Obsession 2.5: Loving An Alpha Male Page 5

  This was what frustrated me sometimes. What I wanted to do was put all my energy on protecting my family and I couldn’t. I had a team to run. I had other agents out there whose lives I had to look after. I couldn’t afford to ignore them. And I knew, whenever I accepted this post, that sometimes putting my family second came with the job. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t do shit about it.

  Finally, after putting out fires and learning about the issue at Hell, I was able to sit at my desk in the confines of my office and really focus on this case. Unfortunately, now that everything had settled, somewhat, and it was quiet, I couldn’t concentrate for shit. Every time I began shifting through the paperwork Junior and Nickels gathered for me, my mind started to drift to the woman that had me completely wrapped around her finger.

  I had called Misty when I had learned about what had happened in Hell. I had been told she was in the thick of the mess. I wanted to get an update from her and to make sure that place was still standing, but I couldn’t get her on the line. I did manage to get some information from Junior, however, who I wanted to hear from was Misty King.

  I wasn’t worried for her safety. I knew she could take care of herself. No, I just wanted to talk to her.

  I was missing the hell out of that woman and the need to hear her voice was overwhelming as shit. I stood quickly, after that realization settled, grabbed the paperwork in front of me and headed for Malcolm’s office.

  Malcolm’s office was located down the hall from mine, in the corner of the building. His office was a decent size, nothing special to the room that stood out. It was a boring boxed room with walls that were painted a tan color, drab just like every government facility known in the U.S. and abroad. There was an average looking desk in his office that was surrounded by two file cabinets, one on each side of his desk, and two visitor’s chairs facing him.

  Like the rest of us, there was a couch in his office except his had seen better days in my opinion. Really, the only difference from his office and let’s say Josh and Misty’s, was the large aerial picture of Pearl Harbor before it was hit on December 7, 1941, that he bought at some auction.

  Once I got to his office, I found his door closed. I paused outside his door long enough to confirm no other voices were mixed in with his before I opened the door and walked inside.

  I found my brother sitting behind his desk looking pensive and borderline panicked. That caused me to put an extra pep in my step as I shut the door behind me and moved further into his office.

  Before I could ask him if everything was okay, his eyes finally met mine. He threw me a dirty look before signaling for me to be quiet just as I heard a female voice flow through the speaker of his cell.

  “This is Westside Florist. How may we brighten your day?”

  I grinned at him as I took a seat in one of the club chairs in front of his desk. I placed the manila folder I was carrying on the desk in front of me, laced my fingers together and leaned back against my chair. This is going to be interesting…

  “Yes, hello. This is Malcolm Cooper. I need to send flowers to—”

  “Oh yes, Mr. Cooper. Hi! How are you?”

  Malcolm hesitated slightly, obviously taken aback by the familiarity of his name to the woman. Our eyes met and I lifted an eyebrow in his direction, expressing my own shock.

  “Uh, I’m fine,” he answered hesitantly. “Listen I—"

  “And how is Miss Amanda? I take it not so good if you are calling. You needing to send her some flowers again?” the woman asked.

  “Well,” Malcolm started cautiously. “Amanda is good, and I want to send flowers, yes, but not because –”

  “Oh great, that is wonderful,” the woman interrupted again. Her voice was still pleasant and lively, which was beginning to creep me out. Seeing the disturbed look on my brother’s face, I wasn’t alone. “I’ll make sure it will show her just how sorry you are. I know exactly what to send her. We have some beautiful calla lilies that just came in too. I could use those with some baby’s breaths, some stalk flowers, and roses. I will make a fabulous arrangement,” she added excitedly. “Are these going to the same place… the Pentagon?”

  “Yes,” Malcolm answered slowly.

  “Great. I’ll send this straight away. Have a good day!”

  “Wait! How much?” Malcolm said quickly. “And don’t you need my credit card numbers?”

  “Oh, no. Your numbers are on file and does the cost really matter when you’re sorry?” she asked and when Malcolm didn’t respond she added, “Have a great day,” in a sing-song voice and disconnected the call.

  We both sat in complete silence each of us trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. I knew at least I was doing that. Malcolm leaned back against his chair and looked at me clearly dumbfounded.

  I shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I don’t know what the hell just happened.”

  Malcolm shook his head and breathed out a heavy sigh. He slouched deeper into his chair and closed his eyes.

  “You fuck up?” I asked him.

  Malcolm nodded. “Yup. I didn’t mean to, though.”

  “We never do,” I added solemnly and Malcolm shook his head.

  “No, I mean, yeah, I said some shit that I shouldn’t have, but it wasn’t my fault.”

  “Uh-huh, it never is,” I countered somberly.

  “What!? You know what, never mind. Why are you here and why didn’t you knock before you barged into my office? What if I was busy doing something you didn’t need to see?”

  I smiled and slouched further into my chair.

  “If you were busy jerking off or something and didn’t want to be disturbed, the door would’ve been locked. It wasn’t, so I walked in. Besides, I’ve walked in on you beating off before when we were kids, I’m sure nothing’s changed since then.”

