Obsessed Fox (Willow Creek Security #3)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

Maisie

Halloween was my holiday. The annual Halloween party in Willow Creek was not only the only social event I was willing to attend but also the one that I actively put together each year.

This year’s theme was a masked party and I must say it was nice seeing my idea come to life.

I wore a short black leather skirt, my chunky black boots, and a long-sleeved black shirt. But it was the mask that I loved the most. It was all black and shined with black rhinestones that covered more than half of my face. But if I thought it would mean people wouldn’t recognize me, I was sadly mistaken.

“Great party, Maisie. I love the theme. Such a great mystery not to know who everyone is,” Valerie said and I only knew based on the sound of her voice from coming into the bakery twice a week since I opened for some chocolate chip cookies. Her costume certainly didn’t give her away. It was similar to mine except in a baby blue but with a long skirt instead of a short one and her mask covered more of her face than mine did.

The people in this town took hiding your identity to a whole new level.

“Thank you.” I didn’t give away that I knew who she was in return. Better to keep up appearances for the sake of the party. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I was nervous not everyone would like hiding who they are.”

This town didn’t know the meaning of secrets. The fact that I was able to keep one surprises me to this day. Everyone was so up in each other’s business that keeping something to oneself was unheard of.

“We love a good mystery and this is certainly one. Oh, I better go see who else I can keep my identity from.”

I snickered at the thought but said my goodbyes.

As the party host, I kept my identity not as secret as the rest. I wanted to be available if anyone had any questions. Just as I was about to go check on the desserts, something caught my eye.

Or more accurately someone.

All dressed in black from head to toe, I couldn’t tell from this far away who it was but there was something about the person that got my blood pumping and my heart racing. It had been so long since that happened that I was eager to find out who the mystery guy was.

I made it one step before I was stopped again. Only this time by Janie. My one and only employee.

“Hey, boss!” Janie’s overly cheerful voice gave her away.

Well, actually her outfit did. Whereas I wore nothing but black, Janie was as bright as a rainbow with butterfly wings on her back to boot. She was my opposite in every way, but I wouldn’t have anyone better by my side in the shop.

“Hey,” I returned in a much more normal tone. “Everything okay? Did we run out of something? Need me to go back to the bakery to grab stuff?”

I was an overbaker by nature, so I had twice as much stuff baked at the shop just in case. I was ready to run out the door and grab what we needed, but Janie stopped me with a hand on my arm.

“We are still good. The mini version of your desserts was a brilliant idea. Everyone is raving about them and happy to try something new so that they can find another favorite. Plus, if anyone is going back to the bakery, it’s me. Tonight is your night to let loose and I’ll be damned if I let you work instead. You need one night off.”

Okay, so maybe I was a bit of a workaholic. I used the bakery to escape . . . well . . . what I was running away from. It was the only way to ensure I didn’t form any unnecessary connections with the people in this town. There was no telling when I would need to pack up and leave.

So yes, I worked every day from open to close. It was a necessity, but I couldn’t tell Janie that, so instead I agreed.

Partially.

“You’re right. Things at the bakery are going so well that I can afford to take one night for myself.” I mentally crossed my fingers at the small white lie. I would work if the situation arose.

“Exactly.” I could practically see Janie jumping up and down clapping. “And if the party needs any desserts, they are already boxed up, so I could swing down in a jiff and grab them. Go enjoy yourself.”

I thought about the mystery man that I could only get a quick glimpse of. I would love for him to distract me for the night.

I quickly shoved the idea away. Not only was it a bad one, it was a really bad idea. The last thing I needed was to form a connection like that with someone in town. It would be disastrous.

Sure, I had sex over the years while running from my past. There was no way to go over a decade without it, but it was only with people who I knew I would never see again. Back then I never stayed in a town for more than a couple of weeks.

Willow Creek was different. I was here too long already. I put down roots. I changed my name. Took out a loan on a bakery and had an apartment. All things I never expected to do when I traveled through the small town.

Now the only way I could keep all those lies from surfacing was to keep everyone at arm’s length. To keep my barriers up nice and strong.

I moved through the crowd and once again got a glimpse of my mystery man.

