His Obsession (4 page)

“Then I’ll eat with you.” She moved away to grab the chicken from the
oven. Coming back to the counter she saw him cutting the cucumber wrong. “Don’t
do it like that.” Ursula leaned over showing him how to get the watery seeds
out of the centre. In doing so, the long sleeved blouse she’d been wearing came
up from the stretch, exposing her bruised wrist. She didn’t have time to cover
it up before he caught her wrist, holding it up to inspect.

“It’s nothing,” she said, trying to extract her hand from him.

“Nothing?
This looks like somebody squeezed your wrist,
Ursula.” He refused to let her go. She turned to face him staring into his
questioning gaze.
 

“It’s nothing.” She repeated the words and hated herself for it. “It was
an accident.”

“Are you going to tell me you walked into a wall or perhaps accidentally
walked into a bear and the bear got so angry he squeezed your wrist and slammed
it down?” His anger echoed off the walls.

“You don’t need to be sarcastic. Bears are nowhere near here.” She tried
to brush it off by talking about something else. He wasn’t having any of it.

“Cut the crap, Ursula. I never took you for a fool, so don’t start
acting like one.” He cupped her cheek again. “You’re a strong woman. Don’t let
this jerk abuse you.”

“He’s not.”

“Don’t—”

“No. Listen. He’s going through a tough time, and he’s not got a job,
and everything is getting him down, and—stop me because I’m making excuses for
him, aren’t I?” she asked. Turning away from him, she took the seat at the
counter. She dropped her head in her hands as her predicament came at her from
all angles. He put his hands on her shoulders. She shouldn’t be gaining so much
comfort from his touch. Their relationship was strictly professional.

A professional relationship doesn’t
make a woman wet between the legs.

Shut up.

She never used to have long conversations with herself.

“If I don’t end this, will it only get worse?” she asked aloud. She knew
the answer. One of her courses delved into human psychology. She knew enough to
know that if she didn’t take action, Paul’s actions could escalate further.
What had started out as verbal abuse had turned into something
physical.
She wasn’t stupid. Her choices were right in front
of her.

“You clearly don’t need me to be the older person with reasoning.”

She lifted up to look at him. “He used to be really sweet.”

“Do you love him?” he asked.

Ursula thought about it. No, she didn’t love him. There were times she
liked being around him just to have someone else in her life. She didn’t talk
to her parents. They didn’t like her decision to leave with Paul. They’d never
liked him. She wondered if they saw the guy he really was while she’d been
filled with her high-school crush.

“No. I don’t love him.”

Stephen moved away from her. She missed his touch the moment he left.
Biting her lip, she stared down at her hands to keep herself from begging him
to touch her. A begging female was never pretty. She gazed back up when she
heard some rustling. Stephen was leaning on the counter writing on a piece of
paper.

“Here are all my numbers. I know you have the house number, but you can
reach me at all of these. Call me if it gets bad or you need help with
anything.”

She took the piece of paper from him. On closer inspection she saw it
was a card.
Turning it over she saw his name under the word
“Possession”.

“What’s Possession?” she asked.

He cursed, took the card from her, and scribbled out the word.
“Nothing.
Just some business cards that
came out wrong.”

Ursula stared at the card. “Are you sure this is okay? I don’t want to take
any of your time or anything.”

Stephen reached for her hand. “You don’t have any family in the area. I
would never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

“Why?” she asked. The moment she said the word she wished she could take
it back. She didn’t want to know if it was some gentlemanly obligation.

“I have no idea. I know I want you to be safe.”

With his last words hanging between them, he let go and began chopping
the salad. She put the card into her jeans pocket. Minutes later they were
sitting eating their meal, but something was different.

Ursula didn’t linger afterwards. She finished her chores and left before
he had the chance to do anything else. Usually she stayed until he got back
from wherever he went. This time, she walked the short distance home. Paul was
in his chair again with another porno on the television. She didn’t even
attempt to make conversation.

She went straight through to her bathroom, took a long bath,
then
dressed once she was finished. Sitting on her bed, she
took the card out of her pocket. For some reason she didn’t think this was a
wrongly printed business card. Ursula grabbed her out-of-date laptop and
settled on the bed.

Staring at the card she typed in Possession, Stephen Knox, and a
question mark. Her internet connection was bad, so it took a few minutes to
load up. The sound of moaning from the other room made her roll her eyes. She
couldn’t believe how much of that jerk she’d put up with.

The search came back with nothing. Frowning, she typed in her boss’s name,
and lots of information popped up. Feeling annoyed at her interest, she shut
down her laptop before putting the card away. She knew unless it was an
emergency she’d never use it. Ursula kept it just in case the time came she
would need to. Paul was an asshole, but he was stronger than she. She would be
useless against him if he started on her.

She closed her eyes thinking about Stephen’s cock pressed against her
stomach and the feel of him kissing her neck.

****

Stephen could have cursed himself for giving her a card with the name of
the club on it. He was so fucking stupid at times. Watching her leave had been
hard. He couldn’t stay in the house knowing what it felt like to have her so
close to him, and yet she wasn’t his. Grabbing his keys he went to his car.
  

Drinking would be out of the equation with him taking his car. He drove
the distance to where his club was. Stephen typed in the twelve digit number,
and the gates opened immediately for him. Parking the car he got out and went
‘round the back. He didn’t need to enter through the front. Lucas was waiting
for him when he walked into his office.

“Have you got some kind of monitor on me to know when I’m on the move?”
he asked, taking his seat behind the desk.

“When your number comes through from the gate I get notified.
It’s
extra security I installed for added protection.”

