Dangerous Obsession (Men of Valor Springs #4)

Chapter Two

Arya

It’s eleven in the morning when I am finally able to leave the house I have spent weeks locked inside. Eight thousand square feet has always felt like a lot of room for a handful of people, but these last couple of weeks, it’s felt suffocating.

I am not much of an outdoor person, but being forced into house arrest for weeks on end would make anyone go crazy, and if not for my brother’s fiancée Rue keeping me company almost every afternoon, I would have been on the brink of it. This is the first time Vlad is letting me leave the house, and I am practically vibrating with excitement. But that’s not the only reason my heart is racing.

No, that has to do with the man in the driver’s seat next to me. Jax H. Abbot. I’ve never quite figured out what the H in his name stands for, but I am pretty sure it’s hot. It has to be. The man is a piece of art with his tastefully messy blond hair and a body crafted to perfection. My heart hasn’t stopped hammering since I learned that Jax was going to be my bodyguard.

Am I dreaming?

I have to be dreaming!

Being this close to Jax is something I have only experienced in occasional too-brief moments over the years. Having his moonlight gray eyes focused on me is not something I ever thought would happen to me, and now I want it to last forever.

Oh, I plan to draw this out for as long as I can. This is just day one, and I have a list of places I want to go—with him. All the places I’ve imagined him taking me, and I don’t care if we’re not there as an official couple. As long as I get to spend time with him. Alone. Just the two of us. He doesn’t have to know we’re on a date.

God, just thinking about it has my body heating over, and I have to fan my face with my hands.

“Are you hot?” Jax asks in a deep voice that sends a shudder racking my body. Christ, his voice is just as intense as the rest of him, and I want him to keep talking to me, but Jax is a man of few words. Frustratingly so.

“A little hot,” I confess, my hand reaching blindly to roll down the window, but his hand shoots out and grabs mine before I can.

“Don’t,” he says, pulling my hand back to my lap. “Okay, we need to establish rules.”

He’s talking.

I can see his mouth moving, so I know he’s saying something important, but…his hand is on mine! His large veiny hand is still holding mine, and I imagine if my heart beats any harder than it already is, it’s going to beat itself into a heart attack.

I follow the hand loosely clasped on mine up the sleeve of his blue shirt which is rolled up to reveal a collage of dark tattoos. I discreetly trace my gaze over his strong, defined muscles that ripple beneath his fitted shirt and up to his chiseled jaw, framed by a hint of stubble that gives the man a rugged but charming look.

Jax Hot Abbott is a living and breathing wall of muscle and…I long to climb him. God, I want to have this man’s babies.

“The first rule is you listen to everything I tell you.”

My eyes drop to that firm mouth, and I question what it would feel like to have it pressed against mine. Would he be turned off by my inexperience or would he jump at the opportunity to teach me how to kiss? I want him to teach me how to kiss.

“The second rule is you don’t leave my side.”

I bet he’s a great kisser. Would he cradle my neck and kiss me slowly or dominate me with his mouth and take me hard and fast like in those romantic movies I used to watch? I don’t think it matters as long as he kisses me. As long it’s him taking control, I’ll accept anything.

“The third and the most important rule is to prioritize your safety above everything else. This is the only time you are allowed to leave my side. If I tell you to run, I want you to do just that without hesitation for any reason. I don’t care if I am bleeding, I need you to get away from the threat.”

His words snap me out of my stupor, and I blink at the man. “Jax, you can’t expect me to just run away if you are hurt,” I say, quickly looking away when he briefly turns those cold gray eyes to me.

“That is exactly what I am telling you to do.”

I shake my head and chew on my bottom lip. “What if I don’t?”

“Arya!”

No, it’s not fair of him to ask this of me. Not when I love the man more than life itself. Jax is the only man I have ever thought of in any romantic sense for as long as I can remember.

My feelings started as admiration before blossoming into an innocent schoolgirl crush. I was a shy girl who would hide around the mansion, tracking the huge man around the house whenever he was around. To him, I was his best friend’s little sister. He barely ever noticed, but to me, Jax was everything.

When Jax joined the Marines, I was devastated and sick with worry. I sent him care packages and letters at every opportunity, but I’m not sure he ever got them. He never said anything about them. Then when Vlad sent me abroad, I cried my little heart out at the thought of leaving Jax behind. Despite being a man who rarely even acknowledged my existence, he was all I could think about. All my trips back home were to see him, and every time I returned to Belgium, I was afraid that on my next trip to Valor Springs, I would find him settled with a wife and kids.

No, this was no longer an innocent schoolgirl crush. By now, I am obsessed with the man. He is all I see when he is around.

He is the reason I fought Vlad about going back to Belgium. Well, most of the reason. I do love my brother, and I miss him when I’m gone. Now that he has Rue and we are becoming close, I have even more incentive to stay. But my love for Jax is like a tether tying me to Valor Springs.

I can’t leave.

Jax is way older than me, and every man has to settle down eventually, right? At thirty-five, I’m pretty sure he’ll be looking to do just that, and I want it to be with me. No, I can’t leave without trying to get this man to notice me….to see me the way I see him.

I can’t risk moving away only for him to settle down with someone else. That would kill me. All those years of dreaming about being with Jax, loving him, needing and wanting him…

Jax is mine.

“Are you listening to me?” he growls, grabbing my chin and forcing my eyes to his.

