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Chapter Forty Three
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2024-10-29 19:42:56“You winced.” Gold star for stating the obvious, Brenda.
“I’m still adjusting to Aaron’s…ease of spending,” she said uncertainly.
“We don’t have to get this dress.” I grabbed the price tag. Two thousand dollars? Holy shit! “Okay, we definitely don’t have to get this dress.”
“No, we do.” She sighed. “Aside from the fact this dress is fucking perfect for you, I was given a preapproved list of wedding boutiques.” She pursed her lips.
A bubble of laughter bursted from me. “Are you kidding me?”
“I wish. He gave me six stores to find you a bridesmaid dress. I added the other four. He said, and I quote, ’Baby, I don’t give a shit how much you spend on a fucking bridesmaid dress. What matters to me is that you have the wedding you’ve always dreamed of—regardless of the cost. So go to these stores and shop up a sto
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WILD ADDICTION Chapter Forty Four
He stepped out of the elevator, and the logo on his sweater was of a local private courier company. I frowned sign for the package and walked back into the apartment. I placed it on my kitchen table and studied it. The box was plain aside from my name scrawled on it.Tentatively, I opened it and pushed the tissue paper aside. And I stared right at a fucking blue lingerie set.Close your eyes, Liv. Deep breaths. Deep brea—Fuck this shit. I shoved my feet in my Uggs and tied my hair in a knot on top of my head, barely stopping to grab a zipped sweater before swiping my car keys and flying down the stairs. That assuming bastard. That annoying, assuming, forceful bastard.I called Dayton and switched it to hands-free, pulled out of the parking lot.“Miss me already?”“Fuck off. Do you know where Ivan is?”“Already? Really, Brenda.”“Oh, believe me. He’s about to get fu
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Forty Five
My phone rang, breaking through the silence. I grabbed it and held my breath when my agent’s name flashed on the screen.“Modester,” I answer.“Brenda! Fantastic news. Balfour are interested in you coming in for a test shoot. Are you free Thursday?”“What time?”“Between twelve and three.”I ran through my shifts in my head. “Yes, at twelve. I’m supposed to work at one, but Donny won’t mind.” As long as I wore an extra-tight, extra-low-cut shirt that day.“Fabulous. I’ll call them back to confirm. Also, you should know they’re testing twenty girls.”“Ouch.”“That was my first thought—but I have confidence in you, Brenda. And I have a question.”“Hmm?”“Were you comfortable shooting with Ivan?”Oh, I was comfortable all right. “Yep.”&l
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Forty Six
“Trust me,” he shouted, getting the attention of the bartender.Dammit. I hated that he could read me so well.He placed two drinks in front of us—white wine for me and a beer for him. “Let’s talk.”“About what? The weather? Isn’t that a Brit’s favorite topic?”His lips curved into a wry smile. “Hardy-fucking-har. For the record, Seattle’s weather is about as shit as London’s.”I grinned.“No, smartarse. I mean talk in general. You know, like people do.”I drew a line between us on the table. He got my meaning and instantly rubbed it out with his finger. Dick.“I want to know how you and Dayton ended up best friends. You are nothing alike.”My smile widened. “Isn’t that the best part? Opposites attract and all that. Besides, you’d be surprised how alike we actually are.”“I don&
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Forty Seven
“He’s Mr. Tall, Dark, Handsome, and Oh So British!” he all but squealed.Thank you, Shaw, you rat bastard.“Nice to see you, Shaw. We’ll catch up soon. Goodbye!” I pushed my apartment door open and walked in.Ivan was laughing behind me, and as much as I was annoyed at Shaw for blurting that out, I was thankful that he cut through the tension.“Mr. Tall, Dark, Handsome, and Oh So British, huh?”I clapped my hands to my flaming cheeks. “I didn’t know your name. I had to call you something when I explained to my other best friend how you stole my orgasm and that pretty much summed it up.”“I stole your orgasm?”“Eh. You gave it back, so who cares?”“Want another?” He kissed the back of my neck.I turned to face him and gripped the collar of his shirt. “I’m not going to argue if you insist.”“
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Forty Eight
I could feel his eyes burning into me through the camera lens. My body had been tingling for the past half an hour as he was taking the shots. I was not sure how no one else in the room could feel the tension.I could. It was zinging between us, coated in a sweet layer of lust.“And we’re done,” Ivan said, lowering his camera. He turned away, and I took the robe offered to me by a wardrobe assistant. I was tying the belt around my waist when he said, “Would you like to take a look?”“I’d love to,” I responded, polite and professional. I joined him at his laptop and took the seat in front of him.He placed one hand on the back of the chair and one on a wireless mouse. He leaned forward, and his breath fluttered my hair, his thumb gently stroking my back. No one could see—they were all too busy. This was a stolen private moment in an open, professional setting.“Here we are.” He double
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Forty Nine
