Addicted (M)

Chapter 10: Unraveling Control

Avery's mind whirled in the hours following her meeting with Jadin. The touch of his hand on her arm, the heat of his breath against her ear, still burned on her skin. The electric charge that had pulsed between them wasn't something she could ignore—something she didn't want to ignore.

But she had to.

She couldn't afford to lose herself in him. She was a professional, trained to maintain boundaries. To compartmentalize her emotions. Yet, with every passing session, every dark word he spoke, every lingering glance, those boundaries were starting to feel less like protection and more like a cage.

By the time she got home, Avery's body felt like it was vibrating with tension. She poured herself a glass of wine, but even the warmth of the alcohol didn't help her relax. She kept replaying the way Jadin had leaned in, his voice rough and velvety as it caressed her ear. His presence had seeped under her skin, and she couldn't shake the way her body responded to him, as if it had its own mind.

She paced in the dim light of her living room, her heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor. She needed clarity. She needed to understand what was happening.

The knock at her door startled her. She glanced at the clock. It was late, almost midnight. Her heart skipped a beat as she approached the door, wondering if it could be him. She didn't know what she would do if it were.

But when she opened it, there was no dark figure standing there. Just a manila envelope, left on the ground. She bent down to pick it up, her hands shaking as she took it inside. Her fingers slid across the smooth surface, almost instinctively, as if she knew what it held inside.

More files. More details on Jadin's past.

She tore it open, pulling out the stack of papers. But as she scanned them, her blood ran cold. The files weren't about Jadin's time in the psychiatric ward or his mother's case. These were different—more personal.

Medical records.

Avery's breath caught in her throat as she flipped through them. They chronicled his childhood, his early signs of instability, but that wasn't what caught her eye. It was the list of treatments he had undergone. None of them typical. None of them benign.

The words that stood out were: electroshock therapy. But not in the way one would expect. It seemed more like experimentation—a controlled environment where things went wrong. The same electrical surges she had read about in his previous reports. The same ones Holly had found in the police files.

She slammed the papers down, heart racing. What the hell was going on with him?

The connection between Jadin and these violent, unexplained bursts of power was becoming undeniable. But there were other details in the file too. Something about his genetic makeup. A mutation. It was buried under layers of legal jargon and hospital notes, but it was there. A reference to a study that had been quietly discontinued.

Her fingers brushed over the text, her mind racing with the implications. Was Jadin some kind of experiment? Had he been bred for something else, something far more sinister?

She dropped the papers and sank back into her chair, her heart pounding in her chest. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Her phone buzzed in her lap, and she glanced down, her breath catching as she saw the name on the screen.

It was Jadin.

She didn't know why she hesitated before answering. She had spoken to him countless times now, but this felt different. Like the air around her had thickened, charged with electricity.

"Dr. Weaver," his voice crackled through the speaker, soft and low, just enough to make her pulse race. "I've been thinking about you. I've been thinking about us."

Her stomach flipped, the words making something dark twist in her chest. She should have shut the conversation down. She should have. But instead, she found herself leaning forward, breathless, as if pulled by some unseen force.

"What do you want, Jadin?" she asked, her voice tight, the words slipping out before she could stop them.

"I want you, Avery," he said, the words so simple, yet so laced with an intensity that took her breath away. "I want you to see me. To understand me. But more than that... I want to make you feel what I feel. I want to show you how it feels to be alive."

The air in her apartment seemed to constrict around her as his words hung in the silence. She hadn't realized how much she craved hearing him say it. The rawness in his voice, the promise of something darker, something dangerous. Something thrilling.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," she whispered, even though she did. She could feel it—could feel the pull toward him, the hunger that was becoming impossible to ignore.

"You do," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "You felt it today, didn't you? The way your heart raced when I touched you. The way you couldn't breathe when I was close to you."

Her breath caught in her throat as the heat in her body flared to life once again. She wasn't sure if it was the physical proximity or the weight of his words, but all at once she was drowning in him.

"Jadin... I'm your therapist," she finally managed to say, though it was a hollow argument now, just a string of words that meant nothing. Not with the way her body was betraying her.

"That's exactly why I want you, Avery." His voice was dark, the intensity in his tone promising something far more dangerous than she had ever imagined. "You can't fix me, but you can feel me. You can let me show you what it's like to lose control. Let me make you forget who you are."

Avery's skin tingled at the implication of his words. She had known—felt—the attraction between them, but this... this was a line she was terrified to cross.

"I can't," she whispered, even though every fiber of her being screamed in opposition.

"Don't lie to yourself," Jadin purred, his voice dropping an octave. "You want it. You want to be consumed by me. Let go, Avery. Let me show you how much you've been holding back. You don't have to be afraid."

Her heart hammered in her chest, her head spinning. She wanted him. She could feel it deep inside, like a dark need that had awakened when she touched him. But was it the power inside him? Or was it something in her own soul, something darker that craved release?

"I... I shouldn't," she breathed, her voice thick with desire and confusion.

But before she could say another word, Jadin's next words came like a soft command.

"Meet me tonight. I'll show you everything. Everything, Avery."

The line clicked dead before she could respond.

Avery's hand shook as she put the phone down, the weight of the conversation pressing heavily on her chest.

She had no idea what was happening to her. All she knew was that the boundaries were dissolving, and she couldn't stop it.