Wild Obsession (Wild Savage Hearts #2)

Chapter One

Dylan

Backyard barbecues would never be the same, and it was a goddamn shame. Meat, beer, and good friends were always a winning combination.

But this?

This had no business being called a barbecue. This should have just been labeled what it was—an experiment in torture.

The burgers smelled good, but there was no beer, and other than my kid, Hunter, there wasn’t a friendly face in sight.

And the Alexanders had a big backyard, filled with a lot of people.

Hunter spotted me from across the yard and came running, crashing into me with enough energy to slosh the lemonade someone had forced into my hand.

“Dad, you’re here! Did you see? Caleb has a trampoline!” And just like that he was gone again, already halfway back across the grass.

But considering he was busy turning eleven today, I was happy he’d noticed me at all. Fuck, I was shocked as hell to have been invited in the first place.

I didn’t really know the Alexanders, except for Eric. But he was dating Hunter’s mother, so we weren’t exactly friends.

This party had been a choice between two kinds of losing.

Skip it, and I’d confirm every bad thing they already thought about me. I’d be the asshole who didn’t want to spend time with his kid. The guy still carrying a torch for his ex. The deadbeat who couldn’t get his shit together.

Show up, and I’d be the guy nobody knew what to do with. The outcast who forgot everyone’s names. The one they’d all hoped wouldn’t accept the invitation.

Either way, I was the loser.

So I forced myself through the door. For Hunter. Because no matter what it cost me, I wanted to be part of his life. To prove myself worthy of my son.

I watched him jump on the trampoline, his laugh ringing out across the yard, while I shrugged off the stares of judgmental strangers.

Fuck ‘em.

“It’s Dylan, right?” Eric’s brother-in-law ambled up to me, a look of curiosity on his face.

“Yeah, hi…” What the hell was his name?

Instead of filling in the blank for me, he rocked back on his heels with the bored restlessness of a man who’d run out of people to talk to. “How’s life in law enforcement treating you?”

Great. Small talk. Annoying as fuck, especially from a guy just as out of place here as I was.

He’d been hanging around the edges of the party, neglected and forlorn. Even his own wife, Celeste, had studiously ignored him. He was a loser.

We were now a loser party of two.

“Work’s fine,” I said, aiming for congenial, but sounding more like a bitter fucking ass. “I’ve been thinking about moving from the local force to Provincial.”

“You’re applying to the O.P.P.?” a sweet, lilting voice asked from behind me.

Jamie.

Her presence made me both excited and sick at the same time. The fact that she’d managed to sneak up on me, when every one of my senses was wired to track her, proved just how far out of my element I really was.

Eric was right beside her, of course. He still didn’t trust me alone with her. Not that I blamed him.

Honestly, I wouldn’t trust me either.

I’d save his life in an emergency or help him change a flat. Hell, I’d even consider lending him money. But when it came to Jamie, no fucking way was I doing the honorable thing.

“Isn’t the Provincial force a lot more demanding, and more dangerous too?” the brother-in-law, with the name I couldn’t remember, asked.

“Sure. But I’m not the kind of guy who’s easily scared off.” A smirk pulled at the corner of my mouth and my gaze shifted to Eric.

I couldn’t help myself. I enjoyed antagonizing the guy.

Our feud was low-key but consistent. An underhanded jab from me, followed by a poorly veiled threat from him. Childish, maybe. But it was the one place in this whole goddamn yard where I felt like I had any control.

“Dylan’s always been a risk taker,” Jamie cut in, flashing me a harsh glare. “Why don’t you tell John about some of the other things you do? Like the volunteer stuff at the mission?”

John. That was the loser’s name. No wonder I couldn’t remember it. It was as average and unremarkable as the man himself.

Jamie’s warning was clear, though. Hunter’s birthday party wasn’t the place to be rude or start a verbal war with her boyfriend.

But damn, when she gave me that saucy look, I couldn’t help but want to bend her over the picnic table and slap her ass right in front of him.

The memories came easy. Her body, the sounds she made, the way she used to beg so sweet. Unsuitable thoughts for the company I was in. And I didn’t give one single fuck.

“Of course, Jamie.” I stressed her name, so she’d catch that I’d used it. No more calling her princess, just like she’d asked.

Her eyes narrowed. She knew exactly what I was doing, even if she’d never admit it. That was the thing about her—she’d been playing this cat-and-mouse game with me since we were fifteen. She kept me on my toes, kept me guessing, kept me chasing, without even trying.

I’d loved her for it.

Hell, I still did. And maybe I always would.

“The volunteer work’s just part of the job,” I said with a shrug, turning back to John. “Community outreach is an important part of police service.”

“And we’re all so grateful for the service you provide.” Eric all but rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, well, I love my community. When I decided on the job, I knew it would have challenges. But I like a good challenge. Keeps things interesting.”

Eric’s snarl might have frightened away another guy. In fact, he scared poor loser John, who mumbled incoherently under his breath as he scurried off toward his wife. Not me, though.

I widened my stance and smiled brighter.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, Dylan. Will you please cut it out?” Jamie’s voice dropped, letting me know I’d pushed far enough. “I was going to thank you for showing up, but sometimes I seriously question your motives.”

“Sorry.” I wasn’t. Not for pissing off Eric, anyway. “Old habit, I guess.”

She studied me for a moment, something shifting in her gaze. “Listen, we’re about to make an announcement. I wanted to give you fair warning in case you need to make an excuse to leave. No hard feelings.”

“No hard feelings?” I scoffed. “The three of us are nothing but hard feelings, don’t you think?”

Her glare sharpened. Eric’s arm went around her, pulling her close like I was something to be protected against. As if I’d ever hurt her.

“Don’t worry.” I held up a hand, backtracking to keep things civil for Hunter’s sake. “I’m just kidding around. I’m a big boy. As long as you’re not moving Hunter away from Copper Ridge, it’ll be fine.”

The look she gave me stopped me cold. It was a look of fear mixed with something older, something I recognized from when we were teenagers, right before she’d run away pregnant with my child. It had taken ten years and her father’s death for her to come back home.

But she still hadn’t returned to me.

Eric didn’t give me time to think about it. He steered her toward the picnic tables, climbed up, pulled her with him, and let out a sharp whistle that cut through the noise of the yard.

“Sorry to interrupt everyone,” he said, not an ounce of reluctance in his voice. “We know you’re here to celebrate Hunter today, but Jamie and I have something we’d like to share.”

With her hand in his, he dropped to a knee and slipped a ring on her finger. Not just any ring—a giant diamond that glittered in the sun and competed with the radiant glow on Jamie’s face for attention.

Murmured gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd.

“We’re getting married!” she squealed.

The backyard erupted into laughter, cheering, and someone even crying. Everyone was in motion all at once.

Everyone but me.

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t fucking breathe.

All I could do was watch from the sidelines as my life fell apart all over again, the last vestige of hope ripped right out from under me.

Jamie. My princess. The mother of my child. She was getting married, but not to me.

I needed to go. To be alone in my agony. I couldn’t stand to watch the woman I’d loved for half my life move on and leave me for good.

The game was truly over.

And I was definitely not the winner.