A Little Harmless Obsession (7 page)

“What have you got to lose, May?”

“My dignity. I would probably die of embarrassment being naked in front of everyone.” Cynthia sighed. “Listen. I know this would be hard but think about what you could gain from it. You could really find your sexual identity. Believe me, I know what you’re feeling right now. I wondered why people were so bent on getting into bed with each other. Sex was horrible, more like a thing to endure.

Then I met Chris.”

A slight ping of jealousy hit May’s heart. Cynthia’s whole face softened, as did her voice.

“It was the first time I could say I enjoyed sex. And it was like a whole new world opened for me. I definitely would not have moved here. I probably would have married some Neanderthal my father picked out and kept wondering why the hell everyone was so excited about having sex.”

“But you did that without an audience.”

Cynthia fixed her with a stare. “I know this is scary. It’s going to be hard enough if this is truly what you need. Not everyone understands the life. At least at the club you will never worry about being unacceptable.” She leaned closer. “This could really change your life…and for the better.” It could. She felt it to her bones. There had always been something missing in sex, from the first time up until the last time a few months ago. She could feel the excitement, be ready to really get down to it, then she would get in bed. The embarrassment of those times, of never being fulfilled and having some of the guys, especially Rick, blame her was humiliating. Was that any worse than this? That had been in private at least. The public humiliation of Rick’s accusations of her cheating on him still hurt. And worse, she had been in a way.

“What does Chris think?”

“Didn’t ask him. He thinks of you as his little sister. While he has no trouble with me at the club, he might have a problem with his little sister going there, especially for this.” Did she really want to do this? While Cynthia thought there was a way out, that there would be a way for her to quit, there wouldn’t. For May, if she was going to do this, she would go into it with full gusto.

“Okay. What do I need to do?”

“I’ll call Micah. He wants a contract, and you have to have a physical.” May nodded, her body still tingling from the rush of heat.

Cynthia practically hopped up the stairs to Micah’s office. She knew just what buttons to push, and while she felt a little guilty, she knew without a doubt that May needed this. She hurt each time she thought 40

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A Little Harmless Obsession

of her friend’s embarrassed face and tortured voice whenever she talked of sex. Oh, when they were in the company of others, she would joke. But Cynthia knew she had suffered from not finding fulfillment.

She opened the door and smiled at Micah then turned her attention to her fiancé. He stood and she strode over to him and gave him an enthusiastic kiss.

“Well?” he asked.

“She’ll do it.”

“You’re both crazy.”

They turned and faced Micah.

“I think it will work out,” Chris said. “Cynthia is sure she’s a submissive, and Jesus, if anything, it will get Evan off his ass. He haunts my place anymore and it will get embarrassing.” He looked at Cynthia.

“Do you think there will be a problem?”

“No, and we had help from Evan.”

Chris laughed. “What happened?”

“He came in giving her orders, telling her that he’d talked to that ex of hers about her car. Lord, that was the last thing he should have done.”

“He’s just trying to find out what happened.”

Cynthia sighed. “Yeah, well, he’s acting like a bull in a china shop. Either way, he told her she should make better choices in who she dates. It sent her over the edge.”

“I bet.”

“Chambers finds out about this, he isn’t going to be happy,” Micah said.

Micah hadn’t been keen on the idea, but Cynthia knew it was the right thing to do.

“I’ll take care of Evan,” Chris said. “Just get the contract written up.” Micah nodded.

“I gotta get back to Dupree’s.”

They walked through the darkened club and Cynthia winced when Chris opened the door. She pulled out her sunglasses and slipped them on.

“You’re sure about this?”Chris asked.

Without hesitating, she nodded. “Yes. One way or another, they have to move on. And even if Evan doesn’t step in, May is a sub. She needs this. And what’s more, I know exactly how she feels. I can’t stand thinking she’s suffering.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his warmth. She could smell the aftershave he used and the warm, delicious scent that was pure Chris Dupree. He kissed her on the nose. The love she saw in his gaze caused her heart to constrict. Would she ever get used to this man? Every day she was so blessed to have him.

