Addiction (Magnetic Desires Book 2)

by Unknown

  He clasped my shoulder. "You’re one of the strongest birds I know."

  He walked away, and I pushed at the bag. Strong people bounced back when bad things happened to them. I didn’t.

  Moving into position, I jabbed the bag and felt the impact through the length of my arm. I shook it out, and inhaled and exhaled several times to clear my head. If I didn't loosen up I was going to hurt myself.

  "A bit tense, darlin’?"

  I jumped and spun around. "What are you doing here?"

  "I came to train, but I can help ease that tension if you’d like." He smirked as my gaze drifted over his naked torso.

  "I don’t think so." I turned back to the bag and muttered under my breath, "persistent bastard."

  He sniggered and pulled me to face him. "Actually, no. I wasn’t suggesting that, but nice to know you’re thinking about it."

  "I am not." I put my gloves on my hip. "I haven’t thought of you at all."

  "Right." He ran a knuckle down my arm, and I shivered. "You’ve been on my mind all week."

  Oh great, and he’d probably jacked off to some ridiculous fantasy of me too. My face heated, and Tom caught my gaze and tilted his head in my direction, questioning. I shook my head. I could handle this. "What do I have to say to get you to leave me alone?"

  He dumped his bag beside mine and pulled on his gloves. "See, the problem is that I think you enjoyed the moment we shared at the hospital, but you’re too afraid to admit it."

  Was I that transparent? "Oh baby..." I gasped in an exaggerated manner as I pulled off a glove. With more bravado than I felt, I touched his bare chest with a finger. My skin became hyper aware as though energy passed between us, and I flicked my gaze to where I touched him for a second before I pulled up my guard with a smirk. Inch by inch I ran my finger over his chest. "...I need you, I want you…" Flattening my palm into his chest, I pushed with all my strength "... to go the hell away."

  He staggered but regained his balance and pressed a digit to my lips. "Here’s how this is going to go. You’re going to have dinner with me, and tell me why the idea of you and I scares the life out of you."

  I shook my head. "I don’t date."

  He started walking away from me backward. "Maybe not, but I bet you’ll be there."

  "Where?" Had I really just agreed to dinner, with him?

  "You tell me."

  "Fine." I huffed. "Mama Cita’s. The Mexican place on Main."

  "I’ll see you there at seven." He ran his smug gaze down my body. "Wear something tight and low cut." He cocked an eyebrow at me, almost as if he was daring me to do what he wanted, then turned and swaggered to the ring. I wanted to slap that smarmy grin right off his face. Tom guffawed across the room, as I dragged my attention back to the bag. Whatever he’d said as he slipped between the ropes must have been funny. Tom hadn't laughed like that in the time I’d known him.

  Unable to concentrate on the punches I was throwing, my gaze kept slipping from the bag to the ring where Drake faced off against Tom. He ducked and weaved, his jabs controlled as he danced around the ring. What was it about him that made it hard to say no? I stripped off my gloves and threw them in my bag. Today’s session had been a waste of time, thanks to him. Grabbing my bag, I stalked toward the exit.

  His cocky voice rang out over the noise of the others. "I’ll see you tonight."

  I turned in time to see Tom land an uppercut to his jaw. Drake winced and focused on his opponent, and I snorted as I hoisted my bag on my shoulder and walked out.

  I couldn’t fathom why he’d ask me out for dinner. It was clear neither of us was the type to get involved. He probably didn’t have time to do anything other than have a little fun, and I wasn’t the kind of girl boys had fun with, but when I thought about that moment in the hospital room I wanted something. I didn’t know what, but surely going to dinner with him wouldn’t kill me.

  Chapter Four

  Drake

  "I thought we weren’t going to have a problem." Tom leaned on the ropes.

  "I don’t see a problem. She didn’t say no."

  "No, she told you to go to hell."

  "I’m already there."

  Tom snorted and his chuckle filled the gym. He slapped his palm on his thigh. "Get in here. I want to give you a taste of the pain I’m going to bring you, if this thing you’ve started goes south."