They ignored me, so I whistled. They stopped and looked at me like did a few other people.“If you’re gonna do that, take it outside!” I yelled over the music, pointing to the door.They seemed to consider it for a moment before shrugging it off and walking in opposite directions. I poured a round of tequila shots, completed with lime and salt, and finally had five seconds to breathe.A pee would be great though.“It’s mental in here.”I turned in the direction of Ivan’s voice and smiled. “I have to stay on for two hours. I’m sorry.”“No worries. Want me to go or wait here?”“You can go if you want. It’s kind of crazy in here.”“I’ll wait.” He winked.I was being yelled at for another beer, so I held a finger up. “I’ll get you a drink as soon as I have a second. I promise.” I ran to the middle of
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Fifty
“I don’t want to know him. Not that way—not right down to where it matters. I’m not ready for that.” I blew into my coffee. “I just needed to say it out loud.” I took a large gulp of coffee. Ouch.“Okay. But you do know…”“That’s he’s a sex addict? Yep. What are the chances, right? A sex addict and a love addict in a relationship that’s not really a relationship at all. We should sell our story to Disney and see if they can create a happily ever after out of this shit.”“Looking for tips?” Dayton teased.“Happily ever after? A way out? I’m not fussy.” I snorted.The apartment door opened and Ivan walked through with Aaron. Neither looked happy.“What did you do to them?” I whispered to Dayton.She grinned. “Did you get your suits fitted?”Well, that’ll be it.&ldq
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Fifty One
“He needs you.” Dangerous words. Very dangerous words.I pulled out my phone and texted Ivan.Wait.I took the elevator down and found him in the parking lot, resting against his car. “You weren’t thinking of leaving without me, were you?”He dragged his eyes up to me, and I dropped the corner of my shirt over my shoulder, revealing my light-pink bra strap. Heat flared in the depths of his eyes, a desperate heat, and I got into his car without saying another word.I lied on his bed on my stomach while he was on the phone with his mom in Los Angeles. He was out there for a while, and I was nosy, so I opened the drawers of his bedside cabinet. Contradicting myself at every turn, I knew.As much as I didn’t want to know Ivan any better, I had a crazy desire to find out every little thing. I was trying to convince myself that it was a natural thing when you like a guy, but I knew it was not. That desi
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WILD ADDICTION Chapter Eighty Seven
My lips formed a wide grin. “Okay. I think my need for information is sated. For now.” “Good. And now I guess we have to get to my gritty stuff, right?” I nodded. “I fessed up. Now it’s your turn.” “Okay.” He grabbed his mug of tea and drunk half of it before setting it back on the table. He settled his arms around me again, linking his fingers on my back, and looked up. “Let’s see… When we were little, Mish and Aaron were constantly following our parents around. They wanted to know every last bit of the business. My dad tried for about a year to get me interested, but I just didn’t care. I didn’t have the right head for it. “Then we got older, and while they started internships and work experiences, I started sleeping with girls. Yeah. I was that knobhead.” He laughed. “I studied photography at A-level in college just to make up the number of courses I needed to take and fell in love with it. It was so calm and quiet compared to my rowdy, devil-may-c
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Eighty Seven
He pulled on his pants and I grabbed some shorts and a T-shirt from my room. When I came back out, Ivan handed me a cup of coffee and grabbed his cup of tea. I smiled as we settled on the sofa, facing each other, my legs hooked over his. He tugged the coffee table closer so we could reach from this position. Then he wrapped his arms around me and linked his fingers behind my back.“Okay. Just…talk,” he said.“Um. Okay.” I settled my fingers against the top of his stomach. The lump in my throat was the only thing stopping bile coming up—I knew it. “Well, I went to my parents’ house yesterday. I needed to get out of the city to think. Of course, my batshit crazy nana was there, so I got more of an ass-kicking than I did thinking. But anyway, she made me realize that you have to face your fears if you’re ever going to get over them. So. Here I am. Fear-facing.”Ivan’s thumbs stroke my back gently, a
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Eighty Six
Tyler, sitting on the floor, his back against my door, throwing a tennis ball at the wall opposite him. One of his legs was bent up, the other stretched out. I watched him throw the ball, catching it one-handed every single time.I opened my mouth to talk to him, but he beat me to it.“I’ve been sitting here like a fucking idiot for about four hours. I have no idea why. At first, I thought you were in. Then I remembered you went out of town. Fuck knows where. No one will tell me where or why you went. So I sat down and started playing with this. Hit your neighbor’s door a few times. He invited me in, but I said I’d rather sit here. Got hungry and ordered pizza.” He knocked on the box next to him. “Sat here like a fucking teenage boy hung up on some girl he’s never gonna get.”My chest tightened when he looked at me. I’d never seen his eyes so empty, so dull.“That’s what I think. You know t
