Page 84 of Quiet Obsession
“Where are you going?” Abby asks, switching her earrings.
“Hyde’s.”
“He’s not back yet.” She slips into her five-inch blood-red stilettos. “There’s an afterparty downstairs. I saw your brother making out with a smoking hot redhead.”
“Again, too much information,” I mutter. “Noah?”
“Downstairs, too. And Creed. AndDash.” She cringes.
I sit back down, texting my brother.
Me: Don’t use Creed like that again.
Hyde: Like what?
Me: Don’t tell him who to fight. Jasper didn’t do anything wrong.
Minutes pass. He reads the message and the dots start dancing, but nothing more. I toss the phone onto my bed, irritation simmering in my chest. He’s probably drunk and distracted, entirely unaware he’ll get an earful tomorrow.
Abby finishes her makeup and spins infront of the mirror. “Why don’t you get dressed and come with me?”
“Um, no, not my scene.”
She studies me for a beat, then stuffs her lip gloss into her clutch. “Don’t wait up. I’m staying with Thomas tonight.”
“Thomas? Same one you said was too clingy?”
She blushes nice and pink. “I changed my mind. Casual sex is fun but Thomas... he never stopped pursuing me even after we fucked. He’s different than the other guys here. He cares about me so I’m giving this wholerelationshipthing a shot.”
I smile. “Good for you.”
“Yeah... about that.” She drops her hands, nervously toying with her rings. “I was thinking. Thomas has a friend who’s been asking about you. He’s a real good guy. Calm, polite, and careful, not like...” her voice trails off.
Not like the guy who bruised me.
“How about I set you two up?”
My face falls immediately. She’s trying to push me into the arms of some random butsafeguy. I should be grateful, I think. She’s obviously worried, but instead of grateful, I’m annoyed.
“No, thanks,” I clip. “I’m not interested.”
She pinches her lips, staring at me for a moment before offering a tight nod. With a spring in her step, she leaves, closing the door behind her. I grind my teeth and grab my book, needing a distraction. It’s late, but sleep’s the last thing on my mind.
I barely get through two pages before there’s a knock.
Maybe I can give Hyde a piece of my mind sooner than expected. I yank the door open and freeze when, instead of Hyde, I find Creed standing out in the hallway.
He’s in a pair of low-slung sweats, a black tee clinging to his frame, knuckles scraped raw, lip split, a dark bruise shadowing his cheekbone.
I expect words, but his gaze drags down my frame and my cheeks flame on cue. My heart thuds faster, a lick of desire goosebumping the curve of my neck.
Creed continues his perusal, eyes lingering on the lacy hem of my robe cutting off mid-thighs, then up again, devouring the curve of my waist and the modest swell of my breasts.
“Hyde showed me your text,” he finally says. “He didn’t ask me to challenge Jasper, Millie.”
He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, dark eyes jumping between mine before flicking to my lips and back up like he’s forcing himself to hold my gaze.
“It was my idea,” he adds, stepping into my personal space, his hand rising to tuck a loose strand of hair over my ear. “Because you cried and I wanted to fucking kill him for it.”
