Copyright © 2019 by Shantel Davis
All rights reserved
Singleton Press
Cover Designer: TakeCover Designs
Interior Designer: Infinity Book Covers
Book Editor: Nicole Singleton
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Contents
Copyright
Title Page
P r o l o g u e
O N E
T W O
T H R E E
F O U R
F I V E
S I X
S E V E N
E I g H T
N I N E
T E N
E L E V E N
T W E L V E
T H I R T E E N
F O U R T E E N
F I F T E E N
S I X T E E N
S E V E N T E E N
E I G H T E E N
N I N E T E E N
T W E N T Y
T W E N T Y - O N E
T W E N T Y - T W O
T W E N T Y - T H R E E
T W E N T Y - F O U R
T W E N T E Y - F I V E
T W E N T Y - S I X
T W E N T Y - S E V E N
T W E N T Y - E I G H T
E P L O G U E
A B O U T T H E
A D A M
&
E V e
Shantel Davis
P r o l o g u e
My want for her—from the very beginning—had always been wicked, immoral, and frightening. The intensity of it scared even me, and nothing ever scared me. She made me feel for the first time in my life. For a man like me, that was terrifying, but it was also fucking exhilarating. Soon, my want turned into need, and then obsession. From there, it developed into full-blown addiction. She became all that I thought of.
If I was a better, less selfish man, I would have forced myself to stay away from her. We were from two different worlds; one light, one dark. I knew the darkness of my world would inevitably swallow her whole. But I couldn’t let her go. I wouldn’t even lie and say I’d tried. I hadn’t. Every fiber of my being screamed that Eve was mine. She was meant for me. I could live without her, but I didn’t want to.
I was rational enough to know that she wasn’t ready for me, though. She was too naive, too innocent, too young. I’d break her. So, in silence I’d suffered. Watching, wanting, waiting, needing only her. She was always right within my reach but never close enough to touch. Until… I took her.
O N E
Now I had her, and it still didn’t seem real to me. It was a chore to keep myself from reaching out and touching her. I needed to make sure it wasn’t a dream or some surreal fantasy my mind had conjured up after finally breaking from reality and giving me what I’d wanted for so long. I blinked once, then twice before I closed my eyes and drew in a calming breath. The scent of her enveloped me. It was ambrosia, honeyed-vanilla and something that was unique to only her.
My cock thickened, and my thoughts shifted to explicitness without much effort. Did she taste as good as she smelled? My mouth watered in anticipation of the moment when I would find out. Licking my lips, I could almost taste her. There was so much I wanted to do to her, with her. For her. But, for the moment, all I could do was wait.
For hours, I sat, watching her, listening to her light snores. I was so in tune with her I could feel the exact moment she awakened. The air in the room crackled with electricity. Goosebumps danced across my skin. Her eyes fluttered and her lips, full and plush, curled into a smile, a smile that caused my heart to beat a quick staccato against my chest. Sweat slickened my palms.
To say I’d imagined her waking up just like this a million times wouldn’t have been an exaggeration. Damn, she was beautiful. Her skin glowed. The darkness was a startling contrast against the white sheets and vastly different from mine, which was another problem on its own. In my world, like married like. That meant she wouldn’t have been accepted in my circle. I couldn’t care less about that now.
I wanted to savor the moment, but it wasn’t long before she realized today would not be like other days. The panic on her face pulled at me. It took everything in me not to go to her, comfort her. I forced myself to wait.
What would happen next?
Would she scream?
Cry?
Beg?
I drew in a deep breath then held it for a spell. After a few moments, my chest burned, and I felt like I would suffocate. However, I didn’t dare breathe. I couldn’t ruin the moment. Wouldn’t.
Thirty-nine seconds… That was how long it took her to realize she couldn’t move. As a precaution, I’d tied both her arms and legs to the bed. Frantically, she scanned the room, searching the darkness for something. She couldn’t see me. I’d hidden in the shadows, as always.
Tilting her head, her eyes zeroed in on the spot where I stood. She’d sensed me in the darkness, proving that she was just as in sync with me as I was with her. She tugged roughly against the ropes. She was afraid, but she didn’t cry. I was proud of her for not crying.
Show yourself, my mind screamed.
I stepped into the light then put all my emotions behind my signature smile. Women usually swooned at the sight of it. It was charming and disarming so I’d been told. Too bad it was a façade—a veil I hid behind. Eve had been the only person to ever see through the disguise.
