Dark Wish (A Dark Romance), Page 3

  “With you here, it definitely is,” I retort, and I try to twist myself free of his grip, but he won’t let go.

  “I’d beg you to think twice about who you believe is really the enemy here …” He steps so close that I have to suck in a breath for my chest not to touch his. I can smell his cologne as he towers over me. “After all, that man at the strip club ran because of me.”

  “You think you’re different?” I scoff, throwing a look at how he’s still got ahold of me.

  His grip only tightens, and he gets up close really quick. “Do not compare me to that swine.” His nostrils flare. “You would let any man touch you like that, but not me.”

  I slap him. Hard.

  And when he turns his head to me, a red mark appears on his cheek. Damn.

  “I … I …” I mutter.

  He grabs my only free hand and pins that to the railing too, trapping me between him and the twenty-foot drop below.

  “I deserved that.” His eyes narrow as he cocks his head. “You’re feistier than I thought.”

  He leans in so far that I’m inclined backward over the edge. Panic rushes through my veins, sweat pooling on my back, as the only thing holding me back from falling is this handsome devil.

  “What do you want?” I mutter.

  His hand suddenly reaches for my face, and I struggle to stay put, even with one hand on the banister. His index finger and thumb slide aside a few strands of my hair until it all tumbles down over the edge, exposing my neck.

  His smile broadens. “You are too beautiful. Too perfect … for him.”

  My pupils dilate. “Who?”

  But I already know who. The question is … how does he know?

  “Come on, don’t play me for a fool,” he replies, tilting his head so he can look at me from underneath his dark lashes. “You know as well as I do who I’m talking about.”

  He leans in, pressing his heavy, muscular chest against mine. His lips purse, and my eyes search for anything to look at except him … because looking at him brings fire to my body in a way no one else ever has.

  His face meets mine, his stubble grazing my skin. A touch near my earlobe sends electricity all through my body.

  “Say his name,” he whispers.

  “Chris,” I mutter under my breath. “How do you know about him?”

  “That’s not important right now. What is important is why you know so little about him,” he replies. He smiles against my earlobe. “He doesn’t deserve you, and you know it.”

  How does this man know so much about my life? Is he a … stalker?

  “Will you end things?” he asks.

  My lungs suck in a breath, desperate for air even though every movement pushes me farther into him.

  “Will you fight?” he asks.

  Fight who? Him … or Chris?

  I shake my head. “I don’t understand. What do you—”

  Before I can say anything else, his lips have landed on mine. It’s so sudden, so violent, that I can’t wrap my head around what’s happening until it already is. His kiss is so subtle yet so powerful that I’m left grasping for reality. I don’t know what’s happening and don’t know how to stop it … And I don’t even know if I really want to.

  Because this man’s lips are like fire scorching my soul. His kiss deepens, and his hand moves from my wrist to my waist, cupping me tight to bring me closer to his body. An animalistic groan leaves his mouth, and it pushes all my buttons. The way he holds me is greedy, but his kiss is even greedier.

  It’s a kiss that sucks all the air out of your body without ever feeling like you need to breathe. The kind of kiss that leaves you breathless without trying. The kind of kiss you never want to stop. That happens once in a lifetime.

  And this is mine.

  When this man’s lips slowly move away from mine to allow me a second to breathe,

  the shock of what just happened overwhelms me until I remember that I already have someone to call mine. My boyfriend, Chris. Or at least he was until he kissed another woman.

  And the mere thought of seeing her wrap her hands around him brings me back to reality and forces me to come face-to-face with what I’ve done. I’m no better than Chris.

  The stranger suddenly says, “A kiss … for a kiss.”

  Did he just … ?

  My eyes widen.

  He knows.

  “How?” I mutter.

  “Make a choice,” he says. Grabbing my hand, he pulls it to his lips, pressing a sweet, sinful kiss on top. “Him … or me.”

  Why would he ask me this?

  His hand rises to meet my face, and he pushes aside my hair only to pause. His brows furrow as he homes in on the side of my neck.

  I gasp.

  The bruises.

  I try to cover them up, but it’s too late, and a blush spreads on my cheek.

  My lips part, but he presses his finger against my mouth, stopping me from speaking. “Who did this to you?”

  Panic sweeps through me once again. It’s too dangerous to tell a man like him.

  “I … I …”

  His eyes rage with a fire I’ve never seen before. “It was him, wasn’t it?” He blinks and lets go of my wrist, and for some reason, I suddenly feel cold. “It will end.”

  Before I can reply, he swirls around and walks off, leaving me breathless and completely untethered from this world.

  Chapter 4

  Amelia

  After he left the club, I didn’t want to go home and face Chris, so I asked my coworker Jamie if I could stay with her for the night. It was easier to run than to pretend everything was okay. Of course, Jamie asked about it, but I didn’t feel like airing all my personal problems, let alone the fact that Chris was cheating on me. No, I shoved that into a corner of my mind and promised myself I wouldn’t look at it again until I was ready, and she respected that.

  Now I’m at work, slurping coffee like there’s no tomorrow just to stay awake.

