Obsession

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EXCERPT

CHAPTER ONE: SPINOFF

Sara

Clarity. That’s what I found when my newest friend barely escaped her stalker. It took a few weeks, but I found it. For years, I’ve waited for Wyatt Hawkins to give me the time of day, but I’m done waiting for him. No, I’m not going to force his hand like I’ve tried dozens of times before. Fuck that.

I’ve got just the man in mind who can help me with one tiny problem that remains.

But first, brunch. It’s ten o’clock on Saturday. An odd time for a first date, but Drew Young isn’t your typical guy. And we didn’t meet in the typical fashion. Meaning my mother didn’t set me up with him.

Nope, I chose Drew Young myself. He made me laugh. But mother would approve. He’s socially acceptable, having dated a much wealthier woman than me. He’s new money which isn’t a problem with our family because so are we. Kind of.

Newer than most families, at least. My grandfather squirreled away a fortune and my father was a brilliant investor until he passed. My brother Tom, well… he did get a degree in accounting, so we’re hopeful.

“Sara.”

Turning, I smile at Drew as he strides toward me in front of the restaurant. His smiling brown eyes capture mine. His light brown hair has some wave, but it’s styled nicely. He has on a blue buttoned shirt tucked into his dark jeans. His sleeves are rolled up showing his muscled forearms.

I’ve seen him in a tux at events and even nice clothes at the restaurant, but I’ve never caught sight of his muscular forearms. Didn’t think that would do it for me, but damn.

When he reaches me, he pulls me into his arms and envelops me in a rich, spicy scent and warmth. “I’m so glad you called.”

I have to admit the pull I feel for him isn’t as strong as my brother’s best friend, Wyatt, but it’s still there. There’s this buzz of attraction that makes me want to do naughty things with him.

“How could I not?” I pull back and self-consciously try to tuck my hair behind my ear, but it’s in a bun. The dinner I met Drew at was an ambush on the two women he was fucking at the time. So he’s perfect for what I need. “You definitely kept me entertained.”

His eyes twinkle with mischief. “Just a warning. I only fake date women I fuck.”

I laugh as he opens the door to the restaurant. “I’m not looking for a fake date anymore.”

He takes hold of my elbow and leans in close to my ear. “So only a fuck then?”

“Maybe,” I try to be nonchalant. When everything in me is wondering what the fuck am I doing? I could be forward when I need to be, but I’m not typically this forward.

His heated smile makes my heart skip and my panties melt. He turns to the host. “Table for two.”

The woman is dressed all in black with her blond hair sleeked back into a high ponytail. Her flirty smile is all for Drew. “Right this way, Mr. Young.”

Drew leads me through the tables to a two-seater right next to the window. One of the best places to be seen. I almost ask for a dark corner, but the host is already returning to her station.

I won’t flat out proposition the man, but I’m definitely open to the possibilities.

He holds out my chair for me. I gather my skirt before sitting and allowing him to push me in. When he sits across from me, he doesn’t pick up the menu. Instead, he leans on his elbows and looks at me.

“So, is this a revenge fuck then?” He winks. “Getting back at an ex?”

My cheeks flush with heat. “No, not revenge.”

His eyes widen when I once again don’t deny the fuck part of his statement. I set the menu to the side. Both of us have obviously been here before. I don’t need to casually peruse the menu before getting what I always get.

I lean my elbows on the table and fold my hands together to rest my chin on them. “I’m curious about you. You made me laugh and I have to admit I felt a little spark even though you were fucking two of the women at the table.”

“Currently, fuck buddy free.” His brown eyes twinkle with mischief. “Are you applying for the position?”

I blow out a breath. I can do this. “Can I be honest with you?”

“Of course.”

“What can I get you today?” Our server stops beside us. She’s attractive with her dark hair. She checks out Drew, but he doesn’t look at her.

Drew nods for me to go first.

“Belgian waffle with strawberries and extra whipped cream.” I’ve never had a guy give me this much attention. Granted the last guy I went out with was in a secret relationship with my friend and we’d agreed to fake date to appease our matchmaking moms.

“Eggs benedict with a side of your sourdough toast.” Drew continues to look at me not the server.

“Coffee?” the server asks.

“Yes, please.” We answer at the same time. His attention is a little unnerving, especially for what I want to discuss with him.

“Be right back with that.” She walks away, leaving us relatively alone.

“You were about to be honest with me. Something I greatly admire.” When he smiles, butterflies flutter in my stomach. How fucking cliché. But they do more with him than most guys.

Okay, being honest with myself here, they don’t take flight for anyone else besides my brother’s best friends. Yes, all three of them. Not that they feel the same way. So Drew fascinates me because outside of those three I’ve never felt like this with a guy.

“Right.” I exhale. “For years, I’ve had a massive crush on my brother’s best friend.”

“Dante Stone?” Drew relaxes in his chair as he searches my eyes.

My face heats. “Um, no.”

Does Dante stir up something inside me that makes me want him? Yes, but I wouldn’t call it a crush. But there have been moments. Breathtaking moments.

Drew nods. “Finn?”