It was a shame more people in the world weren’t like her. They’d be safer if they were, but most humans were so shallow that all it took was a nice suit and the flash of pearly white teeth for them to trust someone. She knew better. That was what had drawn me to her. She’d seen the monster inside me, and she wasn’t afraid. Cautious, but not afraid.
Her first scream startled me from my thoughts. Our eyes connected. In hers, I saw more anger than fear. There was too much distance between us. I took two short strides toward her.
Violently, she shook her head. “Stay away from me.” Her voice was cold and alarming.
Her reaction bothered me. I stopped and dropped my shaking hands to my side. Stay away? Why? She should’ve wanted me near. She was mine, and I was hers. I did everything I could to rein in the tide of rising anger that engulfed me.
“Don’t do that. Don’t push me away,” I roared, sounding menacing to my own ears, which was why I was not surprised when her eyes grew large with terror. Her struggle against her restraints became even more intense than before while her screams grew louder.
Ignoring her hysterics, I made my way to her. When I was close enough to reach out and touch her, I stopped. While I wanted to feel her, I didn’t want it to be against her will. Suddenly, she froze. Mid-scream, she tilted her head and examined me. She gasped, and her pretty eyes narrowed. Recognition set in.
Yes! That was the moment I’d been waiting for.
“Is this some kind of sick joke?” she barked. “Untie me, now!” She feverishly redoubled her efforts to get loose.
If looks could kill, I thought. When I made no attempts to untie her, she devolved, started throwing a tantrum. The words she directed at me were venomous. Her beautiful mouth was lethal, and I had to remember to tak
e nothing she said in the heat of the moment personally.
“Calm the fuck down,” I snapped, regretting it almost immediately, I calmed my tone and explained, “The ropes aren’t meant to keep you hostage.”
She snarled in response and snatched against the ropes so hard the headboard hit the wall with a loud thud. “Then why the hell am I tied up?”
“Enough! Stop fucking moving. Stop yelling and let me talk.”
I didn’t know if it was the bass in my voice or the threat of the hunting knife I’d pulled from my pants pocket that stilled her. But I was glad she had stopped her futile attempts to get away. Didn’t she know I wouldn’t hurt her? I calmed my voice and told her, “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
She threw me a look of disdain before glancing at her hands. For the first time, she examined the ropes that tied her to the bed, our bed— in our house— like they were snakes. She didn’t know all of this was ours. Not yet, but she would learn soon enough. I’d built all of it for us and our future children.
“Why am I here?” she asked.
“Because of your actions. I didn’t want to take you, I swear. I had planned to wait, but you forced my hand.”
I hadn’t wanted the beginning of our lives to start as such, but her actions, and hers alone, had forced me to act prematurely. This was what I had to do. I had a plan that I’d painstakingly followed. I’d never considered myself to be a patient man, but I’d been patient with her. For three years, I’d waited. Although I wanted her to come to me willingly, waiting had become too hard when she’d met him.
I couldn’t take it. Day after day, watching them together. They were getting too close.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Our happily ever after had been so close, and she was on the verge of ruining it.
What had been so special about him?
“Why not me, Eve?” I asked, demanding she answer me.
I knew my current mindset was too extreme, but I couldn’t get my heart to realize it. I needed answers. She’d spent nearly four years ignoring me, pretending she didn’t know I existed. But after only a few months, she was ready to love him? That was unacceptable. Why him? After all these years, why hadn’t she chosen me? She knew I was there, waiting patiently. How could she have not seen me when I was always right there, protecting her from the world that meant to do her harm?
Long seconds passed, and when she didn’t answer, I felt insecure. She stared at me like I was a fucking lunatic … like she was confused. Self-doubt and animosity crept in, causing my head to pound. Could I have been wrong? Taking a deep breath, I exhaled the truth. No! I was right about everything. There was no need for such trivial thoughts now that she was here.
She was locked in with me, without outside influences. She would have no choice but to see we were meant for one another. I expected her to resist and to fight. I looked forward to it. It was what any sane woman would do. I would endure it all. There would come a time when she would beg for me to take her, to make love to her. Her surrender would be all that much sweeter. I had to admit, it was not the ideal plan, but it was all I had.
This shouldn’t be all you have! You had plans, my mind screamed. This is Michael’s fucking fault.