  Malcolm flipped me off and I chuckled. “Listen,” I told him, still grinning. “I’ve been racking my brain for a few hours trying to find something that links Perchenko to Simon, and so far, I can’t find shit. I think it’s because I’ve been at this for so long that I’m missing something. I need a fresh pair of eyes.”

  I leaned forward and tapped the folder with my index finger. “This is everything we have on both men and their operations. There must be something there. Nickels and Junior said that Misty and Sweets found some private bank that had both Perchenko and Simon as members. The geek squad is working on connecting transactions between the two of them so that’s covered. We also know what Simon was into and we know what Perchenko is in to as well. Those two being a part of this bank isn’t a coincidence. There’s something here I can feel it.”

  Malcolm leaned into his desk, his eyes gravitating to the folder in front of him. “And you need a fresh pair of eyes to look at this stuff with you?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Maybe you’ll see something that I may have missed. I also roped up more help. He should be coming through that door any—" I began, but was interrupted when Josh strolled into Malcolm’s office.

  “What’s up? Did you find any new information?”

  I waited for Josh to sit down next to me and told him the reason I called this little impromptu meeting and not twenty-five minutes of arriving at Malcolm’s office, we found ourselves deep into the lives of Dante Perchenko and Dennis Simon.

  1

  Shane

  Finally, after an exhausting day, I had arrived on the ninth floor of my apartment building. I slowly meandered out of the steel death trap that was the apartment elevator, took a laboring, deep breath and then headed to my apartment.

  Shit, I was exhausted.

  Honestly, when I had climbed into my truck and peeled out of my parking space at work a bit ago, I didn’t think I would make it home. My eyelids were getting heavy as I fought to keep them open. The broken white lines along the highway had started hypnotizing me, almost soothing me to sleep. And I could have sworn I had heard my bed calling me in my head, willing me to hurry up. I fought through the fatigue with the bu
rning expectations of getting home just so I could collapse in my bed and dream about sleeping for a week.

  Now, I had hoped I would come home to my woman instead of an empty, cold ass bed. In fact, it was the reason why I gave her my keys. I wanted her to be there waiting for me. It was time for us to have that talk.

  Now, I know I said I would ease her into a relationship. I had every intention on following through with that plan. What changed you ask?

  Well, it had been multiple things, but the main thing for me was what happened on the ride from Jared’s house. I had been deep in my shit, wondering what I could have done differently to get ahead of this train wreck of a case. I’ve kept replaying my decisions in my head, questioning that if I had done something different, would it have made a difference. I had also contemplated if I should have gone to Russia instead of Jacks. Would I have been more successful than he had been? Would I have been faster in getting information?

  After that, I started thinking about all of the “what ifs”. Shit like, what if something had happened to my brother or his family. Or what if they had been attacked away from the surveillance outside their home? The notion that I hadn’t been as prepared as I had thought, ate at me. I had been driving absently and stewing, when Misty sort of took over.

  The moment she touched me, I had felt the tension in my body ease. The sound of her voice, the tenderness of it, had hit a cord within me. She had been exactly what I needed. She had seen where I was mentally, and quiet as kept, emotionally too, and refused to let me wallow. I wasn’t sure if she had a clue what she was doing to me, but I had been fully aware of the transformation. The fact that she knew exactly what to do to get me out of my head, floored me. It was the right amount of words and actions that shifted my concentrations from the mistakes I had made to the potential of righting a wrong.

  That’s what I loved about her and why again, I was done playing games. In that moment, she had proved, with all certainty that she was made for me.

  It took a lot not to tell her everything I had been feeling once I parked in front of our building earlier. It was on the tip of my tongue and the only reason why I hadn’t let loose was because she ran. Tonight, though, I had told myself I wouldn’t let her run.

  Feeling determined and charged up, I had dialed her number, before I left work, to get her location. If she wasn’t at my place, I would simply drive to her place. If she wasn’t home, that was fine too. I would either wait for her there or make my way to her location, wherever that may be.

  My plan, however well thought out and designed, backfired in my face. She hadn’t picked up the phone when I called. I tried her multiple times on the drive home and nothing. Frustrated and completely impatient, I got a hold of someone in the office and instructed them to ping her cell and give me her location. Two minutes later they had called me back and told me she had her cell off.

  It fucking figures.

  I knew this shit was going to happen. Misty wasn’t going to make this easy at all. The question now would be, was I going to chase her? Well, whatever decision I made about Misty would have to wait until tomorrow. I couldn’t think straight right now even if I tried.

  Resolved to be miserable as fuck tonight, I closed and locked my front door, and made the quick turn from my entryway to my bedroom. I toed off my boots and dropped them and my gym bag I had over my shoulder next to my closet door. Deciding to take a quick shower before I fell into bed, I made a beeline for the master bathroom, tearing off my shirt as I walked inside the dark room.

  My bathroom wasn’t as large as Misty’s, or as colorful, but it was a decent size for me and functional. There was a long, light oak bathroom vanity to my right with a black granite countertop, two white ceramic vessel sinks with two nickel vessel faucets sat atop the counter. My porcelain “throne” was between the vanity and the one-piece shower and garden tub combo. A simple gray shower curtain hung in front of the tub and shower combo, which matched the gray slate tile covering my floor and shower wall. I had no windows to bring in natural light, so I installed lighting above the sinks that was bright enough to see the pores on your face.