  I pulled the ropes apart and climbed into the ring. "You’re just pissed she agreed."

  His mouth jutted up as he circled me. "You might be right."

  He landed a jab to my shoulder, and another to my gut. His fists flew at me, and I put my energy into blocking his shots. Still, I found myself glancing over at her, and when she grabbed her bag and stalked toward the exit, I had to remind her she was mine tonight. "I’ll see you tonight, darlin’."

  Tom took the opportunity to land an uppercut to my jaw, and her shoulders juddered, before she walked out the door. I glared at Tom. He wasn’t going to get the upper hand again.

  The gym was empty when we finished our round, and he slapped a palm to my shoulder as he brushed past me to climb out of the ring. "We’re done for today."

  He grabbed a towel and scrubbed his face with it, removing the trace of blood at the side of his mouth.

  "Thanks, man." I followed him out and retrieved a bottle of water and towel from my bag. Chugging the water, I swiped at the sweat that ran down my forehead. Training released the tension in my muscles and made my blood speed through my veins, leaving me relaxed. It was the best high I could have without a woman or illegal substances.

  "You box well." Tom leaned against the ropes, his brow drawn in a line. "Have you ever thought about pursuing it competitively?"

  "I don’t have time for that." I propped up the other half of the ring and took another slug of water. "And, I don’t want to screw with what I get out of it."

  "That’s a shame. You have skill."

  "Yeah, but not the heart for it." I grabbed my shirt and pulled it on.

  Tom stood up and tossed his towel over his shoulder. "You better get going. Don’t you have a date to get ready for?"

  I glanced at my watch. It was already six. "Yeah, I’m out of here."

  Grabbing my bag, I stalked out to my bike. I had a rule about dating. It was pretty simple. I didn’t. No woman had caught and held my attention past a night in ten years, so why all of a sudden was I asking this girl, no telling her, to go to dinner with me?

  I stowed my bag and straddled the bike. Pushing my helmet on, I brought the engine to life. It had to be the chase. She’d been damn sexy when she told me to go to hell. The moan she’d affected had me imagining the orgasm I’d be giving her later tonight. If I thought for one second she’d stand me up, I’d go back into the gym and make Tom hand over her address. But, she wouldn’t bail on me. She’d be there, because as much as she denied it, she wanted me. The way she’d taken her time touching me as she’d dragged her finger over my chest, her eyes dilating, told me this. I’d caught the slight tic of her pulse in her throat as it quickened, even as she told me to go to hell. She was mine. She just didn’t know it yet.

  Birdie

  Should I go, or shouldn’t I? Did I want to go? Chewing my thumbnail, I paced my bedroom. I had a date, my first one ever, and I couldn’t make up my mind. Would he be upset if I didn’t show up? Since I didn’t have his number, I couldn’t cancel. I sat on the bed, got back up, and wandered to my wardrobe. Did I even have anything to wear on a date? I shouldn’t go. I’d agreed, because he’d left me no choice, and wasn’t that a good enough reason not to show? He was nothing but an interruption to my routine. He shouldn’t hold sway on what I did, or didn’t do. I slammed the wardrobe door shut.

  My roommate, Mellie, stuck her head inside the room. "Is everything all right in here? I’ve heard you stomping around for the past hour."

  I shook my head. "I don’t know what to do."

  She came in and sat on the bed. "Is this about that guy?"

  "
Yes." I'd forgotten I’d told her about him after our run in at the hospital.

  She chuckled, her pale blue eyes lighting up at the humor she found in my situation. "He’s got you worked up."

  I flounced down on the bed beside her. "I may have told him I’d meet him for dinner."

  With a grin, she placed her palm on my forehead. "Are you coming down with something?"

  "No, but I should. That would be a good way to get out of it."

  "You’re not getting out of it." She took my hand and pulled me to the wardrobe. "Let’s find you something to wear."

  She pulled out dress after dress, discarding them in a small pile on the floor as she noted the reasons they weren’t good date outfits. "So what do you know about him; other than he’s a doctor?" She dipped on the last word and wiggled her eyebrows. "And a boxer?"

