His Every Desire (Contemporary Romance Box Set)

by Alexis Winter

  I’m going to make this guy pay for what he did to her. I’m going to make damn sure to teach him a lesson, make sure he never thinks he can drug a girl to get what he wants ever again.

  I’m pulling up to his apartment building a little while later. I shut off the car and climb out, hitting the lock button behind me because I don’t trust anyone in this part of town. I let myself into his building and walk up the four flights of stairs until I find his apartment. I knock on the door, and seconds later, it’s being swung open.

  “Decon James?” I ask, just for confirmation. I remember his face. It’s one I’ll never forget.

  “Yeah?” his brows furrow together.

  “Remember me?”

  He looks me up and down. “Nah, should I?”

  I nod. “I bet you won’t forget now,” I say, pulling my fist back and landing a hit to his jaw. He falls backward, and I walk into his apartment. I jump down on top of him and hit him a couple more times. Even though he pulls his arms up to cover his face, he passes out, and I take the opportunity to drag him over to the couch and toss him on it. While he’s out, I start searching through his things. I look through a bookshelf, surprised the worthless asshole even knows how to read. I open the drawer on the end table and find a wooden box. I pull it out an open it, not surprised to see drugs. There’s a bag of weed, a pipe, a bunch of pills, and a vial full of some kind of clear liquid.

  I grab the pills and the vial just as he’s coming to.

  He groans and sits up. “What the fuck,” he mumbles, unaware that I’m still here.

  I move into his line of sight. “Is this what you used to drug Valerie?” I ask, holding up the vial.

  “What? Who?” He’s playing dumb.

  I pull back my fist and land a hit to his stomach, causing him to fall over onto the couch. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

  “Alright. Yeah, yeah that’s what I used.”

  I slide it into my pocket. “How many other girls have you used this on?”

  “None. I never used it before,” he swears. “I wasn’t even going to use it on her, but I was fucking tired of her games, man.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Anger washes its way up to my throat. It burns like acid.

  “I’ve been fucking around with her for months. She’d flirt and make out with me, tease me, lead me to believe that we’d be hooking up, then she’d pull out last minute. I wasn’t thinking, man.”

  “And what about the rape charge you had against you that got dropped?” I ask, still looming over him.

  “How’d you…?” he asks, looking up at me with confusion written across his face.

  “Answer the question,” I demand, pulling my fist back but not swinging it just yet.

  “It was a girl I’d been dating. She caught me cheating and was trying to get back at me.”

  I look down at him, trying to decide if he’s telling the truth or not.

  “Look around, man. Do I look like I have the money to pay her off?” His brown eyes are wide with fear and seriousness.

  I point my finger at him. “If I ever hear of you drugging girls again, you won’t have to worry about me kicking your ass cuz’ you’ll be dead. You better hope the cops find you before I do.” Without another word, I leave the apartment, drugs in my pocket.

  I don’t know why I even bother taking the drugs. He’ll just buy more. But taking it makes me feel like I might, at least, save a couple girls while he’s trying to get more.

  I walk out to the street and walk around the building to the alley. I empty the contents onto the ground, then drop the bottle and crush it with my foot. I still have the pills in my pocket, but I refuse to throw them away where a child could find them. When I get home, I’ll flush them. Finally, I turn around and leave.

  Instead of going back home, I stop at a Johnie’s to grab something for dinner. I’m waiting in a long line outside that stretches the length of the small building to get my Italian beef sandwich and Italian ice, and when I finally get into the small building, I can see out the front windows. My eyes land on Val sitting at the concrete picnic table with another guy. Anger rises in my chest, and it feels like my body has been lit on fire. I turn my back to the window and place my order. A few minutes later, I’m handed a bag and my Italian ice. I walk out the door and around to the front of the building, acting like I didn’t see Val sitting there.

  “Oh, hey,” I say, coming to an abrupt stop.