  After I used my throne, I turned on the water and washed my hands. I studied my reflection in the vanity mirror in front of me and shook my head.

  “Damn, Cooper you look like shit!”

  I grunted at that truth, as I continued to take in my tired, features. I had a feeling that shit was going to get worse before they got better. Getting my shit in order was the number one priority and sleep would at least get me somewhat there.

  I turned off the water, dried my hands and absently reached for my toothbrush. I paused my movements when my hand brushed up against a second toothbrush in the dish. I looked down where my toothbrush was and froze. I had to blink a few times before my brain registered what I was looking at.

  What the hell?

  I picked up the purple toothbrush that my knuckles brushed against and stared at it. I was tired as hell, but I knew I’d only had one toothbrush sitting here when I left this morning and it wasn’t purple. It was then that I noticed the Neutrogena face soap and moisturizer that was sitting off to the side of the bathroom sink.

  Shit…

  I dropped the toothbrush and walked back into my bedroom to find that my bed looked exactly as I had left it this morning. It was made up, empty, and undisturbed. I ran my hands through my hair, wondering again what the hell when I heard it. It was faint, but I heard it none the less.

  I darted out of my bedroom, zipping up my pants so they wouldn’t fall, and walked down the hall that led to the rest of my apartment. At the same time, Misty walked into my line of sight and noticed me. She startled slightly and stopped in front of the entrance to my kitchen.

  She gave me one of her smiles that instantly made my heart stop.

  “Hey, there you are,” she said softly. “I didn’t hear you come in. I was watching TV waiting for you, but I must have fallen asleep.”

  I couldn’t get my lips to move to respond to her. My brain was trying to catch up to the vision before me.

  Admittedly, despite the messy wild hair and smudged eyeliner, I felt hypnotized by her and she wasn’t doing much but standing there looking at me like a deer in headlights.

  Realizing I wasn’t going to say anything else, Misty said to me, while running her fingers through her hair, “I heard you guys were burning the midnight oil at work. Have you eaten yet? I ordered pizza since I knew you were going to be a while. It’s cold now, but I can remedy that really quick. You want me to warm you up a couple of slices?”

  My brain answered her ramblings with a definite yes, but my mouth still wouldn’t move. I didn’t move. I just continued to stare at her dumbfounded. I had so many questions for her; so much shit that I wanted to say to her. Yet, nothing came out of my mouth. What I did do was eye fuck her for a few glorified minutes.

  My eyes raked along her body, taking in the way her tank top hugged her tight stomach, and soft breasts. I noticed the way her nipples seemed to poke through the soft cotton material, luring me, teasing me. The enticing cotton short shorts she wore that gripped her ass and hips like second skin, made my mouth water. I even caught the bright pink nail polish she had on her toenails.

  It was then that I realized just how hungry I was, except it wasn’t for food.

  With a burst of energy that suddenly charged me, I moved toward Misty thinking about what I was going to attack first, her lips, neck or fuck it all and go for the hidden prize. As I got closer, she began to backpedal slightly with her eyes wide as shit. She knew what was coming.

  “Hold on, Shane,” she said cautiously while raising her hands in front of her, palms facing me. Yeah, like that shit was going to stop me.

  “I thought you wanted to talk? I thought—”

  I grabbed Misty by the back of her neck, causing her words to be replaced with a gasp. I looked down at her lips then her eyes.

  God, I love this woman.

  I slowly moved to get
a much-needed taste from my woman when she whispered, “Shane, I really think we need to talk. Don’t you?”

  I responded to her by pulling her closer to me by the grip I had on the back of her neck. “Yes, I do,” I said to her finally, using the pad of the thumb on my free hand to touch her lips. “But, right now, I can think of a better use for my mouth. Now, shut the fuck up and kiss me.”

  I didn’t wait for her to make a move. I took her mouth right after the last syllable left my lips, deepening the kiss instantly. I eagerly wrapped my free arm around her waist, and hugged her body tight against me trying desperately to fuse her body into mine.

  This woman will be the death of me, that’s for damn sure…

  Every nerve-ending in my body suddenly erupted with incredible pleasure the moment I invaded her mouth with my tongue. Fuck, kissing her was an addiction I didn’t want to be cured of. She drove me completely insane with need every time I touched her. The feeling of her body against mine, the way her tongue caressed my mouth, how soft her lips felt, all of it unmanned me every single time.

  I felt Misty’s body melt into mine. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she threaded her fingers through my hair. I grabbed her ass with both of my hands and lifted her until she wrapped her legs around my waist. With her securely in my arms, where she belonged, I turned and headed for the closest sturdy surface I could think of; the couch.

  Before I lowered us onto the couch, I reached behind me, unhooked her legs and placed her thighs against my hips so she could straddle me when I sat down.

  This was what I had been waiting for all damn day. Ever since she teased me in the back of my truck, I’ve been feigning for this. I’d been feigning for her.