Page 29 of Company Ink

He releases me from his grasp, and I steady myself on his firm shoulders, my eyes glazed over, blurry, vibrating.

Adrian rakes his hand through my hair, pushing damp strands behind my ear, his mouth leaving a trail of hot kisses down the slope of my neck. "You will be the death of me, Miss Carrington."

"I think I've already died," I murmur thoughtlessly, my brain clouded in pure ecstasy.

"Get your purse." Adrian lets out a low, raspy chuckle against the pulse point on my neck. "I'm taking you home."

In the midst of Adrian's ravenous attack, I completely forgot where I am. My eyes spring open.Oh my God!I look around, my face turning crimson. How many people walked by and saw us? What if Monique saw us? Oh, my fuck...Monique!How long have I been here? Is she looking for me? I can't believe I just did that after her whole fucking lecture. God, I'm fucked. What am I doing?!

"Cassie, you need to breathe. You're hyperventilating," Adrian says, looking down at me with worried eyes. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I can't leave with you." The words tumble out of my mouth as I try to get my bearings. "I'm here with my friend. It's her birthday. I—I can't leave. I can't."

A curious smile spreads on Adrian's face. "Can't or won't?" He repeats my words.

Is Monique, right? Do I need to get my shit together? If Monique moves out, then I'll have to pay rent by myself. What if HR finds out and fires me? I really didn't read that policy carefully enough. What if my colleagues find out and torment me? What am I going to do? This is bad.Bad. Bad. Bad. A torpedo of unanswered questions storms my mind, leaving me confused, angry, and... scared.

I don't know anymore," I whisper and push past Adrian, my body paralyzed in tension, anxiety, and uncertainty.

"I just don't want you to end up alone."

Alone.

"I don't do relationships."

Alone.

Adrian turns around and reaches for my hand. "Where are you going?" he asks in a soft voice that contrasts with his heavy-set expression.

"I can't do this right now. I'm sorry," I whisper, emotions flooding my brain, drowning me. I tug my hand away aggressively. "I have to go."

"Cassie!" Adrian's voice calls after me but I ignore him.

I can't. Not tonight. Oh, my God. I can't breathe.

I hustle back to our table, only Axel is sitting there. Everyone else must be dancing.

"What the fuck happened to you?" he asks in a deep whisper. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

"I don't want to talk about it," I mutter, grabbing his drink and chugging until every last drop is gone. "Let's go do shots."

"Cassie are you sure you're, okay?" Axel asks warily.

"Yes, I'm totally fine. Shots, let's go." I grab his arm and drag him to the bar, feeling queasy and jittery.

"Two shots of tequila please," I say to the bartender.

"Tequila? Cass..."

I look at him with desperate and miserable eyes. "Don't start...please. Just let it go."

Axel doesn't pry, we do our respective shots and I order two more, hoping that the alcohol will numb everything that I'm feeling right now. I sit at the empty table, as Axel goes dancing, and stare into my martini glass, swaying side-to-side, trying to block out all the voices in my head that are spewing out worst-case scenarios. I'm okay. I'm just overreacting. Everything will be fine. Tears well up in my eyes, I wipe them away before they have a chance to spill over. Don't cry. This was bound to happen. Did I really think Monique and I would live together forever? How naive. How stupid. Of course not. I grab a twenty from my purse and head back to the bar. As soon as I stand up, my head spins and I stumble.

A hand coils around my upper arm and I look up. "Let go of me," I whine. "I'm getting a drink."Why is he still here?Fucking stalker alert.

"You need to go home, Cassie," Adrian states in a low tone, his jaw tightening. "You're wasted."

I try to tug my arm away, but his grip is too tight. "I'm fine!"

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