  "Nothing. I don’t know him, and I don’t want to. He’s cocky, and bossy, and…"

  "And what?" She tossed the last of my clothes on the floor. "Sexy?"

  "Dangerous."

  "Let’s go to my room. I’ll find you something to wear."

  I followed her, and she started the process again, holding different dresses up against me and staring, her head tilted to the side.

  "How’s he dangerous? You know if I let you go out with someone Orion wouldn’t approve of I’ll never live it down." She narrowed it down to two, a pink, or a yellow.

  I grabbed the hanger for the yellow one. "This one. There’s no way I’m wearing that pink. I’ll look like freaking Barbie."

  "So, how’s he dangerous?"

  I lay the dress on the bed and started to change. "He makes it hard for me to make the right choices."

  "What choices? Things like drugs, or are we talking about your heart and soul, Birdie?"

  I pulled the dress on, and she zipped me up. "I’m making the wrong decision meeting him. I can feel it in my gut. I don’t want to go through the hurt again when I choose wrong."

  She padded into the bathroom, and I followed. Armed with products and a hairbrush she started styling my hair. "We all have to make the wrong choices some time, but we have to remember to trust too, including trusting ourselves."

  I stared at her in the mirror. Our group of friends was small. Growing up, I’d struggled to get close to people, to let them in. Friends I’d made in high school and college had fallen away, but the nucleus that was my family, my brother, his best friend Mike, and Mellie, stuck together even when she and Mike had broken up. The underlying sadness in Mellie’s voice when she talked about him made me wonder if she wished things had turned out differently between them. "Do you miss Mike?"

  "We’re friends. What’s to miss?" I watched her in the mirror as she gazed at the top of my head, and decided to drop it. Neither of them ever talked about what had happened between them, though Orion had asked. They’d been the perfect couple and then, as if it had never happened, they weren’t, and Mike was spending more and more time away from Reverence.

  When she was finished with me, she shooed me out the door.

  I tapped my hand against the steering wheel as I found a parking space out front of Mama Cita’s. It wasn’t too late. There was still time to turn around and go home. Taking a deep breath, I checked my hair in the mirror. He’d told me to meet him, and despite my better judgment, here I was. What was it about his eyes and his voice that caused me to let him make decisions for me? Climbing out of the car, I slammed the door.

  I’d expected him to be leaning up against the wall outside the restaurant, his arms crossed in that insolent yet relaxed manner he had. My heart dipped when I didn’t see him. He wasn’t here, which should have been a relief, until I realized I’d wanted him to be. Stupid girl. I shook my head and opened my car door as a motorbike rumbled into the parking spot beside me.

  Chapter Five

  Drake

  I pulled up beside her and she glared at me, while I took the moment to study her from behind my visor. Her fingers wrapped around the corner of the car door as she stared at me, unable or unwilling to look away. Those eyes of hers seemed to darken as she widened them and took a step back into the space behind the door. I shut the motor off, and she flinched at the sudden quiet, jumping back into the car and locking the door behind her.

  She’d seemed testy and unsure each time we’d come face to face, but this was something new. I removed my helmet and climbed off the bike. She flipped me off as I approached her door, giving her a wide grin that I hoped would alleviate the sudden fear I’d conjured in her.

  "Come on, darlin’, I don’t bite much."

  "You’re an asshole," she snapped at me.

  I cocked my head to the side. "I’m sorry I’m late."

  She glanced at her watch before returning her gaze to me. Having given myself ample time to get there before her, I gave her a slow smile as she realized she’d shown up early despite her intentions to convince me she wasn’t interested. Well didn’t that just make my day. "Come on out. I want to check out that sexy dress you wore for me."

  She lowered her head and stared at her hands, and I was sure I heard her mumble, "I can’t believe I’m doing this."

  I stepped back as she opened the door and climbed out. Canary yellow clung to her in all the right places, skimming her thighs and ending at her knees. Her hair, I now realized, was not any one color but a conglomeration of shades, and it cascaded over her bare shoulder in soft waves that made me want to reach out and touch them. Everything about her fascinated me.

