Obsessive Addiction Excerpt Reveal
“Hey, fairy.” I cringe at the name. He never did like me and used the name in a derogatory way. Meant to insult me. I don’t acknowledge him, just side-step the entrance to the yard and head down the steps. My only intent is to get away from here as fast as I can.
“Oh no, you don’t.” He grabs my arm, twisting me around as the sound of a car door slamming registers in my ears. Blood drains from my face when I see Ben. He looks so much like Jeffrey; I can feel my stomach churning.
“Please, don’t do this,” I beg quietly.
I’ve been vulnerable my whole life because of men who thought they could take what they wanted and when. Now, I’ll have witnesses to it.
“Don’t do what?” He leans forward, trapping me with his arms. His knee presses into my thigh, and I know I’ll have a bruise there later. I can feel his hot breath against my neck, and I fight to free myself. “Do this?” he asks just before he licks up the side of my neck and that’s when it happens.
Something I never thought would.
Someone I never thought could.
Ben is pulled from me and on the ground before I can process anything. Wide shoulders plastered in leather cover my view. Snarling emits from the man in front of me, and I don’t know what to do. Terror races through me, and my fight or flight instincts kick in. Before I can make a move, though, a gentle hand touches my wrist, and the wall of muscle blocking my view is turning slowly.
All I see, at first, is anger. Fuming rage, ready to kill. When the fog lifts, I see it. I see him.
Crux Malcolm.
Savior, knight, killer.
I burst into tears of shame before him, and all I want to do is run, but I’m trapped in his cold, black stare as his gaze travels down my body. I see his mouth moving, but I don’t hear anything.
Because he knows.
He saw.
And he conquered.
Crux Malcolm saved my life. I owe him everything.
“You owe me nothing,” he snaps in his gravelly voice. When I heard him talk the first time all those years ago, I knew I could listen to him for days. He soothes me in ways I’ve never known.
“I owe you everything.” I breathe. I hadn’t realized I’d spoken out loud before.
He smirks and shakes his head but says nothing else as he raises a hand to cup my cheek. His tattoos run from his knuckles to his neck and what I’m guessing is everywhere in between. They would frighten most, but to me, I see a story yearning to be told.
“Did he touch you?” Crux is viciously quiet. I point to my neck and immediately regret it. He is not a man to be messed with. From the tabloid stories to his crimes, everyone knows that. Whatever is happening here, now, Ben is going to regret it.
Leaning forward, Crux buries his face in my neck and lets his tongue travel in the same fashion as Ben had. Only I don’t feel sick over his touch. I feel a quiver wrestle through me, and something tightens in my core.
