“It isn’t polite to stare, although I do believe I know what you are thinking,” a deep, mesmerizing voice says, a few steps away from the counter.
I gasp as my eyes drift from the couple in the right corner to Jules who is standing to my left. “Jules,” I say, breathlessly, eagerly. My heart pounds and I’m honestly ecstatic to see him here in his usual coffee shop, most likely to see me.
“A pleasure to see you as well, Alexandria.” My bones turn into warm sap as he rolls my name off of his tongue. He truly does have a habit of making my name sound so beautiful—especially with that accent. He steps toward the counter, his hands tucked in the front pocket of his jeans that aren’t too loose or too tight. He is smiling and this is a first because he usually rushes in here with a scowl and a deadly glare. But not today. He has a spark in his brown eyes and his face is calm, mellow. He is glorious today and as I spot the black tie and white collar, I realize that he isn’t dressed like how he usually would be. He’s half casual, half formal. But I would say that he is more casual than formal because he has black and white Chuck Taylor’s on his feet.
“What’s the occasion?” I ask, aiming to avoid the conversation of him knowing what I was thinking about the couple.
“Ah,” he exclaims, glancing down as he unzips his leather jacket to reveal his white button up and shiny black tie. Of course, his white button-up shirt isn’t tucked in which makes him definitely look more casual than formal. “I have been asked to join a few important people for lunch this afternoon. They want to talk more on what I will be presenting this Saturday and I must admit that I am running late, but I thought I’d swing by to say hullo.” He grins and my face spreads to form a bold smile. Wow, he stopped by to see me—and is risking the chance of being late . . . for me? Oh, Jules.
“That is sweet of you,” I say, fiddling with the black pen in front of me.
He watches me roll my fingers along the pen against the marble counters then returns his gaze to meet mine again. “You look exhausted, did you sleep well?”
“I slept great, but my morning started off roughly,” I admit, purposely avoiding the part where Felix showed up at my doorstep again.
Jules nods then tilts his head. “I sense that there is something more.” He takes his final step forward, now being less than an inch away from the counter. Oh, how glad am I to have it between us right now? “You do know that it is impossible to hide things from me, Alexandria. You are my mate. I can read you like a book.” He presses his lips into a fine, intimidating line and I sigh with a shrug.
“Well, hello!”
I turn to my right quickly, spotting Mindy who is showing off all of her white teeth to Jules, her lips finely glossed, and her shirt purposely tugged down to reveal more cleavage. She must have seen he was here and made herself “sexier” for him. My gut wrenches and I try to hold off on scowling at her but I must admit that I am glad that she has intruded. I don’t want him scanning me and pushing me for answers. I don’t want to speak about Felix with him.
Jules drifts his gaze from me to Mindy but his face is still hard and his eyes are unreadable. Does he find her fascinating? Is he staring at her tits? I wouldn’t know because I’m no longer looking at him to find out. Instead, my eyes are focused on the grey marble counters.
“My name is Mindy. I work here . . . with Alexandria,” she states.
Obviously.
I sneak a peek at Jules who only gives a slight nod of his head at her before his eyes are on me again. “I must say that it is smashing to meet you, Mindy,” he says, his eyes softening and triggering with adoration. “Most know me as Jules Maddox.” He reaches his hand out to her while giving her a wicked, heart-melting smile. My gut clenches again. Is he . . . is he flirting with her? The blood rushes to my cheeks quickly.
Mindy giggles her annoying giggle that she does when she is complimented. “Thank you.” She bats her eyelashes while shaking his hand that I’m sure she won’t let go of for quite a while. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”
I stare at Jules, confused on what he is doing and why the hell he would do this in my face. I know he can be blunt and rude at times, but this rude? Well, I must say that I am shocked and extremely bothered by it. Why is it bothering me so much? Why do I care if he flirts with Mindy? I don’t care that much, do I? We all know that is never smashing to meet someone like Mindy unless you want her in your bed. Jules looks from me to Mindy again, this time with a smug smile.
