Addicted (Addicted Trilogy Book 1) (8 page)

Sara

It was five minutes to nine when I finished getting
ready. I’d thrown on some jeans, boots, and a pretty embroidered white
camisole, covered by a royal blue cardigan. A decorative scarf completed the
look, plus it would come in handy if the weather was a bit chillier than
predicted.

“Sara, Alek is here for you!” Alexa yelled from the
doorway of her bedroom. She must have heard him knock and let him in. I wasn’t
sure why she was up so early on a Sunday. She should’ve still been knocked out
for at least another two hours.

“Be right there.” I took another glance in the
mirror to make sure I looked presentable enough to be seen in public with the God-like
creature who was waiting for me.

I finally made my entrance, trying my best not to
keep him waiting. I stopped abruptly when he came into my direct line of
vision. He was so damn sexy. It really should be against some law to be out in
public looking like that. Exuding limitless amounts of confidence, he was
leaning against the island in the kitchen, looking very casual. His hair was
behaving in a perfectly unruly yet classic way which suited him to a tee. Something
was different about him, though, and it took me but a few seconds to decipher
what it was. Moving closer to him, I noticed he was sporting a fresh, one-day-stubble
look. That, of course, merely added to his virility. He really was a man’s man
but with the edge of undeniable elegance. He was both rugged and classy all
wrapped in one.

Dark-washed jeans hung low on his hips, more so
than should’ve been decent. His long-sleeve, dark red shirt was fitted to him
perfectly—not too tight, but snug in all the right places. There was no missing
the fine physique which lay hidden underneath. His look was finished off with
dark brown, purposely weathered boots.

I actually felt underdressed, even though his
attire was just as casual as mine.

“Wow, you look beautiful,” he said, bringing me out
of my wandering thoughts.

“Thanks, so do you.”
Did I just say that?

“I look beautiful?” he asked as he cocked his head
to the side and laughed. I hadn’t noticed until then, but he had a small dimple
which adorned his right cheek when he smiled, adding to his amazing good looks.

“You know what I meant.” I always became so
flustered around him. I had to get better control of myself or I would be in
big trouble.

After casually perusing my body, he pushed off the
counter and walked toward me.

