Obsession by Brooke Page Page B

to the bathhouse.
    “Just soaking up the sun,” I said as
nonchalantly as I could.
    “You by yourself? Come hang with us.
You need to stop being such a downer, Jay,” he teased, hugging me
closer.
    “She’s not alone,” Rod’s low voice
muttered from behind us.
    Shivers ran up my spine from his tone.
He wasn’t happy.
    Kevin turned, keeping his arm around
my shoulders. “Hey, how’s it going, bro?” Kevin greeted in his
stereotypical Floridian surfer accent.
    “It’d be going wonderfully if you’d
get your hands off my girl.” Rod’s eyes were on fire, his fists
balled at his side.
    I gently nudged Kevin with
my elbow. “This is Kevin, my brother’ s best friend. ”
    “Um, yeah… Who the hell are you?”
Kevin said protectively, the hint of my elbow nudge not enough for
him to let go of me.
    “I’m her boyfriend.” Rod reached for
me, yanking me from Kevin.
    Kevin crossed his arms in front of his
chest. “Does Lando know about this guy?”
    I was dying inside now. “Of course he
does. See you later, Kevin.” I quickly darted under Rod’s arm,
walking quickly toward the parking lot.
    This wasn’t going to be good. I didn’t
feel him following me right away, but by the time I’d found the
car, he pressed his body into mine, forcing my back against the
car.
    “I told you to put your fucking
clothes back on,” he growled, his eyes murderous.
    “I was.” My voice was small, taken
back by his anger. “Kevin stopped me before I could—”
    “You’re not allowed to see
him again. I
don ’t even want you to look at him.” His
voice was like venom as his eyes bore into mine.
    I was stunned, shocked by his anger at
the situation. “He doesn’t mean anything to me—”
    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.