Addicted (Addicted Trilogy Book 1) (10 page)

Sara

“Hey, where did Alek go so soon?” Alexa asked as
she walked toward me, her eyes looking all around our small space.

All I could do was stare at the door, wishing he
didn’t have to leave. “He had to go.”

She exhaled a quick whistle which caught my
attention. “You’re one lucky girl, Sara. That man is unbelievable. How did you
get his attention? Share your secret with me. Please. I beg of you.” Her
laughing was covered by the sound of clinking dishes. Alexa was always
scurrying around for something to eat, but for the life of me, I had no idea
where she put it.

“I really don’t know, to tell you the truth. He
came into the shop one day and has been showing up ever since.” A small smile
tickled my lips, the mere thought of him too much to contain any sort of
straight face.

“Well, you’re super lucky. And I’m not ashamed to
tell you I’m jealous, you lucky bitch.” I laughed at her outburst as I made my
way toward my bedroom to gather laundry.

~~~~

The rest of my day flew by, but not quick enough to
keep my thoughts from reverting back to Alek every couple minutes or so. I found
it hard to concentrate on anything Alexa said, not even feeling a little guilty
about it either.

We ended up hanging out and watching
Vertigo
, an old Hitchcock movie, but I
couldn’t fully concentrate on that, either. My thoughts kept creeping back to
the feel of his hands on me, of his perfect mouth covering mine and his
enthralling smell which would forever draw me to him.

I went to bed a few hours later, my thoughts still
wrapped around him and wondering when I would see him again. I didn’t like the
feeling of desperation, but I was powerless to control it.

Part of me wanted to escape the desire growing inside
me for him. Another part wanted to throw caution to the wind, along with my
emotional well-being.
Just go for it
,
I tried to convince myself.
Ride out
whatever this is until he undoubtedly loses interest.
Not a good way to
think, but it was inevitable. Right?

~~~~

As I lie
here, tied up and unable to move, my panic overwhelms me. The more I inhale the
air in the room, the more I’m suffocated with the awful smell surrounding me. I’m
bathed in complete darkness, so terrified my body is frozen in fear, the
deafening silence almost too much to bear. As I focus on the sounds of my
shallow breaths, I hear it—the frightening sound which tells me he’s near. The
creaking stair means the man who has altered my world is descending in order to
get to me.

I wait.

And wait.

But nothing.

The sound stops,
the silence pounding in my ears until a scream gurgles deep in my throat,
threatening its escape as I continue to lie here in my own despair.

As my pulse
slows, I feel it.

A cold hand
caresses my cheek, and before I can allow my scream to tear through me, his
fingers circle my throat, tightening his grip until I feel faint. Dizziness
takes over until I slip deep down into the bliss of unconsciousness.

