The Lover Beneath Me(22)

“It was a good thing I told you,” I said sarcastically, remembering how angry he was and how hard his punch was when I told him everything I had done to Addie.

“If you told me sooner, I wouldn’t have let Addie anywhere near you,” he said angrily.

“No offense, Darren, but Addie was always mine,” I spat out, annoyed at him for thinking it could have stopped me.

“Addie would have been mine,” he snarled.

“Don’t piss me off, Darren.” I glared at him. Darren never once told me he had a thing for Addie at school, not that it mattered much. I knew my girl and her heart would never fall for him. She needed someone to push her, to tell her off. Darren would only placate her, tell her what she wanted to hear.

My phone vibrated. It was Jimmy. “Yeah,” I answered, still not taking my eyes off the man who not only was my closet friend, but also my rival.

“Mrs. Evans…” he stopped. “She’s made reservations for tomorrow at Eleven Madison Park.”

I smiled to myself, knowing why she went there. “Thanks, Jimmy.”

“So you’re having her stalked. She’s going to love that,” Darren hissed.

“That’s the thing, Darren.” I stood and threw a twenty on the bar. “You don’t know Addie like I do. You have no fucking clue who she is.”

“Yeah, like you do,” he said curtly.

I laughed as I walked away from him. I did know her. She was my little succubus, the one who held my beating heart, the one who haunted me at night as I dreamed of her sweet heat.

Addie always knew how to take me by surprise. I loved and hated it about her. She never once showed me an ounce of fear, not in high school and not now. Not that I wanted her too, but fear I could deal with; her assertiveness, I couldn’t control.

Fear in my world was the norm. I ruled high school with it and now my business. Money got you what you want so did the fear of losing it, which most felt when I dealt with them. Addie on the other hand, Addie was different. She wanted the money, more like needed it, but she acted like she couldn’t care less. Most would do what they were told to; but not her. She ruled our twisted relationship. I was going to do what I could to have power over her. I’d made our relationship distorted and wrong, but what choice did I have? Tell her how I felt? That I cared about her? That I wanted her in every aspect of my life? Addie would have laughed in my face and told me to fuck off. This way, I could be with her, despite her hating me. It didn’t bother me if she did. I wanted her and it didn’t matter what I had to do. So what if I wanted to possess her? Addie was my woman and she would always be.

The day Addie found out the truth was the day my world became desolate and bleak. Her big, beautiful hazel eyes, with hints of green, glistened as tears brimmed. That look would haunt me until the day I died. I’d never forget her demanding I tell the truth, that if I told her it wasn’t true, she’d believe me. But I couldn’t lie to her anymore. I wanted more with Addie and the lie would only take away the sweet heart that beat inside her. I needed to man up, so I figured I’d tell her and deal with the consequences now rather than later. I know what I did, but fuck it. I did all for her. I was scared she’d leave me. It terrified me the most. I finally knew what it meant to love someone, yet I fucked it all up.

When the word divorce escaped her lips, it was as if I was shot. She said she wouldn’t leave me, but then again, she didn’t know the whole truth about the type of bastard I was. Once I admitted just how much I loved her, there was no fucking way I could force her to stay. The old Daimon would have. The old Daimon would have made her stay right next to him, nailing her to his side, but she changed me. I was no longer the selfish prick I was before. So I let her go. I let the one thing that let me feel truly loved out of my life.





Wedding Anniversary


I stepped outside Darren's bar. The fucker always pissed me off when it came to Addie, acting like he was her protector. I would watch her and Darren together when she worked here. They looked so happy and at ease in each other’s company. I hated every minute she was with him. I was afraid that each minute she spent with him was a minute closer to choosing him and a minute away from losing her.

It pissed me off to see her the way she looked back then. Not only was it ridiculous having her work two fucking jobs, but the fucker, my friend, my best friend decided to work her into the ground instead of helping her. She looked exhausted, overworked and underpaid. Darren didn’t realize he didn’t help matters by hiring her. The asshole even thought he was helping her. The funny thing was, before Addie, he was my friend. Now every time I saw him, I couldn’t help but see someone trying to take her away from me. If I was a better man, I would let him, but I'm not. Addie, for whatever reason, was mine and no one could have her but me. I knew from the beginning this was going to be a fight and I never wanted one with Darren. I loved him as a brother, but Addie, Addie was mine.