Page 1 of Obsessive Cravings

Chapter One

GREYSON

There were few things I didn’t get when I wanted them. And Riley Brinks was one thing I wanted. One thing I was planning to make mine. A pretty little thing who was moving to my city, willingly walking into my game so I could play with her.

Riley was exactly why I never acted swiftly to take down my enemies. Patience offered the chance for them to become complacent, to think I’d forgotten their mistakes. And it offered me the opportunity to enact the most ruthless payback possible. Mason Brinks was Riley’s older brother and since Mason was on my list of enemies, Riley’s sudden move to my city meant my patience had paid off.

When I’d seen her application on the desk of an associate, I hadn’t given it much thought, but her name had stuck in my mind. That name had hounded me until I discovered the reason. Brinks was a name I knew well. Mason Brinks was a ruthless bastard who owned the western part of the province. He had his hands in every business from the city to the farms of Treemont, where he lived. He and I had been rivals for years since the moment he tried stepping into my city. No one threatened my rule on Bridgeville. This city was mine.

I’d run his attempts out and we’d been enemies since. I’d spent years sitting silently, waiting for just the right moment to strike back, to enact a revenge he wouldn’t see coming. A revenge that would leave him so wounded he’d never recover, and his territory would become mine. My patience with Mason’s arrogance had now presented me with Riley, who was the crown jewel of rewards.

Her choice of cities intrigued me. It made no sense for someone inside Mason’s inner circle to move to enemy territory. I wasn’t sure if he was sending her here to infiltrate my business or if she was a rogue player. Either way, I’d initially intended to shut her down and give her no ability to move to Bridgeville. But when I’d seen a picture of the beauty, I knew she had to be mine. My plan had formulated instantly and whether she was coming to hunt me or not, she had now become my prey. I wanted a taste of Riley Brinks before I ruined her completely and used her to bring her brother down.

I looked out over the view from my office, knowing she was down there, moving her things in and preparing for a new life in my world. She wouldn’t see me coming, but I’d make sure she would never look away once she did.

Tempting her had been easy enough. Running a city had its advantages, and I ensured my people made her an offer she couldn’t resist. I owned most of the businesses in town, including the brokerage firm that outbid my associate’s tiny advisor office. He couldn’t complain—I only let him run that office because he’d done me a favor once.

Once she accepted, I ensured an apartment was available in a building I owned, one close enough for me to observe her and take the first steps in my plan to manipulate her.

Running my hands through my hair, I grabbed the picture from my folder on her, staring at her, memorizing every detail, my craving for her already festering. She’d stepped into my web, and I was going to tangle her in so deep, her brother would never get her out. My only worry was that I would get tangled in it as well. I’d never been this obsessed with a woman. She was eighteen years younger than me, a mere twenty-seven years old, but I didn’t care. I would have Riley Brinks. She was mine, even if she didn’t know it yet. And when I had my fill of her, I would leave her ruined and finally destroy her brother.

Chapter Two

RILEY

Running.

That’s what I was doing.

Running from reality. Running from lies. Running from fear.

And where was I after days of running? In a city I didn’t know, starting a new life, and standing in a tiny studio apartment, listening as the movers thumped down the stairs. I wanted to run again because this was a disaster. Furniture cluttered every inch of space, and I didn’t know where to begin.

“Damn,” I muttered, trying to close the door, which was wedged behind my sofa. I blew a strand of hair from my eyes and shoved the sofa a few times to gain some leverage on the door. Flopping onto the couch, I cursed myself for not researching better when I’d left Treemont.

Ran from Treemont was more like it. I’d been planning my escape for months. After finally getting all my plans in place, I had left without a word, without a single glance back, because looking back would have been a costly mistake. I knew what was in that rearview mirror, and it held nothing but terror.

I’d left it all behind, and I didn’t want to look back, no matter how much it hurt me.

“Wow, that is a lot of furniture.”

I peered up to see a tall blonde about my age with large brown eyes and an amethyst stud in her petite nose. She had her hair piled in messy curls, giving her the appearance that she’d just rolled out of bed. It was cute, and I had a moment of hair envy because my heavy hair only rebelled against styles like that.

“Did you neglect to look at the pictures before you moved in?”

“No, I saw them,” I admitted with a sigh. “I think I just convinced myself the pictures made it look smaller than it would be.”

She shook her head and laughed. “Naïve and delusional. You should fit right in.”

“Oh good. I was worried those traits would make me stand out,” I said, rising from the couch.

“I’m Ava,” she said. “My apartment is just down the hall.”

I gave the couch another shove. “Riley and I now live here and possibly in the hall if I don’t figure out how to get this couch to shrink.”

“Here, let me help. I’ve been dealing with these studios for a few years. You learn some tricks.” She glanced around at my mess. “Although, I’d recommend paring down.”

“Definitely on my to do list.”

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