Tamed

by K. A. Robinson

  “Thanks,” I mumbled as I opened my eyes. The ceiling was spinning.

  “You’re welcome. You need anything else?”

  I opened my mouth to tell him no, but I stopped myself. In my drunken state, that question went deeper than it should have. Did I need anything? Yeah, I fucking did. I needed Chloe and Logan back. I needed Adam to tell me he was sorry and to hold me in his arms. I needed a friend. I needed someone to make me feel something again. I was tired of being so lonely.

  “Amber?” Alex asked when I didn’t answer.

  “What?”

  “You need anything?”

  I swallowed roughly, fighting back tears. “Yeah, I do,” I whispered. “Stay with me tonight.”

  His eyes widened. “Uh…are you sure? I happen to remember you saying earlier that you wanted to hurt my man parts.”

  “I’m sure.”

  He studied me for a moment before nodding. “All right.”

  I watched as he kicked off his shoes. He walked to the other side of the bed and dropped down next to me. I closed my eyes when his hand closed over mine.

  “You okay?”

  I felt a tear slip down my cheek. “Not at all.”

  I groaned as I tried to roll over, but something was in my way. I reached out to push whatever it was away, and my hand touched smooth skin. What the fuck? My head was pounding, but I forced my eyes open.

  “Oh, hell,” I whispered.

  A man was in my bed. Suddenly, the events of the night before came back to me.

  Alex. Oh God. I let him bring me home. I swallowed roughly. I asked him to stay with me.

  Everything after that was a blur. Tentatively, I grabbed the sheet and lifted it to peek underneath. My eyes widened. I was naked, and what I could see of Alex was naked.

  “Fuck!”

  Alex mumbled something before rolling over. His eyes opened and slowly focused on me. They widened when he realized who he was looking at. The corner of his mouth tilted up into a smile as he reached out and brushed my hair away from my face.

  “Hey,” he whispered.

  I swallowed again. “I take it we…”

  He smiled wider as he sat up. “Yeah, we did.”

  This wasn’t good—at all. “Shit.”

  His smile disappeared. “Hey, it’s not a big deal.”

  “Yeah, it kind of is.” I sat up, keeping the covers tucked tightly around me. “You’re married, Alex.”

  “I am, but I told you about my shitty marriage. It’s not like you are trying to break it up.”

  “Close enough. I might not be a saint, but even I have morals.” I ran one of my hands through my hair. “You need to go.”

  He stared at me for a moment before finally nodding. Without a word, he stood and started gathering his clothes off the floor. I kept my eyes on the far wall, not daring to look at his naked body as he dressed. I’d already fucked up enough.

  Once he was dressed, he turned back to me. “Hey.”

  I looked over at him, surprised to see such a calm expression on his face. If I were in his position, I would be freaking the fuck out.

  He grabbed a pen and a piece of paper off the dresser. Then, he scribbled something on it before walking over to me. He put the paper in my hands and gave me a small smile. “You have nothing to feel guilty about, Amber. In fact, last night was one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time.” He hesitated. “If you want to meet up again, call me.”

  Then, he was gone.

  I looked down at the paper in my hands. His phone number was written on it. I sighed before shoving the paper into my nightstand drawer. This was all kinds of screwed-up. I’d been drunk and vulnerable last night. I’d wanted someone to comfort me, and Alex had been there, so I’d let him. From what I could remember now that the fog was starting to clear, I’d let him comfort me several times.

  “Fuck!” I shouted into the empty room.

  My life was so screwed-up anymore. I’d slept with a married man, knowing that he belonged to someone else. That was low, even for me. It didn’t matter that he was on shaky ground with his wife. It still wasn’t right.

  I sighed. I was pretty sure things couldn’t get much worse for me.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  I looked up at the sound of Denise’s voice. She stared down at me with a concerned look crossing her face. She was one of my coworkers at the law firm. Our cubicles were side by side, and we chatted daily. Denise was probably the closest thing I had to a friend anymore.

