Page 31 of Taste of Addiction

“I should be ready to go another round in a few minutes.”

“You are insatiable.”

7

Graham stays true to his word and is throwing on clothes in a hurry at five in the morning. I want to wrap my body around him and beg him to stay. I know he wants to, and that is the only reason I am not trying to make him feel guilty for leaving me. Especially now…especially when I have had a taste of him. My body is the best kind of sore and I have not slept but maybe an hour—and that is being generous.

“I’m going to really miss you,” I whimper, my lower lip trembling beyond my control.

He walks over to me, wraps me in his arms, and kisses my ear. His nose burrows into my hair, and he inhales my scent as if it is his oxygen, memorizing me in every way he can.

“Soon.”

His one word gives me hope. As if him saying it makes it a possibility. I snake my hands around his waist and slide them up under the back of his collared dress shirt. Then it dawns on me what day it is.

I look up at him with confusion and whisper, “It’s Saturday.”

He nods and then looks past my head to the artwork on the wall. “I have to take a trip.”

“A trip? For business?”

He pulls away from me after a quick kiss on the lips. I throw on whatever clothes I find on the floor and follow him out of the room. Collins greets him in the hall, and they exchange their super-secret looks with just their eyes. They make me want to hit something. I stomp behind Graham as he sighs, pushes hair back from his forehead, and then proceeds to walk down the stairs.

“What’s going on, Collins?” I ask, since Graham is not helping to clue me in on the plan.

The smell of lavender and musk fills my nostrils before I see the source. But I don’t have to look. I know who it belongs to, and the thought of what I think is about to happen makes me want to vomit.

“I’m all ready to go, Graham,” she says sweetly in the foyer.

Graham’s body whips around to shoot Sophia with daggers. “You were told to wait in the car.”

She has the nerve to feign innocence. “I had to use the restroom before our drive to the airport. If we go now, we might be able to catch the sunrise. You remember how much I love watching the sun rise up to—”

“You guys are going on a vacation?” I ask stupidly.

“Just get in the car, Sophia.” Graham’s temper is exacerbated every time she opens her damn piehole.

Why he thinks her being in the car would erase the fact they are going on a trip together is plain stupid.

“Florida is going to be amazing this time of year. I hope we can go snorkeling. I’ve always wanted to try that, or maybe we can swim with turtles? You know, for the press.”

Collins steps from the sidelines and opens the front door for her to step through, but she doesn’t budge. Of course she doesn’t.

Her attire is perfect for a jet-setting lifestyle that she is taking up with Graham. Her tailored ivory pants, designer shoes, and black silk shirt fit her persona and her body like a glove. Her hair is slicked back with a clear stone barrette, and her engagement ring is polished and ready for the world to see its beauty. Her luggage is resting at her feet. I don’t even own luggage. Not even one suitcase. The contrast between our appearances, our personalities, and our lifestyles is night and day. Black-and-white. But here we are, pining after the same man. How can we be worlds apart and still find the same person attractive? How can he ever do the same with us?

Tears well in my eyes as Graham groans and turns to look at me. My vision blurs as I look up at his pained expression. Did he think I wouldn’t find out? Was he just going to sneak into the car and hope I didn’t notice Sophia accompanying him? I get that they are faking an engagement—but this? A vacation? And to go to Florida? Is he taking her to his family’s home?

I swallow down the stomach acid that keeps rising into my throat. Damn him. The look written all over Sophia’s face is that of pure joy. She smiles over at me, and I want to gouge her eyes out with her own stilettos. Because who dresses in stilettos when there is snow and ice on the ground?

She won. She knows it. She is already getting everything from Graham—albeit fake—that I have always wished for from someone I love.

I turn to walk back to my room and Graham calls to me, hot on my trail. I make it up to my room and lock the door before he can enter.

“Angie! Open up!”

“No!”

“Come on, baby!”

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