Chapter 4 Deadly Obsession
FOUR
DEADLY OBSESSION
Twitch
The smell of pancakes wakes me. I blink a few times, surprised to find Mercedez asleep in my bed.
She must have sneaked in. Annoyance festers; she needs to learn boundaries.
I get up, leaving her there, and head downstairs.
At the dining room table, I shovel pancakes onto my plate, drizzle them with honey, and pile on strawberries and cream.
I take a seat and dig in. Delicious. Not as good as my mom’s, though.
Axle snorts from beside me. “Calm down with your moaning. It’s only pancakes.”
While my mouth is full, I moan loudly again with a big grin on my face.
He playfully elbows me and chuckles. “I don’t want to listen to that shit.”
Milly is sitting across from me, smiling. I stretch my leg out and rub my foot against hers under the table. I should just let her be, but I enjoy our cat-and-mouse game. I brush my foot against hers again, but she doesn’t make eye contact.
“Okay, who’s playing footsies with me under the table?” Viper asks, and everyone bursts out laughing. Oh, shit!
Milly shoots me a pointed look, knowing it’s me. A chuckle escapes. Being with her makes me reckless, but I need to be more careful. She weakens my self-control—she’s my kryptonite.
I live in the now, so it’s only when I reflect on my actions later that I feel shitty because the club is the most important thing to me and I’m putting it all at risk. I’m aware there will be consequences, but I’m torn between wanting Milly and wanting to keep the peace at the club.
I look across at her. She’s wearing a fitted top that shows her curves, and I saw her walk in wearing tight jeans.
She’s a wet dream. I remember how silky her skin feels and how I wanted her to stay in my arms all day and night.
I look at her lips and remember how good she tastes, how tight she is, and the look on her face when she comes.
I shift in my seat—not the best time to get a hard-on, surrounded by the MC men, but I can’t help it.
I’m a freak for her, and she’s my weakness.
Images of her naked body flood my mind. I smirk.
If heaven exists, that’s it. I can’t believe that out of all the women, I’m obsessed with the president’s sister—the one person who could sign my death warrant.
Something’s wrong with me. No one’s ever made me want to be monogamous, but after having Milly, I can’t even think about anyone else.
Being with her is effortless. The world stops when I’m with her.
The sweet butts get up and start clearing everyone’s plates.
“So whose foot was it, eh?” Viper asks, with a raised brow and a grin.
“It was me,” Axle says, winking at Viper.
“I always knew you wanted me,” Viper shoots back, blowing a kiss in Axle’s direction.
“You’re not a man till you’ve had a man,” Axle says seductively, and we all laugh at the two idiots.
I listen to the general club chatter until Mercedez comes out and stands next to me.
She holds out her hand like she has something to give me.
I put my hand out, and she drops an earring into my palm.
My heart races. I slam my hand closed. It’s Milly’s.
I glance around the table. None of the guys saw it.
Mercedez’s face is pinched. I don’t want her to say anything in front of anyone, so I stand up.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” I whisper-yell.
She gives me a stiff nod. I lead her through the house and up the stairs to my room for privacy. After she walks in, I close the door.
My eyes narrow into slits. “What are you doing?”
She crosses her arms. “No, what are you doing with Milly?” She gives me a death stare.
This is the drama I dread. “What do you mean?” I act dumb.
“So her earring just happens to fall off in your bed?”
Oh shit! Panic strikes in my chest. “What were you doing in my room, anyway? I told you I wanted to sleep by myself.”
She frowns. “But I wanted to sleep with you.”
“You’re not listening to me. I don’t want to be a dickhead to you, but if I tell you I want to sleep by myself, I mean it. You don’t get to come in whenever it suits you.”
“I could any other time before Milly came to the clubhouse.”
She’s figured it out. “It’s got nothing to do with anyone else—it has to do with you not listening to me,” I say.
She studies my face. “Are you sleeping with her?”
“No!” I answer defensively.
“Sure sounds like it.” She laughs coldly. “You’d get killed, all for her?” Her voice softens at the end.
I’d like to think Reaper won’t kill me, but it’s not completely off the table, I guess. “We’re not sleeping together,” I reiterate.
She rushes me and pushes at my chest, making me take a step back. “You’re a liar!” she barks.
“And you need to calm the fuck down! I can get you kicked out for touching me like that.”
Her face and shoulders drop. “I’m sorry.” She steps over to me again and wraps her arms around me. “It’s just the thought of you and her—it drives me crazy.”