  “Peachy,” I said before I broke out into a rattling cough. God, I hated being sick.

  “You don’t sound or look okay,” she said. “You’ve been like this for three days. Have you gone to the doctor?”

  I shook my head. “No. I didn’t want to miss work.”

  She frowned. “You need to go to the doctor. No offense, but you look like hell, and I don’t really want your germs.”

  I considered this sickness a punishment for sleeping with Alex. I deserved nothing less.

  “I don’t want to miss work,” I told her again. I shivered and wrapped my sweater around me tighter.

  “You have sick and vacation days, Amber. Go to the doctor. I’m not kidding. If you don’t leave, I’m going to sick Nancy on your ass.”

  Nancy was our boss. She was a nice woman, but she didn’t fuck around.

  I glared at Denise, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all.

  I finally sighed and gave in. “Fine. Will you let Nancy know I’m leaving?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Feel better, Amber.”

  “Thanks,” I mumbled as I gathered my things and walked to the elevator. Today sucked.

  Three hours later, I was back home with a prescription for an antibiotic and strict instructions to rest. I sighed as I popped one of the antibiotics in my mouth. I wouldn’t be allowed back to work for at least a week. I had enough money saved that bills wouldn’t be an issue, but I hated the thought of staying home all alone. When I wasn’t busy or around other people, my mind would go south fast.

  After a quick call to work to let them know I wouldn’t be in for the rest of the week, I heated a can of chicken noodle soup. I wasn’t the best cook out there, but surely, even I couldn’t screw up soup too badly. Once it was done, I sat down at my kitchen table and sipped it. It felt good against my sore throat.

  I tossed my empty bowl in the sink after I finished, and I grabbed the bottle of medicine that was supposed to make me feel better and knock me out. I drank more of it than I should have, and for extra measure, I took a shot of whiskey, hoping it would help me sleep, too.

  I took a quick shower before climbing into bed and snuggling down into the covers.

  Within minutes, I was out.

  I was miserable and tired of shivering all the time. I was surviving on soup and Gatorade, too exhausted to make anything else. Just as I’d feared, my mind wandered to things I didn’t want to think about. I hated that. I was thinking more about Adam than I had in a long time.

  Thankfully, my fever broke on the second day, but it took until the third day for me to feel human again. I still wasn’t one hundred percent, but it was a start.

  Once I was up and moving again, I washed my sweat-soaked sheets and cleaned up my apartment. I was itching to get back to work, but I knew Nancy would tell me to stay home until my doctor cleared me.

  In my boredom, I was stupid enough to go on another Internet search. As soon as the image results pulled up, I wanted to toss my phone across the room. Adam was still the same Adam he’d always been. Page after page showed images of him out with women—lots and lots of women. I felt tears slide down my cheeks as I looked through them. I shook my head before dropping my phone down onto the bed. There was no use in missing someone I’d never really had.

  The following day, Chloe called me. I hadn’t heard from her in a couple of weeks.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey! What are you up to?” she asked cheerfully.

  “Sick. I’ve been home
most of the week,” I grumbled.

  “Ah, that sucks. I was just calling to check in with you.”

  I nodded even though I knew she couldn’t see me. “Yeah. I’m just glad I feel good enough to shower. Trust me, going three days without a shower isn’t advised. I’m pretty sure I smelled like ass.”

  She chuckled. “Well, you sound like you feel better at least. When do you go back to work?”

  “Not until next week. I’m about to go nuts from sitting in my apartment. I have three more days of this shit.”

  She made a sympathetic noise. “I wish I were there to keep you company.”

  “Me, too.” I sighed. I wished more than anything that Logan and Chloe were around.

  “You could always come out here and visit me,” she said.

  I laughed. “Uh, thanks, but no thanks. By the time I fly out and then back, I’d only have a day with you. I love you, but there’s no point.”

  “Call work and ask for a few days off. You told me a while back that you had, like, three weeks of vacation time saved up. Use them to come out here.”

