Free Consumed by Melissa Toppen Page A

of him makes my belly ache and causes every nerve to stand to attention? Every touch makes my skin burn, every smile makes me melt. He holds so much power over me already.
    One thing is certain. I can't let something like what happened tonight happen again. If I do, I'm afraid that I will never recover.

Chapter Ten
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    I spent Sunday holed up in my room and Monday diving head first into the Bella Vita project which is proving to be even more work than I had originally anticipated. Kristina has drilled me about Liam every second we have alone but I have managed to dodge giving her a real answer up to this point.
    I worked well into the night last night and so far Tuesday seems to hold the same fate for me. There's no way two people could have handled this project. The work load I have taken on alone is enough to make someone crazy. No matter how hard I know the next few weeks will be, I still could not be happier about being given this opportunity and I sure as hell am not going to waste it.
    I am over my head in projection sheets when a small voice pulls me from my work. “Addison.” I look up to see Michelle standing directly in front of my desk, a huge bouquet of Gardenias in her hands.
    “Is there a card?” I ask not really expecting one and honestly a bit pissed off that whoever sent the flowers the first time had the nerve to send them again.
    “There is.” She says in a weak voice causing me to give her more attention than I normally would. Her eyes are swollen and her normally tight pony is a knotted mess of auburn curls.
    “Are you okay?” I ask, feeling suddenly very guilty that I didn't notice her appearance first thing.
    “I'm fine. Men.” She sighs loudly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen from her pony tail.
    “Do you need to talk about it?” I ask, mostly because I feel awful for her but also because I know what it's like to have men troubles.
    “No, it's nothing.” She blows me off, leaning over to sit the flowers that are displayed in a large crystal vase on my desk. Without another word she walks away, leaving me more than a little curious about what exactly is going on with her and her so called men troubles.
    Remembering the flowers, I twist in my chair and grab the card from the bouquet. Yet again there is no indication of who they are from. Just two words,
    Forgive me
    My stomach twists in knots. I was so sure the last time that they weren't from Grayson but now I am not so sure. I mean it makes sense right? We get into a huge fight and then two days later I get a bouquet of flowers with the message, forgive me, in the card.
    I waste no time gathering up the flowers and dropping them in the trash can next to my desk. I brush off my hands feeling quite proud of myself and resume my place in front of my computer.
    The next few hours fly by and before I know it I am well into the evening. My stomach grumbles loudly and I realize I have not eaten since my bagel this morning. As much as I want to keep going I know that I am no good to anyone if I work myself to death. I decide to call it a night and turn my attention back to my computer to save the documents I was working on.
    I power off my computer and grab my purse from the back of my desk. I realize very quickly that I am the only person still here. An uneasy feeling sets in and I quickly make my way to the elevator. I can't help glancing around making one hundred percent certain that I am in fact alone. There is something so eery about being here this late especially without the normal hustle and bustle that is usually going on around me.
    The elevator pings and the doors slide open. For a moment I think that I am hallucinating and that Liam standing in front of me is a figment of my imagination but I soon realize that he is in fact here and not only that but he seems oddly hesitant.
    “What, what are you doing here?” I manage to choke out through my confusion. He steps to the side and gestures