Page 118 of His Addiction
Her chest tightened with uncertainty.
“I doubt it’s that scary,” she muttered, pulling her sleeves over her hands.
He was drawing her in again, his words and his proximity undoing her little by little. Even his smirk made her ache for him, made her want to fall into him and forget everything else.
When the movie started, she tried to focus on the screen, doing her best to ignore the emotions swirling inside of her, the ones she couldn’t quite define.
Before long, his phone buzzed, and he picked it up, tapping the screen.
“The pizza guy’s outside,” he said, standing up and glancing at her. “He can’t find us. Wait here.”
Shannon watched as he sauntered to the door, his stride confident, before disappearing outside for a moment, returning with the flat box and setting it on the floor between them.
“Smells good, huh?” Jamie asked, voice light, but his eyes stayed on her as he grabbed a slice, holding it up with a grin. “Here you go, love. If we can’t do dinner, we’ll have a midnight snack together.”
Their fingers brushed as he passed the pizza to her, and that charge—small but electric—didn’t escape either of them.
His jaw tightened, and his hand jerked back, as if the touch had been a mistake.
But it wasn’t just a touch. It was a spark, a reminder of the way he melted her.
“Thanks,” she muttered, managing a smile, thoughthe flutter of nerves in her stomach betrayed her calm exterior.
She tried to keep her guard up, but with every second spent in his presence, it slipped further away, disintegrating with how much she wanted him, how his every glance and touch sent her pulse racing.
Jamie slumped back into the couch, taking a big bite of his pizza without looking at her, his attention now fixed entirely on the TV. He wasn’t scanning her every movement anymore, wasn’t as focused on her as he had been earlier.
Unease settled in her chest. Was she disappointed? Did she want him to keep watching her? Or was she just confused by the mix of emotions clashing inside her?
A part of her wanted to tease him. To make him aware of her. To make him ache for her the way she ached for him.
Maybe with her soft, satisfied groans as she ate, maybe letting him see how much she craved him, how much he was still in her head.
But then Niall’s warning echoed in her mind.
The thought of him finding out about Jamie being back at Meadow Dawn made her stomach churn.
She had to fight the pull toward Jamie. Fight the desire. But God, he didn’t make it easy.
The silence between them deepened, only the hum of the opening credits filling the space. Shannon noticed the subtle tension in Jamie’s body, his every movement measured.
She saw how his breath hitched when her shoulder brushed against his arm.
Niall had never been the type to settle into simple moments like this. The thought of sitting on the couch with someone, sharing pizza, was foreign to her, almost like a dream.
Niall preferred flashy dinners at high-end restaurants, throwing money around for show. Nothing that could ever make her feel this wanted…or safe.
She sighed, the weight of the past week pressing down on her. Exhaustion wrapped around her like a thick blanket, and before she realised it, her eyelids fluttered shut.
Her arms grew heavy, her cheek falling to his chest without thinking. A powerful arm snaked around her shoulders, pulling her closer, and she didn’t fight it. His fingers brushed through her hair, gentle and soothing, sending tingles over her scalp.
The steady thrum of his heartbeat was like a lullaby, a rhythmic, reassuring sound that made her want to stay there, safe and warm in his arms.
But in the back of her mind, the fear lingered.
What would happen if Niall found out Jamie was here again?
34