He was the one to blame for this. I should have killed him.
You might have. You hit him in the head with a fucking crow bar, you idiot!
I ignored the voice in my head. He—the voice—never had anything positive to say. Besides, I didn’t hit Michael all that hard. He would wake up. I just hoped it was with one hell of a fucking headache.
He deserved whatever pain I’d caused him and more. I couldn’t believe he thought I would sit back and allow him to take her from me. I’d watched them walk hand-in-hand into that hotel. I imagined all the dirty, filthy things he wanted to do with her. There was no way I would allow that to happen. She was mine. Her pussy. Her heart. Her mind. Her soul.
Out of my peripheral I saw her watching as I paced, probably trying to figure out what I would do next.
Fear and uncertainty were in her eyes when she asked, “Who are you talking to?”
I ignored her question. “You shouldn’t fear me. I’d never hurt you,” I said before giving her my back.
I needed a minute to myself to rein in my anger. Thinking about all her betrayals made me furious. We couldn’t have a real conversation, not when I was so bent out of shape.
Trying another tactic, she pleaded, “Please, please. Let me go. I won’t tell anybody.”
From the slight tremble of her voice, I assumed those were manipulative tears running from her hazel eyes down her onyx cheeks.
“Who would believe you if you did tell?”
My response was condescending, but it was also the truth. She’d be laughed out of Florida if she went to the police with a story of being kidnapped by me, and she damn well knew it. That was why she didn’t reply. What she had to say was irrelevant anyway; she wouldn’t be going anywhere to tell anyone anything. I was tempted to tell her just that. Instead I chose to remain silent and unmoved by her fake tears.
She was mine, and I was hers. We were meant to be together, created only for each other. She was broken like me. I saw the cracks in her armor. This was what had to happen. I reassured myself mentally while pacing back and forth in front of the large king-sized bed. The adrenaline coursing through my veins wouldn’t allow me to sit or stand still.
After getting myself under control, I turned to face her. “Why didn’t you ever see me?”
She pulled her eyes from the spot on the wall, her face stained with fake tears. If I didn’t know any better, I would have believed she really didn’t know what I was asking her. But I did know better. For four years I’d been there. She had to have sensed me, watching and protecting her. I was certain of it.
“Why did you never see me?” I repeated the question in a roar that caused her to jump. “You never acknowledge me. Why Davis? Why Michael? Why not me? What was so special about them? What about them caught your attention? Why ignore me? For years, you’ve avoided and fought what was happening between us. I need fucking answers.” I resorted to pounding my fist angrily against my chest because it was the only thing I could do to keep from grabbing and shaking some sense into her.
Her only response was to stare at me as if I was crazy. The contemptuous look in her eyes told me she thought I was about as sane as any random person in a nut house. I was not fucking crazy! Why was she looking at me like I was? Maybe she was in shock because of my outburst? I needed to calm down. Our relationship couldn’t start off like that. Nothing would be accomplished if I continued as I was.
I decided to leave her be and have a moment alone with my thoughts. I loosened my grip on the knife I’d forgotten I was holding and placed it back into my pocket. She visibly relaxed, but not to the point that she wasn’t still on guard. Her lips trembled but her chin stayed strong.
Eve blinked rapidly as I watched her watch me. I could see it in her eyes. She was plotting while I fought against the urge to reach out and touch her, but it was a losing battle. Anxiously, I moved toward her, reached for her, and she flinched away. Her rejection hurt. It was okay though. Time healed all wounds. And all we had was time.
I took a step back and tossed my hands up in submission. “Fine. It’s fine. It’s okay. I won’t touch you, and we don’t have to talk now. We have all the time in the world to work our problems out. Don’t worry. I still want you, and when you decide to tell me the truth, I’ll forgive you.” Backing further away from the bed, I gave her the space she wanted. “We’ll talk later,” I reiterated. “I just wanted you to know that I’m not angry with you. I’m angry at all the time wasted.”
The crocodile tears began again. “What are you talking about? I barely know you,” she wheezed out between fake sobs.
Her denial enraged me. However, when I spoke up, I managed to keep my tone more even and calm than I felt. “You know very well what I’m talking about. You chose to ignore me and
not them. You hurt me purposely by flaunting them in front of me. They weren’t meant for you. How could you do that to me? Pretend you wanted them when we could have so much between us?”
Adam & Eve- a Tale of Obsession Page 1