Sixty-Nine by Maddison Grey.
I’d specially ordered them and paid an insanely high price to get them here in time.
The story was one filled with debauchery and erotic pleasure. I’d flicked through the pages last night, which resulted in me using the novel as a fan. The author had spared no description as she told the tale of a young woman coming into her sexuality, exploring the darker, more sensual side of BDSM.
It was the perfect story to open the eyes of the naïve.
It was an intense read that challenged the rigid beliefs some readers held regarding sex and their bodies.
There was no doubt in my mind that Mrs. Beckett hadn’t read it yet. She’d taken one look at the sexy cover of a scantily dressed couple in an intimate position and instantly passed judgment. While it wasn’t as tame as the covers displayed in the romance section of a chain store, it didn’t deserve the tongue-lashing I was having to listen to.
I took the book and brushed my hand over the front. “I still don’t see what the issue is. The sign stated clearly that if you were ready for an adventure, the book was for you.” I stared back at her. “You agreed to swap.”
Her mouth flapped open and closed. Open and closed.
Holly finally chimed in. “Perhaps we can give Mrs. Beckett her book back? Would that make you happy?” She quickly rushed over to the table piled with completed transactions. When she returned, Holly looked to me for approval. “Okay?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “That’s up to you, Irene. I quite enjoyed the book, but if you’re not ready to take a risk, we’ll totally give you your own book back.” I all but shoved it at her. “In fact, I insist.”
I’d never been so rough with a customer before. I’d had my fair share of difficult people who would take their frustrations out on me, but I’d never crossed that line.
That was, until now.
Micah must’ve seen me, because one moment, he was across the room, answering questions, and next, he was by my side, his hand firmly at my elbow.
“How about you help Mrs. Beckett find another book, Holly? I need to talk with Sedona about something, and then we’ll take care of those.” He used his head to point to the discarded title.
He hadn’t even finished that when Willow from next door came in, craning her neck until she saw us. She had a brown paper-covered package with the telltale rip showing she’d seen what it was protecting.
“Hey, Sedona, I think there was a mistake made?” She waved the parcel up beside her head.
“I never thought you to be a prude,” I blurted out, moments before Micah’s hand landed firmly over my mouth.
“Ignore her. Yes, there was a mix up, and we’re in the midst of fixing it.” He didn’t miss a beat, even as I twisted about in his embrace, his other arm snaking around my waist to keep me from breaking free.
Willow eyed me closely. “Is there something I can help with?” She sensed something wasn’t right, with her fae abilities that were similar to mine. Despite the chaotic emotions exploding inside me, a small piece of me acknowledged it too.
Did I really just lick Micah’s palm?
He didn’t flinch.
“Actually, can you help Holly while I figure this out? I just need someone to remove the other wrapped books and make sure no one else has them.” He squeezed me hard, hoping it would stop me from squirming. It didn’t.
He moved fast, and before I knew it, we were close to the back wall where the door leading up to the apartment was. He didn’t go through it, however. Instead, he dropped me back to the ground. His embrace had lifted me up, so it was good to stand on my own again.
“Did you have to?” I asked, straightening my clothes.
“I thought you might need some privacy.” The second he realized the way I’d interpreted his comment, he corrected himself. “No, that doesn’t mean so we can make out. You’re not acting like yourself.” This time, when he grabbed the tops of my arms, he wasn’t gentle. He stared at me so intently that it made me feel like I was naked.
That thought didn’t help matters.
“Why are you always seeing the threat in everything?” My voice rose with frustration. “What’s wrong with finally feeling confident?”
“Is that what you call it, Sedona?” Micah pointed over his shoulder in the direction of the entrance. “You purposely antagonized Irene Beckett. You wrapped up an erotic romance book with a misleading invitation. You’re not acting like yourself, sweetheart.” His tone turned to one that held tenderness. It was easy to see the worry in his eyes.
“I don’t know.” And that was the truth. I wouldn’t deny that things were a little strange, but I still wasn’t convinced that the change was unwelcome. I liked the way I’d been feeling. “I really do feel fine.”
He was at a loss for words.
I placed my hands against his chest and rose up to kiss his cheek. “I appreciate your concern, though.” When I inhaled, I caught a hint of his cologne. There was no stopping me then as I buried my face in his neck, breathing him in deeply. “Thank you.”
I feathered a light kiss against his skin. That kiss led to another. Then another.
“Sedona.” There was a firmness in the way he said my name that I didn’t like. It was a tone that said he wasn’t easily distracted.
“Come on. No one will know.” I took hold of his hand and pulled him with me. Each step I took backward brought us closer to escaping upstairs. My fingers were already unbuttoning the top of my jeans.
“Stop!” Micah thundered. His command echoed in my mind. I stopped. All I could do was look up at him with a dumbfounded expression. “This isn’t you.”
Something inside me snapped. A volcanic heat that began in the tips of my toes and unfurled up through my body until it buzzed loudly against my skin.
