“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

I learned that the hard way. No one ever told me how brutal love was. They never told me how coupled with addiction, could shatter you. Ruin you.Because when you get addicted to something, that something becomes your whole world. It becomes the central point of your existence. You live for nothing but the addiction, and every minute you aren’t feeding it is a minute you’re craving it.Walking away from it takes willpower. It takes mental strength and determination—something that’s easy to come by when you don’t want what you’re addicted to. Then you have a reason to say no. You have a reason to turn your back. I didn’t have that. Apart from my own fears, I had no reason to walk away from that gorgeous man. I had no reason to turn away and run from the man who sets my body on fire with unnatural ease. 

I’d been staring at my phone for two hours and seventeen minutes. I knew because the minutes kept changing on the clock. Like they do. Every minute.Every fucking long and annoyingly indecisive minute.It shouldn’t be hard to pick up the phone and dial his number. It shouldn’t be hard for me to apologize for being a dick, but it is. It is because it means admitting that I was wrong. And fuck, I hate being wrong. Much less admitting it. Four sharp knock at my door pulled me out of my trance. I frowned and got up. The moment I opened the door, Ivan’s lips crashed into mine. Shock stroke me as suddenly as his kiss just did, and I grabbed his arms to stop myself from staggering backward.He kicked the door shut and dropped his bag without releasing me. His hands threaded into my hair, his tongue flicked ag

“We’re going to dinner.”I looked up. Dayton was standing in my doorway, her hands on her hips and her eyes glued to me. Slumped on the sofa, like usual.“We are?”“Yes. We are. And we’re going now.”I looked at my fluffy, blue slippers. “I’m really not dressed for Aaron’s standard of restaurant.”“So get off your ass and get changed.”I swung my legs around with a huff. My eyes glanced over at her—she was wearing skinny jeans, but they were teamed with a loose, sheer blouse, a fitted blazer, and a pair of darling Chanel heels. I knew because I’d been staring at them lovingly online for weeks.“And if I don’t?”She rolled her eyes. “Then you won’t hear about Aaron’s fun, new project.”“I need to hear about it?”“You do. It’s important. So move.” She

“Prick!” I snatched my wrists from him, but he was quicker.His arms circled my waist and crushed me against him, flipping me over and laying me back against his car. His lips took mine in a rough kiss as his body covered me. My hands were grabbed by his and pinned above my head.My head was screaming at me to make him let go, but my body was softening, molding to his will.“You could learn how to cocktail-shake all fancy on Google or Wikihow, you know.”Ivan pushed his hips into mine, his erection just millimeters away from my center. “If I’m shaking anything, it’ll be you, babe. Not a motherfucking cocktail.”“Then I don’t see the problem.”“The problem is you.” His voice was low, his mouth hovered just above my ear. There was a scratchy tenderness to his words—a dangerous one.“I don’t get it.”“You never do.” He