The Addiction by Jaid Black

Author:Jaid Black
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc.
Published: 2016-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Shelli didn’t know what to think or how to feel. John Calder had been the perfect guest all through dinner. He hadn’t said anything about Venus Rising, or even alluded to it. In fact, he’d been so pleasant and entertaining she’d almost found herself believing they were the friends he’d claimed them to be.

Except for the looks. She’d caught him staring at her more than once, his blue eyes raking over her face and breasts. She’d never felt so naked and aware of herself as she had in those moments. Not even up on a stage, where she’d worn nothing but a G-string and stiletto heels.

When they finally reached his car in the long gravel driveway, Shelli stopped and turned to look at John. He was so tall. And those muscles…not even an expensive Italian suit could hide them.

She took a deep breath and found the courage to meet his gaze. “What do you want from me?” she bluntly asked. There was no point in beating around the bush. “Why did you follow me here?”

His gaze bore into hers. He didn’t answer for the longest time, so long in fact that she started to wonder if he ever would.

“I don’t know,” he murmured.

Shelli stilled. She wasn’t certain how to respond. “You…you don’t know?”

He shook his head, the movement almost imperceptible.

“Is it about Lynette? Are you angry that your business deal didn’t go through? I’m sorry if I was the cause of that, but I assure you it wasn’t—”

“Business deal?” John interrupted. He looked confused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Their conversation grew stranger by the moment. “Lynette said something about a John Calder and my, uh, dancing, making her lose his business.”

He snorted at that. His gaze, once distant, looked amused. “You’re the worst stripper I’ve ever seen.”

Shelli frowned. “I know!” she snapped. “But thank you for pointing that fact out.”

“You made me laugh. I’d never seen a show quite so inept as yours.”

Her cheeks reddened. She knew she was a lousy stripper, but hearing such a handsome man tell her he’d laughed at her performance still managed to sting her pride. Embarrassed and ashamed, she turned to walk away. A large, strong hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

“I didn’t mean that in a bad way,” John said quickly. “I can see how you’d take it like that, though.”

Shelli’s nostrils flared. She turned around and faced him once again. “You mean there’s a good way to take that statement?”

That quiet sadness returned to his eyes, the same melancholia that had managed to attract and hold her attention as she’d watched him from backstage. This was the most bizarre conversation she’s ever had. Logic dictated that the man was strange and she should run, yet her feet stayed firmly planted on the gravel driveway.

“I hadn’t laughed in a long time,” John said quietly. “It felt…well, it felt nice.”

Silence.

Shelli’s empathetic gaze raked over his face. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He sighed and looked up to the stars. “I shouldn’t have come here.

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