  Muttering under her breath, she stepped forward and shut the door behind her.

  Birdie

  "What was that?" He placed his hand at the small of my back, making me very aware of his presence. His fingers tapped gently on my skin, spreading tingles through my body.

  "I don’t do this. I don’t date. I don’t go out with strangers, and I never let a man tell me what to do."

  He chuckled. "That’s because you hadn’t met the right man."

  "You’re not the right man," I retorted.

  He opened the door and ushered me through. "Darlin’, I don’t think you’ve had the pleasure of meeting a real man. My guess is... you’re a virgin."

  My face heated as I clutched my purse and rounded on him. "How dare you." It didn’t matter he was close to the truth. He didn’t know me and didn’t have the right to make assumptions. Pushing at his chest, I tried to move him out of my way so I could leave. This really had to be one of the stupidest things I’d done in a long time. Hell, the last time I’d gotten in over my head had been ten years ago.

  He grabbed my hands, holding them in one of his as he touched my cheek. I stiffened, not wanting to let him know that despite wanting to slap him, and my rapid heartbeat flushing heat through my body, he got to me on a physical level I didn’t understand. "Sorry, that was out of line. I want to understand you."

  "There’s nothing to understand," I snapped. "Now let me go."

  He continued to hold onto me. "I really didn’t mean for it to come out like that. Stay?" There was no cockiness in his apology. His eyes held my gaze with a serious expression that made me wonder at his complexity. He was dangerous on so many levels, but he was right. He was the first man I’d been attracted to, and the fact he wasn’t my brother, or Mike, made me want to get to know him better.

  I nodded and allowed him to lead me to a booth along the back wall. Tossing my bag down on the table, I allowed him to pull out my chair before he took his own.

  "I’m not a virgin." I refrained from clapping my palm over my mouth as he nodded. He didn’t need to know that.

  He reached for my hand across the table, took it in his, and ran lazy circles over my palm. "But, you’re inexperienced."

  I nodded, hypnotized by his fingers.

  "Is that why you’re scared of me?"

  "No," I wavered. I pushed my shoulders back. "I’m not scared of you."

  The waiter interrupted his questioning.

  "Do you want a margarita?" Drake asked before ordering
a beer.

  "I don’t drink. I’ll have water."

  The waiter left and Drake raised an eyebrow at me. "Why is that?"

  I shrugged. "I just don’t."

  "Well there goes my plan of getting you drunk so I can get you to kiss me again."

  I snatched my hand from his as I recoiled. He stared at me and chewed his lip. Lips that had pressed against mine in a kiss, which had only been a fraction of what it could've been if I’d let it, and now I would never know what that felt like, because I couldn’t trust him.

  "I… I have to go." Grabbing my bag, I stumbled out of the restaurant, carefully holding myself together despite the heaviness in my limbs. I made it to the car before I let the cracks in my facade open and brushed at my eyes. Yes, I was overreacting, but still, it hurt that the first time I put myself out there and met a man who made me want to trust in my choices, he hurled my past in my face. I hadn’t had a single drink since the night I’d found myself upstairs with that boy. Having Drake say he wanted to do the same thing to me curdled my insides.

  His palm pressed against the door as I tried to open it, and his other arm went around my waist. "Hey, it’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay."

  Pressing my lips together, silent sobs shuddered through my body, and I shook my head against his chest. I wasn’t a normal girl who did conventional things like date. I’d never wanted to be, until now. His gravity pulled me out of myself, and made me need to be the girl who wanted more than a safe existence. This craving to step outside my comfort zone terrified me. The whole night was a mess, because I was out of my element. Sucking in a breath, I tried to steady myself. I hadn’t let a situation get me this messed up in a long time. Yet, despite how badly this night was going, he was trying to comfort me. Proving he wanted to get to know me.

  I glanced up at him from beneath my lashes. The look in his eyes was one of concern, and I found myself more attracted to him than I had been before. My world shifted whenever he looked at me. My stomach somersaulting, making me dare to want things I hadn’t wanted before.