  “I can’t,” I told her.

  “Why not? It’s not like you have plans.”

  I bit my lip. “I just…can’t.”

  Chloe had lived in L.A. for over two years. She’d been back to Morgantown a couple of times since then, but I’d never made the trip out to visit her. I knew why. I didn’t want to take a chance of seeing him.

  Chloe sighed. “Amber, it’s been a long time. Surely, you’re not still thinking about—”

  “No!” I cut her off. “It has nothing to do with him.”

  Chloe knew very little about what had happened with Adam. No one really knew anything, except that we’d parted on…unhappy terms. That was, unless Adam had run his mouth. I wouldn’t put it past him to run my name into the dirt.

  “Then, what’s stopping you?” she asked softly.

  “I…” I sighed again. I was being stupid. There was no reason for me not to visit her. I probably wouldn’t see Adam anyway. I was letting him control my life even now, and it was ridiculous. “Where would I stay?”

  “I have room. You can stay with Drake and me.”

  I could already hear the excitement in her voice.

  “Please, Amber. I really want to see you even if it’s only for a few days.”

  I groaned. “Fine. But I’m still sick, so plan on babying me.”

  “Deal!”

  Less than twenty-four hours later, I found myself pushing through a crowd of people in LAX, searching for Chloe’s blonde head. I spotted her just before I heard her shrill shriek. She rushed over to me and threw her arms around me.

  “Oh my God! Ah! I’ve missed you so much!” she shouted as she squeezed me tightly.

  I laughed. “I missed you, too.”

  She pulled away and looked me over. “You look good.”

  “Thanks. You do, too.”

  Chloe did look good. Obviously, California agreed with her. Or maybe it was the married life.

  I picked up my luggage and followed her out of the airport and to the parking lot. She shoved my bags into the back of her car. Once we were inside, she started the car and pulled from the lot. I stared out my window, taking in the sights. L.A. was so different from Morgantown. Comparing the two was laughable. Where Morgantown was almost nothing but farmland, hills, woods, and fall weather, L.A. was all concrete, congested roads, palm trees, and heat.

  I watched as Chloe moved in and out of the congested traffic like a pro. I would be shitting myself if I had to drive in traffic like this.

  “Are you feeling better?” she asked.

  “Much. I still feel a little weak, but it’s nothing unbearable. Those antibiotics kicked my bug’s ass.”

  She nodded. “Good. Now I know that I don’t have to baby you.”

  I stuck my tongue out at her. “Skank.”

  “Ho,” She shot back.

  I laughed. It was like no time at all had passed between the two of us.

  “Drake and the rest of the band are in the studio today. I thought we could meet up with Logan for lunch. Just the three of us like we used to do. Is that okay?” she asked.

  “Sure. It’ll be just like old times.”

  Chloe took us to a place she said was only a few miles away from her house and Logan’s apartment. It was far enough away from the main part of L.A. that the traffic wasn’t as bad. When we arrived at the small diner, Logan was already waiting on us, sitting at a table outside. When he saw us, he grinned and stood. I all but jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. I’d missed these two so much.

  He finally pulled away and smiled down at me. “It’s about time you decided to come visit us.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled, still smiling.

  Logan dropped back down into his chair. Chloe and I took our seats as well. About two seconds later, a waitress appeared beside me. At least the service was good around here. Chloe and Logan ordered the same thing, so I did, too, without bothering to look at the menu.

  “How long can you stay?” Logan asked.

  I shrugged. “Work told me I could have next week off, too, so I’ll probably stay until next weekend, if that’s okay with Chloe.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s okay. I’m so excited to have you here. It’s been too long since the three of us were together.”

  “Agreed.” Logan grinned at me.

  He looked so much happier now, compared to when he’d left West Virginia to go after Jade. There was a peaceful look in his eyes that I hadn’t seen in such a long time.

  “So, what do you guys do for fun around here?” I asked.