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The first stirrings of desire flickered through her blood. She frowned. “We have no time right now. I have interviews and you have to get back to work.”

His smile widened. “But it’s my early night, and I will definitely be in charge tonight.” The warmth boiled up and over into heat. “I’m counting on it.” May parked her car behind her brother’s truck, happy to see he was home. Kai had been doing so much work lately that they hadn’t had enough time together. Only thirteen months apart in age, they had always been close. But recently, with their schedules, they hadn’t spent a lot of time together. It was as if they didn’t even live in the same house. She slipped out of her car, smiling at the newly painted door. It had only taken a couple weeks to get it all straightened out, and now her car looked brand new.

Knowing that not one of the four men she lived with would have checked the mail, she slowly made her way over to the box. She slipped the key into the slot and opened it. As she walked to the front door, she could smell huhi huhi chicken. Ah, her father was grilling and that meant she didn’t have to cook. The mail consisted of mainly bills and junk. There was one envelope addressed to her. It didn’t look like a bill or junk so she dumped the rest of the mail on the table.

“Anyone around?”

Kai stuck his head around the corner. “We’re all out back. Dad cooked.” She smiled. “I smelled it out front. I’m going to change and be out in a minute.” He saluted her and slipped back outside as she walked to her room. Pulling off her clothes, she sighed.

She picked a T-shirt and a pair of yoga shorts, donned them, then grabbed up the letter again. She slipped her finger inside and tore it open. It contained one slip of paper and her blood froze when she opened it. In letters cut out from newspapers and magazines, it read:
You think you know everything, so smart, so fucking brilliant. People do not know what a two-faced
bitch you are. I can’t wait to see you fail, to see you hurt.

Her heart stuttered then ratcheted into a rhythm that would surely kill her. Her breath clogged her throat. Her vision dimmed and the room spun around her.

“May!” Kai yelled. His hands were on her, holding her up.

She shook her head, trying to clear the buzzing out of her ears.

“May? Are you all right? Do I need to call Dad—”

The threat of bringing their father in brought her back from the edge. It was going to be bad enough once her family found out about the letter.

With quite an effort, she pulled herself together. “No. Give me a minute or two before calling Dad in.”

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She patted his hand and moved away from him toward the table. “It seems someone isn’t too happy with me.”

Kai followed her line of vision and his golden eyes darkened when he saw the letter. He moved to grab it, but she stopped him.

“No. My prints are all over it, so we need to keep it as clean as possible.”

“Where did the bastard leave it?”

“He mailed it.”

“Fuck.”

“Exactly.”

“You are going to call the police.”

Not a question but a command. May had been planning on doing just that, but she did not like Kai’s tone.

“Of course I am. What do you take me for?”

“I don’t want you hedging on this. Rick can’t keep getting away with this.” Her temper sparked. “How do you know it’s him? I haven’t heard from him since Chris banned him and threatened to have me file a restraining order. It has been months.” Kai shoved his hand through his short hair. “I don’t know what you saw in him to begin with.” She settled her hands on her hips. “Oh, really? Why don’t you talk to Dad about it? He’s the one who set us up.”

“Well, he was definitely lacking, like most of the guys he finds for you. Why did you have to keep dating him?”

There was something in his voice she had not heard before. A disdain…or maybe an irritation. He took exception with some of the men she dated? He had a lot of nerve. “At least the guys I date have brains.

They don’t have them removed like the bimbos you date. Do you give them an IQ test to see if they are stupid enough or is it just luck?”

A snort sounded, then his shoulders started shaking. He turned to face her. “Just luck.” The tension drained. Her muscles relaxed, the twinkle in his eyes telling her Kai had irritated her on purpose. He knew if she was arguing with him, she wouldn’t be so scared.

