Desperately Devastated (Addicted To You, Book Nine)

by Lucy Covington

  I was joking, but Carter stopped and got a serious look on his face. “You heard about that?”

  “About what?”

  “Never mind.” He suddenly got super busy messing with some of his papers.

  “No way!” I said. “Dr. Klaxton and a student? When?”

  He sighed and looked around, then leaned in toward me surreptitiously. “Last year, with a grad student. One of his research assistants, actually. No one could figure out why he picked her. Her work was horrible, her grades were atrocious.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “He’s not always thinking straight, though. Especially not when he’s had a few.”

  Carter mimed someone throwing back a shot.

  “Dr. Klaxton drinks?”

  “Oh, yeah, he taps them back like nobody’s business. You’ll see at the kick off meeting.”

  I laughed. “Wow.” It was crazy imagining this guy who I’d thought of as so intimidating doing normal things like drinking alcohol and doing dumb stuff to sleep with a girl. I was about to ask Carter for more gossip when my phone beeped with a text.

  Look up

  I looked up. Justin was leaning against the bar on the other side of the room. He was holding a drink in his hand and he held it up and gave me a little salute.

  “Um, I’ll be right back,” I said to Carter. “I’m just going to run to the bathroom.”

  I weaved my way through the crowd, and as I passed by the bar, I gave Justin a pointed look, letting him know that he should follow me around the corner, out of sight of Carter.

  Justin rolled his eyes, then reluctantly set his drink down on the bar.

  I walked around the corner, out of sight of Carter.

  When I turned around, Justin was right behind me. He grabbed me and pulled me close to him and then his lips were on mine.

  I knew I should pull away, but he was holding me tight and besides, I knew it would be useless to resist. Even though Carter was right around the corner, even though there were tons of random people walking by and could see us, I didn’t care. All that mattered was him, right here, with me.

  When Justin finally pulled back, I wasn’t ready for the kiss to end. He leaned his forehead against mine. “I missed you,” he breathed. His voice sounded soft and romantic, a tone that I hadn’t ever heard from him before.

  Longing rushed through my body. I wanted his hands all over me, his lips on mine. If he’d wanted to, I probably would have let him strip me naked right there and throw me down on the floor.

  “I missed you too,” I said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then tried to take a step back from him – I didn’t trust myself to be this close to him and not lose control of myself.

  But he slid his fingers down my arms and grabbed my wrists, pulling me back.

  “I don’t like seeing you with him,” he growled. His eyes were smoldering, and any trace of softness in his voice was gone. “You’re not going to be alone with him.”

  “Justin, he’s my boss,” I said.

  “He’s not your boss,” he scoffed. “He’s barely older than you.”

  “Yeah, but…” I bit my lip. “I mean, I have to do what he says. I have to make a good impression.”

  His eyes burned even brighter, and I saw a flash of intensity that scared me a little bit. It was the same intensity I’d seen the night he’d been in that fight with Uriah. “I don’t like it,” he said. “You’re not going to be alone with him.”

  “I have no choice. He’s –“

  “I don’t want you alone with him. He has bad intentions.”

  I could tell I wasn’t going to win this one, and so I just nodded slowly. I knew it was a promise that would be almost impossible to keep, but I didn’t have a choice.

  “Good.” He smiled. “Now, how do you want to do this?”

  “Do what?”

  “When we get to New York. Should I wait and then sneak up to your room later?” He leaned in close and whispered right into my ear. His chin brushed against my neck, ticking me with the light amount of stubble that was on his skin. I shivered.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “I don’t know how long I can wait.” He brushed his lips against my collarbone, and I felt dizzy. How was it possible he could make me this turned on when we were just standing here in an airport hardly doing anything? My heart thumped in my chest. “Text me when you’re ready for me to come up to your room.” He kissed me once more, softly, and then he brushed by me, back to the bar.

