Page 20 of The Addict

She blinked, eyeing me carefully. Moments elapsed, and just when I thought I would have to ask her again, she nodded solemnly, looking away in shame.

Poor girl. I could tell that she had no clue what to do, let alone who to trust. I was a stranger to her too, I realized. This position currently placed me in a lot of power, and she was probably fearing I would do the same to her as Silas tried to do. Quickly, I pressed one number on my phone, and I had my driver on the line.

“I’m at the bar down the road, come pick me up.” I ended the call without needing to say more.

I looked back at her. “Hey,” I said softly. “Ride is on the way.”

The girl didn’t budge.

Suddenly, she looked back up at me and our eyes met again. God, I thought, feeling the air vanish from my lungs. She was so beautiful.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me,” I said softly.

Instantly, I regretted saying that because she started crying again. Had I done something wrong?

After a moment, her eyes closed and she smiled up at me. “Thank you, thank you,” she repeated, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

What an extraordinary smile.

“No problem,” I breathed, reaching out my hand to her, desperate to know her name.

“I’m Noah Hansen.”

She shakily placed her hand in mine. I squeezed it, loving the warmth.

“I’m Delane. Delane Marsh.”

My smile grew and I cupped my second hand around hers, easing her to a stand. “Delane,” I repeated. “It’s good to meet you.” I couldn’t imagine what would have happened had I not returned to the alley.

I couldn’t save my mom.

I couldn’t save myself, even.

But I saved her. I saved Delane. I was exactly where I needed to be when it counted. For the first time ever, a tiny sliver of me felt like I had a purpose.

And that meant something to me more than she’d ever know.

Chapter six

Mine

SILAS

Ialways allowed my obligations to blanket the lust I had for Noah. I was able to effectively ignore him for the majority of our childhood. We were often thrust together when large community events occurred, duties of our families and their statuses. But other than that, I tried to avoid him like the plague.

It clearly didn’t work.

He first started showing up to the clubs I frequented when he was sixteen—the little delinquent—and not only did I have to ignore him as a minor illegally in a place where I did business, but I had to pretend like I didn’t see how he threw himself on other people. Women and men alike.

And how much I wished I could switch places with them.

I thought that was when the need for him grew. More than what it was before: an itch. I had begun dreaming about those raven colored eyes and hair nightly. My body burned for Noah. I couldn’t count how many times I got off to the memory of how his face looked in the club, staring at me amidst the neon colored backdrops and vibrating music. He knew I was there for the same things as him. He knew we were one and the same. Same desires.

He was smart enough to know not to interact with me then. To be honest, I wouldn’t have known what to do if he had approached me. I would have been tempted to drag him into a private room and ravish him. Still, he acknowledged me on those late nights. I recalled him sitting in the lap of someone’s grungy ass, biker uncle. That evening in particular, he stared at me from across the room the entire time they tongued. He knew I was watching him. He ate that shit up.

And fuck, it made me hard.

I knew Noah wanted me then. At least, I hoped he did.