Page 53 of His Secret Obsession
She waves him off. “No, nothing that serious. I’m not hurt.”
“Looks like your sign took most of the damage,” Andrew says before adding, “And some of the paint off her car.”
Jax sighs. “Thank God no one got hurt.”
Mary beams up at him, one of her wrinkled fingers coming up to pinch his cheek.
“What were you doing here anyway?” Jax tilts his head, studying her. “I usually come to you.”
Maybe I imagine it, but I swear she shoots a guilty expression my way. But it’s there and gone in a flash.
“I just thought you might be too busy,” she says with a shrug.
Jax gives her an expression that says he doesn’t believe that, but he doesn’t call her out on it.
“Well!” Andrew claps his hands together once. “You want to see the damage, boss?” Jax nods once, telling Andrew that we’ll be right out as soon as we get dressed. Andrew finally seems to notice our lack of clothing, his eyebrows shooting up. When his gaze lands on my bare legs, Jax honest-to-God growls at the poor kid. His eyes widen comically, and he quickly steps backwith two palms raised in a placating gesture. Mary only snickers, shooting me a wink.
Warmth creeps across my cheeks.
Jax slams the door shut.
“Keep acting like a certifiable caveman, and it won’t be long before the whole town figures out that we’re fucking,” I hiss at him, my index finger poking him in the side. He smirks.
I roll my eyes and begin making my way back up the stairs.
Jax follows behind me, and when I glance over my shoulder, he’s staring at my ass. Then he moves quickly, pulling up the hem of his borrowed shirt to slap his palm against it. A sting blossoms across the sensitive skin, and I squeak. I spin around, trying to pinch his side again. But his long strides quickly outdo me, and he darts around me, rushing up the rest of the stairs with a gleeful cackle.
“Baby, no man with half a brain has a ten out of ten and doesn’t get a little possessive.”
I’m left to stare at his retreating back in stunned silence. His unexpected praise lights up every endorphin in my brain, a soothing warmth curling around my heart. I blink, shaking myself out of my thoughts before going to my bedroom for a change of clothes.
“Don’t get used to this,” I whisper to myself.
A few minutes later, I’m walking down the winding driveway next to Jax. Our arms nearly brush together as we walk, and I wish I could take his hand in mine. But we agreed—this stays between us. It’s already suspicious that we answered the door half-dressed, but if we walk past the shop holding hands then we might as well scream to the entire town that we’re sleeping together. With any luck, maybe Andrew and Mary will be discreet about what they saw.
My body shivers a little bit, despite my white sweater and fleece-lined leggings. I’m rubbing my hands together for warmthas we come into view of the damaged sign, and Jax groans under his breath. The front of a silver Altima is still resting up against the sign, which is nearly toppling over. Some of the paint has been scratched off, and a few letters are now missing.
“I’m sorry, Jax,” Mary says. Her voice is laced with so much guilt and regret that I can’t help but feel a little sympathy for her.
Jax waves her off. “It’s alright. Accidents happen.” He grins at her, propping a hand on each hip. “If I remember correctly, Luke and I had our fair share of accidents that you had to clean up. Remember that time I dropped an entire bottle of laundry detergent all over your floor?”
Mary’s eyes light up, and she laughs. “How could I forget that! You were helping me carry in groceries when it slipped out of your hand, and the lid popped right off. It made a mess of my floor, and you stood there looking like you wanted to cry. Then Luke walked in behind you and slipped in it!”
Jax releases a quiet huff of laughter, grabbing the back of his neck as his cheeks pinken.
“God, I bet you have so many good stories,” I say to Mary. I can’t keep the silly grin off my face when I imagine Jax as a clumsy, pre-pubescent teenager. It makes me wonder what kind of trouble he got into as a kid. Did he fight with Luke often? Was he a prankster, a class clown, or quiet like he often is as an adult?
“Come over for some sweet tea and brownies sometime, dear, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.” She lowers her voice into a theatrical whisper. “It’s only right that his girl has plenty of blackmail material to pick from.”
Jax goes still beside me.
“Oh, that’s—I mean, we aren’t—” I stammer.
Mary huffs. “Oh bollocks, I wasn’t born yesterday. Y’all answered the door half-dressed and looking like Christmas came early.”
I cough.
Jax gives her a weary look.