Clutching at my throat, I shot up in bed, sweat
coating my entire body.
Why is this dream
threatening me again?
The faint light from the bathroom crept under my
door, allowing my vision to adjust to the darkness quicker than normal. My eyes
roamed around the room until I deemed there was no imminent danger. I was safe.
My breathing slowed to normal, my heart following suit. When I laid down, fully
calm, I tried to fall back asleep, praying my nightmares wouldn’t return for
another visit.

~~~~

My alarm blared into the silence of my room at seven
o’clock the next morning. Although I’d planned on getting an early start, my
dreams had kept me up most of the night. Turning toward the offensive noise, I
clicked the off button and laid there, my smile so big I knew it was going to
be a good day.

I was going to tell Katherine the good news, even
though she told me all along everything would work out.

For the both of us.

I arrived at the shop a half hour before we opened.
Katherine had already given me a set of keys, so I set about getting ready for
the expected busy day.

Matt was the first to arrive after me, which wasn’t
unusual—always the early bird and all that. At first glance, he looked tired,
dark bags hiding underneath his eyes. Actually, he looked like shit the closer
I moved toward him, but I wasn’t about to call him on how disheveled he looked.

“Hey, Matt. How was your weekend? Do anything
exciting?” I asked as I prepared the order slips for the day.

“Not too much, just hung out with some friends. You
know, grabbed something to eat and had a few drinks.” Snatching his water
bottle off the counter, he tore off the cap and drank half of it in a few long
gulps. “I had a good time but nothing crazy to rehash.”
Somehow, I doubt that.
“How about you?” he questioned, finishing
his drink.

An instant blush crept over my cheeks at the memory
of Alek. I wouldn’t go into any details with Matt, even though he was my dear
friend. “No, nothing too exciting here, either.”

We exchanged guarded smiles and returned to getting
ready for the day’s work.

A half hour later, Pete came in. Katherine wouldn’t
be there until the afternoon due to a few appointments, so I guessed I’d have
to wait to share the good news for a little while longer.

I almost blurted out my
excitement to Matt a few times but ultimately kept my mouth shut.

“Pete, do you know how many deliveries we have
today? I think I’m missing a slip or two. Do you see anything back there?” I
called from the front of the store. The shop was on the smaller size, so I
didn’t have to raise my voice too much for him to hear me back in the prep
room.

 
“Yeah, there’s
three slips back here. I took them since I was going to deliver them first.
Sorry about that.”

“No worries, just glad you found them.”

Katherine made sure to have all of the arrangements
made up before she left on Saturday.
I
really don’t know what I’m going to do without her expertise. But I guess it’s
time for me to start learning as much as I can while I still have full access
to her brilliant, artful mind.

Thankfully the hours passed by quickly, taking us a
little past lunchtime. I wouldn’t have even known what time it was except my
stomach decided to make the loudest noises ever.

“Little hungry, are you?” Matt teased as he walked
past me, smiling then going on about his business.

I was freaking starving. I couldn’t believe I’d
forgotten to bring something to eat. In my excitement to get there, I didn’t even
think about it.

As I was about to call in an order, Katherine came
walking into the shop carrying a bag full of takeout.

“Anyone hungry?” she called out.

Saliva instantly coated my tongue, the aroma
wafting through the air. “Oh, my God, you are such a lifesaver. I’m beyond
starving.” Hastily grabbing the bags, I ripped one of them open and grabbed the
first thing I saw. The wrapper from a turkey
panini
was no match for me. The sandwich was hanging from my mouth as I made my way to
the tiny break room.

Matt and Katherine laughed at me as I put the other
bags down, rounding the table to take one of the two empty seats.

“Looks like I arrived just in time,” she joked as
she removed a salad. Matt was chomping away on a turkey club, a satisfied grin
on his face with each swallow he took.

“Yeah, I’m famished today for some reason.” After
taking a few swigs of my water, I decided it was as good a time as any to
spread my good news. It was perfect since we were all together. “Oh, hey, guess
what?”

Instead of saying anything, both of them looked
over in my direction, brows raised and waiting for me to spill it.

 
“I got the
loan!” I exclaimed, my lunch fully finished and tossed in the trash.

“That’s fantastic news, Sara!” they chimed in
together. I knew it wasn’t a shock to either of them, but their excitement was
genuine.

“I’m thrilled for you, honey, and rest assured, I
won’t go until you’re comfortable running everything. You know I wouldn’t leave
you high and dry.” Her nurturing smile put my sudden nerves at ease. I was
really going to miss seeing her every day, when the time came for her to leave.

“I really appreciate it, Katherine. More than you
know.”

She reached over and patted my hand before making
her way toward the prep room.

As Matt and I were getting ready to go back to
work, I heard the bell ring above the front door, indicating someone had walked
into the shop.

“I’ll take care of them, Matt,” I said, knowing
full well he would rather work in the back than deal with the customers. He
wasn’t anti-social by any means; he simply preferred the quiet over the
constant chit chat from the people who stopped in.

Coming down the hallway, I stopped short as soon as
I saw who was leaning against the coolers. I’d just been with him the day
before, yet the effect he had on me was as if I was seeing him for the very
first time.

His presence was simply mesmerizing.

He looked super yummy in a beautiful dark blue
suit. His stark white dress shirt a nice compromise to the all-over dark color;
his grey-blue striped tie brought the whole outfit together.

My God, he was beyond sexy. I didn’t know how he
was able to walk out in public without getting mobbed by women.
Oh, why did I have to go there?
He
probably
was
mobbed by horny women everywhere
he went. I instantly felt jealous, all over fictional bitches clamoring and vying
for his attention.

His movement pushed me out of my own head. Walking
toward me, his heated gaze made me dizzy roving over me from head to toe. Slowly.
When his beautiful green eyes came to rest on my face, it was then he chose to
speak, his sultry voice washing over me like a dream.

“How are you, Sara?”

Great, now
you’re here
.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out, not even
considering how rude my question was.

He didn’t bat an eyelash. “I stopped by on my way
to a meeting to remind you about the install later today. They’re coming at
seven. Who’s going to be there, you or Alexa?”

How many damn
times is he going to remind me about the install?
“I’ll
be home by then, so it’s not a problem.”
      

Before we could continue our conversation, Katherine
joined us in the front of the store, Matt following behind with a large
arrangement in his hands.

Alek smiled in Katherine’s direction but when his
eyes landed on Matt, his expression faltered, becoming somewhat rigid. He
didn’t like my friend. It was written all over his face. I knew it didn’t have
anything to do with Matt personally, instead having everything to do with me. Or
whatever relationship he thought we had. Little did he know he had nothing to
be worried about, my dear friend preferring the company of men to
women.
But it wasn’t my place to tell his business, so until
I deemed it pertinent, I was keeping my mouth shut.

The awkward silence was stifling. I’d lost all
sense of manners, staring at my friends and totally ignoring Alek. When another
minute passed, he reached out his hand and introduced himself to Katherine
first.

Real smooth,
Sara.

 
“I’m Alek
Devera
, a friend of Sara’s. Nice to meet you.” Smiling at
the old woman was going to surely cause her to faint right in front of all of
us.

I saw her visibly falter as she held his palm in
hers, thinking God knew what. “Hello, Alek. Pleasure to meet you. I’m Katherine,”
she said before taking a step to the side and pointing at the other man in the
room with us. “And this is Matt.”

The two men shook hands, eyeing each other up
before releasing their grip. Alek was clearly sizing up his
competition
, Matt returning his
scrutiny. I think I was the only one who realized what was happening, all the
more reason I was becoming very uncomfortable.

“So tell me, Alek. How do you know our Sara?” Katherine
questioned, clearly interested in the new man in my life, even if she thought
he was only a friend.

“I came into the shop last week and have been lucky
enough to hang out with this beautiful woman a few times since then.”
Short and to the point.

“I see.” Katherine’s sudden curtness had me
knitting my brow in confusion.

As if he sensed something wasn’t quite right, Alek
politely excused himself. “Well, I should be going now before I’m late. Nice to
meet you all.” He turned toward me and asked, “Sara, can you please walk me
out?”

It wasn’t a request.