Read A Little Harmless Obsession Online
Authors: Melissa Schroeder
Tags: #Red Hots!, #Contemporary Romance
A Little Harmless Obsession (20 page)
“Let it alone.”
It took a few moments for Chris to bring himself under control.
114
A Little Harmless Obsession
“Ah, that felt good. Since I got the call this morning I have been a mess. There is one thing. Don’t hurt her.”
“What makes you think I would think of doing it?”
Chris waved away the question. “Shit, we’re men, we fuck everything up. Just be careful with her.
She loves you.”
Uncomfortable with the idea, Evan shifted in his chair. “She doesn’t know me.” Chris studied him for a long moment. “I think she does and that’s what scares the hell out of you. Be gentle.”
“So you aren’t worried about your best friend?”
Chris nodded. “But then you never listen to me. I could have told you a long time ago that May would be good for you.”
“There can be no long term, you know that.”
“
You
think that. What your whore of a mother did to you, allowed to happen to you, it doesn’t change anything.”
“Let it go.”
Chris sighed. “I’m going to have to because I just don’t have the energy. I have to concentrate on getting to Atlanta and getting Jocelyn taken care of.” Three days later, May looked up from the hostess stand to see Detective Carino walk through the door. She smiled and he responded in kind.
“Are you here for a bite to eat or do you have info?”
“A little of both if you have a moment?”
He picked the best time, and she was sure he knew it. The mid-afternoon lull was worse than usual.
The beautiful weather outside was keeping everyone out at the beach.
“No problem.” After showing him to a table, she gathered up two iced teas and joined him while he looked over the menu.
“What do you suggest?”
“Kalua Pig Pizza. It’s mo’ better.”
He smiled at her, his hazel eyes laughing. “It took me awhile to get used to that saying when I first got here.”
“Where are you originally from?”
“Seattle. HPD did some recruiting up there and I decided I’d had enough rain to last a lifetime. I was ready for warm beaches and sunny days.”
After Simone came to their table and took his order, he said, “We haven’t made any more progress, I just found some interesting tidbits that I wanted to bounce off you.”
115
Melissa Schroeder
She nodded.
“Well, your friend Rick was missing from the fundraiser that night, for a period of twenty minutes. It doesn’t prove anything, but it is curious.”
May shook her head. “I just don’t see him doing it. He was pissed when we broke up, but I think he was just irritated that I did it before he got the chance to.” He studied her for a moment. “Might be that he has something to prove?”
“Maybe, but truth is, Rick is lazy. Revenge is one thing, but he cares more about his career and public image. Yes, I dumped him and that smarted. But in truth, once Chris threatened to have him arrested, he disappeared. He never stalked me.”
“I would stay clear of him.”
“I always do.”
He laughed. “I also wanted to ask you about a Dr. Akito.” Her mind went blank for a moment, then she remembered the date from a few weeks earlier. “Ah, I only had one date with him. And I didn’t know him beforehand. Why would you check him out?”
“When I talked to your brother, he mentioned him, and while it wasn’t that important, I thought we should at least run a check on him. He was arrested for assault.” Her eyes widened. “Really? I would have never guessed. He seemed so…well, passive.”
“The charges were dropped by his ex-girlfriend.”
May shook her head. “But I didn’t even date him before the first incident.”
“Ah, your father told me he asked about you. That he had dined in here before.” A chill raced over her flesh. “That’s weird.”
“Yeah, so we’re checking him out a little more closely. But you’ve had nothing else happen?” She shook her head. “I would have contacted you otherwise. Truth be told, I’ve been on pins and needles, waiting. I hate it…the not knowing if or when it will happen again.” He reached out and patted her hands. “We’ll get the bastard. You still have someone driving you back and forth to work?”
She nodded, still amazed that Kai and Danny had no objection to Evan taking her to and from work.
There had been some big male-bonding moment she’d missed out on. As if conjured up by her thoughts, Evan walked through the door, and she knew he was looking for her. It had been a week since they’d first made love, but she couldn’t stop the secret thrill curling in her tummy as he zeroed in on her. His gaze passed over her, his smile widening, until he saw who she was sitting with.
