Obsession (13 page)

Rod’s hands found my neck again, his
thumbs pressing against my throat. “You will not associate with
him. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I gasped, fighting the
uncomfortableness of his hands.

He dropped his arms, stomping to his
side of the car. “Let’s go.”

My hands found my knees as oxygen
filled my lungs. The look in his eyes was terrifying.

I never wanted to disobey him
again.

Chapter Ten

I was thankful for his silence as we
drove to his penthouse last night. He knew something was off, but
didn’t press me for information. That was the best part about our
relationship; we didn’t hover. I found those were the only
successful friendships I’d ever had.

Curling my body into his high thread
count sheets was too easy. Sleeping with them all day sounded more
appealing than what was planned.

“Becca texted me last night wanting to
know where you were since you didn’t answer your phone,” Nathan
said as he sat on the bed next to me. “I told her you came home
with me instead of staying at the hotel.”

I winced. “Did she seem
mad?”

Nathan shrugged. “Not really, but it
was a text. She’s got her hands full with Tyler lately.”

I nodded, glad Becca wasn’t mad about
my lack of appearance at her party. I wasn’t a very good friend
sometimes. “You said he punched a drug dealer?” I asked, trying to
keep the conversation flowing so we wouldn’t talk about my change
of direction in mood last night.

“Yes, Tyler punched Chino. He’s the
one we think Mitch is helping to hide drugs on our properties.” His
eyes narrowed at me.

Talking about Mitch wasn’t going to
happen. Not today.

“I’m sure everything will be fine,” I
sighed, turning over to reach for my phone from Nathan’s
hand.

Nathan bit his cheek. “You’d tell me
if you knew something, right?”

“Of course. Not sure why I would know
something, though?”

Nathan gave me a look. “Don’t feed me
that bullshit.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Nothing is
happening between us. Like I’ve said before, he’s annoying, and so
not my type.” Sexual tension had nothing to do with liking someone,
and I didn’t feel the need to discuss it with Nathan.

“All right. I’m leaving
for the golf course. Curious to see what kind of shape everyone is
in from last night. Although, I think we’re the only ones who
didn’t have sex.”
Nathan sighed.

Guilt rushed through me. “I’m sorry,
Nathan. I didn’t mean to put a kibosh on your night.”

He waved his hand at me as he stood.
“Please. There weren’t any worthy takers at that club. I was ready
to leave anyway. Besides, I didn’t sleep alone.”

I returned his smile. He was way too
good for me, especially when I’d been such a bitch to him the week
prior.

I left shortly after Nathan. I needed
to find my hotel room and grab my things. As comfy as Nathan’s
sweatpants and undershirt were, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing
them at Becca’s wedding shower. I could only imagine the bank
accounts of the people who’d be in attendance.

As I made my way into the
hotel lobby, the receptionist gave me a knowing smile. I hid behind
my hair as I found the elevator, heading to my floor at an
agonizingly slow speed. He probably thought I’d had a one night
stand. At least I wasn’
t still in my dress
. Then
I thought about that blonde Mitch was all over last night. My ears
burned at the thought of seeing her disheveled and walking out of
his room.

Prick
. Why did I let him get to me?

The key card to my room
took my forceful swipe.
I
’d only spent a half
hour in this room yesterday when I’d dropped off my things but, I
knew the massive bouquet of deep red roses were a new decorative
piece. My body sunk into the sofa chair twenty feet from the table
where the flowers were located, and tears pricked my eyes the
moment I saw the black letter sitting next to them.

How did he know I was
here?

My hand instinctively reached for my
throat, my fingers rubbing along the front of my neck, the control
he still had over me clawing its way through my body. I jolted from
my seat, storming toward the flowers and letter. I grabbed the vase
and chucked it against the opposing wall, shattering the glass into
tiny pieces with a loud crash. My fists formed balls as I pounded
them into the mattress.

The black envelope was rough on my
fingers as I tore it into several pieces, giving myself more than
one paper cut in the process. Blood dripped down my fingers as
tears of anger and frustration fell down my cheeks, mixing with the
blood from my hands onto the crinkled pieces of black
carbon.

I hated him. He didn’t own me. Not
anymore.

***

I managed to pull myself together for
Becca’s shower. My flowing coral dress fit in appropriately with
the crowd, even though my mind most certainly wasn’t on the same
page. Becca was in a trance as well. We fit perfectly together,
methodically going through the motions while our brains were
fixated on other issues.

“Sorry I left without saying goodbye
last night,” Becca said in a monotone voice.

“Don’t sweat it. I left quickly, too.
I wasn’t feeling well.” It wasn’t a total lie. “How are things with
Tyler?”

She shrugged. I hated seeing my best
friend so unsure. “It’ll work itself out,” I said positively,
setting my hand on her shoulder. She gave me a grateful smile, then
continued her bride duties.

“
Jamie, great to see you
again,” Mary Conklin said enthusiastically as she gave me a big
hug. I returned her hug as comfortably as I could. We’d met while
dress shopping yesterday, but by the intensity of her hug you’d
think we’d known each other our entire lives. She definitely moved
to the beat of her own drum; eccentric and in her own world,
according to Becca. Nathan’s description was similar, just slightly
more tender. He loved his mother but knew she was a
handful.

“Thank you for letting me tag along
today.”

Mary waved her hand as if I were
speaking a foreign language. “Of course I’d invite the maid of
honor. Besides, Nathan talks about you all the time. Only good
things. We must get to know each other better.” She
laughed.

