Obsession (A Bad Boy's Secret Baby) (2 page)

I was already exhausted from months of helping Mariela plan the wedding. The last few days were just the worst. Everything that could've gone wrong did. The caterer got into a car accident and had to cancel. Mariela had a massive fight with her sister and a bridesmaid had to miss the wedding altogether. And that was on top of all the other minutia that we had to keep track of.

The most nerve-racking thing was having to taxi around Mariela's family once they arrived from the airport. I was so worried that my poor little Jetta wouldn't be up to it and I hadn't had the time to get it checked out by my mechanic. It had trouble starting a few times, but we never got stranded anywhere; thank goodness.

Her family all seemed like wonderful people, easily as sweet as Mariela was, but they spoke as much English as I spoke Spanish. Which, spoiler alert, was one class in high school. Long story short - Mariela's family arrived from Chile, but their luggage didn't.

Mariela couldn't take any more time off from the hospital so I was on the hook to get them all fitted for suits and dresses. Mariela was so cute about the whole thing, offering to cook for me for the rest of my natural life. I didn't mind, she was like the sister I never had. She was the one that got me the job working with autistic kids at Children's Hope.

I wonder what Mal would say if he knew what I was doing now?

“Kait,” came a voice behind me.

“Huh?” I studied the procession of friends and relatives as they filed out of the building on their way to the reception. Thoughts of Mal lingered in my head, but he was still nowhere to be found.

“Earth to Kait.” Jeff, my brother's second oldest friend put a hand on my shoulder. I snapped out of it and fully faced him and the other groomsman. They chuckled that it took me so long to get out of my own head. “You ridin' with us, space shot?”

“Uh, no. No, thank you.” I managed a weak smile while wiping my eyes and chin.

“You sure, Sis?” Jeff looked concerned.

Was I that much of a mess? Damn you, Mal...

“Yeah, I'm good. I just need to make sure my makeup didn't run. I'd feel terrible if I looked like a circus clown in all the pictures.”

Jeff laughed and squeezed my shoulder in a platonic show of support, then he and the rest of Brendan's cop buddies left as well.

Most of them were really nice guys and they all looked out for me whenever I was around. It was nice in a lot of ways, but being the sister of a cop was terrible for my dating life. It was like having a small army of overprotective older brothers.

The clown part was true, I really did need to check my makeup. But I also needed to see if I was going crazy. If Mal was here, I needed to know. I had no idea what would happen after that. Would I be glad to see him or would I just slap him? Either way, after eight long years of thinking about the jerk that abandoned me I
needed
to know.

Kait

––––––––

I
was beginning to think I really had been seeing things. I left through the side door of the cathedral and saw that the parking lot was mostly empty, save for my boxy red Jetta. It looked as lonely as I was.

What was I expecting? I pictured Mal pulling up in a horse-drawn carriage holding a bouquet of white and purple roses and nearly laughed. Even if he was here, that definitely wasn't his style. The Mal I remember was too tough and manly to ever be that delicate. Granted that was a long time ago now, so much could have changed.

Either way I got my answer. I was crazy.

Walking up to my car, I couldn't shake this feeling of disappointment. Seeing Mal felt so right, like life had started to make sense again. But when I got outside it felt like I had woken from a dream and a pit formed in my stomach at the sense of loss. Loss of what could have been.

I tried the key fob to unlock the doors as I walked up, but that wasn't working.
Great... I so needed a new car.
I turned the ignition. It seemed to me that the car was only being held together by angry shouts, begging and prayers.

And not even that was working right now.

“No, no nonono... Damn it!” I shook the steering wheel as hard as I could, but it barely budged. “Not now, Juan Carlos!” Mariela named my car after the king of Spain back when I first met her. I laid my forehead against the wheel. “This was literally the worst time this could happen. Why hadn't I just ridden with the rest of the wedding party?”

I would have to call Brendan and have him send someone to pick me up, which would delay the wedding pictures and then, in turn, delay dinner. I felt so stupid. I would hold up the whole reception because I was still hopelessly chasing memories.