Finn Lawson, my brother’s other best friend. A certifiable flirt who makes me hot and needy when he’s close, but I always figured that’s just Finn. Most women drop their panties for him. And while he’d be perfect for my current mission, I can’t do that to Wyatt, even if he doesn’t look twice at me. Or look at me ever.

“Also no. Wyatt.” I blush and fidget with putting my napkin on my lap. “He doesn’t look at me like that though and I’m done waiting.”

“Sara.” He waits until I lift my gaze to his. “I’m open to whatever you want. You want someone to fuck Wyatt out of your system I’m just the guy to do it. You need someone to go to events with and laugh at all the people. I’m down. If we’re being honest?”

The server comes and fills our coffee mugs before walking off again. She has crap timing.

I take my cup and sip at the hot brew, waiting for him to continue.

“I noticed you that night at the restaurant. I’ve noticed you a lot. It may have been a thing for redheads at first.” He flashes me a cocky smile.

I touch my red hair pulled up into a loose bun.

He smiles. “Or the first time I saw your pale green eyes that look like a color out of a fairy tale. But honestly, I’m up for whatever you want because I want to spend time getting to know you. If that’s okay with you?”

“Oh.” My cheeks heat, surprised I feel the same way. What if this could actually be. . . something? I smile. “I’d like that.”

♥

I knock on the door, followed by slapping my hand against the solid wood. It’s almost noon, and you’d think one of the four guys who live here would be awake. I glance toward the elevator. There’s only one door on this floor and it belongs to my brother and his merry band of pricks.

My date with Drew got cut short because of Tom. Grrr, Tom is the biggest cockblock of my life. I blame him for Wyatt’s disinterest.

Drew was about to kiss me and I got bombarded by texts that made no fucking sense. My heart rate is elevated and if this is a prank, I’m going to rip Tom a new one.

I pound again and this time a voice comes through the door.

“Hold your fucking horses.” It’s muffled enough that I’m not sure what guy it came from. I don’t care as long as someone lets me in.

The door swings open to a dripping wet Viking of a man in a scrap of a towel that barely conceals anything. I bite my lip. His blond hair curls around his shoulders. His chest is wide and cut with a narrow waist. Black ink starts on his pec and curls around his neck. 

My mouth goes dry and my panties get wet. My attraction to him annoys the piss out of me because it most definitely isn’t mutual.

“What do you want, Sara?” His icy blue eyes narrow on me. He never shows any emotion except irritation when it comes to me. Which is fine, because I’m done with all these guys. They should be relieved. I finally moved on from the nothing they’ve offered me for six years.

“Where’s Tom?” I brush past the giant of a man into the dim living room, shaking off the sparks that my arm rubbing against his hard muscles triggers. “Tom! Tom, get your ass out here. I swear to God I will come into your room and if I see boobs or dick, I’m telling Mom.”

I ignore Dante, who follows me, as I move deeper into the apartment. His presence makes my skin tingle. I’m still in my sundress that I wore on my date. My hair is still up and it’s like I can feel Dante breathing on my neck. Which would be difficult given how fucking tall he is.

I’m not really short, but no one would call me tall or even average.

Tom’s bedroom is toward the back. I don’t care if I wake the dead and whatever woman or women might still be here. My brother has a lot of explaining to do.

“Tom!”

A door opens and Finn Lawson steps out. He’s not as tall as the Viking, but still much taller than me. I’m not prepared for so much lovely man chest this morning. His body is a work of art and he works hard at the gym to keep it that way. His dark hair looks mussed like someone’s been running their fingers through it.

Chances are someone else has.

His green eyes focus on me and he gives me this smile that would melt anyone’s panties. Mine are, unfortunately, not immune. He gives me this flirty smile, full of temptation.

“For fuck’s sake, flower. Keep it down or come in here, and I’ll make you scream real good.” He strokes his fingers over his lips. On any other guy, I would roll my eyes, but heat floods me when Finn does stuff like that.

Why couldn’t my brother find ugly friends? Like seriously, did he hold auditions and only let the most attractive guys through to the final round? Because that sounds like an excellent way to meet a guy that will make my mother turn blue trying not to say bad things about him.

Unfortunately, Drew is perfect for my mother. Which means she’ll love him and won’t let me ever dump him. He’s from a good family, knows how to dress, and actually likes me. My heart speeds up thinking about how he was just about to kiss me when my phone blew up with Tom’s texts.

Ignoring Finn, I walk to my brother’s door. Ignoring Finn is artwork. It’s hard to ignore someone so blatantly pretty, but I’m currently on a mission and can’t be waylaid even by the pretty fuckboy.

When the door next to Tom’s opens, I don’t even look. I know it’s Wyatt. While I’ve been trying to get his attention for the last few years, today is not the day. Today, I have to make sure my brother is just fucking with me.

“Tom, I hope you’re decent,” I warn, before throwing open the door. The bedroom is dark and there’s no sign of life. In fact, it’s a mess. Clothes are strewn all over the place, but that could be the way he lives.

I don’t normally storm into my brother’s room.

“Why are you here?” the dark, gravelly voice that haunts my dreams says. 

