ADDICTED

17

JAMES

She's your employee, not your sub.

I forced myself to mentally repeat that fact over and over again as we approached the hotel. Still, I ached to punish Leah for being so reckless. A bartender? Seriously?

My hands fisted at the image of her kissing his cheek, offering the meathead a flirtatious smile.

Somehow, despite the unfamiliar burn of jealousy gripping me, I was hard as a fucking rock. My mind continued to torment me with thoughts of punishing my naughty employee.

We stepped into the warm, bright lobby and I headed for the elevator. When I glanced over my shoulder, Leah was beelining for the hotel bar.

Grinding my teeth, I turned about face and stomped after her.

"Miss Harris," I scolded.

"I'm getting a snack," she snapped. "Leave me alone. I let you drag me back here when I shouldn't have."

There was a time to her voice that I didn't expect and it rattled me. She sounded injured, emotionally. Had I hurt her? Which part of what I'd said had upset her?

I noticed then as I subconsciously surveyed the crowd around the bar that some people were looking at us. It took all the dwindled might in my bones not to smoosh Leah's little round body into the bar with mine and make it very clear who she was with.

Holy fuck. What had come over me? My emotions felt like a freight train speeding off into an abysmal tunnel without brakes. My throat tightened with a panicky swallow.

"I'm trying to protect you," I spoke lowly for only her ears. "Why do you want to make it hard on me?"

She turned, leaning her back against the bar, and arched a brow at me. "The only thing you need to protect me from is yourself, Mr. Muller. I'm completely capable of protecting myself from my own dangers. I suggest you stop overstepping your boundaries before we both do something we regret."

Her words struck me like a barbed bat. I could read her eyes and her voice, both telling a different story than her words. She was still afraid, though. If only she realized my true intentions, my true desires . . . The only pain I wanted to cause her was the pleasurable kind in my bed.

While I knew she would like that more than she'd ever admit aloud, she wasn't ready for it. Frankly, I wasn't either. Still, I craved her like she was my next breath.

Although it physically pained me, I stepped back and forced myself to breathe. "Goodnight, Miss Harris." My eyes washed down her delectable curves before glaring out at the bar crowd in a steely warning. Then I stiffly strode away.

—(—)—

By morning, I felt marginally better. I had taken a few melatonin tablets and floated into the deepest slumber. I cut out enough time in the morning for a brief run through the city. My shins complained of the asphalt.

I'd spent far too many years running on sidewalks and not spongy forest floors. For the first time, I felt a twinge of longing. I missed my new home.

My eyes scanned this city. She felt so familiar and yet estranged from me. I suddenly couldn't help but see her as a shadowy enemy. One that had held me down for all of my adulthood. I hadn't realized the depth of my loathing for people until this very moment.

All the bodies bustling and bumping along. All the cheap shops and screechy vehicles, conveniences of the bodies. I wanted nothing to do with this anymore.

When I rounded back to the hotel, I showered and dressed in jeans and a collared short-sleeve. We upgraded to first class, so I needed to dress the part.