“Mindy, I see that you have run out of blueberry muffins and I would really love one, preferably from you. You wouldn’t mind running back to grab me one, would you?” he asks with so much charm that I just want to punch him in his face right now.
I look from Jules to Mindy who is blushing, grinning, and nodding her head as she finally releases his hand. “Of course! Be right back!” she says without bothering to take her eyes off of him.
“Take your time,” Jules insists. We both watch as she dips around the corner and in an instant, I am spinning around to face Jules with so much anger, so much fury, and so much hurt that I could snap. I want to knock him back and throw hot coffee at his face. Did he really just let this happen? Did he really just show interest to Big-Boob Mindy right after he has just told me that he loves me? I can’t be the mate of anyone with such indecency.
“Are you upset with me?” Jules asks, smirking.
That completely sets me on edge. Upset with you? I am furious with you! “You were flirting with her in my face, Jules. What the hell is your problem?” I ask, fuming.
He chuckles lightly. “You are jealous,” he points out.
Jealous? Damn it. He’s right. I am jealous and at the thought of it, my cheeks burn even more. He’s embarrassed me, like always.
“You should just leave,” I mutter then fold my arms.
“I really don’t believe my leaving will help you solve anything, Alexandria. Don’t push your problems away. Say what is on your mind.”
Say what is on my mind? He really wants me to go there? I honestly don’t think he will ever speak to me again if I really say what is on my mind. “Jules, please just—”
“Do you see how it feels?” he asks, cutting me off mid-sentence with furrowed brows. I mimic his expression by frowning but my glare is a bit puzzled. “Do you see how it feels when someone you have feelings for shows attention to someone else? Do you realize how annoying it is? You saw Felix sometime between last night and this morning and you weren’t even going to tell me.” His joking banter fades and he is no longer smirking. He is frowning; his face is creasing negatively into folds. “I feel him on you—everywhere, Alexandria—and I don’t like it.” He stares down at me, his brown eyes solid, upset, but most of all, damaged. Wow. I’ve hurt him. Ugh, why does he have to feel and know everything that I feel and know anyway? This is the exact reason why I didn’t want to tell him—because I know his reaction would have been like this. Just a few seconds ago he had a spark in his eyes, he was smiling and beyond happy to see me. What happened to that? Was it just a bluff to get to the heart of why he’d really shown up?
Mindy stumbles around the corner, empty-handed, and Jules steps back, his face still hard like granite. “I can’t find the muffins,” she whines.
“Keep looking, please,” he orders.
She grins. “Okay.” I watch her run to the back again quickly before I return my gaze to Jules. He didn’t flirt with her this time. He was being casual. I should have known that him asking for blueberry muffins was an excuse to get her out of the way. He doesn’t even eat those when he comes here.
“I really came here to see if you would tell me but I see that you still don’t trust me yet,” he mutters. “You still can’t leave him alone—even after all that I’ve told you. And until you can, I won’t show my face around you anymore. I’m not sure about what you want, Alexandria.” His hard features weaken, his eyes no longer on me. He has it all wrong—well most of it. I am still fond of Felix but it wasn’t like that. I h
ad no intentions of being wrapped in his arms and having him tell me that he wants to give me whatever my heart truly desires.
“Jules, I’m sorry,” I mumble with glistening eyes.
“Don’t be. It is obviously what you want so I’ll leave it at that. If the Leaders are to come for me, I will accept their punishment and tell them to keep you out of it. Life isn’t worth living if I can’t share it with you, Alexandria.” He keeps a hold of my eyes before tearing his gaze away and taking a few steps back. He is willing to risk his life . . . for me? I’m not even worth it.
“Jules, please,” I beg in a whisper. “It wasn’t like that this morning, I swear. I didn’t know he was going to show up!”
