Addicted

49 (Colby's POV)

There was the snarky attitude that I loved and hated at the same time. I was beginning to get weirded out by Chloe being so damn nice to me. It was helping me to stay calm though.

She put her hands on her hips as I stood there staring at her. I couldn't go inside of her home without her inviting me.

That part of the vampire legend was true. I guess it was some sort of defense mechanism so that humans had some sort of protection against us.

 I was unsure of coming here, not wanting her to open the door to me, but at the same time wanting to be let in. She always left me feeling so damn confused.

I vow to myself, right now, that I will never use her inviting me into her home, her safe space, as a way to harm her. Never.

"Seriously?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Fucking Christ Colby, won't you please come inside my humble abode?" She swept her arm from me to the inside her apartment, bowing as she did.

Smart ass.

 I smiled and walked over the threshold. I found myself smiling a lot today.

 "I will. Thank you for the invitation." I replied, taking her hand and bringing it to my lips.

Her scowl turned into a small grin, her cheeks flushed, and her heart beat a little faster. Although her scent threatened the monster growling inside of me, male pride outweighed it. I couldn't help but feel a little smug about the effect that I seemed to have on her.

Of course, she had the same damn effect on me, and THAT was the problem.

"You're annoying." She said, pulling her hand from my grasp, and walking to her couch.

 I watched as she kicked her shoes off, sat down, and pulled her legs up onto the cushions.  I felt a surge of warmth through my chest knowing that she felt comfortable enough to do that around me. She glanced over to me still standing by the door.

"Are you just going to stand there all night and stare at me?" She swallowed nervously.

 "I was enjoying the view." I replied, teasing her.

 She blushed and rolled her eyes. Maybe I should stop making her blush. Every time she did, her scent filled the room with her rushing blood pumping in my ears...but it was just so damned cute. What the hell was happening to me?

I walked over and sat next to her, but turned sideways so that I could face her. Chloe grabbed remote and set up YouTube on a music playlist. Strangely enough, it started out with one of my favorite songs by Three Days Grace.

She sat back against the couch and stared at me.

 "What?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "Is there something on my face?"

She blushed again. Damn it, I didn't even try that time.

 "No, I'm just waiting for you to start talking. You said that this talk was about why you keep tripping out on me...and why that happened the other night. Sooo talk."

 Well damn, she was just getting straight to the point then. Okay.

I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair, noticing that her eyes followed my movements.

 "Okay...I don't really know where to start. I told you about the incident that changed me. I told you about Emilie. That changed me even more. I'm not the happy go lucky, caring kid that I used to be."

 I felt my emotions start churning, anger at how my life had turned out.

 I closed my eyes and tamed the beast before he got out of control. It was easier than when he was raging.

She didn't speak, only sat there quietly, watching me with her attentive eyes.

 "My emotions get the best of me sometimes. I'm not a nice person. I don't take shit from anyone but I will give it out in bag fulls. It was easier to bury my softer emotions, than to face them. Anger kept me going so I used it to fuel what I needed to do. With my life, my boys, my...job. Even with girls. They were always just a tool. I used them for what I needed, not caring about any of them after Emilie."

She brought her hand up to her mouth, covering it. Right now, I really wish that I knew what she was thinking.

"Do you want me to keep going?" I asked gruffly.

 I wasn't going to tell her everything, only what I could, but she still might hate me after. She nodded but didn't say anything. I let out a breath and started playing with my rings.

 "Kat's friend, Millie. She wanted to be with me. Like, in a relationship. I let her think that we were just because she made herself so readily available to me, whenever I wanted. At the same time, I was still with other girls. A lot of other girls. She walked in on me one day, while I was with someone. When she started raging at me, I lost my temper and shoved her into the wall, making her hit her head." I heard her gasp behind her hand, but I pushed on, avoiding her gaze. "When that happened, I automatically snapped out of it, but it was too late. To be honest, I almost didn't care. I was too far gone to care that I had hurt her. I told Elton to take her home, and I haven't heard from her since. Haven't even bothered to check on her. I was honestly just relieved that she wasn't bothering me anymore. Sam and the guys tried to talk to me about my anger issues but they just pissed me off more. The only one that I really listened to was Sam and that was only when I felt like it. And you" I looked over, meeting her wide eyed gaze. "You know exactly which buttons to push to piss me off like no one else. You drive me crazy...but for some reason I feel protective of you. Have since the night we met. Hated you but wanted you safe. Being around me isn't safe. Especially when you love to piss me off. It's more than that though."

She removed her hand from her mouth, licked her lips, and swallowed forcefully.