Officer Carino turned to look at him, then back at her. “Is Evan Chambers the man who was here the night of the first incident?”
She nodded.
116
A Little Harmless Obsession
“You’re involved?” Before she could answer he waved it away. “I expected it when you brought in those photos, but I had hoped…” He shook his head. “Well, that’s a disappointment.” She blinked, then realized he was interested in her. It dawned on her then that not once since he had arrived had the detective called her Ms. Aiona, but May. What was with her karma? She went years without attracting any alphas, and now they seemed to be coming out of the woodwork.
“Detective. Is there something wrong?” Evan asked as he took the seat beside her.
“No, I just thought I’d let Ms. Aiona know we are still keeping on top of the situation.” Evan studied the detective for a moment then said, “That could have been done with a phone call.” Embarrassment had her face turning red. She looked at Evan and noticed that he hadn’t taken his eyes off the detective, his face an expressionless mask. Dammit, she didn’t need this. It was hard enough that she was losing sleep. Granted, it was because she spent every night at Evan’s being thoroughly pleasured.
But with the stress of running the restaurant by herself, being sick with worry about Chris and his sister, not to mention dealing with falling completely and absolutely in love with Evan, she had her breaking points.
“Evan, could I talk to you a moment…alone?”
His head whipped around, anger sparking in his gray blue eyes. He didn’t like her tone, but she didn’t like his behavior.
Without waiting for an answer, she slipped out of her seat and smiled at the detective. “Was there anything else you needed?”
He glanced at Evan. “No. Just know you can call me night or day.” That earned him a growl from Evan. She shot him a nasty look. “Stay here or follow, but I have to do some paperwork in the office.”
With that, she turned on her heel and marched back to the office. Damned if he was going to treat her like she was some kind of object he owned. She might be his sub, but she refused to allow him to rule over her life. She slammed the door after entering. Two seconds later it shot open. Evan stood in the doorway, looking larger than his six-three frame.
“Have you come to apologize?”
He looked nonplussed at that. “Apologize? What for?”
“Shut the door.”
Again, he looked surprised, probably because she gave him an order. When he hesitated, she said, “I don’t want anyone in the kitchen listening in.”
His eyes softened a bit and he closed the door. He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against it.
“What do you think that was about?”
He studied her. “He was here to hit on you.”
She nodded. “Partly.”
117
Melissa Schroeder
Another growl rumbled low in his chest. This wasn’t like Evan at all. He was an alpha through and through, but she had never seen him display such…loss of control.
“Are you going to stand there glowering at me?”
“If I feel like it.”
Oh, God, he sounded pissed and not a little pouty. Evan Chambers pouty? Her world was just not making any sense today. And it shouldn’t make him more attractive, but it did.
“You have to understand I don’t need you lording over me all the time.” He sneered. “You didn’t complain about it last night.” She sighed. “I have no problem giving you control in the bedroom. You know that. But what I refuse to do is give it to you all the time. Especially at work. What the hell do you think would have happened if you had started arguing with the detective?”
“He’d learn to stop sniffing around my woman.”
A little jolt of joy filled her at the term
my woman
, but she pushed it aside. “And I would lose a lot of respect from my staff. It’s hard enough running this place without Chris around to help me. Do you think I need this right now?”
“I wasn’t going to cause a scene.”
She didn’t say anything, just crossed her arms beneath her breasts and raised an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes and moved to the chair and collapsed.
“Okay, I wasn’t planning on it. But I could tell by the way he was looking at you that he wanted you.” She threw her hands up in the air. “Why would I want him when I have you?” His lips curved. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“It’s the truth.”
She couldn’t lie, would never be someone who could hide her feelings. It would probably come back to bite her in the ass. Honest people tended to get hurt. But she just would not falsify her feelings. It wasn’t the way she was made.
“Still, it doesn’t mean I will put up with your bull-headed behavior. This is as bad as when you went after Rick.”