“I can't believe you still have this rust bucket.” The words were so close and warm that they poured into my ears like liquid honey.

Startled, I turned to look at the man who was just inches away and leaning into my car window. He wore the same smile that I saw in the church. His eyes were rimmed with thick lashes and despite the manly stubble, his snub nose still made him look younger than he was.

“You...” The word tumbled out of my mouth.

It really was Mal.

Before I could say anything else Mal slipped a hand around my neck and kissed me.

My eyes shot open so wide I thought they might roll out of my head. His lips found mine gingerly at first, then with more urgency. The touch of our intertwining tongues closed my eyes and forced me back into my favorite fantasy. The fantasy where Mal never left, where he never lied to me. A fantasy where we were together.

Kissing me after more years than words had passed between us was beyond bold. That was yet another reason I knew it was truly him. No one other than Mal had that much confidence. Mal always knew what he wanted and then he took it. It was as simple as that. He was always the kind of man who entered a room and suddenly had everyone playing by his rules.

It was criminal how good his lips felt. They brought me back to a place in my heart that was full of flowers and summer warmth. No one else could ever kiss me like this; it made me glow inside and out. I remembered why it had been so easy to fall in love with him in the first place. I used to dream about this very moment every night. It was my favorite dream.

But it was a dream I had woken up from a long time ago.

I found the strength to rip myself away from his heavenly lips. Mal's face jerked after me before he could catch himself. Had he wanted this moment as much as I had?

No, of course not. If he did, he'd never have abandoned me.

I hated how good it was to see his stupid, handsome face. The kiss still burned on my lips, making me yearn for more. There were so many things I wanted to tell him, so many questions I needed to ask him. How do you catch up on a lifetime?

Where did I even begin?

“You son of a bitch!” I slapped him. I guess that was as good a place as any to start. I opened my door into him, pushing him backward. “You don't get to do that!” I got out of the car and punched his shoulders. “Not after what you did!”

Mal stoically took the abuse for a few seconds, then easily caught my wrists.

“I deserve that.” He frowned, nodding. “If I let you go will you stop hitting me?”

“No.” I struggled against his strong, vice-grip hands.

His eyebrows turned upwards slightly as he released me. The concern on his face was unmistakable. Whenever he was around he had a way of making me feel like the only person in the world. Before I could stop him Mal ran a thumb gently across my face, wiping away my tears.

When had I started crying again? They were going to have to put a bag over my head for the wedding party pictures, I must've looked like such a mess.

Empathy and sadness washed over him as we looked at each other for a long moment. The pain of past mistakes were plainly etched across his face. For the first time ever I questioned whether it was even his choice to leave me. How had I never asked myself that? Was I really that blinded by anger?

His frown broke into a small, but spreading, warm smile. It threatened to melt me. “Dammit. You're even more beautiful than I remember.”

I looked away and immediately began choking up again. I was already emotional from watching the wedding. Mal being back was all way too much. Was he trying to kill me?

“I am so—”

“No!” I snapped back at him. “Don't you dare apologize!” I was so angry, that it was hard to think straight. How could a person tell another person they love them and then disappear for so long! Saying
I'm sorry
, doesn't magically fix everything! In the silence that followed, I swallowed a lump of anger that had risen in my throat. “Why are you here?”

“Brendan was my best friend for a long time. How could I not be here for his wedding?”

“Are you kidding me?” Brendan hated Mal at the end. Mal's horrible mother burned every bridge in town. Everyone hated Mal's family. “My brother would kill you if he knew you were here! He's a cop now, did you know that? Half the damn force is here. If they see you...”

“I know.” Mal's gaze deepened. His crushing, brown eyes burned through me with a crazy intensity that made me gasp in breath. “That's a risk I had to take. I needed to be here. I needed to see Brendan,” Mal paused, “And I needed to see you.”

“You gave up that right a long time ago.” I stubbornly stuck to my guns, even though every other part of my wanted to just dive into his arms. I knew some other women could forgive that easily. And honestly, I envied them. But the pain in my heart outweighed the joy.