  “There are tons of things to do. We can go clubbing, hang out on the beach, or go shopping.”

  She cringed on that last one. Chloe hated to shop. Unfortunately for her, I loved shopping.

  “Whatever you want to do,” Chloe added.

  “Sounds like we’re going to have a busy week. I can’t wait to check out all the stores,” I teased her.

  “Ugh,” she grumbled, causing both Logan and me to laugh.

  “I’m free most of this week, too, so I can hang out with you two,” Logan said. “Except when you go shopping. I’m busy those days.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him. “Your loss.”

  Our food arrived shortly after. We spent a couple of hours catching up at the diner before finally heading back to Chloe’s house. I asked Logan to come with us, but he declined. Apparently, he had plans with Jade. I wanted to hurl when he wiggled his eyebrows at me. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what kind of plans they had.

  When we arrived at Chloe’s house, I was surprised. I’d expected something…more. Drake was a rock star after all. I’d assumed that they lived in a decked-out mansion. That definitely wasn’t the case. While the house was large, it was simple. There was nothing flashy about it. It looked like every other house on this street. It was a two-story white house with a black roof and a small front porch. The only hint that someone famous lived here was the keypad on the gate and the huge privacy fence that extended all the way around the house.

  “Your house is…nice,” I said as we climbed out of the car.

  Chloe laughed. “Not what you were expecting?”

  “Not really. I thought you’d live on the beach in a huge mansion or something.”

  “Nah, we like it here. No one would think to check the L.A. suburbs for Drake. Jade and Logan live in an apartment not far from here. Eric, too. Adam’s the only one who lives on the beach. He’s got a full bachelor pad set up there.”

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized her mistake. She opened her mouth to say something, but I shook my head. She frowned, but she kept quiet as we grabbed my bags from the back of her car.

  Chloe unlocked her door and disabled the security alarm. Once we were inside, she locked the door and rearmed the system. I raised an eyebrow, but she just shrugged.

  “We’re not in West Virginia an
ymore.”

  “Obviously,” I mumbled.

  I glanced around the foyer, taking everything in. The walls were painted a dark red. The color was warm and welcoming. The floors were a dark hardwood. A staircase sat only a few feet away from the front door, and we carried my bags upstairs.

  “Is this one okay?” she asked as she opened the second door in the hallway.

  We walked into the room. It was much larger than the one I had back in West Virginia. The walls and carpet were a cream color. A queen-sized bed sat against the far wall. Other than that and a closet, the room was completely empty.

  “It’s perfect. Thank you for letting me stay with you.”

  “Of course. I’m just excited to have you here. I miss spending time with you.”

  “Me, too,” I said as I dropped my bag down onto the bed.

  “I’ll leave you alone to get unpacked. Just come downstairs when you’re finished.”

  I nodded, and she left, closing the door behind her. It took me a while to unpack everything even though I’d tried to pack light. I snorted. That wasn’t possible for me.

  Once everything was put away, I headed back downstairs to find Chloe. At the bottom of the stairs, I made a right and entered a living room. I stopped when I saw Chloe and Drake cuddled up on the couch. Drake held her tightly as he whispered something in her ear. She smiled before dropping her head back onto his shoulder.

  They looked so…happy. They were so deep into their own little world that they didn’t even see me standing in the doorway. I swallowed as I watched them. The way Drake was holding Chloe was like she was his everything. I wanted that. I wanted it so much that it hurt. I thought I’d never want a real relationship again, but Adam had changed that for me. Then, he’d destroyed any hope I had of finding happiness again. Every man I met, I would compare to him, and they never measured up.

  I took a few steps backward until I was back in the foyer. Without a word, I turned and walked back up the stairs to my room, unwilling to ruin their moment together. Or maybe I just couldn’t handle being around anyone right now. I wasn’t sure which it was. All I knew was that I felt hollow inside.

  I sent a silent prayer up that I wouldn’t have to see Adam while I was here. I didn’t think I would be able to handle it.