Landon's Obsession: An Endless Series: Book 3 (Series 3) (9 page)

     Nearing the Rec room I could hear raised voices and
when I strode inside Hicks was spouting off some shit about me going off the
deep end and that he was ready to leave. All eyes turned to me when I appeared;
Derek and Todd in confusion, and Hicks cornered.

     Todd’s confusion turned apprehension at seeing the
anger on my face. “What’s going on?” He asked standing up. “Hicks said you hit
him.”  

     I stopped in the doorway so he couldn’t make a run for
it. “The asshole was attacking our housekeeper’s daughter.” I don’t know why I
felt the need to prevaricate on the maid part.  

     Both Derek and Todd’s brows shot up in shock and their
heads arrowed Hicks’s way.

     Hicks waved his hands back and forth in denial, glaring
at me. “Whoa, what the fuck, dude? You saw the scene for like half a second. I
wasn’t attacking the chick. I grabbed her arm just before you entered the room,
and that was the first time I touched her.”

     Shitass excuses. “Maybe, maybe not, but she was trying
to get free of your grip, and I didn’t misunderstand the sexual remarks you
made to her.”

     He frowned. “So what if I made sexual remarks. She’s
hot. When is it off limits to make remarks to a hot chick?”

     “She shouldn’t have to deal with assholes hitting on
her…aggressively…in
my
home, when she’s here to work.” I snarled surging
toward him.

     Todd intercepted me, placing his hands on my shoulders.
“Okay, okay…it sounds like Hicks made an outstandingly bad decision but...”  

     Hicks cut off Todd. “Like you haven’t been hitting on that
Oreo every chance you get.”

     I gaped at him, as my temperature shot through the
roof. Derek and Todd’s eyes widened in astonishment as well.

     I surged forward again at the same time Derek
exclaimed, “Shit, Hicks, did you seriously just say that out loud?”

     Hicks backing away, raising his hands as Todd continued
in his attempts to hold me back. “What…I didn’t mean anything bad. The girl is
hot no matter what color she is.”

     Pointing at him, I pushed against the wall Todd was
trying to emulate. All this activity was hell on my incisions but I pushed past
the pain. “You need to get the fuck out of my house now, and keep clear of me
from this moment on or I’m going to turn you into the colors black and blue.”

     Hicks opened his mouth to say something but Derek gave
him a shove, as well as a frown, toward the door. “You need to shut your mouth,
man. You’re just digging yourself a deeper hole.”

     Todd pushed me off to the side, away from the door so Hicks
could pass. We gave each other hard glares. I knew he was posturing because he
had to know I could kick his ass six ways to Sunday. When they cleared the room
Todd loosened his grasp on me.

     “Well this sucks. Unfortunately I drove the ass, so I need
to drive him home.” Todd said shaking his head. “Was he really attacking the
girl?”

     Anger still rode me hard, even with him out of the
room. Hicks had never been a close friend, but this conduct of his was just… wildly
stupid. And calling Maya an ‘
Oreo’
. What the hell was that?

     “He wasn’t holding her down or anything, but he did
have a grip on her arm and didn’t seem inclined to let go. He also invaded my
bedroom while she was in there cleaning. It’s up to you on whether you want to
stay friends with the guy, but I don’t want the little fuckwad around me
anymore.”

     “Yeah, well, I’m having my own doubts about the guy
after hearing the ‘Oreo’ comment. I mean, shit, talk about offensive.” Todd
shook his head again. “Hope this doesn’t cause any problems for your family. Do
you think she’ll press charges or try to squeeze you guys for money?”

     I frowned. I would like to say that neither Rita nor
Maya seemed the type on the monetary matter, but the possibility of money could
flick a switch in about anybody. And Maya was underage. That could open a whole
new can of worms. There was no way to deny that she had grounds for possible
recompense. 

     “I see my question has raised questions. You’re
normally ahead of me on things like this.” Todd grimaced in condolence. “You
should tell your dad as soon as possible so he can get with your lawyers.”

     Todd was right; I was normally the first to query
situations such as this. My dad’s lawyers were always going to court on
something, and my parent’s had pounded into me that people would sue us for the
slightest reason if given the chance.