  She looks up at me, her eyes wide and full of fear. But she puts on a fake smile. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

  I hold up my bag and take a sip of the lemon-flavored ice. “Just swung by for some food.” I look back and forth between her and the guys she’s sitting across from. “You on a date?”

  Her eyes move from me, to him, and back. “I…we’re just hanging out. Brandon is an old friend.”

  I look over at him in time to see his brows furrow together. His mouth opens, but I see her discretely shake her head no.

  I nod. “See ya at the office tomorrow,” I say, forcing myself to let it go.

  She smiles and waves, but I can tell she’s feeling awkward.

  11

  Valerie

  I wasn’t planning on running into Callan while on a date with Brandon, but it’s probably good that he saw it. It says what we did was totally casual, right? I’m not the clingy type. I’m not looking to settle down. I’m twenty-one, for fuck’s sake. All I want to do is enjoy my youth, have fun. Callan and I had a lot of fun last weekend, and I wouldn’t object to doing it again. But based on how he looked at me, he’s pissed that I’m with another guy. That confuses me. I thought Callan, of all people, would understand. He’s never been the one-woman type.

  Brandon walks me to the front door and gives me a quick, polite kiss. “I had a good time tonight.”

  I nod and smile. “Me too. Thank you.”

  “I’ll call you later?”

  I nod. “Sounds good.”

  When he walks away, I open the door and go inside. Mom is already asleep for the night, so I quietly head downstairs to my part of the house. I drop my purse on the table, then kick off my shoes to get comfy on the couch. After about an hour, I stand to put on some pajamas. I quickly change into a pair of stretchy shorty-shorts and tug on a tank top. When I get back to the couch, there’s a text on my phone from Callan.

  I’m outside.

  I frown at the screen but walk upstairs and open the door to head out, but he’s on the front steps. I open the door wider and allow him inside.

  “I—” he starts, but I shush him and motion for him to follow me downstairs.

  Once we’re where Mom can’t hear, I turn to face him. “What are you doing here?” I ask, looking up at him. His blue eyes are glassy and bloodshot. It’s easy to see he’s been drinking.

  “I needed to see you,” he says, reaching for me and pulling me to his chest. His lips land on mine, and suddenly, everything in my head vanishes. I can’t do anything but wrap my arms around his neck and deepen our kiss.

  His hands land on my ass, and he picks me up against him. My legs wrap around his hips. He takes a few steps, pressing my back to the wall before breaking the kiss.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” he whispers against my lips. “I thought I could drink you away, but I can’t. I had to taste you.” He kisses me again, and his words make me melt. I never felt like I meant much to any guy I was with. But Callan, even though we’re not technically together, he makes me feel special, like I’m the only one he wants. I don’t know if he does this with all his girls, but I don’t care. When we’re together, it’s just us.

  “Take me to bed, Callan,” I say in a hushed whisper.

  His mouth smashes against mine hard before he carries me through the room. “Which one is yours?”

  I point in the direction of my room, and he carries me through the door, gently closing it behind us. In the darkness of my room, I can’t see anything. But I don’t need to because he never stop
s touching me, kissing me, talking to me.

  “I don’t know what you did to me, Val. But I can’t stop thinking about you,” he says, pulling down my shorts as he climbs between my legs. “Every time I close my eyes, all I see is you.”

  I push his pants down over his hips and his erection springs free. “I need you, Callan,” I whisper into the darkness as he positions himself at my entrance.

  With one roll of his hips, he slides inside, and we both let out a moan, finally getting what we’ve been missing.

  He pumps into me over and over, making us both call out. The whole time, he holds me close as he claims my body as his own.

  He rolls off of me when we finish, and we’re both left breathless. There’s nothing but silence as we let our bodies get back to normal.

  Finally, he breaks the silence. “Who was the guy?”

  I shrug one shoulder, the one that’s against his so he feels it move. “Just a guy,” I reply.

  “Are you fucking him?” he asks.