  I watched him go, the confidence in his stride, the way his shoulders were thrown back in an I-don’t-give-a-fuck posture. He was so sexy and in control it almost hurt me to look at him. It was like just knowing he was there, so close to me, and I couldn’t do anything about it was too much for me take.

  I smoothed the long-sleeved t-shirt I was wearing and headed back to where I’d left Carter. I had to walk by Justin again, and as I did, his gaze moved up and down my body, lingering on my chest. He gave me a sexy grin and then took a sip of his drink.

  My body broke out in what felt like a heat rash, and I was afraid Carter was going to be able to tell how worked up I was.

  But it turned out I didn’t have to worry about Carter noticing anything was going on, because when I got back, he was standing where I’d left him, talking to Dr. Klaxton.

  “There she is!” Carter said brightly.

  “Great,” Dr. Klaxton said sarcastically. He shoved his briefcase at me and I reached out and grabbed it before it could fall. “Hold this,” he commanded. “At least you can do something useful, seeing as how Carter seems to think it was necessary for the science budget to spend almost a thousand dollars for you to come on this trip.”

  He didn’t sound happy. I looked at Carter. On the way over here, he’d said it was fine, that Dr. Klaxton was cool with me coming. But from the way Dr. Klaxton was talking, it didn’t seem that way at all. Carter looked embarrassed and averted his eyes.

  Great. Now I was going to be left wondering what the deal was. Did Carter really think that Dr. Klaxton would have been okay with it, or was Justin right when he said that Carter had bad intentions? Or was I just getting in my head?

  “Now, I suppose you’ve run into some kind of trouble with the revisions to the powerpoint I’ve given you?” Dr. Klaxton asked. He was wearing an expensively cut black suit and a crisp white shirt, and he reached for his sleeve and redid his cufflink.

  I suddenly felt extremely inadequate in the black t-shirt and yoga pants I’d decided to wear on the plane. Why hadn’t I thought about this when I was packing for college? I should have realized that these kinds of situations were going to come up, that if I wanted to get ahead and network with the people in the science department, I was going to need the proper attire.

  “No, there isn’t any trouble,” Carter said. If he was nervous, he certainly wasn’t showing it. In fact, he sounded calm and in control. “I sent the newest version to you a few minutes ago. Maybe once we get on the plane we can go over it together.”

  Dr. Klaxton sighed like he couldn’t believe the incompetence he was being forced to deal with. “That would be impossible,” he said. “Since I’ll be in business class and you’ll be in coach. It will also be unnecessary, since I’ve already looked at your revision.”

  Then why did he ask if Carter had run into any problems? I wondered. Just to be a jerk?

  “And?” Carter asked.

  “And you did nothing I asked you to do, so I’ll be spending my plane ride giving you another round of revisions.”

  “Great,” I said brightly. “We can work on them together, once we get to the hotel tonight.”

  The only reason I said it was because I’d wanted to seem like I was there for more than just decoration. If Dr. Klaxton was already pissed that the budget had to allow for my ticket, I figured I should make it clear to him that I was going to be worth it.

  But this didn’t seem to endear me to him at all. In fact, it just made him mor
e cranky.

  “Please,” he said. “If Carter can’t get things straight, I highly doubt you’re going to be of any help at all.” He sighed and then dropped his bag on the ground. “Please check this bag for me, Lilly.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him my name was Lindsay, but he was already gone.

  A weird feeling settled in my stomach, twisting and rolling itself into a huge knot of anxiety. Why had I pushed so hard to come here? It was obvious I was in completely over my head. I didn’t have the right clothes, or the knowledge, or anything. And if I was hoping to get in good with Dr. Klaxton, well obviously that wasn’t going to work.

  The man had forgotten my name.

  “Hey, you okay?” Carter asked.

  “Yeah.” But I knew I didn’t sound convincing. I gave him a smile. “I’m fine.”

  “Don’t take it personally,” Carter said. He gestured to the bag that Dr. Klaxton had dropped in front of us. “He’s like that with everyone.”

