and she could taste the salty sheen of her own sweat as she licked her lips. “Look at me, Annabelle.” She opened her eyes. He was smiling that easy smile, but all of the life in him seemed to have been sucked up into his eyes and they were radiant with the light of a thousand shades of gold. Annabelle stood, transfixed. “Do you want your freedom?” he asked her. She couldn’t stop staring into his eyes, the warm, swirling beauty of his eyes… I never told him-my name-Inevertoldhimmyname His hands stroked her hair and he was sucking her down into his eyes. It was impossible to look away from the warm, delicious relief in them. The voice in her head was strong now. Do you want to…? She was floating—her legs felt like water. She couldn’t look away. She couldn’t— “What are you?” she whispered as he buried his hands in her hair, exposing her vulnerable throat, sweat trickling to disappear beneath her t-shirt. Do you want to die? “Your freedom,” he said, his teeth so white, still smiling as he leaned in to her. She was tingling all over wherever his hands touched her. It was so warm. His mouth found hers, his teeth nibbling at the soft skin, his tongue tracing the outline of her lips. His hands roamed down her back, leaving that tingling trail of heat wherever he touched her. Annabelle craved more of it, wanted to feel his hands against her bare skin. She pulled her t-shirt up, exposing her breasts in the bright light of the sun, her pink nipples stiff in the breeze. She arched her back, making them stand up proud for him. His eyes brightened, and she didn’t know that was possible, the glow of them turning orange now. He reached out to hold the weight of her breasts in his hands and she sighed, his touch against her bare skin astonishing, in no way a disappointment. It was a low, buzzing bliss spreading through her body and she wondered what it must be like to have him pressed full against her, inside of her. Eager, she tugged his t-shirt out of his jeans and pulled it off, tossing it aside to join hers in the sand. He was so pale, his nipples dark circles on a milky surface, and Annabelle marveled at the tingling of her fingertips as she ran her hands over him. “What are you?” she whispered again as she hooked her leg around his, pressing her breasts into his chest. She moaned at the sensation, his hands circling her back and pulling her in tight. “I told you.” His mouth moved over her throat and she gasped when she felt his teeth nibbling her there.