“A little much, don’t you think?” Stephen sat down looking at the
several piles of files on his desk. “What’s all this?”

“Member requests, petitions, and complaints. Also, I got a call from a
Mr. Black who asked to speak with you,” Lucas said.

Stephen looked up, surprised by the name. “Did he give a first name?”

“Yes.” Lucas looked down at his notes. Impatient, Stephen began tapping
his desk. “Lloyd Black. Does the name ring a bell?”

“Fucking bastard.”
Stephen slammed back his chair and
started to pace. He had hoped to never hear that name again. “I think you need
to bring Tate, Kevin, and
Cadeon
in here.”

“Sean won’t accept being left behind.”

“Then bring him in. Did you speak to that fucker?”

Lucas nodded. Stephen looked down at his desk and saw the note for Lloyd
Black with a phone number underneath. He wished he could have stayed at home,
convincing Ursula to stay with him. Running his fingers through his hair he
continued his pacing. He needed to clear his head.

Lucas came back after several minutes followed by Tate, Kevin,
Cadeon
, and Sean. He glared at Sean for the problems the
bastard was causing. Possessive men were really starting to piss him off.
Shutting down the club seemed like the best solution.

They took their seats without saying a word. “I don’t know why, but
Lloyd Black seems to have called me earlier. I wasn’t here, but Lucas took the
message.”

All the men, barring Lucas, froze at the mention of the name. Lloyd
Black had created so much anger. Stephen had forgotten how much he despised the
man.
  

“What do you think he could want?” Sean asked.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I want to make sure that Rebecca has
all the security she needs. If he’s making calls then I know something is
happening,” Stephen said.

“I’ll arrange everything,”
Cadeon
said.

“Won’t your woman have an issue with your involvement?” Stephen asked.

“Since Tate and Kevin are not making much headway, she only responds to
me. I took Violet with me, and Rebecca liked her. The two women talked for a
long time. In fact, that’s where Violet is now.”

Tate and Kevin glared at
Cadeon
.

“Okay, for those of us who have no real idea who this woman is, or the
guy, what’s going on?” Lucas asked.

“Finally something you don’t know.” Sean sneered at the man. There was
so much testosterone in the room, Stephen wanted to cause damage. These men
truly believed in their possessive instincts. Instead of disputing their belief
he chose to ignore his own problems.

“Lloyd Black was a member of the club several years ago. He’s our age
and comes from money, wealth. He married a young eighteen-year-old woman,
Rebecca. She was sweet and charming. What we didn’t know is that behind closed
doors Black was a sadistic fuck who used her to get what he wanted.” Stephen
stopped explaining and allowed
Cadeon
to take over.

“They were together for five years, but he did enough damage. We do not
abuse women. This is not what the club is about. We’re possessive, and the club
is designed for us to be with like-minded men who feel the same urges when it
comes to their women.” At the last part Stephen felt uncomfortable. He never
knew any of the urges he heard men talk about.
Cadeon
was still talking.

“Behind closed doors, Black was beating his wife, and any man who talked
to her he was taking it out on her. She became his slave without thought. The
punishments he dished out, she took. There was nothing to her. She didn’t talk
to anyone unless he forced her to. It was too late when we all noticed the
changes. One night they came to the club. Someone spoke to her, and Lloyd went
ballistic. He locked them in a room and started hitting her, kicking her. We
saw it all on the monitor before any of us had time to react. Anyway, since
then she’s been trying to regain her life one bit at a time. We don’t know
everything that happened to her, but Lloyd ended up in jail serving time. He’s
not allowed any contact with her.”

Cadeon
finished his explanation. Stephen
was sick to his stomach remembering the events. He got angry, but he’d never
take it out on a woman.

“How we managed to keep this club out of the media still surprises me,”
Stephen said. “At the time, Black had tried to blame his whole personality on
the club. He tried to make his defence based on multiple brain-washing in turn
making him believe that beating a woman was the right thing to do.”

Lucas cursed, and so, too, did all the other men.

“I’ll contact James and let him know what’s going on. Black is still a
powerful man. If I know him like I think I do then he’s already on the steps to
getting out of jail.”

“Wouldn’t his money have gone to Rebecca because of the divorce and his
being in prison? She’d have to help him,” Lucas said.

“No. The money remains with Lloyd. Rebecca got nothing in the divorce
settlement. I would guess that his oldest son from his previous marriage would
be handling all of the business until Lloyd got out. But Rebecca didn’t get a
penny of his money. The moment he was arrested she had nothing to her name.
Everything she has now is what all the members of the club have banded together
to support her. We look after our own,” Stephen said. “The son needs looking
into. I’ve denied his request to join. The rumour about him is that he’s as
sick as his father only worse. He likes to cause pain.
Lots
of it.
I’m talking seriously kinky, verging on being kicked out of the
kinkiest club.”

“I’ll handle the son,” Sean said.

“Are you ready for that?” Lucas asked.

“Yes. You’ve given up, and I need to fill my time.”

Stephen watched the two men, curious about the tension between them.
“Right, until we know anything further, petitions and applications will stop.
I’m not dealing with this shit without this behind us.” He tossed the files
into the trash can.

“You’ll need to talk with the rest of the men,”
Cadeon
said.
 

After the meeting in his office Stephen gave a brief talk before leaving
for the night. He wasn’t interested in being at a club where he felt like he
didn’t belong. At home he sat down in his sitting room staring at the
television. He hadn’t turned the unit on. The thought of sitting down and
watching something left him depressed. Looking at the whiskey decanter he
considered losing himself to the alcohol haze that would allow him to sleep
without dreaming.