“Shall we?” He grabbed my hand without waiting for
my response and led me out the door.

~~~~

I was thankful I’d worn my scarf because it was a
little brisk once we walked outside. But what else should I have expected,
being late September in Seattle?

 
“Where is
your car?” I asked as I looked all around.

“It’s right over there.”

“Where?”

“Right there, Sara”. He directed me toward a
beautiful pearl-white Audi. A spectacular vehicle indeed. I might’ve actually
liked it better than his Ashton Marvin. Or whatever the name of his car was.

“How many cars do you own?” I asked, lightly running
my finger along the side of the beautiful metal. I couldn’t even afford to buy
one. Well, not yet, anyway.

I’d owned one vehicle in my life, a 1982 Chevy
Malibu. I loved that car because I’d bought it with the money I’d earned
working many hours at a local bookstore where I used to live. Lasting almost
eight years, I’d undeniably received my money’s worth.

“I have a few of them. Why, do you like this one?” He
was searching my face for a reaction. He didn’t have to look too hard, though,
seeing as how I was practically drooling over the damn thing.

“It’s all right, if you like that sort of thing.” I
knew I wasn’t pulling off aloof very well, but I gave it my best shot anyway.

He wasn’t buying it, either. “Uh-huh,” he said
before opening the passenger door for me.

I had to give it to him, he did gentlemanly very
well. When he wasn’t manhandling me or teasing me with his mouth, he brought
out the big guns with those manners. Someone definitely taught him well.

 
“I was
thinking about going to a quaint little diner off I-90. Are you okay with
that?”

“Sure, sounds good to me,” I said as I glanced out
the window. “I sure hope they make a good cup of coffee. It’s the only thing
that’ll help me function halfway normal this time of morning.” Turning my head
to face him, I asked, “Seriously, are you always up this early?”

He laughed, as if I was the ridiculous one for not
rising at the crack of dawn. “I never want to waste any day, so yeah, I’m
usually up this early; earlier, in fact. I actually waited a couple hours
before I called you.”

Not even knowing how to respond to his crazy
statement, I fixated on the world outside again as he drove us to our
destination.

We arrived at the diner just after nine-thirty. It
was a smaller eatery with only a dozen or so parking spaces surrounding the
building. He was right; it was quaint and cozy.

“They have the best veggie omelets here. Do you
want to try one?” he inquired as he glanced at me over his menu.

“Sure, as long as they bring the coffee over
pronto.” I didn’t usually eat breakfast, which was a bad habit, I knew. Usually
coffee and a quick piece of fruit was all I needed to get me going. But for
some reason, my body was requesting I up the ante right then.

After the waitress took our order, we sat there looking
at each other. I was by no means complaining, though.
I could stare at him forever, but we should probably talk about
something.

“How old are you?” It was the first question which
came to mind, my curiosity shutting down my brain-to-mouth filter.

“Thirty-two. Why, how old are you? Wait, let me
guess.” He sized me up for what seemed like forever, making me feel a little self-conscious.
But the longer he looked at me, the more I had to admit I didn’t mind his eyes
drinking me in that way. It was as if he was having thoughts which were
inappropriate for public.

“Twenty-six,” he finally answered.

“Yeah, good guess.” I was impressed with his
accuracy.

“When is your birthday?” I couldn’t stop myself from
probing him for more information.

“What is this, twenty questions?” He wasn’t offended
or irritated by my relentlessness, smiling as if he enjoyed my interest.

“Sorry. It’s just I don’t know too much about you. Actually,
I don’t know anything about you except your name, and now your age. Oh, and that
you have remarkable taste in vehicles.” I really needed to get my hands on his
Audi.
I wonder if he would let me drive back
to my apartment.
He struck me as someone who liked to be in charge, so I
couldn’t really picture him in the passenger seat of any car.

The backseat maybe, but not the passenger seat.

“Fair enough, I guess. My birthday is in October.” Deciding
it was an informative back and forth, he asked, “When is your birthday?”

I learned long ago not to give out too much
personal information about myself to people I didn’t know, but for some reason,
I had an innate feeling of security toward him.

Before I could utter the words, he caught me off-guard
when he uttered, “September.”

“What?”

“I’m guessing the month
you were born. September.”
Wow, this guy
is good.

“You guessed right again. You must have a gift.”

Before he could respond, the waitress brought our plates
over, interrupting any further conversation we were about to have.

I didn’t realize how hungry I was until she put the
hot food down in front of me. Diving right in, I had to control myself so I
didn’t appear like a homeless person eating for the first time in a week.

“Anything else you want to know?” he asked between
bites of his omelet. If possible, I think he was even hungrier than I was. But
then again, I was sure he needed plenty of nourishment to keep his glorious
body in working condition.

I pondered my next few questions. He’d given me the
perfect opportunity to find out more about him and I made sure to take it.

“Have you always lived in Seattle?”

“Born and raised,” he answered, a dreamlike look on
his face as he continued talking. “Most people hate the weather here. They just
can’t get used to the rain. But I don’t mind it. Not at all.” He took a sip of
his water before speaking again. “I guess I’m used to it. Frankly, I can’t see
myself living anywhere else.” His smile was huge, his fondness for his city was
apparent. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“What made you move to Seattle?” he asked, shifting
in his seat as if he’d known he’d asked a sensitive question.

‘What makes you think I wasn’t born and raised her
as well?” My eagerness to end our line of questioning was starting to weigh
heavy on me. I knew I’d started it but I wanted to be the one to end it. Soon.

‘Trust me, I would have known if you grew up around
here.” He leaned forward and reached across the table, brushing his hand over
mine. The contact only lasted for a split second but it was enough. “I would
have met you a long time ago.”

His words struck me like lightning. I’d known the
man was interested in me but the look he gave me made my body light up from the
inside. It was as if he was peering directly into my soul.

A shiver ran through me, making me jerk back and
garnering a startled look from him. “Sorry, I must have gotten the chills.”

“Would you like a jacket? I have one in my car.” He
had no idea those weren’t the type of chills I’d been referring to. But I
wasn’t going to elaborate. My body twitching uncontrollably, if only for a
second, was not something I wished to explain over breakfast.

When silence pressed the space between us, I knew
he was going to ask his question again.

“So, what made you move here?” he repeated.

I wasn’t sure how much information to reveal so I
kept it short and sweet. Well it started that way, at least, morphing into a
full-blown point-by-point as the minutes ticked by.

 
“One day I
decided I wanted a fresh start. Thankfully I wasn’t alone, Alexa promising to
follow me anywhere. Wherever it was I wished to move. So one day she pulled out
a map, told me to close my eyes and point.” His eyes widened the more I’d
spoken. “As you can see…I pointed to Seattle.”

I’d tried not to read into his expression too much.
I chalked up his astonishment to having a hard time believing I’d
thrown
caution to the wind, uprooted my life and relocated
across the country. All from a dare to blindly point at a map, my future
depending on luck of the draw. What if I’d chosen Alaska? I wouldn’t have done so
well with the extreme cold.

“Can I ask you another question?”

He nodded. A simple gesture giving me the
opportunity to find out even more about the man sitting across for me.

“What do you do for a living?”

I caught him right as he put a forkful of food in
his mouth so he raised a finger, signaling for me to hold on so he wouldn’t
answer with his mouth full. I nodded and continued to gracefully devour my meal.

“I own a few businesses here and there.” He
continued to eat his omelet as if his answer was going to placate my curiosity.

When he didn’t elaborate further, I continued to
press him. “Really? That’s all you’re going to give me? It doesn’t tell me anything.”

He shrugged and bit his lower lip. He was acting
like he didn’t want to divulge too much information about these
businesses
, and I wasn’t quite sure why.

As I parted my lips, he gave me something. “My
grandfather left me an inheritance when he died. He actually left it to both me
and
my sister, but in the end, I received
it all.” He trailed off toward the end of his story, looking past me as if he
was lost in thought.

“So, you have a sister?”
Why do I get the impression I shouldn’t push this topic?

“No, not anymore. And I don’t want to talk about
it.” A glaze had washed over his features, as if he was containing the urge to
shut down completely. There was no mistaking his demeanor had changed to one which
was standoffish.

“Ok, you don’t have to talk about anything you
don’t want to. I was only trying to get to know you a bit more, that’s all.” I
was really okay with whatever information he wanted to share with me.

“You’ll have to forgive me. There are certain
things I refuse to discuss with anyone. Please don’t take it personally, Sara.”
He gave me that dazzling smile of his, immediately putting me at ease.

I was never quite sure how to act around him,
different emotions bombarding me all the time. One minute, I felt as if I was
walking on eggshells, and the next, I was trying to curb an emotional outburst
of his. Then I was rendered breathless and begging for his touch. I’d never
felt like that with anyone before in my entire life. Not even close.