  Jamie picks up a whole bunch of books and shoves them into my arms. “Can you help me sort this stack?”

  It’s so damn heavy my knees almost buckle.

  “Uh, sure,” I reply, trying to keep them from tumbling down onto the floor.

  Still, one of them falls, and I try to bend over to pick it up, but then the rest of the stack almost falls too, so I stop just in time.

  “Oh, stop!” Jamie says, pushing some books back onto the stack. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” She bends over and picks up the book from the floor, only to pause near my legs.

  “Hey …” she murmurs, pointing at my knee. “You’ve got a nasty bruise there.”

  My eyes widen, and I quickly hide my leg behind the other one. “Oh, it’s nothing. I just … fell down the stairs yesterday,” I say, laughing it off. “It’s fine.”

  She frowns at me as she puts the book on top of the stack in my arms. “You sure do fall a lot, don’t you?”

  “I bruise easily.” I shrug, winking because we’re both thinking of that same song now.

  “Ha-ha …” She rolls her eyes. “I swear to God, Amelia, you’re like a textbook bookworm, complete with the whole clumsiness.”

  “I know. That’s why this job is so perfect for me,” I reply.

  “Exactly, so go, go, go!” She nudges me forward, so I take the hint and walk off before she asks any more questions that I don’t want to answer.

  I carry the books to the bookcase with an empty shelf that needs to be filled. I put most of them down on a table behind me so I can arrange them in the right order.

  Right then, my phone buzzes, and I almost jolt from the scare. I fish it out of my pocket and see it’s my own calendar reminding me it’s my birthday. And I didn’t get a present or any kind of happy birthday wish.

  I sigh and think about Chris, wondering if he’s with that woman or if he’s making up ways to fix our broken relationship. Maybe he has something planned tonight. A big apology and a candlelight dinner while he grovels for forgiveness, along wi
th a big gift for my birthday. Or maybe … nothing at all.

  Maybe I prefer nothing.

  Maybe nothing is better for me in the long run.

  I tuck my phone back into my pocket and tell myself I’m going to celebrate it tonight, regardless if he’s there or not. I don’t care anymore. It’s my birthday, and I’m gonna celebrate it just like I deserve, even if I have to do it all by myself.

  I grab a few books off the table and turn around to place them on the shelf. I push one of them a bit too far ahead, and it tumbles off on the other side of the bookcase.

  That’s when a familiar set of eyes appears from behind the case. Two emerald green eyes hidden between the books, looking straight at me.

  My eyes widen in shock as I cover my mouth with my hand to prevent the squeal from spilling out.

  “Shh … Don’t make a sound. It’s a library, after all.”

  It’s the same dark, dangerous voice from the night before. The same guy is now standing before me mere inches away, separated only by a few books and an empty shelf.

  A cold shiver turns my veins into ice.

  He stares at me with that same ungodly, obsessive look.

  A definite smirk forms on his lips. “Amelia …”

  The way he speaks my name makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

  “Have you ever had a wish?”

  “A wish?” I repeat, too shocked that this is truly happening to form a cohesive answer.

  “A wish that would become reality?”

  I frown, baffled by his mere presence, let alone his questions.

  “Amelia?” my coworker calls, and her voice distracts me enough that it makes me turn my head. Just one second. One second. That’s all it took for him to pick up the book I dropped and shove it back into the empty space, covering the few inches we had to exchange looks.

  I take a few steps back, expecting him to come bursting through the case with guns blazing to take me away, but nothing happens. I just stand there in blissful ignorance, wishing that it had.

  Because secretly, a part deep down inside me wants to answer his question.

  Wants him to show me what it could be like to live that dream.

  No.

  His questions were silly. The ramblings of a stranger.

  A stranger who followed you to both your jobs.

  Which means he knows where you live.

  Shit.

  Panic rushes through my veins as I throw the books onto the table and walk to the other end of the bookcase to peek along the side. But the man is already long gone. Vanished. As though he never existed to begin with and was just a figment of my imagination.

  But I know for a fact that I have not gone insane.

  “Amelia? Are you done? I have more.” Jamie suddenly appears on the other end with a stack of books in her hands and gazes at me as though I’ve lost my mind. “What are you doing?” she asks.

  “Oh ... um …” I look around to make sure the man is really gone. Only one way to find out if I am going insane. “Did you see a man walk by here? By any chance?”

  She frowns. “Maybe? I mean, there’re a lot of them. Daily.” She snorts.

  “I mean just now. Did someone walk away from here?” I point at the bookcase. “Like he was standing right here.”

  She makes a face. “Um, I don’t know? I don’t keep track. Why?”

  “It’s nothing.” I sigh and look away.

  “Are you okay?” she asks.

  “Yeah, yeah.” I shrug it off and smile a bit, but it’s a fake smile. “Sorry, I’m just a little shook, that’s all.”

  “From a guy?” she asks as she sets the stack of books on a nearby table. “Should I call someone? The cops?”

  “No, it’s fine,” I say, wafting it away. “It was nothing.” I snort to try to make light of it, but it still doesn’t sit right with me.