     “Thanks for the advice, Todd. I’ll talk to you later.”
I clapped him on the back and headed back toward my bedroom. I didn’t see Maya
immediately and thought she might have run to her mother to report what
happened, making me wonder if they were already conniving, but then I heard a
noise coming from my attached bathroom. Stepping up to the door I was slightly
surprised at seeing her wiping down the sink. I hadn’t expected her to go back
to work.  

     Spotting me in the doorway, she turned, wringing the
wiping cloth in her hands, looking anxious. “Are you okay? You didn’t do
anything to strain your incisions, did you?”

     Again, I was stumped by her concern for me. She was the
one who’d been ill-treated. “I’m fine, Maya.” The area was throbbing like a son
of a bitch, but I knew it wasn’t anything serious. “You were the one who was
assaulted, in my house, by one of my so-called friends.” I scowled at having to
admit that.

     She flipped the cloth in a ‘no biggie’ manner before
going back to twisting it. “I’m fine. The guy was a jerk, and pushy, but he
didn’t hurt me.”

     The way she continued mangling the cloth made me
skeptical on her dismissive attitude. I stepped closer resting my hand on hers
hoping to offer some sort of comfort, but I was also feeling an overwhelming
need to
give
her comfort…not for her sake, but mine. It wasn’t something
I was accustomed to feeling, or doing, but there it was.

     “Maya, he looked like he was holding you against your
will.”

     Her hand trembled under mine, and her face flushed.
“Well, yes, he did grab me, but it was only for a couple of seconds before you
walked in.”

     Feeling the tremor in her hands made me angrier. “I
wanted to smash Hicks’s face in when I saw him restraining you. What else did
he say and do, Maya? Did he touch you anywhere else?”

     She shook her head vehemently, causing her ponytail to
whip side to side. “No, no, he was just crude, but...really, I’m okay, Landon.”

     I think that was the first time she’d said my name. I
liked hearing it on her lips. “Maya, you shouldn’t have had to go through that
at all. You should feel safe in this house. I’m mean, shit, that’s why we have a
property fence and gates for fuck’s sake. I’m sorry for bringing that asshole
into the house.” I growled heatedly.  

     Maya jumped faintly, either at my language, forceful
tone, or both, but then she shifted her hands under mine, and we were suddenly clasping
hand. “Landon, it’s not your fault, and fences won’t keep out all the
riff-raff. Unfortunately, assholes can pop up around the most unlikely of
places. No one can control that.” She gave me a half smile, squeezing my hands.

     Damn, she was amazing. She kept showing me that she was
unlike all the other people around me. Not all my friends were assholes, but we
were all pretty self-centered, more concerned about ourselves than others. I
had expected her to put some of the blame on me because I’d brought Hicks into
the house, and even though he hadn’t been a close friend I’d still hung out
with him. Plenty of people would have painted me with the same brush because of
that association.

     Not her though.

     I looked down at her hands holding mine. I liked this
too. Had a girl ever held my hand like this, with nothing in her thoughts but
to reassure me? A foreign feeling swept through me. I was familiar with lust,
but this was affecting more then my dick; there was tightness in my chest.

     Extricating our linked hands I took a step back, rubbing
my chest. “Maya, I’m going to have to tell my father about what happened.”

     A troubled look crossed her face, and she clasped her
hands together. “Do you have to? He didn’t really do anything to me, and I was
hoping to not have to inform my mama. This would completely freak her out.
Tomorrow’s my last day anyway.”

     I stared at her with a frown. My father would want to
know so we could cover our asses, but Maya seemed really concerned about her
mother finding out. If she wasn’t going to tell her mother than it seemed she
planned on essentially forgetting the whole thing, and if she did that then
there was no reason to inform my father.

     “Okay…I’ll keep it to myself.” I relented.

     She smiled, blowing out a breath of relief. “Thank you,
Landon.”

     I nodded, but discomfort and anger warred in me at her
praise. “You shouldn’t be thanking me, Maya.”

     She shrugged. “Well, I did, so deal with it.”

     I shook my head…s
martass
.

