Endless Obsession (20 page)

There is one thing that has my brain working overtime. Why did he call me at home to ask me about cowboy boots when he could have easily asked me at work on Monday? I shake the thought away, having no clue.

I grab the newspaper off the counter and take it, along with my phone to the living room. I toss the newspaper on the couch to read later. Right now, my shower is calling my name, and I need to call Sterling back. Walking down the hallway, I pull Sterling’s name up. Flutters form in my belly at the prospect of hearing his voice. I haven’t talked to him since last night, and I’ve been anxious all day to do so.

“Hey, Beautiful.”

I sigh with a smile at hearing him call me beautiful. I love when he calls me that.

“Hi,” I say breathlessly.

“I tried calling you a few minutes ago,” he says.

My smile slips away, and I pause in my bedroom doorway for a split second before continuing on to my closet. I try to act casual when I reply. “Oh, I was on the phone with my boss,” I tell him, feeling strange and awkward.

“In the evening? On a Saturday?” he asks curiously.

I slip my feet out of my shoes and place them at the bottom of my closet where the rest of my shoes are before going back to my room and sitting on the edge of my bed. I don’t like talking about Asher with Sterling. It feels wrong and makes me uncomfortable.

“He called to ask me about cowboy boots,” I tell him cautiously, wanting this subject over with, but also wanting to be honest. My earlier good mood now turns to anxiety.

“Cowboy boots? He called you on a weekend to ask you about cowboy boots?” he questions, a strange note in his voice.

“Yes. He uhh… he has business in Texas at the end of this week, and I have to go with him.”

I look down and fiddle with the blanket at my side as nervous jitters start to worm their way into my belly. Why do I feel so strange talking to Sterling about Asher? It’s not like Asher and I have anything going on. He’s my boss. All he did was call me to make sure I have the proper attire if I get a chance to explore a bit of Texas. I told him I had never been and always wanted to go, so I’m sure it’s nothing more than him wanting me to make the most of my first experience.

So why do I feel like I’m doing something wrong?

“You’re going to Texas with Asher Knight?” he deadpans.

I flinch at his tone. I keep waiting for the possessive attitude to come out. It doesn’t surprise me that he knows who my boss is. Is there anything he doesn’t know? Apparently so, because he keeps asking me questions—questions I really don’t want to answer.

“Yes.” I try to enforce some strength in my voice, but it doesn’t work. I pinch the material of my thigh-highs and let it slap against my leg.

“For how long?”

“Friday to Monday,” I admit, becoming more antsy and frustrated with all the questions.

“What’s wrong?” he asks. It’s obvious he can hear the edginess in my voice.

“Nothing,” I snap, then flinch when it comes out harsher than I intended.

My tone doesn’t deter him, and what he says next leaves me speechless for several seconds.

“Do you like your boss, Poppy?” His question is asked with a soft voice, but there’s still an underlying tenseness.

After I unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth, I decide to play stupid.

“Of course I like my boss. I work for him, don’t I?” I reply, knowing damn well what he’s asking.

“Beautiful, you know that’s not what I mean. Why are you acting nervous?”

What the hell is this? Did we start a game of twenty questions and I didn’t know? This is definitely not how I pictured our conversation would go the night after he came to me. I’m still a little confused by the whole encounter, not sure how I should feel, but I figured Sterling would bring it up right away, not imply there is something going on between me and Asher. And why in the hell isn’t he acting pissed? Why does he seem amused by it? What happened to the ‘you’re mine’ attitude?

I fling myself back on the bed, and I swear I hear him chuckle.

Finished with the apparent interrogation, I ask irritably, “Why are you asking me all these questions?”

“I just think it’s strange that your boss, a boss that runs a multi-million dollar company, calls his personal assistant on a Saturday night to ask her about cowboy boots. You don’t find that strange at all?”

Yes. Yes, I do. But I’m not telling him that.

“No, I don’t,” I say and pull myself up to a sitting position. “He was just trying to be nice because I told him the other day I’ve never been to Texas before and have always wanted to go. He’s a nice person, Sterling. That’s all there is.”

I hold the phone against my shoulder to free up my other hand and unclip my garter strap. I roll the first one down my leg, then move on to the next one. Sterling becomes quiet over the phone, so I pull it away to make sure we didn’t get disconnected.

Nope. Still there.

“Hello?” I say, wondering if he’s pissed that I’m being so flippant about Asher calling.

He clears his throat before he answers, his voice taking on a deeper tenor.

“I’m here, and I think there’s a bit more going on with Knight than you’re letting on.”

I don’t like what he’s saying, and I really need him to stop talking about Asher. I’ll never admit it to anyone, but I’ve always felt attracted to him. There’s just something about him that draws me in. It’s stupid, and I know nothing will ever come of it. That’s why I’ve always kept it to myself. No one knows, not even Liv, and I prefer to keep it that way.

“I really enjoyed last night,” I say, instead of acknowledging his last remark. I hold my breath, hoping he takes the bait.

He’s quiet for several seconds, and I start to fidget. The silence is eating at me. It’s almost as bad as him talking about Asher. At least with that, I know what he’s thinking. I get up from the bed and start pacing the floor.

Finally, he speaks, and I release my breath when he doesn’t bring up Asher again.

“I did, too. More than you know.”

My insides melt.

I stop at my window and peer outside, a smile pulling at my lips. Thoughts of last night run through my mind. I can still feel his hands on me. I can still smell him and taste him. My eyes close as my skin starts to tingle.

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” His question is quiet and husky.

I lean my forehead against the cool glass and whisper, “Yes. When can you come over again?”