  I laugh. “No, it was our first date.”

  “Did you tell him you’re fucking me?”

  “What? No!” I turn my head to look at him. “Why would I do that?”

  He shrugs and sits up, placing his feet on the floor. “I mean, it’s common courtesy, isn’t it? If you have a casual relationship, you don’t fuck anyone else?” He stands up and pulls up his jeans.

  “Whoa, what? A casual relationship? I didn’t realize that’s what we were doing. I thought we were just having fun.” I sit upright, surprised by the sudden turn of events.

  “Yeah, I guess we are. But this doesn’t seem like much fun anymore, so I’m going to get out of here.” He shoves his feet into his shoes and tugs his shirt over his head. “See ya around,” he mumbles, walking out of my bedroom.

  I wrap my sheet around my body and chase after him. Grabbing ahold of his bicep, I spin him around. “What’s gotten into you? You fuck a different girl every night of the week,” I point out.

  “I used to,” he throws in my face. “Until you.” His jaw flexes. “I wasn’t lying when I said I can’t get you off my mind. That isn’t just shit I say to everyone.”

  “Oh,” I mumble, feeling like the world is caving in around me.

  “I thought we were great together, Val. Imagine my surprise when I stumble into you on a date with another guy. How would you have felt if that was another girl and me?”

  I take a deep breath and think it over. “I don’t know, Callan. I…”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. But I guess since you only want me to get laid, I’ll leave. Since that part is over now.” Without another word, he walks up the stairs and lets himself out.

  A part of me feels like shit for hurting him, but the other side says fuck that. I didn’t do anything wrong. There were no rules when we started this. How was I supposed to know? I pull my clothes back on and head upstairs to lock the door. To my surprise, he’s already locked it. I smile to myself. Even when he’s pissed as hell at me, he still thinks of my safety.

  I head back downstairs to get some sleep.

  When I go into the office, I find Callan gone. There’s a voice message on the machine, so I press play.

  “Val, I’m not going to be in today. I’ve sent you an email of what I need done. Thanks.”

  I let out a sigh and can’t help but wonder if this has anything to do with last night. But I push the thoughts away and get my work done.

  I’m walking out of the office at five and my phone rings.

  “Hey, I’m at Bandy’s Bar. Come hang out,” Krista says.

  “Alright,” I agree, mostly because I don’t want to go home and be alone. I know I’ll end up thinking about Callan and how I hurt him.

  I grab a taxi and get dropped off at the bar. Krista is already inside with two glasses and a pitcher.

  “Shitty day?” she asks when I walk in and collapse in the booth.

  “You have no idea.” I pick up the pitcher and pour me a glass.

  Beer has never been my favorite, but after that night, I want to avoid anything that will impact my judgment that quickly. I’ll stick to a couple beers or a glass of wine. That’s it.

  Krista and I sit and talk for several hours and share one more pitcher of beer. Finally, we leave the bar, both of us getting in separate cabs since we’re heading opposite directions.

  I sit in the backseat and watch the traffic go by. My mind begins to wander, and of course, it wanders to Callan. I’m halfway home when I tell the cab to turn around.

  An hour later, we’re pulling up to his house. I slip the driver some money, then walk to his door. I knock a couple of times, and he opens it. He looks at me, and I look at him. He motions with his head for me to come inside, and the second he does, I jump on him, pressing my mouth to his.

  He doesn’t hold back, even though he’s mad at me. It’s like he physically can’t deny me. He kisses me hard and fast, almost like he was afraid he’d never kiss me again. Finally, he picks me up against him and walks me inside. He presses my back to the door while his hands get busy stripping me of my clothing.

  “I’m sorry I got so mad last night,” he says against the soft skin of my neck. “I just got so jealous when I saw you with him.” He pulls back and looks into my eyes. “You’re not mine. I know that.”

  “Shut up,” I say, pulling him back to my mouth so I can devour his.

