Page 11 of Sweet Addiction

Sighing, my shoulders sag. He doesn’t get to judge me. Not when he doesn’t know anything about my and Mom’s relationship. But for some reason, I want to tell him something. I know that I shouldn’t be having this conversation with him but the need to defend myself is begging me to give him something. Swallowing, I admit, “I don’t want to hurt her.”

Searching my face, he blinks slowly. “So instead, you hurt yourself,” he states, nodding like he has it all figured out.

My eyes drop to my converse-covered feet, before coming back to Knox. I shrug. “It’s complicated. After having me, she put her career and dreams on hold for a couple years. Sh-she gave up a lot for me,” I stutter defensively as a way of explanation.

His gaze is unwavering as he shakes his head and says, “That’s not a reason to give up on your dreams dove. You don’t owe your mom anything. I may not have known you for long, but the only times I have seen a real smile on your face are the times you were taking pictures or looking at pictures. That tells me everything I need to know. You need to rip the band-aid off and be honest. The longer you leave it the worse it will get and then you will feel like you have no way out. Don’t do that to yourself. Don’t destroy who and what you are just because you have some misconceived notion of owing the woman who gave birth to you,” he finishes, his voice strong, leaving no room for argument.

Swallowing, I know he is right. I have never spoken to anyone about how I feel indebted to my mother. Not even my father or Vanessa. I feel vulnerable having admitted it to Knox. Instead of answering, I plaster on my fake smile and force a happy voice as I say, “I have homework to finish.” Then I stroll away. All the while, I feel his eyes boring into my back, scorching my skin. Like a brand.

Knox McCabe’s brand.

ChapterNine

KNOX

I stare after her, my eyes dropping to her delectable ass as she walks away.

There is something about this girl, something that awakens every primal part of me. What that something is I have no idea. But I’m going to find out.

I watch as she climbs into her Mercedes. Her gaze shifts to me through the windshield. We hold each other’s eyes for a long beat. Electricity jolts through me and in that moment, I feel it. Whatever this… thing is, is out of our control. Bigger than us. Whatever passes between us, is so palpable; I feel it in every part of my body. I know Madison feels it too when her eyes widen before she frowns. My heart rate spikes to an abnormal rate. I have never felt like this before. It’s complete madness, crazy, but who am I to question it?

The engine of her car sounds, then in the next second she is driving away as if she can’t get away from me quick enough. Shaking my head, I drop on the bench, inhaling and exhaling as I try to catch my breath. What the fuck is happening to me? I don’t fall for women, and I definitely don’t feel like I’m suffocating just by looking at one. I scrub a palm down my face in frustration. Fuck, but she is making me crazy. Hmm, maybe I just need to get laid? Yes. That’s it. Why I feel so out of sorts. I should hit up one of my regulars, have her meet me at my house tomorrow evening. I nod. Yeah. I will do that. I haven’t had sex in a couple months. It’s probably why I’m feeling this weird addiction toward Madison. I chuckle to myself, happy I have found a reason for all this craziness. I don’t have feelings for her; I am just projecting because I haven’t been inside a woman in so long.

After getting that cleared up in my head, I push off the bench and continue my run. I run until my lungs burn and my legs are weak. Around an hour later, I am back at Scarlett’s house, pushing open the front door. Heading inside, I move toward the kitchen to make a protein shake. Grabbing a banana and my powder, I throw it all in the Vitamix and blend. Just as I am finishing up, heels sound on the marble floor, then in the next second Scarlett appears.

“There you are. I need to talk to you.” She doesn’t stop walking until she is pressed up against me.

“The size of this kitchen and you have to stand on me,” I deadpan.

She giggles, as if I just made a joke and slaps my chest. “This is important.” Stepping back to put space between us, I wave my hand silently asking her to get on with it. Sighing she says, “Madison asked me about our relationship again. I told her it’s real.”

My blood boils. No matter that I just worked out my attraction to Madison or the fact that nothing can happen between us, I still don’t want my little dove thinking that I am with her mother. “Why would you do that?” I grit out.

She chews her bottom lip, fluttering her fake lashes as she tries to look coy. “Look, Madison is a kid. I did it for us. What if she tells one of her friends at school and they go to the tabloids? It is inourbest interests that she thinks we are a real couple, and that we are getting married, Knox.” She pauses, then blurts. “I think you should move into my room.”

My eyes bug open. I nearly spit out the mouthful of shake I just sipped. “No way. Not happening. Madison is mature. Sensible. I am sure if you tell her the truth and that she needs to keep her mouth shut about us, then she will.”

Scarlett shakes her head. “No. I want her to think this is real.” Her hands land on her hips, eyes narrowing as she dares me to argue with her over this.

Argue I will. “Why? Why is it so important that she thinks we are a couple?”

“It just is.” She shrugs.

I search her face and then it hits me. I see the insecurity in her eyes. She feels threatened by her daughter. And she should. I would take Madison over Scarlett a million times over. “Tell her the truth,” I demand.

She stomps her foot like a child. “Why is it soimportant to youthat Madison knows the truth?”

“It’s not. I just don’t want her getting the wrong impression about us. Don’t want her getting attached to me, thinking I am going to be her newdaddy.” The innuendo goes straight over Scarlett’s head. Thankfully. I would love to be my dove’sdaddybut not in the traditional way. I don’t want to take her to school dances and buy her ice creams. No. I want to fill her with my cock. Spank her ass. Choke her with my dick. Wrap a hand around her delicate throat while I pound her pussy... fuck, now I am getting hard.

“Madison isn’t like that. She won’t get attached.” She waves me off, but I am over this conversation.

Pushing off the counter, I drop my jug in the sink, needing to get out of here before Scarlett notices my hardening cock and thinks it’s because of her. “I don’t care. Do it. Tell her that this ‘relationship,’” I air quote. “Is nothing more than a transaction that benefits the both of us.”

Scarlett’s face screws up and she looks positively raging. “Why can’t you just try? We could be good together, Knox.”

I laugh but it’s humorless. “Yeah. No. Never going to happen.” With those as my parting words, I leave Scarlett standing in the kitchen and make my way upstairs to beat one out.

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