“But you obviously have stronger feelings for him than you do for me. I cannot win you over if you will just continue to fall into his arms behind my back, Alexandria. There is no point.” He turns around, taking a few steps away as he reaches to zip his jacket. “Oh, also,” he calls, spinning back around to face me. “I um . . .” He pauses, his eyes drifting. “I made something for you that I will leave at your doorstep. It was going to be a surprise but since I won’t be able to see your reaction to it, I feel it is best to tell you—as a heads up.” His face strains as he looks me over. “Enjoy the rest of your evening, Alexandria.” He turns to walk off again but this time he doesn’t turn back around to look at me. Not once. He continues to make his way out of the door and I don’t stop staring out of the clear, wide windows until he has disappeared around the corner.
What have I done? I am so confused about all of this. What is there to say to someone that obviously loves you but you don’t feel the same way—can’t feel the same way just yet? And how do you avoid an overbearing architect that will do anything just to have you? Damn, this is bad.
“Hey, where did Jules go?” Mindy asks, her green eyes wide. Her bottom lip is pouting and for once in my life I just want to be relentless and tell her off—to let her know that he isn’t interested because he loves me. At least I think he still loves me. He’s deeply impaired because of me and now he might be trying to get rid of his feelings . . . because of me. I groan as I stare down at the pen on the counter, letting my anger boil into guilt.
FALLEN
It’s six in the afternoon and as soon as I reach my apartment door, I hear the bass of music booming inside of the apartment. I take my key out to unlock the door but it is already unlocked. I barge in, the music blaring out at me, loud enough to knock me back out.
Liam has to be high. That’s the only time that he plays Kid Cudi on the highest volume. But I must admit that I love Kid Cudi. He’s mellow and truly interesting to listen to. He’s different which is what I like. Uniqueness.
I rush around the corner, spotting Liam with mussed hair, the buttons of his striped blue shirt undone, and staring out of a window. He is completely out of it. I shrug out of my coat and he obviously can’t hear me over the music so I’ll take advantage of the situation by sneaking up on him. He does it to me all of the time and right now is the perfect opportunity. Why not be weird? I tip toe across the tan carpet, careful to step over the bag of Doritos on the floor and the CD’s scattered around. He sighs and just as he is about to turn around, I stop and grin as hard as I can with my hands behind my back, pretending that I’ve been standing behind him for quite some time. Really creepy, but really fun.
“Hi, Liam!” I yell over the music as soon as his eyes meet mine. His green eyes widen and if it weren’t for the window being closed, he would have jumped out of it in a heartbeat.
“Jeez, Alexandria!” he screeches, his hand clamping the heart of his chest. He steps away from the window while scowling at me and I can’t help but to clutch myself and fall back on the sofa, bursting with laughter. He reaches for the stereo beneath the television and turns it down to an appropriate volume.
“Did I scare you?” I ask, sitting forward.
“Noo, you think?” he asks lazily, attempting to sound sarcastic but he’s failed. He slumps down on the sofa beside me then wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Feels like I haven’t spent time with you in ages, Zandy. I miss you.” He pulls me in and our cheeks smash together. I really can’t stand when he calls me Zandy. It sounds so otherworldly. But I guess I should get used to that. After all, I am a Guardian Angel.
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” I ask as he pulls away. “You’re home earlier than usual.”
“I hired another manager last week and he’s taking over for me for the night. I need a breather,” he sighs. I nod but then he sits forward to rest on the edge of the couch and look at me, almost too quickly to seem real. He has a bad habit of being swift—sometimes it freaks me out. “Hey, what do you say we go out and get a couple of drinks? I think we have some catching up to do and I miss hanging with my sissy.” He pouts his bottom lip playfully and I giggle.
“I miss hanging with my Lemon, too.” Liam tells me that when I was a toddler, I called him Lemon instead of Liam. He finds it annoying but I find it very cute.
He scowls. “Don’t call me that.” He stands to his feet and looks down at me, his eyes lower and lazier than usual. “So, drinks?” he breathes.
“Of course. But I’m driving.”
“What makes you think you are getting behind the wheel of my truck?” He gives me a mocking smile as I stand to walk around him.
