Get a hold of yourself!
His fingers brush the collar, and the cold metal shifts on my neck. It slams me back to reality as I process the predicament I’m in. I’m seated on my captor’s lap as he gives me gentle love bites dangerously close to the bruise he inflicted, and I’mlettinghim touch me. I’m making this easyfor him, but that’s not me.
He didn’t sign up for a docile fuck toy. He signed up for Addison Bright, and he’s going to get her.
Our future is murky, but one thing is for certain. His attention isn’t unwanted, but he needs to earn me. Maybe I’ll regret this in the long run, but while I’m stuck here, I might as well have fun.
I slap his hand away and push him back into the chair. “We’re done here.” I stand, keeping my head held high as I saunter to the office door.
“I think I need another lesson,” Rowan calls after me.
“You should have been paying attention.” I smart, a triumphant smirk on my face.
He sighs. “I’m going on a grocery run later. Make a list of anything you would like me to pick up while I’m out.”
Oh, he’s making this far too fun.
“Anything?” I ask.
He gets that adorable little wrinkle between his brows. “Within reason.”
I wink, humming as I skip from the office to enact the first part of my plan. This man has no idea what I’m capable of. By the end of my time here, I’m going to make Rowan Kingsley regret ever taking me.
I’ll be the fucking bane of his existence.
Chapter Twenty
Rowan
Did I think going on a grocery run would minimize the guilt? In my fucked up head, I hoped it would smooth over our rough start, but as I stare at the list, I piece together what she’s plotting.
“An instant camera?” I question out loud as I stand in the electronics section of a store. “What the fuck is that?”
“Do you need some help, sir?”
I turn and there’s a young woman with a name tag pinned to her bright blue shirt. She’s looking at me expectantly, and I sigh as I show her the list.
“Which one of these cameras is instant?” I grumble.
The woman’s brows lift as her eyes skim the lines of supplies. “Are you scrapbooking?”
I scratch at the back of my neck. “My girlfriend is, I guess. She handed me the list before I left.”
She nods, understanding crossing her features as she points to a row of bulky cameras. “These are all instant. What color would she like?”
I think back to the color of Addison’s running shoes and her phone case. She loves purple, so I grab the lavender one.
“Good choice,” the employee smiles, handing me a small box. “This is the film. Everything else you're looking for can be found on aisle twenty.”
“Thank you,” I grab my cart and walk through the store until I find the arts and crafts aisle. The amount of glitter, paint, and stickers on this list raises my blood pressure. I know she’s plotting against me, but everything has consequences. If she wants to learn the hard way, who am I to stop her?
“Distraction, my ass,” I mutter as I grab what she needs before heading over to the grocery side of the store. The food and drink items she included aren’t strange, but there’s hardly anything on here. I grab a few extra snacks and things for her to try. If she likes something, I can always come back and stock up on it.
She isn’t making the getting-to-know-you part easy, but I’ll crack her open in no time. It’s subtle how I plot to gather the information I’m itching to know about her, but she’ll have no idea what I’m doing. She’ll play right into my hands.
I check out before heading home. It’s nice to have my truck back, but I wish someone other than Thalia had gone to pick it up. She left the inside a complete mess, but I can’t complain. Now, whether or not she returned the other vehicle is a complete mystery. My bet is that she didn’t, but I couldn't care less about who she terrorizes.
When I get back to the house, Addison perks up on the couch, her eyes lighting up when she sees the bags in my hands. Her look stuns me for a moment, and I imagine a life like this, where I come home, and she’s happy to see me. It makes my chest pang with longing as I set everything down on the kitchen island.