  Without another word, he picks me up and walks me up the stairs.

  Something happens when Callan and I are together. The world stops spinning. Nobody else exists. It’s just the two of us. I don’t worry about work or money or life in general. I can’t think of anything but how he can manipulate my body like no one else has ever been able to.

  We somehow manage to pull away from one another. We’re walking through the house, collecting our clothes so I can leave. He bends down and picks up my shirt.

  He hands it over. “I want to take you out, Val.”

  “Out? Out where?” I ask, tugging it over my head.

  He shrugs. “Anywhere. I don’t want you to think that I only want you for sex.” He cracks a smile.

  I laugh and shake my head. “You want to take me out on a date?”

  He nods. “Yeah, sure. If that’s what you want to call it. I mean, even the random women I bring home get dinner or drinks out of me.”

  I pick up my purse. “Well, that’s the difference between them and me. They want something from you. I don’t.” I press my mouth to his and give him a quick kiss before opening the door and walking out. I pull my phone out of my purse to order a ride home.

  “Where’s your car?” he asks from the doorway.

  “I left it at work. I took a cab,” I shout back.

  “Come on,” he says, walking outside and pulling his keys from his pocket. “I’m not letting you get into a car with a stranger. Haven’t you seen all the girls that have gone missing from that shit?” He climbs behind the wheel of his car, and I know there’s no point in arguing.

  I turn around and climb into the passenger seat. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” he asks, twisting the key and starting the engine.

  “For always thinking of my safety, no matter how mad you are at me.”

  He scoffs. “You’re lucky I’m such a nice guy.”

  I can’t hold back my laugh, not because he’s not a nice guy, but because he’s always rubbed it in my face, even when he was trying to talk me into eating dirt when we were kids.

  I slide my phone back into my purse.

  “Want to grab some dinner?” he asks, driving away from his house.

  “Sure,” I reply.

  He laughs.

  “What?”

  “I knew I’d trick you into a date sooner or later.”

  I shake my head. “You’re impossible.”

  He nods. “That I am,” he agrees.

  We walk into a nice restaurant, and we’re shown to a table in the corner. We both take our seats, and he orders a bot
tle of wine for the table. I look around and feel a little awkward. I was raised in places like this, but I haven’t seen this side of things in a long time. Since I graduated from prep school. Once I hit college, I forgot about the life of luxury. I traded in my Porsche for a train pass. I sold my name-brand clothes and bought stuff from second-hand stores. My family thought I was crazy, but I really wanted to see the world from a normal person’s eyes. I wanted to work for what I had, not be handed everything. Giving up that life was harder than giving up the money. I mean, it only took Bennet a year to talk me into coming to work at the company.

  I’m lost in thought when a blonde walks up to Callan.

  “Look what we have here,” she says, running her fingers up and down his forearm.

  He quickly looks up at her. I can tell by the look on his face that she’s one of his regulars.

  “Where in the hell have you been? I haven’t heard from you in a couple of weeks.”

  He smiles nervously. “Oh, uh. Nikki, this is Valerie. Valerie, this is Nikki. She’s um, a friend of mine.”

  I hold out my hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, Nikki.”

  “Likewise,” she says, sitting down in the open chair between Callan and me. “You mind?” she asks me. “I love this place, and they just told me they’re booked.” She sticks out her bottom lip. “So, you are saving me from fast food.”

  I sit back and watch as she talks non-stop. She asks him questions, personal questions, and he laughs and tries dodging them. She leans in when he talks, making sure he has a clear shot down her revealing dress. A time or two, I see his eyes fall to take the cheap shot. The longer this girl sits here, the more annoyed I get. I mean, who does this? Who invites themselves to someone else’s dinner? If you ask me, she’s trying to swipe Callan out from under me. But Callan and I aren’t together.

  It’s a bitch ass move but he’s fair game I guess…I’m the one who said I didn’t want anything official. So, why does this bother me?