A little bit of guilt hits me.
“This is my home,” she cries. “Please don’t say anything. I won’t touch you like that again, I promise. The club is all I’ve got.”
I rub her back. “Okay, okay, I won’t.” I hate it when women cry. “I’ve got stuff to do for the club. I’ve got to go on the computer.”
She inches back, wiping away her tears. “Okay. You say nothing about me pushing you, and I won’t say anything to Reaper about why his sister’s earring was in your bed, because that discussion won’t end well for you.”
I move away from her, curling my lip in disgust. The audacity to threaten me. “Get out!”
She leaves.
I just got whiplash. Were those tears fake?
That woman is crazy! How did I not see this before?
A ripple rolls down my spine. All it would take is to piss her off and she’d snitch to Reaper.
But is she willing to risk her life here if I tell the club she laid hands on me?
I don’t think I want to take that risk. I clench my hand. This is bullshit!
I go to my top cupboard and search through the back. Well, at least Mercedez didn’t find Milly’s underwear. I’m sure that would set her off even worse.
I head downstairs, looking for Milly. I spot Mercedez in the lounge with the other sweet butts, watching TV. I look around but don’t see Milly, so I go outside.
Milly’s sitting at a table, watching Ava, Hope, Elena, and Ivy’s little one, Sammy, playing on the playground. I walk up to her. She flashes me a sweet smile, and it hits me right in the chest. Fuck, she’s beautiful. I take a seat. “We have a problem.”
Her eyes bulge. “What’s wrong?”
I put my hand out, showing her her earring. “Missing something?”
She grabs it. “Where did you find it? I’ve been looking everywhere.”
“Mercedez found it,” I say, cringing. “In my bed.”
Milly’s face falls. “She didn’t?”
“Oh, she did, and she threatened to tell Reaper.”
Milly looks away, blinking rapidly. I raise my hand to touch her cheek, but I force it back down. We can’t have anyone suspecting anything. “Don’t cry, pretty lady. All she’s got is an earring from my room. We’re friends. You could have been in there for a chat.”
She swallows hard. “If Reaper asked me point-blank if I slept with you, I don’t think I could lie to him.”
I get that. I don’t think I could lie to him either, even if telling the truth was to my detriment. “I’ll make sure she keeps her mouth shut. I warned her I’d get her banned if she touches me again, so we have this deal where we keep each other’s secrets.”
Milly inches back, studying me. “What do you mean ‘banned if she touched you again’? What did she do?” Her voice is hard.
“Wow! Remind me not to get on your bad side,” I joke to lighten the mood.
Her lip twitches.
“Mercedez pushed me in the chest out of anger.” It’s better than a slap, I guess.
Milly shakes her head. “If she touches you again, tell me!”
Something tells me Milly might actually lay hands. She’s not one to put up with shit, but it will cause a scene and everyone will want to find out why they’re arguing. So I can’t really tell her if it happens again. Still, it feels good she cares.
Milly’s phone rings. She pulls it out of her pocket. “Milly speaking.” A pause. “Yes, sure. I’ll be right in.” She looks at me, scoots out of the chair. “Work called me in again. There’s sickness running rampant throughout the hospital, and we’re short-staffed.”
“You work too much.” I never see her take part in a hobby or enjoy life.
She pauses. “Yes, I do.”
“Go save some lives.”
She gives me a genuine smile. “Can we talk about this more later?”
I nod. “Sure.”
As I watch her leave, pride rises in my chest at her accomplishments.
Her life at the hospital, dealing with life and death every day, must be so stressful.
I can’t imagine it, but she does an impressive job not bringing it home.
Sometimes she’s tired or quieter than normal, but most of the time she’s smiling.
I frown. Am I going to be the reason she loses her only family?
Am I selfish enough to keep this going? I don’t think Reaper would disown her.
I’d be the one punished. But I don’t know for sure, and it’s starting to eat at me.
Still . . . I can’t say no to Milly. Whatever she wants, she gets. She’s my deadly obsession.
* * *
Milly
My head is spinning out of control like a cyclone.
Mercedez knows . . . or at least suspects.
Out of all the people who live in the clubhouse, she’s in the top two I wouldn’t want to know.
Now she can manipulate us, and she’s exactly that type of woman—the kind who’ll do anything to get her own way.
Two of her closest sweet butt friends who used to live in the clubhouse caused all sorts of trouble for Ava and bullied Elena.
They say you are who you hang around with, and it’s true.
I shove my bag into my locker, harsher than necessary.