The Lost One (Lost Series Book 1) (9 page)

“Crap!” I say, grabbing a tighter hold on my towel to make sure it is still intact. I would hate for it to fall. Now that would be very embarrassing, and one thing I would neve
r live down.

“What the hell are you doing here? And how the hell do you know where I live?” I shoot the questions at him like I’m throwing daggers. I don’t need a stalker, crazy person coming after me. My face feels red with anger or embarrassment; I’m not quite sure, probably both
.

“Hello to you too,” he says seductively as he stands there smiling, his bright blue eyes gawking at me with desire, admiring the view. I see he has my dinner in his hand along with a bottle of something, wine I’m guessing, and hoping for at this point in time. I turn, leaving him in the door
way to go put some clothes on.

“Come in. I need to go get dressed and I will get you some cash to pay you back for my dinner,” I say harshly. I don’t care if he is my boss or not, I am seriously going to rip into him once I’m dressed. He can’t show up here when he feels like it, especially looking
as hot and sexy as he does.

I rush to get dressed. While in the process, I slam my toe on the corner of the bed frame causing me to cry out in pain. It hurts and I’m bleeding. I reach for th
e tissues on my bedside table.

Corban
comes rushing in. “Are you okay?” he asks with concern, looking around to make sure everything is fine. Then he rushes to my side as I sit on the bed holding a bunch of tissues to my bleeding, throbbing toe.

“Yeah, everything would have been fine if you hadn’t shown up unannounced!” I practically yell at him,
hitting him in the arm.

“Can I get you anything?” His voice is so caring and gentle, but doesn’t soothe my anger and an
noyance at him.

“No.” I get up and leave. I go to the bathroom to get myself cleaned up, leaving
Corban behind to his own thoughts.

I fix myself up; then go into the living area where
Corban is now seated on my lounge, looking relaxed and patiently waiting.
Why is he here?
I’m all flustered and out of sorts with him here.

Another knock on my door alerts me to whom I’m guessing is now Flick. Answering the door, I wonder what she will
think when she sees him here.

“What happened? Is your boss a dick? Do I need to give someone an ear-full?” She starts throwing out question after question before I even get a
chance to tell her who is here.

“
Shhhh!” I quickly pull her up, practically waving my arms at her to stop. “Be quiet,” I whisper sharply, pointing to the lounge room. “Someone’s here.” I seriously hope he didn’t hear what she called him.

Her eyes light up like a Christmas tree, wondering who would be here. Pushing past me, she runs, no, basically sprints, into the lounge room. She comes to a complete stop at the sight of what’s on my lounge. A massive grin grows on her face. She looks
from me to him and back at me.

“Oh,
my gosh! He is hot!” she squeals, lunging at me and tugging at my arm, pulling me back into the kitchen.
Oh, goodness, I wanna die now.

I turn to
Corban. “Sorry about this and her,” I say, rather embarrassed from Flick’s outburst. I hear him laugh as I’m pulled out, more like yanked out. I’m surprised my arm is still in its socket. Hearing his laugh, it’s a low rumble calling me to him. I would love to be wrapped in his arms kissing him until we lose ourselves in each other.

“What the hell?” Flick fires the question at me, her eyes burning into mine, sho
wing me she has many questions.

“You didn’t give me a chance to explain. You just burst in shooting questions at me!” I say accusingly. She looks flustered. Yes, I guess
Corban has that effect on most girls.

“Is that
Corban?” she asks, pointing back to the living room.

“Yes! Why didn’t you tell me the other night at the club that the guy I was kissing was the CEO of Case Constructions?”

She looks shocked at my question. “I was seriously wasted the other night and I couldn’t see him a hundred percent,” she states matter-of-factly.

I look to the doorway to make sure he is still in there and not about to surprise me again by coming out as I tell Flick the rest of the story.

“What I was going to tell you is, Corban, that gorgeous looking piece of ass out there, is the guy I met the other night at the club and on the street. But, wait for it…” I pause for dramatic effect. I can see she is eager to hear what I’m going to say next.

“He is my boss!”

“WHAT?” she yells. I motion for her to keep her voice down. I am sure he heard that.

“I know!” I tell her in a hushed but harsh voice. “He just showed up unexpectedly. I don’t know what he wants.
”

She takes a step back, putting her hands on her hips, and just looks at me. I’m not sure what is going through her head. Is she thinking I need to kick his ass out for being my boss or to just go with it? I’m a little scared of what she will say, that is,
until she smiles and hugs me.

“Go for it! You only live once, so make the most of it.” She is happy for me, which puts me at ease with her, but not for what I have to face in the next room. “I’m going to go, but I want a phone call as soon as he leaves,” she says, pointing her finger at me as if I’m a little child. She backs away, and
then she is out the door.

Now to see what Mr Hot and Sexy wants. I’m not sure I’m ready for this.

What happened to my quiet night?
Taking a few deep breaths to calm the storm raging within me, I gather up what courage I have, grab two wine glasses, and walk back into the living room. My dinner is probably cold now, so may as well enjoy the wine he has brought.

As soon I walk in, I feel his eyes on me. I can’t bring myself to look at him after what just happened with Flick bursting in here. I am freaking out about what he is doing here. I place the glasses on the coffee table and sit at the opposite end of the lounge. It is super quiet;
you could hear a pin drop.

I close my eyes briefly, rubbing them, and sighing a little too loud. His cologne surrounds my senses, making him more tempting by the minute. I open my eyes and he is mere inches away, causing my breath to hitch and quicken. My heart rate spikes. It’s a good thing I’m not strapped to a heart monitor;
that would be embarrassing.

