Toxic (The Therapist #4) - W.S. Greer

Chapter 1

~ MALCOLM ~

I’m on fire. Every step I take feels as if my entire body is engulfed in flames, and I need to walk faster—faster, so I can get to her. So I can see her. So I can kiss her, touch her, feel her, be with her. I’m on fire for her, and only her touch can cool me off. Only being near her can calm me down. This is what being on fire feels like.

I pull the door to Evelyn’s building open and speed walk inside. It’s eight o’clock in the evening, so her last patient of the night should be wrapping up right about now, although I know Dr. Evelyn Monroe isn't one to rush a session to finish faster than it needs to. To Evelyn, the session will end when it ends, especially when she doesn't have to worry about keeping any other patients waiting. Tonight, however, I need her to hurry. For me. Call it selfish, that’s fine. When it comes to Evelyn, I’m selfish as hell.

My black pants and royal blue button-up whisk in the wind as I keep my steps lively, walking as fast as I can toward Evelyn’s office. As I push through another door and enter the corridor, I can't help but think about a very specific incident that took place right here. It was in this hallway where I realized Dr. Monroe was just as into me as I was into her. I remember the sound of sensual moaning as I pressed my ear up against her door, my body being filled up with excitement inch by inch the longer I listened. My life hasn't been the same since. Now, Evelyn is mine, and I've been given the gift of hearing those moans up close and personal on a near nightly basis. Life has never been sweeter.

When I reach her door, I’m disappointed to find it still closed. Faint voices make their way through the door, so I take a seat on the white and navy blue bench outside of the office. Once my butt sinks into the plush cushions, I let my mind wander off while I wait for the door to open.

The first place my mind takes me is where I was before I got here. I don't mean literally before I arrived outside of Evelyn’s office. I mean where I was before she came into my life. Everything wasn't always this great.

It’s been three months since Evelyn and I officially started dating, and our anniversary is marked by a terrible night inside my house, when the woman I was dating before Evelyn decided to break in and strip naked in my basement. Evelyn and I found her on her knees in front of my Saint Andrew’s Cross before she tried to attack Evelyn. It was a terrible night for sure, but it’s handcuffed to how Evelyn and I began, so I struggle to look at it fondly.

That night, Evelyn told me to call her as we stood in my driveway watching as the paramedics loaded my ex-girlfriend into the ambulance after she’d fallen down the stairs, cracked her pelvis, and gave herself one helluva concussion. Evelyn and I were shook after all of that, but we still wanted each other. I stood there, hoping my ex hadn't scared her off with all of the drama, and Evelyn told me to call her. She didn't let my baggage scare her away, and I’m grateful for that each and every day.

My ex, on the other hand, has had a rough few months since the night at my house. Ava Pierson was charged with breaking and entering, assault, and stalking. However, since she’s obviously mentally unstable, she never ended up in jail. Ava was sent to Delaware Psychiatric Center, and she has been stuck there ever since. I wonder about her sometimes, but I never let myself care too much. Ava was like a tiny thorn in my side I could never get out. Every time I thought I’d gotten rid of her, she’d stick me again, reminding me she hadn't gone anywhere, and it took Evelyn’s arrival for me to be able to move on for good. My addiction to Ava has finally been extinguished, but my flame for Evelyn glows brighter than ever.

After just a few minutes of waiting, shuffling behind the door to Evelyn’s office captures my attention. I stand up and use my hands to iron out wrinkles in my button-up. There’s no mirror here, but