“This is me!” I exploded with an anger that was both familiar and foreign. It came from a small place that I pretended didn’t exist—a box where I shoved everything I didn’t want to share—the dark parts of myself that I refused to acknowledge. “I decide. No one else.”
The next part happened so fast that I would later admit there was no possible way I could’ve stopped.
Stamping my foot in defiance, what I could only describe as an energy wall pulsed out from inside me. The force of the magic blasted over nearby bookshelves. It knocked Micah off his feet, slamming him into the wall that separated Shelf Indulgence from Coffee Haven.
Horror slapped me hard in the face—waking me up from whatever craziness possessed me.
Blood oozed out from the large gash at Micah’s temple, but that wasn’t what had me screaming.
Somehow, I’d blown a large gaping hole in the wall. Customers who had been enjoying their beverages and pastries were now looking around with confusion. In the midst of heavy dust clouds settling in the air, a flabbergasted Willow appeared.
“I know I joked about you owing me one for helping just now.” She stepped through the newly created doorway into my store. “But this wasn’t what I had in mind.”
That’s when I realized that all eyes were on me. The whispering that was gradually growing louder and louder was about me. No one was interested in the book swap anymore. The show I’d just given everyone was far more entertaining.
“Get me out of here, Micah,” I uttered, panic descending.
Something was very, very wrong. The confidence that I’d just been basking in had shriveled into the doubt that now consumed me.
Pain had me doubling over.
I emptied my stomach, the violent retching bringing me to my knees.
Everything went still, and the fear that Micah wouldn’t help me became unbearable.
Would he ever be able to trust me again?
“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” His touch sent a wave of calming energy throughout me, and I relaxed into his arms as he picked me up. “I’ve got you.”
That was the last thing I heard as I closed my eyes.
I was safe.
Chap
ter 10
The room was blissfully dark.
Unfortunately, that was the only good thing about being in my grandfather’s old bedroom. Micah had chosen to bring me upstairs instead of pushing through the crowd to take me home.
I couldn’t really remember much after that. The pain that had taken over everything and stolen my focus was a cruel master. Fiery whips blistered against my skin, making it impossible to do anything but writhe and moan.
Everything hurt.
Existing became intolerable.
The world seemed to press down over me—every thought and feeling screeching to be seen. Nothing made sense. I was suffocating beneath the weight being an empath brought. So much noise. So much suffering.
It blared in my ears and grated over my aura, leaving dark smudges over my psyche. There was no escaping it. Something had broken inside me, and there was suddenly no protective bubble that kept me sheltered from the outside. My own personal warding had been obliterated. It was as if I’d never cast the spells that would help keep me from drowning in the sea of emotions here in town.
A breeze appeared out of nowhere. My body spasmed, and my back arched up off the bed in agony. My skin was beyond sensitive now. I was slowly losing my mind.
“How can I help?” My heart hurt to hear the depth of helplessness in his hushed question.
I need him to touch me. Only he could soothe the savageness. I balked at the thought. I could barely stand the air caressing my body.
The need was persistent.
“Hold me.” The plea was pitiful to the ears, but it was all the strength I could muster.
With painstakingly slow movements, Micah finally relaxed enough beside me, so it didn’t feel like I was next to a plank of wood. It took another few seconds before he trusted himself to release his breath.
I stifled the cry that almost escaped when he wrapped his arms about me and pulled me in closer. He knew it had hurt anyway. Where my mouth had obeyed me, the muscles that clenched and trembled had revealed the truth.
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” I repeated, again and again. The mantra matched the one I’d been reciting in my head. Slowly, the pain receded somewhat, enough that I could relax as well.
“Let me heal you.”
I let out a tired sigh, wishing I could move so I could look at him properly. I needed him to see how sincere I was. “This is enough, Micah. Just let me lie here with you a little longer.” I released the yawn I’d been holding. “Just hold me.”
“At least use some of the grace I gave you.” This wasn’t the first time he’d made this suggestion. It wouldn’t be the first time he heard me reply the same.
“No. That’s for an emergency, not now. I think all I need is sleep, and I’ll be okay. No need to worry.” I steeled myself as a short tremor went through me, like the aftershock waves that happen after an earthquake. At least, that’s what I told myself.
“Can we talk about what happened downstairs then?”
“No.” I shook my head, wincing when my headache flared. “I have no idea how I’m going to face everyone after today. Maybe I should go ask the coven if they could give me a mercy memory wipe or something so I can forget. I’m so mortified.”
“I’ve already taken care of it.”
That brought my pity party to an abrupt end. “What do you mean you took care of it?” I asked sharply. “There’s a huge freaking hole in the wall of my store, and everyone saw me do it.”
“I might be fairly new to town, but I know how these things work. Magic happens, and the coven steps in to cover it up. You might want to thank your aunt for how quickly she got the ball rolling. I might not agree with how she talks to you, but that woman is efficient. The damage is repaired, and memories are being wiped.” He gently grazed the side of my face. “The only one who remembers now is you, me, your aunt, and the members of the coven she talked with.”