“Bastard hasn’t bothered you since, has he?”
The satisfaction in his voice ignited her temper. “He wasn’t bothering me before. He’d stopped months ago, so I don’t know what the hell you think you did.” He opened his mouth to argue, but she plowed ahead. “I need you to understand that while you are in charge in the bedroom,
I
am in charge of my own life.”
His smile faded, his eyes turning cold.
“Are you trying to tell me that our relationship doesn’t extend outside of the bedroom?” 118
A Little Harmless Obsession
“Yeah, like I could stop that if I wanted to, which I don’t. I care about you, Evan, but what I need from you is some understanding. I have to be in charge here, I have to be the one who handles all the fires, especially with Chris gone. If I lose my employees’ respect because my lover comes barging in and punches an officer, I won’t have much credibility. It would be worse than Rick showing up here.” His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? I’m worse than that jackass?” She sighed again and rubbed her temples. Her head was starting to pound. “No. But I wasn’t involved with him by then. I’m involved with you.”
His temper seemed to cool. “I’m sorry. How about I make it up with a late dinner at my place?” She shook her head. She wanted to, wanted it more than was good for her own thoughts. For years now, she’d had these feelings for him. Now that they were involved, they were bigger, so big they scared the hell of her. She needed some space, and dammit, she needed some rest.
“No. I need to stay home tonight.”
He said nothing, studying her. “Is this some kind of power play?”
“Jesus, Evan, I need a good night’s sleep. I’m working split shifts and double shifts, trying to keep this place going in Chris’s absence, and at night you aren’t letting me get any rest. Do I look particularly well-rested?”
“You didn’t say anything about it earlier.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “You mean when I was rushing out the door because I was late again? I have a headache starting, my back is aching, and thank the good Lord, Simone is opening tomorrow. I will get to sleep in, then we can do something tomorrow night.”
“I might be busy tomorrow.”
His words lashed out at her, but this was one case she could be just as mean. “Fine. Either way, I’m staying home tonight. I’m getting some sleep.”
And figuring out what the
hell I’ve gotten myself into
. She couldn’t say that out loud, but she sensed he might have picked up on it.
Without a word, he stood and walked around the table. Grabbing her arms, he pulled her out of the chair and took her mouth in a bruising, possessive kiss. The heat of it had her melting, had her whole body lighting up like fireworks at Magic Island. She speared her hands through his hair while she pressed her body against him. Every cell of her being cried out for more, wanted, needed to have him take her here, but he pulled away, releasing her so abruptly that she almost lost her balance. When she opened her eyes, she found him staring at her as if she were poison.
“Evan…”
“Call me if you change your mind.”
With that, he strode out, his anger and the passion he had stirred still clinging to the air. May collapsed into her chair, her body humming and her mind numb. Her vision blurred and it took her a moment to realize she was crying. It wasn’t her way, she wasn’t a bawler, but she felt the need to have a
119
Melissa Schroeder
good cry well up and overtake her. She was so tired, so ready to just lay her head down on the desk and fall asleep for a month. Tears poured, streaking down her face as she laid her head down on her desk. Several minutes later, she brought herself back under control. Drawing in a deep breath, cleaned up her face with a tissue, then pulled out a mirror she kept handy to clean up the damage. Her eyes were red, but not worse than they had been lately…though a little puffier. When she felt better, she grabbed a bottle of water from the office fridge and got to work on the paperwork. The sooner this was done, the sooner she could get home and sink into oblivion.
120
Chapter Sixteen
Evan slipped his key into the slot and unlocked the door to May’s house. He didn’t think he was breaking any rules, but he moved as silently as possible. Her father, Daniel, had given him the key so that he could come and go as he needed while working on the house. Granted, he probably hadn’t thought that Evan would use it to let himself into May’s room, but he shrugged away the guilt. He turned the corner that lead to May’s room, and stopped when he saw the dogs blocking the entryway. He waited until he saw both their tails thumping in their regular greeting. He released a relieved sigh. He didn’t need the damn dogs waking up everyone in the house.