“Kait...” Mal licked his bottom lip like he was about to say something, but stopped himself.

“I want you to go.” I blurted out the request before I lost my resolve and turned into a puddle on the floor.

“Your car—”

“Juan Carlos.” I corrected him. The useless information burst from my lips. “That's my car's name.”

Why did I say that? All of my family and friends knew my car's name, but Mal didn't. Was I subconsciously trying to prove to myself that Mal was a stranger in my life now.

“Juan Carlos?” He cracked a small too-charming grin that made me regret giving him an opening to lighter conversation. He shrugged playfully, tapped the hood and continued. “Senor Carlos is in rough shape. Let me at least give you a lift to the reception. You look way too good to pull up in a tow truck.”

Oh shit the reception! I checked my phone. I was already so late and had five missed calls. I didn't want to give Mal an inch, because I knew that would only open me up for him to take more. I was already weaker around him than I wanted to be.

But I was just so damn late.

“Fine.”

Mal bowed his head slightly and his grin spread a little wider. He left without another word.

What had I just agreed to? I forced myself to stop, take a breath and calm my racing heart. I'd have loved a few more minutes to process everything that was happening, but I didn't have the time.

I dug into my and purse and used my rear view mirror to fix my makeup. Much to my surprise, I only needed a light touch up. The mascara held really well! The Koreans must mix their blends with magic. I swore an oath to myself that I would never buy anything other than this one brand.

I heard Mal arrive before I saw. The rumbling engine reminded me that he was always a truck guy growing up. But when I looked it wasn't a truck that I saw.

“A motorcycle!” I shouted as Mal killed the engine. “How is that better than tow truck?”

“I can go steal a car if you want?” He looked like he was joking, but was he? Mal was a hard man to read at the best of times. And that was when I knew him. Who knows what he was like now.

“Say's the man talking to a police officer's sister.” I scoffed. “Do you have any idea how long it took to get my hair like this?”

Mal shrugged, obviously amused and held out a helmet for me. Exasperated, I grabbed it. Having not released it yet, Mal tugged the helmet in, which in turn pulled me toward him. I was so agonizingly close to him that I could smell shampoo.

“I'll always prefer your hair messy and matted with fresh sweat.” His eyes licked over me, sending shivers ripping through my spine. Even now it took so few words and gestures from him to make my core warm.

Damn him.

I snatched the helmet away from him and put it on. Mal didn't have an extra helmet, but it would be dark by the time we got there so no one would instantly recognize him.

He helped me onto the bike, then reached a hand around my lower back. The hard leather seat pushed the ruffled material of my dress into my pussy. Mal then jerked me toward him. The abrupt motion dragged my clit against the seat and made my stomach pulse in pleasure. I bit back an escaping moan, but his knowing glance told me he heard it.

I was just glad he couldn't see my face turn bright red behind the helmet.

“There's gonna be a lot of vibration, so make sure you hold on tight. I’ll try to get you there before you leave any beautiful stains on that dress.” His smile was wicked and carnal. It made me want to lick his intentions off his face.

I shook my head and yelled for him to shut up and go.

Bastard
, I thought as I wrapped my arms over his stomach and pressed my thighs into him. The bike roared to life and with a sudden jolt we took off.

The infuriating thing was that he might be right. I could feel that I was already wet. How could I not be? The man I
still
touched myself to was literally all around me. My breathing became shallow and rapid and I had to force myself not to orgasm. It was the worst.

This was going to be the longest ride of my life.

Malik

––––––––

F
uck.

I was rock hard.

It was a good thing I didn't have to get off the bike when we arrived at the reception, my cock might've blown out the front of my jeans.

I was dreading the end of the dirt road that led to the farm, because when we stopped I would no longer have Kait's arms around me. The road didn't care what I wanted and came to an end anyway. I let the engine idle for longer than I should've before reluctantly killing it. It was a good thing that I had been riding for so many years otherwise I might've been too distracted to control the bike.