Page 13 of A Monster's Obsession

Welcome home indeed.

***

I’m not sure what I expected before meeting Sawyer’s house staff. But it wasn’t this makeshift family they’d all seem to be. Marla, was the grandmother figure who ran the house with love and a no nonsense rule of thumb, even when she dealt with Sawyer. Ben was the gardener and head grounds keeper, and Charles was the butler. But those were just a few of the people that worked on Sawyer’s estate. There were his men who were always around without being “around.” It seemed that they were always lurking in the shadows, only coming out on command. If I didn’t know about Sawyer’s mob involvement the shit would creep me out. It made me wonder if they were lurking when we were together in New York because I never noticed them before.

Now that we’ve been formally introduced, and not just seeing them and hearing about them from Dove, and the fact they were at our wedding, I know how important Darby and Flynn are to Sawyer. And not just because they were two of his men who were always around.

I even remember seeing Darby at the baby shower, and Flynn was at the hospital when Alejandro was shot. In both cases, they made sure to make their presence known. The two red headed giants were mountainous, walking, talking threats. Darby was the talker of the two always laughing and smiling, but Flynn barely said a word. His hazel-green eyes were forever watching everything. But no matter how much Darby joked, I could tell both men were equally dangerous.

After all of the introductions were over, I made my way into one of the many guest rooms I saw on the tour Marla gave me. Sawyer had some urgent business to take care of, so I was left on my own for the rest of the day. Although I was feeling guilty for not telling my parents what was going on, I knew I needed to call and check on them. They won a cruise and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Now, I could talk about their upcoming trip and they would get too excited to ask about my life.

“Hey, Sasha girl. How’s your day baby?” My mama’s raspy voice came through the line in a cheery tone.

“Hey, Mama. My day was okay. Are you guys getting ready for your trip?” I asked switching topics quickly. I couldn’t let her ask too many questions or I would fold and tell her I got married today.I’m such a horrible daughter.

“Oh yes! I went online and got me some swimsuits. Your daddy won’t know what hit him.” I laughed at that. My parents have been married for going on thirty-years and they still acted like newlyweds. Nobody could ever say that Rosie and Daryl Phillips weren’t in love.

“Oh, I’m sure whatever you have he will enjoy it.”

“He better if he knows what’s good for him,” Mama giggled in the phone. In the background I could hear my dad grumbling about my mother’s addiction to online shopping and we both laughed.

He could complain all he wanted to, but nothing and nobody would stop may Mama’s online shopping.

We talked for about twenty-minutes catching up and laughing before I had an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion. I said my goodbyes and decided I could finally try and take a nap.

I didn’t get to appreciate the opulence of the bedroom where I would be sleeping because my mind was going a million miles an hour. However, I would do some snooping after I took a nap. Maybe some rest would help my thoughts settle.

I didn’t think I would be all alone on my wedding day. Actually, that’s not true. I never really thought about what my wedding day would be like. I left the romantic notions and the dreams of true love to my best friend. Raven was the one who would get all mushy over thoughts of wedding gowns and flowers.

I frowned at the thought of Raven. I didn’t tell my parents or my best friend that I was getting married. I didn’t tellanybodythat I was getting married. I’m so embarrassed that Sawyer had to marry me in the first place. I’ve always been independent and careful. I never would’ve thought that I would be in a situation like this.

I never wanted to be a burden on anyone. My parents gifted me the money from their house without telling me what they were doing, but I should’ve given them their money back. But I thought once I owned the gallery that I would be able to repay them easily with interest. I should’ve planned better, but I didn’t. If it wasn’t for Sawyer, there’s no telling where the hell I’d be.

I had a fitful nap, and didn’t get much rest at all. But at least I had an excuse for locking myself inmyroom. It was weird to have all these conflicting emotions when it came to Sawyer Nash. On one hand, I wanted what we had back in New York, but on the other hand, neither of us were the same people that we were two years ago. I could tell that Sawyer was bossier than he was back then. Maybe it was because he was about to be the Don of his family. I’m not sure what it was, but I could see the heaviness in his emerald eyes like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. And the last thing I wanted to do was add to his responsibilities.

But I was grateful that he married me. He saved my life and I owed him, but still he was a different Sawyer than before. Now he was domineering, crass, and rude as fuck. I wanted to slap his face and sit on it at the same time.

I was frustrated and I really needed to paint. It was the only way that I could get my mind to rest. But my art room wasn’t set up yet. I let out a heavy sigh. My life was a serious mess, and there was absolutely nobody I could blame but myself.

My self-deprecation lasted until I got out of the shower. I wrapped a nice fluffy towel around my body and entered my room. I let out a startled gasp when I saw Sawyer sitting quietly in a chair watching me intently. He scared the shit out of me, but I wouldn’t show fear to my predator of a husband.

“Uh. Hey. Do you need something?” I questioned lightly as I pulled the towel tighter. I was glad there wasn’t a tremble in my voice to give away how unnerved I am. You can never let someone as dangerous as Sawyer see you sweat. His passionate stare roamed over my body, and I gulped. The heated look he was giving me made me want to snatch away the towel and fling my body on top of his. However, I stood with my hands crossed over my chest waiting for him to answer my question.

“I was just coming to check on you, Céile.” The nickname was new and I’m not sure what it meant, but his deep voice held a seductive cadence that made goosebumps cover my skin. His voice dripped over me like melted chocolate.

“I’m good, thanks.” That’s all I could trust myself to say. I was confused about my feelings when I was alone, but in his presence it was a thousand times worse.

“I see. I was just coming to check the reason as to why the fuck you’re in here…the guest bedroomand not inourbedroom.” Sawyer’s sultry tone turned dark and ominous in a blink of an eye. The shit made my head spin. But I wasn’t about to play this game with him.

“I told you before, we haven’t seen one another in two years. Things have changed. We don’t know each other anymore; I don’t know if we ever did.” I stood firm in my decision. I was a free-spirited person, but I made a lot of mistakes in the past. Sawyer and I weren’t honest with each other, and I lived for two years believing that our lives were in jeopardy because of that.

“And I toldyou.We will live as husband and wife in all things. Now, we don’t have to fuck if that’s not what you want. I’ve never had to force myself on a woman and I won’t start now, butyouwill stay in our marital bed.”

“No. The. Hell. I. Will. Not!” I don’t know who Sawyer thought he was dealing with, but I am not the one.

***

I stood staring at Sawyer. His pink lips were held in an angry line with his slightly larger bottom lip poking out. His thick dark brows looked like angry slashes over his narrowed green eyes. The light stubble that covered his chiseled jawline earlier in the day had grown into a five o’clock shadow and it just added to the sexy broodiness of my new husband.