     Bending down she picked up her bucket of supplies and
walked out of the bathroom giving me a brief searching glance as she went. I
followed, throwing a quick look to my right to see that the water sketch I’d
left for her to find had been relocated to my desk, next to the other one.

     Realizing she’d be out the door in seconds I walked
over and picked up the sketch. “What did you think of my drawings?” I asked,
eyeing her intently.

     She stopped at my door, holding the bucket to her
chest, and I watched as her face flushed deeply. That color on her skin was an
artists dream and it immediately had my shorts tenting.  

     She didn’t answer right away, for a moment she just
stared at the sketches in my hand. “They’re beautiful.” She finally replied looking
up at me. “You made me look beautiful.”

     “I didn’t do that, God did.” It was a cheesy line, but
also the truth.  

     Maya’s eyes widened in astonishment. “I…I don’t know
what to say to that. I can see me in them, but they are…just more.” She watched
me curiously. “What made you draw them?”

      I had two answers to that, but I only gave her the
one. “When I get a picture in my head I feel somewhat…compelled to draw it.”

     “And…I was in your head?” She frowned, but her eyes
were bright with interest.

     I stared at her intently and let the words flow out of
me. “You are in my head quite a bit lately.”

     She sucked in a breath and my eyes were immediately drawn
to her mouth, and those lips…shit! She expelled her breath shakily and that
plump flesh quivered. “I…” My gaze shot back up to her warm dark brown eyes,
and the connection seemed to cause her to stumble in her speech.

     I didn’t know what she was going to say, but I took
advantage of her halt in speech. “I’d like for you to have them.” I picked up
the other sketch and walked toward her holding them out.

     She looked down at them and then back up at me with a
frown. “Are you sure? I thought you were mad at me?”

     I wasn’t going to give myself up and reveal what I’d
overheard. “I was just having a moment, and yes, I want you to have them.”

     The corner of her mouth curved up, and she reached out
taking them carefully, examining each one again. “Me aside, they are really
incredible. Thank you.”

     I smiled at the longing in her eyes as she gazed at
each sketch. “No better person to give them to.” I said. This is what I wanted…her
attention. “So, your mother’s getting her cast off tomorrow?”

     “Yes. She’s pretty excited about it.” Maya smiled, but
there was a slight line that popped up between her eyes.

     Was that conflict I saw on her face? “You must be
excited about it as well. You’ll no longer have two jobs on your plate.”

     The line deepened. “Uh…yes, I guess.”

     She definitely seemed conflicted.

     I stuffed my hands in my pockets, smiling inwardly, but
trying to look casual. “I was thinking about checking out those seventy-five
flavors.”

     The line evaporated and Maya’s mouth parted. Damn, the
thought of tasting her was almost too overwhelming. Kissing a female wasn’t
something I brooded over; I was normally focused on my baser instincts. And
while Maya was hell on my baser instincts, she affected more than that on me.   

     Maya began biting her bottom lip, and it looked like
she was trying to stop herself from smiling. “We do have some really good
Butterfinger ice cream.”

     I breathed a surprising sigh of relief. She didn’t want
this to end here. “I’m going to hold you to that. If it’s not than you have to
try soft serve Butterfinger.”

     She stopped biting her lip and let the smile out. “I
don’t think it will happen, so I’m not averse to taking that concession.”

     I grinned at her assurance, excitement thrumming
through me. “It’s a concession then.”

     She turned sideways to walk out the door, throwing me a
half grin and a shake of her head. “Yeah, a concession.” With one last
lingering glance my way she was out the door.

     I smiled. Things appeared to be leaning my way.

∞                   
∞                    ∞

     Friday, Maya’s last day, came and went without me being
able to talk to her. Whenever I went searching for her she was with her mother.

     Later, when I went looking they were gone.

     Later than that, I found Rita by herself…no cast.

     Maya was gone from the house.

     Time to start the campaign.

∞                   
∞                    ∞

     Over the weekend I hung out with Todd and a few of the other
guys. My body was on the mend but I refrained from any drinking and continued
to take it easy. They drank and did their thing while I mostly watched.