I grinned at her, a small
amount of warmth filling me knowing that Nathan told his mother
about me. The green of her eyes had a gleam in them as she smiled,
and they reminded me of Mitch’s. I had to look away from her. The
way Mitch’
s
lust
-filled eyes bore into mine last night
made my core tighten, and the weirdness of that feeling rising
inside of me while I talked to his mother was awkward as
hell.

“You’ll be at dinner tonight, right?”
Mary asked. She clearly had more social rounds to make. I nodded
enthusiastically.

The pretend smile stayed on my face
throughout the rest of the party. It was shockingly easy for me to
act a completely different way around others, even if they were
people I loved.

Just as the crowd was dwindling the
men made their appearance. They had been playing golf at the
country club during the shower. I inwardly growled as I saw Mitch
walking inside. He looked odd dressed in black slacks, polo shirt,
and a matching hat. I liked him better in his work jeans and
T-shirt.

Stop it.
You don’t like Mitch at all! Well, maybe his
body…

I needed to find something
to keep me busy so I wouldn’t be tempted to bicker with him.
Fortunately, Nathan saved the day. “You’ll be happy to know, I
didn’
t lose
today
,” Nathan said with a
grin.

I returned his smile. “That’s a
first.”

He rolled his eyes as he sat down at a
table dressed in fine linens. “How’d the shower go?”

“Fine,” I said calmly, moving ribbons
around the makeshift bouquet for Becca’s rehearsal dinner,
wondering who’d originally thought of such a silly
tradition.

“That much fun, huh?”

I laughed under my breath.
Nathan
could read me too well.

“Need a ride back to your
hotel?”

An icy chill ran through
me. Visions of the deep red roses sprawled over the floor amongst
shards of glass filled my mind. Going back to that room scared me.
For all I knew, he’d convinced the hotel that he was staying with
me, had got a key, and would be waiting for me to come back. He
hadn’t made a physical appearance in seven years, but he’d also
never followed me out of Florida, or found his way into my own
personal space like an office or hotel room. “
Jamie,
” Nathan prodded me out of my thoughts.

I gulped, my hand moving to caress my
throat. “Actually, I wanted to go shopping for something new to
wear tonight. Want to come with me?”

Nathan scrunched his face as though he
ate something sour, but agreed. “I could use something new I
guess.”

“Do you care if I ask Becca to join
us? I feel bad for ditching her last night.” Nathan shrugged in
agreement as he stood, leaving the table to go chat with his
mom.

“Why don’t you ask me to come shopping
with you?”

The audible groan that came from my
mouth seemed to please Mitch as he sat down next to me. “You’re not
invited.”

“Come on, you know you love my
company.”

“Hmm, what’s that saying? Misery loves
company?” I tapped my chin. “Seems to be the case when I’m with
you.”

“Nah, I’m always happy with you,
Jamie,” Mitch flirted with a wink. “Have dinner with me
tonight.”

I rolled my eyes. “We’re all having
dinner together tonight.”

Mitch
’s lip quirked. “It’s a date.
See you then.” He left as though he’d won me over.

Jerk.

***

Becca declined my invitation to go
shopping so she could spend some time with Tyler and her family,
but I was okay with it. I hadn’t gone shopping with Nathan in a
very long time. It was fun to pick out clothing for him, and he had
good taste for what a woman should wear.

He shooed me from the clearance rack
stores and drove to Michigan Avenue, also known as the Magnificent
Mile. Those clothes were way too expensive, even with the very
generous Conklin salary.

“
That royal blue color
would look great on you, Jay,” Nathan said as he pointed toward a
rack of pricey dresses at Giorgio Armani.

“At $575.98, I think I’ll
pass.”

Nathan scowled and stormed toward me,
grabbing a dress that was in my size. “Try it on. Think of it as a
monthly bonus.”

“Nathan…”

“Really. I want to do
this. Try it on, please.” Nathan was stern with his words, but I
knew he secretly felt bad for arguing with me the week before. He
hadn’t verbally apologized, but I knew he would make nice gestures
to make himself feel better for being a jerk. This wasn’t the first
time I’
d
gotten a random
‘bonus’.

“I’ll throw in matching shoes and
maybe some jewelry if we have time.”

Giving in, I took the dress from him
and headed toward the fitting room. Once I was in the dressing
room, I overheard Nathan chatting with an employee. He was always a
good talker.

“
There are a few suits
that would go perfectly with your girlfriend’s dress in our men’s
section.”

“
I’d love for you to show
me. My
girlfriend
loves when we match.” I
covered my mouth to contain my snort. He loved toying with
people.

I stepped out of the dressing room,
searching for the three-way mirror. Nathan was putting on his charm
for the employee, carrying back a cashmere sweater with the same
color blue as my dress. “Wow, Jay. That looks great,” he said
kindly as he examined me.

“I agree,” the woman said
enthusiastically. “We have some heels that would be perfect. I’ll
grab them for you to try on. What size?”

“Seven and a half,” Nathan said
instinctively. He took his eyes off me and held his sweater out in
front of him. “What do you think?”

“We’d match,” I said with a slight
laugh. “It’d look great, though.”

“Then I
’m buying it. We both know
I need to make us look good.”

He was dead serious, and it made me
love him even more.

The employee rushed back with a pair
of matching blue heels with black toes. I thought they were
adorable and couldn’t wait to try them on. The blue jeweled
necklace she showed me was stunning and completed my ensemble
perfectly.

“
You two are such a cute
couple,” the employee said. Nathan gave her a quick grin, then went
back to his phone.