“Go get Dad, and I’ll call HPD. We might as well get this over with.”

“They still have no idea?” Chris asked after May told him the story the next morning.

She shook her head and leaned back in her chair. “No. The postmark isn’t going to give them anything. They checked the prints. Mine are on there of course, and a few unidentified, but with the handling of the mail, who knows how many people touched it. None of them came up in their database

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though. So, whoever is doing this doesn’t have a record. They’re double checking with the post office about the finger prints of people who might have handled it there.”

“Dammit. How did your father handle it?”

“Dad was okay, a little more serious about it than the car thing. Kai on the other hand was horrible.

He insisted on driving me to work today.”

Chris nodded. “I would do the same thing.”

May rolled her eyes. “Of course you would.”

He opened his mouth to respond when there was a knock at the door. Sheila, the new line cook stuck her head in. “Everyone is ready to discuss the new menu ideas.”

“Be there in a second.”

She nodded and shut the door. Chris switched his attention back to May. “I’m adding some extra security cameras. Also, Freddy is making sure there are some regular drive-bys on the nights you’re working.”

May wasn’t going to argue. “That’s fine. I just don’t want it to become a distraction. Keeping everything normal is very important for me.”

Chris cocked his head to one side. “I know it is, but that isn’t the most important thing here. Keeping you safe is. Hopefully, HPD will find the bastard soon enough.” May nodded. “You better get to the meeting. I’m going to finish up these schedules.”

“Will do. You made a good choice with Sheila. She’s going to be good.” She smiled at him. “Of course she’s wonderful. I hired her.” He laughed and squeezed her shoulder as he headed to the door. “Make sure to get something into your stomach before the dinner rush starts.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why do you always sound like you’re mocking me when you say that?” She widened her eyes. “I have no idea, boss.”

He was chuckling as he slipped out of the room, leaving her alone with the scheduling problems.

Some of the servers had new class schedules and May needed to work around them. She scooted around the desk and set to work.

It wasn’t until the door opened that she looked at the clock. Jeez, it was almost four-thirty. Chris would have a fit when he realized she hadn’t eaten. She opened her mouth, ready to argue with him only to find Evan standing with his hand on the door knob.

“Uh…I thought Chris was working today.”

“He had a meeting with Michael and the rest of the cooking staff. They’re working on some ideas for new additions to the menu.”

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“Hmm.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and continued to stare at her. The weight of his attention started to make her uncomfortable. She couldn’t read the look on his face.

“Is there something you needed?”

“What?”

“Something you needed. From Chris.”

He shook his head. “No. I just—”

“Excuse me.” Sheila was tiny but she had a big voice. She slipped past Evan and May smiled when she saw the sandwich on the plate. “Boss said you needed to eat.” After setting the plate in front of May, she headed out, but not before she shot May thumbs up behind Evan’s back.

“I guess I should let you get back to work.”

His tone told her he didn’t want to go, and of course, she didn’t want him to go. The last few weeks had been strained, to say the least. Ever since their argument over Rick, they had spoken little, although Evan was here most nights she worked. She wanted to clear the air. She was in love with him, and she knew nothing would come of it. But more than that, she valued his friendship.

“No, I’m not really busy now and if I don’t eat this monster sandwich that the boss made, he’ll complain. You know how irritating he can be if he doesn’t get his way.” Evan chuckled, the sound of it warming her blood. Damn, he had the sexiest chuckle, one she had dreamed of hearing as she lay next to him in bed.

“If you’re sure.”

She nodded as he took one of the seats in front of Chris’s desk.

“I wanted to apologize.”

She stopped in mid-chew and then swallowed. “You what?”

“I feel badly about embarrassing you.”

“And?”

“That’s it.”

She sighed and set the sandwich down. “You aren’t apologizing for your behavior with Rick?” His jaw hardened as did his eyes. “Why do you care about him so much? He’s slime.”

“Yes. But that isn’t what irritated me.”