Page 14 of Hidden Obsession

SIX

HOLLIS

My fingertips curled around the granite countertop in the kitchen with a white-knuckled grip, my eyes shut just as tightly. What the fuck are you doing?! a small dwindling voice tried to shout over the panting of Mine! Mine! Mine! chanting in my head.

After getting my little flower all settled in the living room with a water and movie, I ordered food and a quick DoorDash order of various desserts I thought she might like, just in case I could talk her into staying a little longer.

Not that she’d had a bite of cookies or a lick of ice cream.

Nope, after enjoying two slices of pizza and watching two Adam Sandler movies, my sweet beauty knocked the hell out. I’d seen it happening, watching her out of my peripheral or catching her reflection on any possible surface rather than staring head on at her like some kind of creep. And I hadn’t done shit to stop it because I was fucking weak.

Now that I had her under my roof, I couldn’t imagine taking her back to that damn trailer.

The problem now was, what I was going to do with her?

I couldn’t in any good conscience let her sleep on the couch. I pushed off the counter, knowing exactly where she was going to sleep. I headed to the couch, my hands trembling with excitement and nerves. What would my little flower do if she woke up in my arms while I was heading towards the bedrooms?

Would she wiggle out of my arms and race screaming for help towards the door?

Would she stay and settle in as I tucked her into bed?

Would she slap me?

I shook my head. This wasn’t me. I was a take-charge kind of guy. That didn’t change with Maryanne. Not when every fucking instinct inside of me was yelling to protect and cherish and love her until my last damn breath.

With renewed energy, I bent and picked her up into my arms the same way a groom would with his bride. Her head settled on my shoulder, and she made a little happy sigh sound I felt right in my soul. Jesus, just the way she fit in my arms, her head where she rested, was a perfect fit. Made for each other. The thought solidified my choice. She was mine and I was hers.

I moved us out of the living room and through the hallway that led to four bedrooms. I had a home office and two guestrooms set up. I could have easily laid her down in one of those, but I didn’t. That went against the grain. If we were going to be sleeping under the same roof, there was only one place she would rest her head.

I quietly kicked the door to the master bedroom open and set her down on my bed. Our bed, I thought to myself. I was getting way ahead of myself, but when you were my age and you finally found your person, you didn’t fuck around. You didn’t waste time overthinking shit. Not when you felt it down to your bones.

I’d learned a long time ago to listen to my gut, and this time was no different.

Carefully, I settled her in bed, tucking her in, covering her body with my comforter before I headed to get some gym shorts and a tank from my dresser. I glanced at her before heading to change, and for the first time since I had laid eyes on my Maryanne in my bed, our bed, breathing became suddenly easier. I changed in the bathroom and hurried back out.

A knot of tension relaxed in the middle of my back just at the sight of her in my bed. Mine. That voice of ownership sprung to life, and I took a deep breath. All mine. Her scent was there in my room, mingling and mixing with my own, and I fucking loved it. A predatory almost wolf-like smile pulled at my lips.

Maryanne was in my bed.

Baser sheer instinct yelled at me to get in there with her. Sneak my way under the covers and hold her in my arms. I knew if I did, she would just curl up into me like a kitten. She’d fit so damn perfectly against me. Fuck, just the thought came to life in my head so damn clearly, I could picture it way too easily. So easily, my arms ached to keep her in their embrace. The way her silky smooth skin would feel beneath my touch. The way her big blue eyes would open slowly when she woke up and glanced at me. That pretty pink tinge of blush that appeared when I caught her looking at me.

I swallowed hard and reached for the reading chair I kept in the corner, pushing it to the side of the bed, and sat my ass down. All the while ignoring the hard pulsating length behind my shorts. I was a grown-ass man, not some fucking kid led around by his dick and hormones.

It would have been easy to get in bed with her.

To take that kind of familiarity without asking. The Neanderthal thing inside me wanted to do just that. Claim her. Mark her. My jaw clenched, and I spread my legs open, palming the thick ridge that strained to get closer to Maryanne.

Just because it was easy didn’t mean it was right.

When it came to doing this with Maryanne, I was going to do things the right way.

SEVEN

MARYANNE

Before I fully woke up, I knew I wasn’t home.

I racked my head in that hazy state of being half-awake and half-asleep. The night before came crashing back.