Shaking off the shiver of delight working down my spine, I don’t stop to fill Wyatt in on the details. I walk into the room and go to the bathroom door, checking to make sure that no one’s there.

“Fuck.” The word slips from my lips. Okay, hot guys aside, we have a problem.

My hands tremble as I take out my phone and double check the text message conversation between me and my brother or more like between me and five quick texts.

“What’s going on, pipsqueak?”

I sigh at Dante’s voice and the old nickname. Being a giant, he’s always been taller than me and even more so when I stopped growing and he didn’t. Pretty sure that nickname is to keep me at arm’s length.

“Tom.” I hold out my phone. Dante takes it and looks over the conversation that I know by heart.

Tom:

I’ve got to go

Don’t stay at home.

Go to my apartment.

Don’t look for me.

They’ll protect you.

Followed by a flurry of texts from me asking what the fuck in various ways. What the fuck did he get into this time? He’s an accountant not a fucking super hero or spy. Why would he have to go anywhere?

“I swear if this is about a woman I’m going to kick his ass.” I flop down on the edge of his bed and look around his room. This would be an extreme way to ghost a woman, but who knows with Tom.

His closet door is open and the suitcase he usually has for travel is gone. Half of his hangers are empty. A few are on the floor.

“When did you get this?” Dante leans against the wall, scrolling through my texts with Tom. He’s probably looking at earlier texts. Not that Tom and I talk much.

The most recent texts were about giving me an internship or I’d tell mom about his high school hookup that’s still going on.

But Dante knows how to see when a text was sent. Is he just trying to get me to talk?

Shaking my head, I stand and go into Tom’s bathroom. I turn on the light. The room looks like someone grabbed things in a hurry. His toothbrush and toothpaste are gone, but his floss is on the floor.

His razor is gone but his shaving cream is tipped over.

Silence falls over me as I think over Tom’s words. I’ve got to go. What the fuck is he into? What is happening? If anyone knows, it’s these three.

I storm out of the bedroom and poke Dante in his chest. Ow. And just hurt my finger. 

I glare up at him, rubbing my finger. “You live with him. Where is he?”

Dante returns my phone and crosses his arms over his chest making his muscles stand out even more. Fuck, he’s so fucking hot and that towel isn’t really covering much except his cock. My tongue darts out to lick my lips before I lift my gaze back to his face.

“We don’t keep tabs on each other.” His eyes lock on mine for a second longer than they should. Flames lick at my spine. Fuck.

Focus. Tom. I need to find Tom.

“So what the fuck are his texts about?” I leave Tom’s room and the hot Viking to look for more clues. I didn’t see his laptop or phone in the bedroom or even his chargers.

“May I see the texts?” Wyatt steps in front of me and holds out his hand. My breath catches as I lift my gaze to his dark brown eyes and sleep rumbled dark hair. His pajama bottoms cling to his hips. My insides soften. I swear if a woman comes out of his bedroom, I will lose what’s left of my mind.

He dates. He sleeps around. He flaunts the fact he’s with other women. Every other woman, except me. I’m the one who gets ignored. And I’m done with it.

Drew is my step in the right direction to prove I’m finished with Wyatt.

I hand Wyatt my phone and wander through their living room and kitchen. In the kitchen, there’s a note.

Need to lie low for a while. Not sure if they know about my family except Sara, but watch out for Sara and my mom, Roger, and Caitlyn. With me gone, they should be safe.

-Tom

Heat floods my back as Finn reaches over my shoulder and takes the note from my hand. “What do we have here, flower?”

Finn smells like sex and sin. My body perks up at his scent. Ugh. These guys have always made my head spin, but usually Tom is around to pull me back down to Earth.

“Tom left you guys a note.” I move away from the tempting warmth of his body. “I don’t know who they are, but I’m still scheduled to start my internship on Monday, whether or not Tom is there.”

I’m holding firm to that because I need this internship to graduate. My gaze meets Wyatt’s brown eyes as he places my phone on the counter.

“Of course, pipsqueak.” Dante still hasn’t found clothes and I’m pretty sure that towel isn’t going to hang on much longer. Fuck. I really don’t need to see that.

I’ve seen the man in gray sweatpants. He’s packing some serious heat behind that towel.

“Would you go get dressed?” I gesture to him. “We all know you’re hot. Cover that shit up.”

Dante’s eyes flash hot for a second before he nods and heads into his bedroom. I go to the bar they have in the living room and put a glass on the counter. I glance over the liquors before choosing a whisky, because fuck, I need something strong to deal with these guys.

“Early for a drink,” Wyatt grumbles, running a hand through his hair.

“You want one?” I pour myself a little into the glass and set the whisky bottle on the bar. “I was on a date when Tom sent me his vague texts and wouldn’t answer my calls.”

“A date?” Finn asks while starting the coffeemaker. 

“Yes, a date.” I down the contents of my glass. It burns my throat, but I don’t care. I add a little more to the glass and walk away from the bar to sit on their living room sectional.

I rest my head against the back and close my eyes. Tom left in a hurry. He told me to come here. Why? And why do I need protection? From what? Or who?