  I nodded, but I could fill my eyes filling up with tears of disappointment.

  “Come on,” Carter said. “You’ll feel better once we’re on the plane.”

  He picked up Dr. Klaxton’s bag and slung it over his shoulder. Then Carter put his hand on my arm and started leading me toward the baggage check. His grip was strong and comforting.

  I felt myself starting to calm down. I couldn’t be weak. If I was going to make it as a doctor, then I was going to be put through my paces. I needed to be able to roll with the punches, to show my superiors that I could be strong under pressure and that I could handle anything. If Carter could do it, I could, too.

  But just as I was starting to feel the tension leave my body, I spotted Justin standing in front of us by the gate. He was looking at Carter and his face was set in anger.

  He started heading toward us, and for a second, I was afraid he was going to punch Carter in the face. I tried to pull my arm out of Carter’s grip, but he was too strong. He just kept walking, oblivious to what was about to happen.

  Justin was moving faster now, his long legs closing the distance between us quickly. His eyes met mine, and I gave him a pleading look.

  Do not do anything to embarrass me.

  Justin shook his head, and I knew what he was thinking. He’d told me not to let Carter get too close, and now he was going to have to take matters into his own hands.

  I gave Justin another pleading look. Please, I mouthed. I’m at work.

  He shook his head again, a little more forceful this time, but I could see some of the stiffness in his shoulders start to dissipate.

  Justin passed by, and as he went, he stuck his arm out and elbowed Carter roughly in the side.

  “What the hell?” Carter swore. He turned around, but Justin had already disappeared into the crowd. “What an asshole.”

  I turned and stood up on my tiptoes, scanning the crowd for Justin. I couldn’t believe what he’d just done. Of course, part of me knew it could have been much worse.

  How would I have explained that? Two guys fighting over me in the airport? With all the security they had in this place, we probably would have all been arrested. Or at least detained.

  I pulled my phone out and sent Justin a text.

  Not cool.

  The reply came immediately.

  Neither is you letting that douchebag put his hands all over you.

  “Lindsay?” Carter called from a few feet ahead. “You coming?”

  I slid my eyes over the crowd once more, but I couldn’t find Justin.

  “Yes,” I said finally. “I’m coming.”

  JUSTIN

  Despite the fact that I was kind of annoyed after seeing that guy put his hands on Lindsay at the airport (and then I’d had to sit apart from her the entire flight), things had improved when I’d gotten to the hotel and she’d texted me almost immediately.

  You can come up to the room now.

  I’d been starting to think she might try and make me wait all night. But within minutes, I’d made my way up and gotten inside. Finally, we were together again.

  The door shut behind me, and I gave the place a once-over, taking it all in.

  “Just the two of us,” I said, walking to the window and peeking outside. The view wasn’t bad—a bunch of other tall buildings and the city streets below. Everything in New York City was twenty times the size of Boston, and I’d forgotten how big the Big Apple really was.

  “Yup, just the two of us,” Lindsay said. “Well, three, if you include this computer.” She was sitting on the big Queen sized bed and already opening her laptop.

  I turned away from the window. “What are you doing with that?”

  She glanced up at me as she powered it on. “This is called a computer,” she said.

  “I use it to do my work.”

  “I know what a computer is.” I rolled my eyes. She was looking at me with nervousness, and I didn’t like it.

  “You do realize I’m here on a work trip. I warned you that I would be doing a lot of work, not just hanging out.”

  “I understand the concept of a business trip, Lindsay. I’m not a total idiot.”

  “Okay, I’m just making sure you get that I’m going to be…” Suddenly she was looking at her phone. Somebody had obviously texted her.

  “Who’s that?” I asked, walking closer to the bed.

  She didn’t answer at first. Instead, she picked up the phone and started texting furiously back—as if she was writing a novel on her cell.

  “Lindsay, who is it?”

  “It’s just Carter.” She sighed. “Shit.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said that Dr. Klaxton is still on the warpath. God, that man is a complete egomaniac.” She shook her head.