Wait . . . not mine. There was no mine in this situation.

I only made it a few feet before I was stopped again. This time by the very owner of the establishment I was borrowing.

“Hi, Bee. Thank you again for letting me host the Halloween party here. Without a community center, we don’t have many open spaces like this one.”

Bee waved me off.

“It’s nothing, my dear. I’m happy to help. And let me just say you did a fantastic job turning this place into a spooky masterpiece. I thought your bakery was designed beautifully but this is great. Maybe I should hire you to give the Crazy Fox a facelift.”

I shook my head. There was no way Bee could change the diner. The lack of design was the reason everyone loved the place and I told her as such.

“Don’t ever change a thing about this place, Bee. It’s perfect just as it is and it represents your personality perfectly. That’s what a business should do. Represent who we are.”

Bee gifted me a beautiful old smile. The woman was in her eighties but could run circles around most everyone in the town.

“And that, my dear, is why you fit in so well with our humble little town. There’s nothing about it you want to change. You embraced us with open arms and we did the same for you. I’m glad you chose to live here even if you stay hidden in that bakery of yours more often than not.”

I recognized a backhanded compliment when I heard one.

“The bakery keeps me busy and I’m normally too exhausted after closing to do much else.” I hated that I felt the need to explain myself, but Bee might as well have been the town grandma. Everyone answered when she asked a question.

“One of these days you’re going to find a reason to work less and play more.”

I wanted to scoff and say that would never happen but the mysterious masked man caught my attention once again. He was closer this time but still not close enough for me to determine who he was.

“Maybe sooner rather than later,” Bee mumbled before walking away.

I shook the old woman’s words off and headed over to the dessert table to see if anything needed to be refilled.

They didn’t. As usual, Janie was on top of things. Either that or no one was eating them but I knew from experience that wasn’t true. A day didn’t go by that my bakery wasn’t busy. And it wasn’t just because it was the only one in town. People told me often how much they enjoyed my unique treats and they showed it by being repeat customers.

Confident that everything was being handled, I walked into the kitchen to take a breather away from the party. I made it halfway through when a closet door opened in front of me and a hand shot out. It grabbed my arm and dragged me into the dark room before I could fight back. I opened my mouth to scream but soft lips caressed my own before a sound could fully slip out.

The kiss was all-consuming. The kind that took a person’s breath away and threatened to buckle my knees. The stranger’s soft beard caressed my cheek. I wanted to feel it on other parts of my body.

It was as if the stranger could read my thoughts because before I knew it, he was ripping his lips from mine and dropping down onto his knees. His head bent, so I couldn’t get a look of his face.

All thoughts of figuring out who the stranger was disappeared in a flash when his strong fingers inched my skirt up and tore my panties from my body.

It was by far the sexiest sexual encounter I had ever had, and the man had yet to do more than kiss me.

But by God, when he did, it was like heaven. One swipe of his tongue and I was a goner. I reached my hands above my head to grab purchase on anything. Thankfully I was backed against a wire rack and could lace my fingers through one of the shelves because there was no way my legs could continue supporting me.

Whoever this amazing man was, he deserved a medal in the tongue-fucking Olympics. If that were a sport, that is. That was how good he made me feel.

Licking and sucking. The man knew his way around the female anatomy enough to bring me to the edge over and over again before pulling off at the last second.

“Please.” I wasn’t ashamed to beg for what I wanted. I was so damn close that it would only take one simple push to get me over the edge.

Something like the slip of a finger in my ass while the man’s hands held me up was all it took and I was shooting off like a rocket. I came so hard there was no way the man’s beard wasn’t dripping with my juices, but if he minded, he didn’t let on. I slammed by head back and closed my eyes.

That was the most amazing orgasm I had ever had.

I was still coming down from it when the stranger spun me around so my chest crushed against the metal rack.

With my skirt up around my waist and my ass sticking out, I rubbed against the man like a damn hussy who hadn’t just come.

Fortunately for me, I was probably going to get more.

I heard the sound of zipper teeth spreading open behind me and anticipation hummed throughout my body. If the man was that good with his mouth, I could only imagine what he could do with his cock.