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Eighty Five
“I nearly lost my life!” I almost shouted. “How is that nothing? What if, next time, it’s worse? What if, next time, I do lose?”Nana’s face softened, but her eyes hardened. She leaned forward in her chair and pointed a wrinkly finger at me. “You listen to me, my girl, and you listen to me well. You’re not afraid of committing. You’re not afraid of hurting anyone. The thing you fear is weakness. It’s commendable, really, but also complete crap. The only person you’re hurting is yourself—and this boy. You’re stringing you both along because of your naivety. That’s what it is. What you are. Naïve. You think love pops up for every Tom, Dick, and Harry?”Her words stung.“It doesn’t. It isn’t something you can throw around. If you can sit there and tell me it wouldn’t kill you to walk away from him, then that’s exactly what you should do.&rdqu
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Eighty Four
“You look like you have a face slapped with a wet fish,” Nana said. “Have you been salmon fishing?”“It’s not salmon season, Nana,” I replied. “And I don’t fish.”“Not salmon season? It flamin’ well is! A bit cold for July though. Hey, Steve. Put the heat on. I’m turning into a snowman.”I raised an eyebrow at Mom. “July? Nana, it’s March.”“No, it’s July. I specifically remember arranging my next visit here for July.”“Mother,” Mom said softly. “You did. We talked about it yesterday. You said you’d come back in July.”Nana blinked at her. “Oh. Did we?”Mom noded. “Yes. You said you wanted to come up in salmon season because you wanted fresh salmon.”Nana tilted her head to the side. “Oh. Oh, all right. That would explain the temperature. Still, get t
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Eighty Three
“I don’t know his past and he doesn’t know mine.”“Because you’re refusing to talk about it. Yeah, we talk. Just because we’re guys doesn’t mean we don’t talk about this shit. I called him a hundred times with Dayton—he’s more like my brother than anything. I know how he feels about you, Brenda. He’s told me. And let me tell you if you’d asked me six months ago if I ever thought he’d be this serious about a woman, I would have laughed at you.” His lips twitch. “I did laugh when he told me. I thought he was kidding, but he isn’t.”“It’s not just a snap decision. I can’t clap my hands together and know. I’m not holding off to protect myself. I’m doing it to protect him.”“Ivan’s a big boy. He can protect himself. I’ve seen him do it several times.”I put my face in my hands then ran my finger
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Eighty Two
I stifled a yawn as I followed Aaron around the new bar. They landed back in Seattle minutes after Ivan and I did, and Day took one look at me and told Aaron to bring me there.She’d taken Ivan to get coffee, and I sworn, if she was pulling her matchmaking shit, I would kill her.“What do you think?” Aaron asked.I looked around the building. Then, it was carnage in there. Builders were everywhere. There was dust and wooden planks and whatever in every single possible place. But looking at the plans in my hand—Aaron’s vision—I saw it.“I think it’s gonna be the best damn cocktail bar in the city,” I said honestly.“Good answer.” He grinned. “It should be ready to go in two weeks. When do you have to tell Donny you’re leaving?”“I’ll go by when I leave here and tell him. I’ll give him a week’s notice then take a week off.”
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Eighty One
“I’m not afraid of relationships. I have an addiction to sex, not a phobia of commitment.” His words stung. They did. Right from my head to my toes. “But yes. That’s the main reason I never pursued a relationship in London. Everyone there knew who I was and what I was worth. Here in Seattle, well. I guess I just never found someone worth having a relationship for.” His gaze burning into me. “Until now,” he finished. “I wish I could be that girl.” My words were so quiet that they were practically a whisper. It was true. I wished I weren’t afraid. I wished I could tackle him with the impulsiveness I tackled Aaron’s new bar with. I wished I could throw every piece of bullshit away and gave him the thing he wanted because He deserved it. He deserved happiness. He deserved smiles and security and certainty. Something I couldn’t offer. Ivan reached across the table and linked his fingers through mine. He lifted our ha
WILD ADDICTION Chapter Eighty
I said nothing, letting the moment linger. Letting his words hover between us, embracing them, holding on to them…getting addicted to them. To the underlying current of power in every syllable. To the smooth way he strung them all together and the way he never stopped to take a breath. To the inflection in the word ‘yours.’ Addicted to the way he didn’t have to think for a second about saying them. Addicted to the way they were making me feel. Safe. Warm. Cherished. Protected. Owned. I took a deep breath that shuddered through my body. The combination of his breath mingling with mine and the tingle of his palm against my neck was heady and intoxicating. The dizzy from his words and the response they’d elicited inside me, I wanted to give in. I wanted to tell him yes. I wanted to tell him we could do that. That, despite our addictions, two opposite poles, we could make it work. But I didn’t. I couldn’t—because I
