Jane laughed out loud and assured her, "I'll do whatever I can to find your stalker, Addison.”
Addison stood with a smile and held out her hand. “You have no idea what a relief that is.”
Chapter Seventeen
He was on a fucking date.
Just like she wanted. He’d agreed to take her to some opera house ball. You won’t regret it, she’d said. Yeah, he fucking regretted it. Everything except how damn good she looked in that golden dress that she borrowed from Claudia, with the low neckline kissing her barely-there cleavage. Already he couldn’t wait to drag her home and rip off the layers of whatever the fuck her skirt was made out of and fuck her until she screamed.
He didn’t know why he was there. It wasn’t like him to pander to anyone, let alone the woman he was fucking. Maybe he wanted her to shut up about how fucked up their “relationship” was. Or maybe a part of him wanted to actually try it and see what it was like. To see what she would look like, happy that he’d finally agreed to take her somewhere. He’d never taken a woman out before.
Well, not in the date sense anyway, he thought with dark humour.
He watched from the shadows while she moved effortlessly through the crowd. He'd tried to stay at her side, but they'd become separated when she had twisted away for a second as a man named Mikhail had bent to say something in her ear and then glided away with another man's arm around her waist. The possession they showed for her was so natural, it was everything Daniel could do not to commit murder. The fact that he could easily do it, in a room full of people and make it look like an accident is what kept him from her side. The temptation was too great.
He would have done it too. Except Addison was too smart. She would know it was him. While everyone was rushing to see why a perfectly healthy young man was suddenly choking to death on the floor, she would be staring around blankly in horror, knowing he had somehow engineered that death because the young man had touched Daniel’s woman.
He caught the occasional frown crossing her features as she drifted through her acquaintances and knew she wondered about him. He could sense her frustration mounting, but she was helpless, unable to see and surrounded by a cocktail of expensive perfumes, unable to scent him either. His eyes never left her, devouring her every move. She smiled when spoken too and answered with animated ease as people approached her. Pursued his woman. Addison was so skilled at socializing that after a few moments, Daniel realized some of those people didn't even know she was visually impaired. She was dazzling them with her smile and personality.
Something unfamiliar burned in him. Ugly emotion. He wanted to tear her away from the people that demanded things from his woman and slap the smile from her face.
Fuck. That wasn't right. He knew it wasn't right. He didn't want to hurt her. Not in that way. He just wanted to capture her smile for himself and make her stop showing herself to the world. He knew he was fucked up and ugly inside, but he couldn't help himself. And he couldn't stop himself from dragging Addison down into his world. So he continued to watch from the shadows as she happily made her way around the banquet room, until she strayed close enough to the edge that he was able to capture one of her bare arms in a steely grip.
She gasped as he dragged her back into the shadows in an uncompromising hold. He whirled her around and held her tightly in his arms, breathing in her tropical flowery scent. He knew they blended into the shadows too well for anyone to notice their tight embrace. He knew he held her too tightly, but he couldn't seem to help himself. He didn't like crowded rooms. There were too many variables. Too many things that could go wrong.
She struggled for a second, her long, slim fingers coming up to push against his suit jacket until she caught his scent. He knew the moment she realized it was him. Her body relaxed against his, her rounded limbs pressing against his hard body, the rustle of her dress settling noisily. He wanted to gather the yards of frothy fabric and tear them from her body. She was gorgeous, as always, but he preferred to see Addison more natural, wearing her long cotton skirts, clinging T-shirts and cardigans. He hadn't thought much about her clothes before, except that they got in the way of her glorious naked skin. Now he wanted her the way she usually was. Not like this, dressed in layers of fluffy shit, whatever the fuck she called it. Dressed as she was, she fit in with the crowd around her. He hated it.
She reached up and touched his face, tracing her fingers lightly across his jaw, fingering his beard. She sighed and reached up to place a chaste kiss against his neck, pressing her plush lips against the cords of his throat and breathing hotly. He stiffened, his jaw clenching and his cock growing instantly hard against the fabric of her damn dress. The fingers of her other hand rested trustingly against his arm, like he was her damn boyfriend or something, escorting her to a formal function. Like she trusted him.