I look up into his blazing blue eyes. He smiles, causing them to brighten. I want to kiss him and before I can stop myself, I give into my urge. Leaning forward and crashing my lips to his, I take him completely by surprise. My nerves are shot and shattered with the touch; my lips burn as he responds. He gently kisses me,
erupting my insides like a volcano spurting out lava. His kiss and touch burns, leaving his trace on my skin.

Our kiss deepens, which arouses every part of my body. I want to touch and memorise every inch of him. I run my hands through his hair, pulling him toward me. I need him closer like a person needs air. I need him
.

His hand comes up, cupping my cheek. He slowly pulls away from me. Our foreheads rest against each other’s. Our breathing is erratic and my body feels as though an electric current is coursing through it. I want more of him, to taste his kisses and more. The
thought excites me.

“
Melodi,” he breathes, lifting my face to look at him. His eyes flame with desire. “As much I want to devour every inch of you, I can’t.” I’m crushed; my heart stops for a second, thinking over his words. Perhaps he came here to end it, or whatever it is this was. I don’t think it was categorised as anything except a fling.

Yep, I knew I shouldn’t have fallen for this gorgeous man. He is going to break me. I’ve spent my life building up these walls so I don’t get hurt. I was happy to be alone, and then along comes
Corban turning my world upside down with his sexy blue eyes, confidence, caring, and, well, his muscular, damn fine body.

The look on my face must be a haunting one. He sees the wheels turning in my head. Quickly grabbing my hands, he holds them, rubbing them with his thumbs. The small gesture soothes my nerves and me
also.

“It’s not that I don’t want you,
Melodi. I do, trust me, I do.” He releases a breath. Squeezing my hands in reassurance, he brings them to his lips, placing a soft kiss atop my knuckles. I need to reel in my feelings and find out what he wants. Maybe all this will be over and done with by the end of tonight; my stomach plummets at the thought. I’m going to have to find a new job as I don’t think I could stand seeing him every day. Sadness weaves its way through me, settling in my heart.

“Why are you here?” My voice is flat, giving
no feeling.

I need to busy my hands. I release his and reach for the wine. I look at the label, Giaconda Chardonnay 2002. I’m not a huge drinker of Chardonnay, but going by him and his attire, always well dressed in high end suits and everything labelled, casual clothes and all, this bottle would cost a hell of a lot. So may as well enjoy it, knowing I could never afford something like this, or I couldn’t justify spending that kind of money on a drink, no matter how nice it tastes.

I hand him a glass and take a sip of my own. It tastes delicious and smooth. The bubbles dance in my mouth, tickling all my taste buds.
Wow, this is amazing!

Corban
clears his throat, trying to catch my attention, causing me to look up. He still hasn’t answered my question and I’m sure he is well aware of that.

“You still haven’t answered me.” He asks as if he read my thoughts.

“I know. I’m sorry. I needed to see you and speak to you about work and what this is.” He gestures between us. His face looks uncertain and pained.

A thought comes to my mind, which scares me a little, so I voice my question out l
oud before he goes any further.

“Hold up a moment. How did you get my address?” I eye him suspiciously. He looks down at his glass, fiddling with it, a guilty look passing his features
.

“I got it from the employee files,” he admits rather quietly. Hearing him admit that really annoys me. He had no right to do that. He couldn’t even message me back this morning. PLUS, he couldn’t even tell me he was my boss! He looks as though he wants to say something; quickly I hold my han
d up to stop him in his tracks.

“
Look, I don’t care who you are—my boss, my friend, maybe boyfriend, or whatever—you shouldn’t have got my address that way.” The anger slowly creeps in. I am so mad at him. All I can see is red in my vision. “You could have rang or messaged me. You have my number, don’t you? But, hey, you couldn’t even bring yourself to message me back this morning.” My voice is raised very close to yelling. Males piss me off, and where the hell does he get off doing what he did?
Deep breaths, deep breaths.

I am on a roll. My breath is ragged and my heart rate up, but not because of him and his aura, but because I’m afraid of how he will react to me telling him off. He looks at me with amusement in his eyes. A small smile comes across his face. I can’t help but smile, and become annoyed at myself for it. I see what he is trying to do. Trying to make his moves on me so I calm down and give in to him.

“Melodi, please…” he pleads for me to listen to him.

I quickly remove the smile from my face, back to stone cold mad. “No, you can’t come in here and try to
swoon me like you do every other girl. You probably aren’t even used to girls speaking to you how I am right now, Mr Sexy and I know it.” I down my drink, grab my dinner off the table, and storm back into the kitchen.

The rage surging through me just won’t subside. Why does he think
it’s okay for him to show up here? And getting my address from the files at work! ARGH!!

Mr Sexy and I know it? What was I thinking!
My mind is all messed up right now. I can’t think straight, especially with Corban in the other room. He makes my feelings stand on edge as if they are ready to bungee jump off a cliff and experience the thrill of something new.

I stand in the kitchen waiting; well, more like pacing as I can’t seem to stand still. I’m sure if I keep going, I’ll wear the polish down on th
e floors.

Abby’s beautiful face pops into my head and thinking of how she suffered at the hands of Jacob Smith. His possessiveness and controlling ways telling her she wasn’t good enough, she had to do better, be better for him. Making her pick between her friends, family, and him; she always picked him. He had pulled her so far down, as if he had tied a weight to her and dropped her in the deep dark sea. He made her sink right down to that dark place that is so hard to get out of, and he made her think no
one would ever love her.

He got away with murdering her. He didn’t even get charged for the harm he caused her.
Seriously, what was up with that messed up judge, or should I say jury?
Mum and Dad didn’t know about the bruises until they were brought up in the courtroom. She did so well at hiding them. I found out about them when I walked in on her changing one night. I saw them plastered, like hard to remove stains, on her arms and back. She quickly covered up and refused to talk to me about it no matter how much I pushed.