Gratitude crashed through me in waves. He’d stepped in and taken over without me having to ask. This was what it must feel like to be in a relationship with someone who genuinely cared.
He let out a loud groan. “I don’t like being this helpless. Not with you. I don’t like when unexplained things start happening around those I love.”
“You love me?” I asked, teasingly. He’d said it before, but I never tired of hearing it. My lips curled into a soft smile.
Micah chuckled, his chest rumbling beneath my ear. “Focus.”
His finger softly brushed across the top of my arm, and the sensation sent goosebumps flaring all over my skin.
As much as I hated being responsible, he was right. Now wasn’t the time for distractions. “Raincheck?”
He nodded. “Raincheck.”
It was becoming our thing—a way for us to acknowledge something needed to be addressed, but later.
His finger drew a light circle over my bicep.
“Please don’t.” It had slowly dawned on me that the pain had gradually been fading away. The only thing I could think of being responsible was Micah. “I know what you’re doing. You’re using your powers when you shouldn’t be.”
It didn’t matter how many times Micah tried to explain he had a little leeway before others would sense his divinity. He argued that it was justifiable, and I countered that unless I was dying, he was never to risk exposing Holly for me that way.
“I’m not, sweetheart.” It still thrilled me every time he called me that. “I’m just moving energy about. Trying to see what helps.” He hadn’t stopped moving his fingers back and forth. Now that I knew, I could definitely feel a pattern emerging.
My moan this time was one of relief. I sunk into the magic his touch was creating, allowing the energy to move about freely. With this new awareness, I could sense how with each stroke of his finger, the more balanced and centered I became. I no longer felt the rawness of pain, or the blistering heat of lust.
I could finally breathe.
“Better?”
My reply was muffled. “Mm-hmm.”
“Sedona?”
I was barely awake, sleep tugging at me. “Mm-hmm.”
“I protect what I love.” There was that word again.
I snuggled into him.
“What happened downstairs wasn’t some weird coincidence.”
More truth.
I took in a deep breath and then slowly released it.
“I don’t think it was, either.” I finally admitted what I’d spent days arguing about, desperately trying to convince everyone that all was well. “Something’s not right inside me. I can’t explain it.” That was the thing that sucked. I hated not understanding things.
“I need to find out if this is somehow connected to this Collector person Austin was working for. I know you’d rather just forget everything and move on, but something—or someone—came for Holly, and you got in the way. What if this is some type of payback?”
His response baffled me. “How did you make that leap?”
I watched as his gaze narrowed on me—the way it felt as though he was looking beyond the façade I showed the world and studying something only he could see. I hadn’t even considered the person responsible for the attack on Holly and me. Yet, Micah had somehow put two and two together—and came back with five. It made no sense.
I didn’t like the way he paused before answering. Only people with something to hide measured each word they said, careful to not reveal too much of their thoughts. I expected this kind of response from Aunt Millicent or those who were merely my acquaintance.
Not the man I loved.
“This isn’t going to work between us if we’re keeping secrets,” I whispered. There was a crack of emotion in my voice—one that hadn’t been there before—because all I could think of now was that Micah still didn’t trust me enough to confide in me. He’d returned to hiding.
My accusation surprised him. “No, I do trust you, sweetheart. That’s not why I mentioned it.”
There was no holding back as more doubts filtered th
rough my mind. “Then why did you just hesitate if you weren’t trying to censor how you answered my question?” I wasn’t going to let this go. “Why do you think the Collector is involved with this? People feel sick all the time, Micah. Maybe I ate something weird, and that’s why I feel like this.” My hands rested over my stomach as though the mere mention of being ill would bring the symptoms rushing back. “Not everything’s an attack.”
There was nothing but compassion shining in his eyes now, and he grinned somewhat sheepishly. “Call it an occupational hazard, then. I’ve been on the run for so long with Holly, always staring into the shadows for hidden danger, that I forget not everyone anticipates threats around every corner.”
He took hold of my hand and squeezed it gently. The gesture was meant to be comforting, and it helped a little to settle my rattled nerves.
“I can’t imagine what it was like for you to always be looking over your shoulder.”
Micah nodded. “You stop seeing the world as your ally, and begin acknowledging that everyone around you holds the potential to become your enemy. I’ve kept Holly safe so far because I no longer consider the inconsequential or smaller reasons behind things.”
It was starting to make more sense. “So you just instantly go for the worst case scenario.”
His smile lit up his face. “Exactly. Chances are that ninety-nine point nine percent of what’s happening to you right now can be resolved with a simple explanation. I have to entertain that point one percent, however.”
“And that’s the Collector?” Just mentioning the name of the mystery threat made my skin crawl. I tried to ignore the fact they were still out there somewhere—possibly watching. “So this could be a second attack?” It still felt weird to make that assumption.
He nodded again. “Possibly.”
An even more horrifying thought surfaced.
“What if it is, then?” Now that we were talking about him, the thought sat like a heavy rock of dread in my gut. The very notion that I was a pawn in this mysterious being’s game sickened me.
Tears began to fall.
Addicted to You Page 8