  “I guess that makes them a good fit for each other. Two complete egomaniacs.”

  Lindsay went back to her laptop. “Carter’s nothing like Dr. Klaxton. Carter’s actually nice. And I told you, he’s not interested in me. It’s just his job to take time to explain things to me.”

  “Oh, I bet it is,” I muttered.

  Lindsay wasn’t listening anyway. She was back on her laptop, doing something very intently. I watched her for a few seconds, the way you can watch someone when they don’t know or care that you’re looking at them.

  Her eyes were beautiful, I decided. Like genuinely beautiful. Her entire face was just so…bright, alive, intelligent. Yes, she was also sexy as hell—but staring at her, I knew that it was far more than sexiness that had gotten me out of Boston and all the way to NYC in the blink of an eye.

  And even though it was frustrating that she was here with a total jag like Cramer or Carter or whatever his dumb name was—I loved that she had passion for something.

  She really loves this stuff, I thought, as I watched her typing away on her computer.

  I had to respect it. I was kind of in awe of it, really.

  I left the bedroom and went into the bathroom, just to check it out. There was a big shower with a tub that had jets. The first thing that went through my mind when I saw it, was me and Lindsay in there, naked, drinking champagne together.

  I could picture her smooth skin glistening, my hand caressing up her thigh…

  I came out of the bathroom with renewed energy. Of course, Lindsay was still on the bed, hunched over the computer. I could see the screen from this angle. She was working on some kind of slide presentation, and the slide on the screen had a picture of a scale, and then in big, bold letters, it said AVERAGE WEIGHT LOSS AMONG

  CONTROL GROUP.

  I didn’t know what it meant. “What’s a control group?” I asked.

  Lindsay turned around like I’d startled her. She pulled the screen down, nearly shutting it completely. “Excuse me,” she said.

  “Excuse you? Why?”

  “It’s just… I’m sorry, but this stuff is supposed to be confidential.”

  The look on her face was partly bugging me, but partly turning me on for some strange reason
. She looked both cute and uptight, her lips pursed, eyebrows arched. I jumped onto the bed next to her, causing both her and the computer to fly a few inches off the mattress.

  Lindsay yelped and grabbed at her laptop. “Justin!” she cried.

  “Ooh, it’s confidential,” I mimicked her. I couldn’t help but laugh. “What is with you tonight?” I reached out and grabbed her wrist lightly. “Can’t you even chill for a second?”

  “No, I cannot chill for a second. I’m supposed to be working. We talked about this and you promised you wouldn’t bother me.”

  “I’m not bothering you,” I said, giving her my best version of puppy dog eyes.

  “Am I?”

  “Yes!”

  I laughed again and pulled her closer, nipping at her neck, grazing my lips across her skin. She exhaled sharply, letting me know that I’d definitely gotten her attention.

  “Come on, Linds.” I leaned in again, this time kissing her neck for a second.

  “All work and no play…”

  She sighed again and her body started to relax. I pulled her closer, and brought my lips closer to her lips. Her eyes locked on mine and I knew I’d finally broken her down. That stupid Carter and the stupid slideshow she was working on wasn’t going to beat me—beat us. We had a connection, we had a spark, and I was going to make it my mission to turn that spark into a raging inferno tonight.

  But just when I was about to really kiss her for the first time since I’d arrived at the room, I heard an obnoxious buzzing sound, all too recognizable to be anything but Carter texting her once more.

  She pulled away from me again and reached for her cell.

  “Come on,” I moaned. “Can’t you at least let the guy wait a minute before answering?”

  But she was already back at it, texting away with a fury.

  My good mood soured as I watched her eyes intently scan her phone as the two of them corresponded back and forth.

  What could that jerk be saying to her that was so important? I wondered.

  But she didn’t think I needed to know what was so important, apparently, because she never bothered telling me what they were texting about. Instead, she pretty much just ignored me.