That's exactly what Addison thought.
He looked down at the top of her head, where the shining chestnut curls were piled high on her head in a pretty crown, leaving her neck bare. The savage in him wanted to take that neck in his hands and show her exactly why she shouldn't trust him.
He reached out from behind her back and snatched a couple of champagne flutes off of a passing tray and in one smooth move, took Addison's arm in a firm grip and pulled her with him further down the shadowy hallway that he had earlier staked out. It led to an outdoor patio overlooking a massive garden. Addison inhaled deeply the moment she stepped outside and smiled. She seemed to take beauty from everything around her, even though she couldn't see it. It was one of the things that drew him to her. She relaxed him in a way nothing else could. He could almost see beauty again through her powerful mind.
Daniel pressed the champagne flute into her hand and crowded her against the railing. She accepted the flute but stumbled a little and almost lost her balance. He ensured that her equilibrium was always thrown off around him so she would have to look to him for balance. He knew it made him a sick bastard. He didn't care. She reached out to clutch at the railing behind her, but he was quicker. He took her hand and guided it to his shoulder. She held onto him tightly and took a nervous sip of her champagne.
Daniel reached out and tilted the glass, tipping more of the rich liquid into her mouth. She swallowed quickly and choked a little, some of the alcohol running onto her chin. He pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger and leaned down to lick the champagne from her skin. She gasped at the rasp of his tongue. He slid his fingers along her jaw and took her face in a strong grip, forcing her mouth open. He poured more of the liquid into her mouth before swooping low to thrust his tongue into the silken recesses and forcing her to accept his aggressive kiss.
Addison choked and would have instinctively turned her head to catch her breath but he held her tightly, forcing her to clutch him and struggle for air. He swallowed as she coughed the champagne into his mouth. Finally, he released her lips, though he retained his tight grip on her arms. She turned her head to the side and coughed, soaking the bodice of her lovely gown in champagne. She struggled weakly against him, but knew he wasn't about to release her. She settled for smacking him in the chest with a balled up fist and glaring up at him with flashing eyes.
"Asshole!" she hissed angrily, hiccuping indelicately.
He enjoyed the way her unfocused pupils rolled wildly when she was angry. She rarely lost control enough to swear. Only with him. When he could be the one to capture and contain her rare fury. He pressed a thumb against her cheek, enjoying the resiliency of her skin under his hands, before sliding his hand into her hair and tangling his fingers into the fancy crown of hair. He wanted to pull it down, tear her hair down into its usual tumble of dark curls. He hoped it would hurt. He’d teach her not to do fancy things with her body. The body that belonged to him alone.
"How do you like your date so far?" he asked, bending to press his lips and teeth against the skin of her throat underneath her ear.
She shivered and quit trying to push him away, tilting her chin back so he would have better access. Her full glass of champagne tilted precariously trickling liquid down her golden skirt. He didn't correct the situation. He hoped the dress was ruined. Maybe Claudia would keep her clothes to herself from now on. He didn’t like Addison borrowing fancy things when her own stuff suited her better.
"You never intended it to be real, did you?" she asked, trying to sound annoyed, but the breathless gasp ruined the tone she intended.
He shrugged and crowded her further against the railing, enjoying the gasp of dismay as she swayed precariously and clutched his arm tightly with one hand while her glass clinked wildly against the metal on the other side. She brought her hand up, sloshing champagne down his suit jacket. He didn't care. Now they matched. And both reeked of booze. He continued to press her back until she cried out and held onto him tightly, her ass pressed against the top railing overlooking a three story drop to the stone pavement of the gardens below. Not that she could see it.
But she could sense it.
"Daniel!" she cried out, fear lacing her voice.
He bent, taking her lips in a fierce kiss. Punishing her for bringing him to such a place, for daring to control him in an environment where she could come alive while he would be forced to stalk the shadows.
