Addictive Lunacy Read Online Free Page B

getting anything.
    Anything.
    Had I been living in some sort of daze? What the hell was wrong with me?
    Obviously, it’s not like I was suffering from some early case of E.D. Liv was the living proof of that. All it would take was one touch from her and I’d probably explode. I was sure of it.
    Swallowing was becoming a nervous reflex thanks to her. I finally nodded at her, unable to find my voice.
    Liv’s eyes fell to the table. “ And y — you’re not attract...I mean, interested? Am I making you uncomfortable?”
    I straightened at that, sensing something completely different in her tone.
    No longer so self-assured, Liv looked embarrassed. Her position hadn’t changed much but I could somehow read the insecurity in her. Could read that she wanted to curl into herself and possibly away from me.
    “You’re very, and I do mean very , beautiful Liv. I’m sure I’m not the first man to tell you that.” I was aware that my words were dangerous. But there’s no way I couldn’t be honest with her about this. I did find her beautiful and although it might have been in my best interest to let her believe I didn’t, I couldn’t go through with it.
    Liv’s eyes came back up and stared right into my own. Jaw twitching, I stared back, not knowing where to go from here and knowing that if I did what I wanted to do, it would be a problem.
    It would be beyond unwise.
    “So you’re just nervous, that’s it?” Those eyes of hers were glittering in the dim lights. There was a small votive candle on the table and its flickering flame bounced inside her eyes, drawing me further in.
    “Yes. You...I’ve never been around a woman like you and admittedly, flirting isn’t my strong suit.”
    I’d had one girlfriend in college and she’d asked me out. Not that I hadn’t been attracted to her, I had. As for lovers, they’d also come after me but there had never been a lengthy seduction. I’d always known outright whether I’d wanted them or not and had always been quick to decide.
    All in my professional manner, as Luke had once complained. He’d claimed that I approached sex much like a business negotiation. Compatible, yes or no? And no wasting of time, of course.
    Liv smiled, taking her hat off her head. “That’s adorable. But lighten up, Calum. I’m not gonna bite.” She literally shoved the hat on my head, pulling the rim down over my eyes and giggling. “At the sake of sounding cliché, I must say, unless you want me to.”
    I couldn’t see anything outside of the hat but her giggling and playfulness made me smile. A small gasp from her had me freezing, eyes still covered by the hat.
    “Calum?”
    “Yes?” I grabbed onto the hat and re-adjusted it so that it wasn’t covering my eyes. When I could see again, I saw that Liv was kneeling on the booth.
    Right next to me.
    Leaning over me, in fact.
    “I’m sorry, Calum.” She cupped my face in her small hands. The feel of her skin almost made me hiss, my body tensing and my eyes shooting wide. “But I really, really have to kiss you. I’m sorry.”
    And, yes, she did. God help me, she leaned in and gave me those lips.

4
    H ow long had I fantasized about those lips? An hour? Maybe two? It didn’t matter. To my starved body, it felt like a lifetime.
    Soft, pillow-like flesh covered my own and I lost it. An uncharacteristic sound vibrated out of my ribcage. I heard the table complain when I moved too sharply and accidentally kicked it.
    Liv gasped, her plump lips still pressed to my own and falling open.
    Need. Want...Take. Take it all.
    I was lost. My hand snapped around the back of her head, the size dwarfing it. I held her still, slanting my mouth against her and rubbing our lips together.
    She whimpered.
    And...I finally recognized the sound leaving me. As my lips trembled against her mouth and she started shaking against me, I realized that I was fucking growling.
                  The taste of her sat heavy on my tongue, wrenching more