Her throat bobbed, green eyes swirling with darkness and excitement, like my threat thrilled her. She was fucking insane.
She was lucky the nurse came in to check my vitals—lucky that I couldn’t cause a scene in that hospital, or better yet, toss her ass out of the room. I’d never wanted to hurt a woman as much as I wanted to hurt Kelly. It wasn’t in me to hurt a female…but she was asking for it. She was trying to ruin my life, all for her own selfish needs.
She was the reason all of this had happened and she was going to fucking pay for the damage she’d caused.
Chapter Seven
KELLY
Past
When I first met Quinton, I knew I had to have him.
I had just left group therapy and headed to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee, when I bumped into him.
The first thing I noticed were his eyes. For a man who seemed edgy and mysterious, his eyes were clear and bright with yellow flecks shimmering in the corners of his irises. The next thing I noticed were his hands, and how big they were when they wrapped around my upper arms to steady me.
Then I noticed the way he smelled. Manly and clean and delectable, a trace of nicotine that only increased my desire. Though it was an unhealthy habit, there was something about seeing a man with a cigarette that turned me on completely. A man who defied good morality was truly delicious.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he apologized. My heartbeat sped up several notches at the sound of his deep, silky voice, and his apology suddenly meant nothing. I didn’t care that he was sorry for bumping into me, or the fact that my coffee had spilled all over my skirt and Gucci shoes. All I cared about was having him. Making him mine.
“It’s okay,” I murmured, placing my cup down on the nearest table and picking up a few napkins to wipe myself off. “This blouse wasn’t really a favorite of mine anyway.” There was a familiar chant inside my head as I cleaned myself up—something that begged me to rope him in, get to know more about him. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough to make it happen the first time.
He helped me wipe off my shoes and cleaned up the floor with the napkins from the table nearby, apologizing again for the mess. A buzzer chimed, luring him away from me. I watched him go after he apologized once more, and made a mental note to return the next day.
So I did…because I had to.
I finished talking to my therapist and went to the cafeteria again, hoping I’d bump into the handsome stranger again. I didn’t see him that day. Or the day after, even though I didn’t have therapy.
But the third day after our run-in, I saw him. He was sitting in the cafeteria, across from a woman with thick brown hair that swam to the middle of her back. Her skin was pale, her cheeks hollow, dark circles beneath her eyes. She fidgeted as he spoke to her, and in his eyes I saw the pleas. The desperation. I was too entranced to enter the cafeteria. Too busy staring at him. He was so damn handsome. It was clear he was wealthy. Anyone who had family in Polly Heights had to have money. He was perfect, honestly, and would have made a great fit for me.
The woman repeatedly shook her head, telling him no. He was persistent with whatever he was asking of her though, but she was just as stubborn, from what I could see.
“I told you no, Q! No—goddamn it! I just want to get the hell out of here!” The woman hollered. I could hear her through the door. “I need to get out!”
My eyes widened, and I covered my lips, watching as the handsome man stood up and walked to her side of the table. I couldn’t help going into the cafeteria then. His back was facing me now. I wanted to know what he was telling her. I was desperate to find out, so I sat at the empty table beside theirs to listen.
“Mama, you have to get better, don’t you understand that? I’m so sick of this shit,” he snapped.
“Quinton…please,” she begged. “Please, stop putting me through this. I—I’ve been here for a week and I feel like I’m losing myself—like I’m dying. Don’t you want to make your mother happy?”
“Yes, I want to make you happy, which is why you’re here. When you’re out and clean, you’ll be happy, I promise, Mama. You’ll get that bakery you wanted. You’ll get to travel with me and do fun things. You’ll be living your life again in a better way. For me and Lora.”
“I don’t care about any of that right now,” she moaned. “I just want one line. A sniff—anything, please! It’s all I want—I won’t ask for anything ever again.”