  “All right then, if you’re sure,” she replies, rolling her eyes a little. Not much, but enough for me to notice.

  She must think I’m crazy. Everyone does. I’m the quiet one, the one who’s always daydreaming of a better life, a bigger future. The one who’s always too afraid to make the leap.

  And this man … this man unchained something inside me that I didn’t know existed.

  Because no matter how dangerous he seemed or how much my brain was telling me to run in the opposite direction, all I wanted to do was say yes.

  Chapter 5

  Amelia

  That night

  The music is blaring, and I’m losing myself on the dance floor of Club M. I don’t care who sees or how crazy I dance. I just need to let it all out. Let them see, let them talk; I’m done caring about what anyone thinks.

  Why? Because it’s my birthday, and no one cared. My grandparents have been dead for years, so they’re not gonna celebrate this with me. Jamie won’t either because I never told her when my birthday was. But I expected Chris to care. And now he’s shown that he clearly doesn’t.

  So I’ve decided I’m not going to care anymore either.

  Instead, I’m enjoying myself thoroughly while going nuts to the music, dancing the night away until my feet are tired and I’m drunk on alcohol. I don’t care for a second that I’m drinking way more than usual or that this is the same club where my stalker came. I welcome the danger with open arms, or maybe it just doesn’t matter at all.

  The only thing that matters is me, the music, and forgetting all about my own damn birthday until it no longer exists.

  And I’m loving every second of it.

  Hours later, I wake up somewhere else entirely. I feel groggy and completely out of it. I can’t even remember what I did or why I did it. I just knew I needed an escape, if only just for a moment. So I chose the alcohol to numb the pain and have a little fun all by myself.

  Now, my throat hurts, and I can barely utter a sound. My whole body aches as I open my eyes and stare into the darkness surrounding me, the reality of my situation hitting me hard.

  I’m not at the club … or in my apartment.

  I sit up straight even though every muscle in my body hurts. I’m surrounded by trees and sitting on the grass in the middle of nowhere.

  What the hell?

  Where the heck am I, and how did I get here?

  A searing headache slams into me, and I rub my forehead with the palm of my hand. “Ugh …” I groan.

  It feels like hours have passed, but I don’t remember anything.

  What the hell happened to me?

  The longer I think about it, the less comes into my mind. It’s as if I’ve lost all track of time and space and forgotten everything that happened up until this point. That, or I’ve really hit my head hard.

  All I remember is Chris … and the look on his face when I came home completely wasted …

  I grab my throat and rub it, feeling exposed. But nothing I do brings back the rest of my memories. Nothing about my clothes or how I got here, or even what time it is.

  I should definitely go home.

  Without waiting another second, I storm off, and it doesn’t take me long to realize I’m in the city park. I head straight for the nearest road. I’m shivering, and my body is freezing, but I don’t give up until I’ve gotten back to the apartment building. By the time I’m back inside, I can barely feel my trembling body. I close the door and take a breath, trying not to panic.

  But something deep inside makes me feel like something isn’t right.

  Even though the apartment is completely unscathed. In fact, the place looks better than how it was when I left. A little too clean, if you ask me. Did Chris do this?

  I swallow as I call out, “Chris?”

  But there’s no response. I know he was here, but the bed is empty and hasn’t been slept in.

  From the open window, I spot someone leaving the building, but it isn’t Chris. The figure turns around right as I peer outside, and he stares up at me while clutching his long black coat closer to his chest.

  I gul
p and quickly shut the curtains, breathing heavily as I hide behind them.

  In that split second, our eyes connected …

  And I recognized him.

  With a book in my hand, I stare at the shelf in front of me. I’m supposed to put these back in place, just as I always do, but somehow, my body refuses to obey my commands. I feel so groggy, as though I’ve been hit by a brick. My limbs are frozen as dread floods my body, making me icy cold.

  Every letter on the books in front of me scrambles into a melting pot of indescribable words, and the pages themselves are drenched in blood.

  I shake my head, and the image disappears, the books back to normal as they should be.

  I must be losing my mind. There’s no other explanation.

  I don’t understand what happened to me. And after I found myself half-naked in the woods with half my memories of that night missing, I feel off. Like I’m completely off my rocker.

  Something just isn’t right, but I can’t pinpoint what.

  It doesn’t help that Chris has completely disappeared off the face of the earth. I’ve tried texting him to no avail. He didn’t even read my messages this time. I don’t know what happened to him.

  All I remember is being at the club, and then … nothing.

  I lost track of time and have no memory of it.

  Did the alcohol hit me that hard?

  Suddenly, a harsh thump makes me jolt, and I clench the book closely while I look for the noise. It was just a customer who dropped a book on the floor. No biggie. But my heart rate shot through the roof.

  Why am I so panicky? I can’t shake these jitters, and it’s eating me up while I’m trying to work. It doesn’t help that I haven’t slept either, but who could when you can’t even remember what you did just hours before?

  “Hello, Amelia.”

  I hear his voice before I see his face. The mere sound makes me drop the book I was holding.

  He appears from behind the bookcase, taking a step toward me.

  I look around me, but there is no other way out. This bookcase is situated right against a wall.