Christ, I’ve never seen his eyes so close, and they are beautiful, like silver moons, shimmering and veiling his intimate thoughts. I stay locked in his gaze, captured in the essence of the moment and hoping it lasts forever.

Snap out of it, Arya.

I know I look like a fool staring at the man with my heart shining in my eyes, but I can’t help myself. Jax is here. He’s close.

So close to me in fact that I catch his woodsy masculine scent that carries hints of earth and spice. I imagine my nose pressed against his collar, burying myself in his scent as he holds me close in his strong arms.

“Arya!”

“Hmm?”

“I need to know that you will run when I tell you to.” Run away? From him? How can he ask this of me? “I can only do so much to protect you if you get in the way.”

The hold on my chin is firm, but he tightens it to keep my focus on him. “I don’t… I mean, I would feel bad if you were hurt protecting me.”

“In the best-case scenario, it won’t get that far, but I need to not worry about you if there’s trouble.”

I shuffle nervously in my seat as his gaze bores down on me, and I find myself slowly caving like I knew I would, so I nod, if only to put his mind at ease.

“I won’t get in the way.”

“Good girl,” he says, and I can tell that last bit just slipped out with the way he suddenly releases my chin and draws his hand back, but it’s too late. The damage has already been done. There is a slick heat building between my legs, and it’s growing fast.

Good girl?

Christ, I want to hear him say it once again in that deep, sexy voice of his. Closer this time, preferably against my ear, his warm breath fanning my neck. I want to be his good girl.

Get a grip, Arya!

A horn honks behind us, and I realize we’ve been parked at a stoplight. Jax quickly puts the car in gear and drives on, gaze locked firmly on the road. As we fall into an awkward silence, I absentmindedly gaze out the window. Before long, we pull into a parking space and come to a stop again. Through the window, a quaint bakery catches my eye, its warm lights inviting. We are parked outside Valor Spring’s famous bakery that also functions as the town’s only coffee shop. This is the first of the spots I asked Jax to bring me.

I press my nose against the window and watch as the few customers inside chat over steaming cups of coffee, a cozy scene against the fading morning backdrop. I frequented this bakery when I visited Valor Springs over school vacations, and I always pictured Jax and I seated at one of those tables, sharing a slice of cake and talking about everything and nothing.

“I want to go inside,” I tell Jax, my mouth watering at the thought freshly baked pastries. “Rue brought me one of her aunt’s famous lemon-drop cupcakes, but I am in the mood for classic chocolate today.”

Rue Carter is my brother’s fiancée and my first friend in Valor Springs. She is the reason I was able to make more friends in this little town before my brother forced me into house arrest. But I don’t have to worry about that anymore, not with Jax around.

The thought alone is enough to bring a smile to my face.

“Wait here,” Jax says, and I watch him climb out of the car before walking to my side to open the door for me. Heat climbs up my cheeks, and I have to remind myself that it’s not a date. At least, Jax doesn’t think it is.

He is here only to protect me, but…my heart doesn’t care about that detail as it starts beating so fast as he guides us into the bakery, holding that door for me as well.

The sweet aroma of freshly baked goods envelops us when we walk in, a comforting scent that makes my mouth water with anticipation. The lady at the counter greets us warmly, and I recognize her as Rue’s aunt, Annie. Soon, she and I will be family once her niece marries my brother. Her eyes shift from mine to the imposing figure behind me, a small smile playing at her lips.

“Hi,” I call out cheerfully. Even before I met Rue, I always enjoyed seeing Annie at the bakery. “Remember me? I’m Arya.”

“Of course I remember you, dear. How could I forget one of my most devoted customers?” she teases. “What can I get you today? No, let me guess. Something chocolate?”

I push back to browse the display of delectable treats, my smile widening when I see there is only one chocolate cupcake left despite the early hour. “This one,” I tell her, pointing at it. “And two coffees. I’ll take a Mocha, and Jax…” I turn around to find the man watching me like I’m the treat he wants to devour, and my cheeks flush. Unable to hold his gaze, I quickly look away. I’ve never seen that look aimed at me, and I’m instantly flustered. “B-black. He’ll h-have a black c-coffee.”

Annie’s eyes shift from me to the giant behind me before giving me a knowing smile. I pat my heated cheeks and avoid her humored expression. “Chocolate cupcake and coffee coming right up.”

Jax waits until Annie’s back is turned before he leans in, his warm breath fanning my ear and sending goosebumps all over my skin. “Go sit down where I can see you.”

A shudder racks my body at the whispered order so close to my skin. Close enough that it almost feels like a soft caress that has my body heating up, and I melt on the spot.

We’re in public, I have to remind myself. There are many eyes on me, and I cannot afford to have my knees give out in front of so many witnesses, so I simply nod, walking to a lone table in a corner but in direct view of my bodyguard.

My eyes stay on him as he pays for our drinks. Even without his eyes on me, I can tell I have all of his attention. Well, he and everyone else in the bakery, but only his matters. Being born into a Bratva family will get you attention everywhere you go, but for the first time in a long time, I find it doesn’t bother me. Heck, I barely notice anyone but the man in black jeans that cling to his powerful thighs and a deep blue shirt that hugs his broad chest, the fabric straining slightly when he moves, hinting at the sculpted muscles beneath.

As he stands there, a silent sentinel bathed in the glow of the warm bakery lights, the most delicious looking of the desserts, I realize that it is possible to fall deeper for this man.