Page 1 of Bitter Desire
Chapter One
HONEY
BaristApp has 3 new notifications.
I turned my head and looked at my blinking phone. I’d been ignoring the damn thing for the past twenty minutes when the alerts started going off. Normally, I would wake up at the first app notification eager to see what gigs might be available around town, so that I could plan my day. But not this morning. This morning I had been sleeping, enjoying the dream that had wrapped itself around me like a comfy flannel. The dream had been about Law, more of a memory than anything else. It had been a distorted loop of our last few hours in the confines of the club when he was him and I was me, but the sweet trappings of our dynamic were still there gently influencing our interactions. He was brushing my hair, plaiting it in a braid while he talked to me. I had zero clue what Dream Law had been saying, but I liked the way he’d sounded, the deep rumble of his voice filling my ears. His strong hands in my hair, fingers sliding through it until I’d felt content and relaxed.
The dream had been lovely. So lovely that when my phone began to go off, I chose to ignore it until I couldn’t anymore. The pinging of its notifications pulled and tore at the edges of my dream until I knew there would be no repairing it and I had to wake up. I sighed and picked up my phone, but even in my irritation I had a smile on my face.
Will you listen to me? I want you.
I shivered, rubbing my legs together beneath my blankets and breathed in the chilly air of my apartment. I’d forgotten to turn on the heater before bed and the last of the spring thaw was making itself known in the early morning.
I want you.
He wanted me. Law Sokolov wanted me. The joy from that was fierce, the warmth of it enough to make me forget about my cold apartment. I wrapped the quilt around my shoulders and sat up, focusing on my phone. I slid my finger along the screen to see what jobs were up for grabs and instantly hit accept when I saw the familiar name of A Different Brew. I definitely wanted that shift, not only because I’d get to see Tiffany and work in a shop I adored, but because of Law.
I would absolutely get to see him if I took it.
The shift started in 45 minutes which meant I had just enough time to get dressed and out the door for the shift. I could skip breakfast so long as there was coffee, but I might not even have to do that if I was with Tiffany. There was a bakery nearby that she loved, and I knew all I had to do was offer to pick up something and she’d be game.
I hopped out of bed and made a beeline for my closet while firing off a see you soon text to Tiffany. I heard my phone sound with a text message from where I tossed on the bed and knew Tiffany must have sent me a reply. I’d check that on my way in and maybe bring up getting breakfast for us. I yanked on my clothes, snagged my bag and phone while I pulled on my shoes and was out the door in record time. I was hurrying down the stairs when my phone went off with another ping, but I didn’t slow check it.
It was probably Tiffany. I could respond on the subway, but making the train needed to happen first. I sped up, power walking the rest of the way to the subway. It was only when I was securely on the train and sitting down that I checked my phone.
‘Stop ignoring me’
I frowned, staring down at the phone in my hand. That made no sense. When I tapped on the message to look at the sender I saw a number I didn’t recognize. It was a New York City area code, but that told me nothing and when I tried searching the number online it came back as a dead end. I bit my lip. Even if I didn’t understand the message or know who it was from, it was sending up warning bells.
“It has to be a wrong number,” I whispered, and shoved my phone back into my pocket. The alternative to that wasn’t something I wanted to think about. The only person that would send me a message like that was forbidden to do so. Christian’s face flashed in front of me, and I shook my head. “It’s not him.It’s not.”
Christian was capable of a lot of things, but going against Connie, Zeus, and now Law, was not one of them. The memory of Law leaning in close, whispering in his ear, those few quietly said words had been enough to nearly drop Christian where he stood. He’d gone from taunting and aggressive to silent and frozen where he stood. My phone pinged again and I squeezed my eyes shut, the familiar dread of knowing someone was watching me, that Christian was out there keeping tabs on me, was slowly settling over me.
“It’s not,” I insisted again, fixing my eyes on the advertisements that lined the top of the subway car. I didn’t take out my phone to check the message.
The entire trip to A Different Brew passed by in a blur, my feet carrying me on autopilot. The worry over the text message had been buzzing in my brain the entire way, so had the phone that was burning a hole in my cardigan pocket. When it had buzzed as a reminder a few minutes after it arrived, I’d nearly jumped, but I’d kept my focus and resisted the temptation to check. I ran my hands through my hair and inhaled deeply, trying to settle my nerves before I pushed open the door to A Different Brew. The familiar smell of coffee beans hit my nose and I instantly felt more at ease. This I could do. This I understood. I raised my hands over my head and stretched as I walked towards the counter where I spotted Tiffany’s familiar ginger curls. She was bent over, head low as she took the starting temperatures of the fridges.
“Hey!” I greeted her with a fake brightness I didn’t feel.
Tiffany’s head popped up and she beamed at me. “Honey! I’m so happy it’s you. This is going to be such a good day. Did you get the pastries?” she asked.
I blinked in surprise at her question. I’d wanted breakfast, but I hadn’t really made the jump to getting some or asking her like I’d planned, not with the eerie text message throwing me off. “The what?”
“The pastries,” she said, leaning over the counter to see if I had anything in my hands. When she saw that I didn’t she pouted. “Boooooo. Did you not get my text?”
“Your what?”
“My text.” She tipped her head to the side and gave me a second look. “Are you...okay?”
“Yeah, I mean–” I swallowed hard and then shook my head, reaching for my phone, “I’m sorry, I’m just a little off is all.” I thumbed past my lock screen and saw that I had a message waiting from her. I breathed out a sigh of relief, my eyes drinking in the sight of her ‘Get pastries from the fancy schmancy bakery for brekkie! Gus already paid. Just pick them up, please!’
I smiled when I saw the message. It had been Tiffany, not whoever sent the first. “I’m sorry. I was spacing out and didn’t check,” I said, lifting my phone up and giving it a wiggle. “I can go get them now though.”
She clapped her hands excitedly. “Would you? He told me he got all the good stuff because he’s trying to convince you to take the job!”
“Tiffany...we talked about that,” I laughed.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to give up. Plus, we get bougie bakery breakfast, so what’s not to love? Let us woo you with your favorite foods, woman.”