He laughs deeply and it gives me butterflies.

“Unfortunately, I have to stay away for the next few nights. Family obligation. I leave in an hour and won’t be back until Tuesday evening.”

At the mention of family, my curiosity piques, the haze of lust fading away. I know nothing about him. I lift my head from the window and turn to lean back against the frame.

“Does your family live close by?” I’ve never really asked him anything personal, so I’m not sure how he feels about revealing that part of his life.

Surprisingly, he answers right away and gives me more than I asked for. “About three hours away. My niece’s birthday party is tomorrow, and my dad has a business meeting he wants me to attend with him on Monday.”

“Oh. How old is your niece?” I silently beg him to continue talking.

“She turns fourteen, but Kia likes to think she’s turning thirty. She has her uncle wrapped around her little finger and she knows it, and uses it against me.”

I can hear the love and adoration in his voice and it melts my heart. This Kia is very lucky to have such a loving uncle. I think this, but it’s hard to imagine him with a child around him. I may not know much about him, but he doesn’t seem like the type to hang out with a fourteen-year-old girl.

“She sounds lovely, and she’s lucky to have an uncle that cares for her so much.”

“You get to meet her in a couple weeks.”

“What?” I squeak.

“I told you, Poppy, that this time next week you’ll know who I am. All of me. You’ll also know just how much I’m willing to do to get what I want. We’ve already established that fact, and I won’t stop until you’re firmly implanted in my life. I don’t believe in wasting time. My family is a big part of my life, which means they’ll be a big part of yours as well.”

My mouth drops open. That is the last thing I expected him to say. I’m glad he’s close with his family, but bringing me—whatever he thinks I am—to meet his family is big. It’s
huge
. I don’t even know what he looks like for Christ’s sake, and he’s already talking about me meeting his family? This is moving way too fast.

“I don’t think I’m ready for that yet, Sterling. I know nothing about you. How can you already be talking about such a thing?”

“I already know everything I need to know about you, Beautiful, and if there’s something I don’t know, I can learn over time. As far as you knowing me, all that is about to change. I don’t like playing around. I go after what I want. This isn’t temporary. When I say I want you, I don’t mean for a while. I mean marriage, babies, old rocking chairs on the porch that our old wrinkled bodies will sit on as we watch our grandkids play on the tire swing.

His words scare the shit out of me, and should make me want to run in the opposite direction, but for some reason, they don’t. I can actually see myself sitting on an old porch swing with a cover over my lap and Sterling beside me. Of course he doesn’t have a face yet, because I still don’t know what he looks like. Even so, I can sense him beside me, his arm wrapped around my frail shoulders.

It’s an image that I shouldn’t have. An image that’s crazy and stupid, but still something I can imagine clear as day.

“Do they know about me?”

“Not yet, but I plan to tell them tomorrow.”

I take a deep breath. “How about we just take it day by day and see how it goes before you make definite plans for me to meet your family. Something could—”

“Poppy, you need to get used to the idea of being mine. There’s no stopping what’s going to happen. Once everything is out, and I’ve made you mine, there’s no going back. It
will
happen. You
will
marry me. You
will
carry my children. We
will
grow old together. There’s no alternative for me.”

His words send a shiver down my spine and a small bout of fear slithers in. He seems so sure, but how can he be? There’s no way he can know. Have I totally misjudged Sterling and he is, in fact, dangerous? What happens if I find that I can’t be with him once he reveals himself? Will he let me go, or will he go to any lengths to keep me? Does that include keeping me against my will or hurting me? There’s all kinds of stories out there where the man becomes obsessed with someone so much that they hurt them, think that if they can’t have them, no one can. Does Sterling feel that way about me?

I don’t want to believe that. But it could just be me being naive with my desperate need to belong to and be wanted by someone.

I don’t know what to say to him, or how to react to his words. I want to belong to someone so fiercely that they would do anything for me, but not to the point of hurting me, or keeping me against my will.

As my mind runs rampant with several different ways this could pan out, my eyes get caught by my dresser. The top drawer is pulled out slightly with a piece of silky material hanging out over the edge. I always close my drawers, especially my top drawer because it holds my bras and panties. The last thing I want is my panties sticking out for anyone to see if they pass by my bedroom. I didn’t notice if it was open this morning because I always pull clothes out the night before for the next day. It’s a habit I’ve had since I was a kid.

Sterling says something in my ear, but I’m completely focused on that drawer. With a frown, I walk to my dresser. Did Sterling go through my things last night before he left? And if he did, why? Does he have some type of panty fetish?

I lift my hand, surprised that it’s unsteady, and pull the drawer out the rest of the way. It’s a mess inside. I always keep my panties and bras separated and folded nicely and in stacks of silk and lace. It’s all a jumbled mess. It looks like someone was rifling around in my stuff.

“Poppy,” Sterling snaps loudly in my ear, reminding me he’s still on the phone. I jump slightly with his raised tone.

“Did you go through my dresser before you left last night?” I ask.

“No, why? What in the hell is going on?” he demands.

I probably shouldn’t, but I believe him. Therefore, I give him an answer.

“It looks like someone went through my underwear drawer. I always close it, but it was open and everything is misplaced.”

“Are you sure you closed it? Maybe you were in a rush and forgot,” he suggests.

“Maybe.”

I look through the contents to try to see if anything is missing. I flick through everything and notice my favorite lavender pair of panties are gone. The matching bra is still there, but not the panties. I try to think back to the last time I wore them. They could be in the dirty clothes; I wore them just three days ago. I thought I had washed them yesterday, but I could be wrong.