I didn’t have to wait long for him to put just the tip of his shaft in. But it was what happened after he pushed farther inside me that made me lose all control. The man was pierced and holy fuck did it feel good against my throbbing walls.

“Are you on birth control?”

A tickling in my brain tried to put a name to the low grumble of a voice but I was too far gone.

“Yes!” I nodded as my eyes rolled back into my head from the pleasure he was giving me. It wasn’t just one piercing but several.

A Jacob’s fucking ladder.

The stranger had a Jacob’s ladder and shit it was better than people described. Each time another piercing entered through my wet channel, a mini orgasm took hold.

This was so much better than him going down on me.

I was pretty sure I blacked out after that. I remembered the stranger slamming into me over and over again. I remembered my body being eager to meet his as I pushed my ass back with each thrust. But the rest was nothing more than bliss. So much so that when I came for a second time, I was sure if it weren’t for being held up, I would’ve fallen to the floor in a goop.

“Your body was made for me,” the stranger whispered in my ear.

Except he was no longer a stranger.

No! No no no no no.

This couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t have possibly had sex with the one man I promised myself I would stay away from.

“This shouldn’t have happened.” I quickly spun around as I pushed my skirt back down over my ass. Not that it mattered considering Hendrix’s sperm was sliding down my leg.

“Like hell it shouldn’t have.”

“I didn’t know it was you otherwise I would’ve walked away.” I tried to explain but Hendrix shook his head.

“Don’t give me that bullshit. You knew it was me all along. I saw the way you were watching me all night just like I was watching you.”

Son of a bitch. No wonder I was attracted to the mysterious man in a mask. It was the one man who had caught my attention after all these years.

“I was not.” I lied through my teeth and hoped Hendrix didn’t realize.

“Bullshit. You can lie to yourself but not me.”

Damn! Why did the man have to be so observant. It was why I kept my distance in the first place. I knew something like this would happen if I didn’t keep my guard up. Hendrix was everything I would want in a man if my life was different.

“I have to go.” I tried to push past him, but he was having none of it.

Hendrix grabbed my arm just enough to keep me in place but not hard that he hurt me. It was a caring gesture that only made me feel that much more guilty.

“This isn’t over between us.”

I shook him off. “There is no us.”

This time when I pushed Hendrix, he let me pass. I ran out of the storage closet and out of the kitchen like my ass was on fire.

I didn’t stop to acknowledge Janie when she hollered for me. Whatever she needed, she would have to figure it out on her own. The woman was more than capable.

I only stopped when I was safely tucked into my apartment away from Hendrix and the rest of town. I headed straight for the shower after tossing my clothes in the trash. I never wanted to see the outfit again. It would only remind me of things I couldn’t have.

Only after I had scrubbed every inch of my body from head to toe a half dozen times did I finally step out of the shower and dry off. Grabbing a pair of pajamas, I got dressed and crawled into bed.

Tonight, I needed to sleep and forget the mess I caused. Tomorrow would be better because I would go back to ignoring Hendrix and eventually his infatuation with me would end.

At least I hoped so.

Hendrix

The stroke of midnight and she was gone. Just like Cinderella.

I watched Maisie run away, and for the moment, I let her. I knew my plan was flawed from the beginning, but it was the only way I could think of to get close to her. From the second I stepped into the bakery, she intrigued me. I didn’t know if it was the plethora of tattoos she sometimes tried to hide or the black chunky combat boots she wore on her feet. Maybe it was the cargo pants that hugged her ass but flared enough to hide her muscular legs. Or it could even be the bandana she wore in her hair while she worked.

If I had to guess, it was the whole package. Maisie O’Connor was nothing like any other woman I had met and that alone made me curious.

But, as soon as I saw her tonight in her Halloween costume, the short skirt, tight top, paired with her usual combat boots, I knew it was my time to strike.

It was now or never. So I took my shot. Kept my mouth shut and claimed the one woman who easily stole my heart.

I didn’t regret what we did but I did regret that because of it, Maisie now had even higher walls around her. Penetrating them would take an act of God, but thankfully, I was just the man to take on the task.

Maisie didn’t know what was coming, but I did. I was one determined son of a bitch and my sights were set on the lovely baker.

She stood no chance.