Page 4 of Hidden Obsession

An eerie feeling that something was different.

I looked around the small kitchenette area, hoping to see something out of place or off, but there was nothing. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something felt different.

“Maryanne, you okay?” Gem asked, noticing how I’d just stopped moving out of nowhere.

I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, just trying to figure out if I have everything for spaghetti night.” I smiled.

When I breathed in deeply, a note of something drifted into my nose. Something masculine, almost like cologne and something else. Something like the scent at the liquor store when the guy with hoodie had bumped into me. But as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.

I was losing it.

I sniffed my shirt. Maybe someone’s cologne had stuck to my body from my shift at the club? I shook the thought away and pulled the meat out of the fridge. I got to work, getting dinner together while letting the girls know there was a special dessert after dinner waiting for them.

Everything went off without a hitch. We ate dinner, and they loved the mango ice cream treats. Watching them enjoy something so simple yet something I could have never imagined asking my mom healed something inside of me. I got them all tucked in and asked about the summer camp they had been going to during break and what they would be doing the next day.

Once they were all but almost asleep, I showered in the small bathroom, and when I slipped into bed, I smelled that familiar masculine note again—something woodsy, musky with a hint of mint.

And I fell asleep imagining the kind of man who would smell like that and the way his strong long arms would hold me tightly against him. I had never even spoken to the man who popped into my head, but he fit every fantasy I’d had the last month.

Hollis Porter.

I had only seen him at the club twice, my boss’ brother, and once at the gym when Jade and Kitty both talked me into going with them. He was ruggedly handsome with soft, dark curly hair and darker eyes that felt like they could see right through you. A man like Hollis would make you feel safe. Cherished and loved. Seen.

My eyes grew heavy, and before I knew it, I fell asleep with a smile on my face as I rested and dreamt about a different life. Because Mr. Miller was right. Goals were a destination and anything was possible if we worked at making dreams come true.

I rested easy, oblivious to the fact someone was watching me sleep.

TWO

HOLLIS

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jonas asked the moment I stepped into his office. “Again,” he added. Fair. I’d been doing a lot of drop-ins on my little brother. It was like no matter what I tried, I couldn’t resist stepping into the Velvet Leopard.

And not for the usual reasons men walked into a strip club.

“What? I can’t come see my brother?” I asked, avoiding answering his question. Something flashed in Jonas’ eyes, like he wanted to call me out, question and push until I broke and admitted to why I’d been coming in more frequently.

But for some reason, he didn’t.

Either way, I took the seat across from him and bent my leg over my knee, trying to act like it was just any other day. Like I hadn’t been sneaking around one of his dancer’s homes and even hid a camera in her room because it turned out, us Porter boys might not be blood, but we seemed to have a lot more in common that we could have ever imagined when we fell for a woman.

“How’s work today?” I straightened the pant leg of my slacks. My brother watched me for a long moment with speculation in his eyes.

“You checking in on your silent investment or something?” He leaned forward, the suspicion clear in his gaze, I wasn’t going to lie, I was a little insulted. Taken aback by his question.

“Jonas,” I sighed. My brother had the Midas touch when it came to money, even when he didn’t mean to, and had helped make the other four of us well off. “You know it isn’t like that.”

“Hmm, you sure?” His head tilted, gaze never leaving mine.

“Jonas.”

“Because if it’s not you coming to check in on your investment, I have a feeling I know what all these visits are about, and I’m not sure what the fuck your problem is.”

“Jo––“

“You don’t sit out on the floor like Lucas used to when Jade was on stage. You don’t come get private dances, either, from whatever dancer has caught your eye,” he observed, sitting back in his desk chair. “You come in here. Hide in my office.” He pointed behind him. “And watch those screens like your fucking life depends on it.” I grunted non-committedly because he wasn’t off the mark.

“Who is it?” Curiosity got the better of him, and I stared at him like I wasn’t amused.