“You drive like a snail when you’re high, Liam.”
He laughs but it is one of his long laughs that seem to never end. One of his high laughs. I roll my eyes and head for my room. “As soon as I get changed, I’ll be ready,” I call out but he is still chuckling like too much of an idiot to have even heard what I’d said.
****
Thirty-five minutes later and I’m sitting in front of the black marble counter of one of the most expensive bars in New York City. I told Liam that I am trying to save my money but he said he would pay for whatever I wanted so I stopped complaining. But the place is huge and the bar is really long, fit for more than fifty people. It’s more of a club than a bar to me because there are tons of people on the floor, dancing and grinding on one another with drinks in their hands.
There are six bartenders, all in charge of one section and, of course, we are stuck with a big-boobed blonde with too much cleavage showing that I can’t take but what Liam can’t seem to get enough of.
“Can I get another Platinum?” Liam asks, handing the bartender a ten dollar bill. “Keep the change.” She bats her eyelashes at him as she grabs the money.
“Thank you,” she beams then reaches under the bar to grab a Budweiser Platinum out of the ice. She uncaps it, slides it to him, and he winks before taking a big swig. I bite back on a giggle as I take a small sip of my mango margarita on the rocks. Sweet, tangy, refreshing, and just how I like it. I want to drink a bit more and drown out all that I have gone through, seen, and heard but I have to hold off on that because my idiotic brother is past the acceptable limit of drinking to drive anywhere.
“I have to take a leak, Zandy. Be back,” Liam mutters. I scrunch my nose in disgust. He can be so impetuous sometimes and not even realize it. I watch as he trots off but as he stumbles to make his way across, it bothers me to see him drinking so much. Does he stupefy himself purposely just so he won’t have to think of the past, mom, dad, or even what may have happened to me? I can see how it is a habit of his now but ever since Jules has told me that he knows Liam, I can’t help but to feel suspicious about him and his drug/drinking problem.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting to see you here, beautiful,” a deep, silky voice ringing with too much familiarity says from behind me.
I turn around slowly, stiffly, uneasily and spot Felix. He has on a pair of khaki’s and a button-up, white-collared shirt that is rolled up at the sleeves, revealing his firm, but slightly hairy, forearms. The way he is dressed seems to be his casual look but to me he still looks like a business man. “Felix,” I acknowledge, trying to sound excited but I’m sure I’ve just failed. He grins with
a glass cup in his hand, half-full with brown liquid.
“I must say, Alexandria, you are quite the beauty tonight.” He steps closer, drinks me in, and a part of me fidgets uncomfortably while the other part of me is ecstatic by his compliment. I pull my lips in and, without invitation, he sits to my left while continuing to eye me.
“What brings you here?” I ask, hoping that he isn’t the stalking type either.
“I own the place. Drew it out and everything.” He flashes a broad smile.
“Oh. That explains the six bartenders and the forty-seater bar,” I tease.
He chuckles as he places his drink down on the counter. He eyes me then leans in closer to me quickly, wrapping his hand around mine, and locking eyes with me. It all happens so fast—way before I can even blink at him. “What fascinates me about you is that you don’t keep in touch like most women do. You don’t beg for my attention, ask for my number, nothing,” he whispers coolly, leaning in to touch his lips against my ear, sending soothing goose bumps to crawl along my skin.
“That’s most likely because I’m not most women.”
He quirks his usual eyebrow. “I realize that now and I must say that it’s a huge turn on. I am a working man but for someone to make me work harder—well, she is very brave to do such a crazy thing.” He grins, showing off that perfect smile. His hazel eyes turn soft and goodness he is handsome. Dashingly and utterly handsome—especially with those dimples. But something about his choice of words makes it sound like a warning. Like he knows what game I am playing and will keep at it. “Tell me,” he starts, releasing my hand to pick his glass up again, “who else is pulling the strings of your heart besides me?”
OBTAINED (Book One) Page 8