ADDICTED

16

A heavy, balding man sitting two stools away appeared to notice I was eye-stabbing the bartender.

"Aye, Joe!" he yelled.

The bartender acknowledged the voice and then looked at me when the older man nodded my way. He trotted down to my end.

"Ready for another?" he asked.

"Close-out, actually."

He smiled a little, seeming somehow amused. After a minute, he came back with the check. I handed over my credit card. He fiddled with it before meeting my eyes again.

"You look like someone I know," he told me, chuckling nervously.

"Yeah?" I smiled. "Hopefully that doesn't mean you spit in my beer."

He laughed. "No, no. She was a friend. Well, you know. A friend."

"I know the kind. Past tense?"

"It's been a few years. I see your name isn't Allison, though." He held up the credit card and winked.

"Nope. I'm not from around here either."

"A shame! How long are you in town for?"

Licking the residual coffee taste from my lips, I shook my head. "I go back home in the morning."

He backed away to grab his credit card reader and plugged my card in. "And where's home, lady?"

"Uh, well. Tennessee now! I recently took a new job and moved."

"Congratulations? You should have come here! We need more pretty women like you around."

I snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure. I saw more gorgeous women on my walk to this bar than I have in the last month elsewhere."

"Pretty women like pretty things," he said, shrugging as he handed my card back.

He tore off the receipt and scribbled on it. I knew what it was and yet I couldn't believe it. As he slid the slip of paper over, I saw the phone number on it and blushed.

The pub felt twenty degrees warmer. This has never happened to me before and I thought it only happened in cheesy romance movies.

"I don't get off for a few hours," he said, "but if you want to grab a drink or something, text me. I'll call you when my shift ends."

I tucked the receipt into my purse and stifled a goofy grin. "I'll have to think about it, Mr. Jersey."

"Jersey? This is New York, lady!"

Laughing, I pointed at his shirt and shook my head.

"Oh, right, right." He waved me off with a smile. Pressing his elbows into the bar, he leaned close. I could kiss him if I leaned in too. I didn't, of course, even as tempting as he was. "You should take me up on that offer, though. I'll give you the best of the Big City you can find."

"I'll think about it!" I said with a wink.

Taking the bar's copy of the receipt, I lifted it to my lips and kissed the signature line. Then I scribbled in a tip with the pen he'd given me. He arched a brow.

"You couldn't get any sexier." He tucked the receipt into his pocket while I turned scarlet, head to toe. "What's your name, pretty lady?"

"Leah. And you're Joe?"

"Joseph, actually. What I prefer."

I smiled. "Got it. See you around, Joseph."

"I'll look forward to it."

My pulse raced as I slid down from the stool and made my way out of the bar. Someone opened the door for me and I lifted my head to smile and thank them. My breath caught. The smile peeled off my lips.

James held the door, his long arm extending over my head. His stoic face was lit by the street lights and seemed completely contrary to the atmosphere. Those flat, basil eyes punctured my composure.

I gathered enough of my wits to step through the door and onto the sidewalk outside. Although I half expected him not to, he followed and fell into step beside me.

Neither of us spoke at first.

"You're stalking me now," I remarked.

Of course, he had. There was no other explanation for him locating me in a city this size.

I felt a double-sided pang of both anxiety and nostalgia.

"You shouldn't take him up on his offer."

I looked up. James kept his gaze fixed forward. His face, even from the side, was beautiful. He was a stunning man.

The coldness of his heart competed with the excess of his beauty. I'd never met a more infuriating, devastating, intriguing person.

"What?" I said.

He shot me a very pointed, knowing look.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know what it looks like when a man is taking his shot."

I scoffed. "What the hell does it even matter? I'm a single woman in New York City. Why were you following me anyway, James?"

"It's Mr. Muller." He glowered with enough intensity to make my stomach flop.

"If you're stalking me, I can call you whatever I want! Asshole."

He rolled his eyes. "I wasn't stalking you. That implies it was a secret and that I intended to harm you. If I wanted it to be secret, you would have never known. And, as I told you, I don't intend to harm you. I put my reputation in your hands to prove it." Then, looking me over, he paused and pulled his sweatshirt over his head. "Put this on. I know you're freezing."

Gritting my teeth, I accepted it and pulled it over my thin shirt. It had been a bad idea to go out without a jacket, but I had planned to manage.

His sweatshirt was too warm of a temptation though. I slowly inhaled the scent of the fibers, the spiced honey cologne that James liked to wear.

He grunted and started down the sidewalk. I crossed my arms, the oversized sleeves bundling at my fingers, and went after him.

"Call it what you want. It's stalking." My throat tightened. "I've heard it all before anyway."

"Yes, I'm sure you have."

I was jerked abruptly to the side of the pavement. As I went to yank myself free and set loose a few bad words, a man sped by on a bicycle. He would have plowed me down, if not for the arms around my waist.

I was so stunned by the almost accident that I didn't realize my backside was pressed flush against James until I felt something twitch on my ass. I turned my neck to peer up at him in surprise, and he immediately released me with a disgusted sneer.

"Don't assume I am motivated by the same things my brother was," he coldly stated, marching forward. "He was a fool. I followed you to make sure you were safe. After what happened at the club, I had to make sure no one was coming after you. I can't have you injured or missing after your first week at the Foundation. That would leave a horrible impression."

Though he faced forward, I flipped both middle fingers at his back. Of course, all this dickface cared about was the Foundation's reputation. It hurt a little but I refused to acknowledge the pain.

Instead, I wanted to be angry with James. I wanted to text Joseph and lure him into my bed just to spite this asshole.

But I couldn't deny the fact that I wanted to appease James more than I wanted those other things. I had no idea why that was the case, given what he put me through today, but I couldn't change how I felt.

Sighing, I crossed my arms over my chest and followed him down the glittering pavement.