Page 23 of Obsessive Love (The King #1)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Kaleb

S tanding on the front porch of Jericho's house, I keep my gaze focused on the long driveway, waiting to see Jaylen's silver BMW come into view. My heart is pounding in my chest and my jaw is aching from the way I've been gritting my teeth together for the past twenty minutes.

Jericho is standing beside me on the phone, barking orders at some of our men currently scouring camera footage throughout London, trying to track down the car that was following Sophia.

I pull my phone from my pocket and pull up the tracking app, watching as her blinking blue dot moves closer towards me. I switch over to my text messages with Miles reading his last response.

Miles:

I can't condone this behaviour anymore, Kaleb. Installing the tracker into the butterfly clip was far enough. I will not give you one that you can embed in her skin.

Kaleb

At least think about it for longer than five fucking minutes. You know I'll pay you graciously.

Miles:

No.

You're crazy.

Find someone else for your psychotic shit.

I growl in frustration and swipe back onto the tracking app.

When I see she's now closing in on the front gates, I shove my phone back into my pocket and focus on the pebbled drive.

As soon as the car comes into view, I'm walking down the steps towards it. Before Jaylen's even parked properly, I'm tearing her door open, scanning my eyes across her delicate face first before I examine her body, checking for any scrape, bruise, or bump that wasn't there before.

Once I determine that she's okay, I feel my shoulders slump in relief. I look over the roof of the car and when I see Jericho staring at me, waiting for an indication of whether she's okay, I nod.

He watches me for a moment before turning around and walking back into the house, still on the phone.

"How did you know where we were?"

The angry shout has my gaze dropping back down to my girl and when I see her attempting to glare at me, my lips stretch into a wide, genuine smile.

Her nostrils flare and her beautiful crystal blue eyes narrow further.

"I'm not sure what you're on about," I say, acting nonchalant. She shakes her head and breaks our connection to unbuckle her belt and grab a bag from the footwell.

I take a step back, allowing her a sliver of space to get out of the car.

She gets out and squeezes her way through the gap, pressing her body against mine just as I intended. I purposefully brush my hand against hers and revel in the sound of her breath hitching.

Her eyes connect with mine, and the hint of a blush on her cheeks makes tingles spread through my body.

I like that I have an effect on her. It proves that she feels this connection between us, even though she may not want to right now. I close my hand around hers, encasing her icy cold skin with my warmth and I reach up with my other hand, smoothing my thumb against her cheek like I did the night before.

"Are you okay, dolcezza ?" I ask, wanting a vocal confirmation from her to ease my overthinking mind.

Her eyes close and her lips twitch as she presses her cheek against my touch, but the sound of someone clearing their throat brings her crashing back to reality and she frowns at me before snatching her hand away from mine.

She shoves me in the chest, forcing us apart.

"I told you to stay away from me," she snaps, glancing over the hood of the car, likely looking at Jaylen, and then she turns back to me. "I think you need to remember that I'm married to your brother, not you."

Pain slashes through my chest and I grit my teeth, furious at her reminder.

She attempts to walk past me, but I grab her wrist, keeping her in place. I look over at Jaylen and see him cautiously eyeing me with his hand behind his back.

"Give us a minute."

He scoffs and shakes his head.

"You must be fucking crazy if you think-"

"I really wish people would stop stating the obvious and calling me fucking crazy!" I shout. "I'm not going to hurt her and I can guarantee I never will. So, please , go inside and give us a minute to talk."

He glances between me and Sophia a few times until I see her nod in my peripheral vision. He looks around the empty driveway and then hesitantly takes a step back.

"I'll give you two minutes, and then I'm coming outside to get her and our stuff from the car," he states.

I watch as he turns around and walks up the steps, eventually disappearing through the front door. I turn back to Sophia, meeting her furious gaze and I wink.

"Now, I'll ask again. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she spits, rolling her eyes and pointedly glaring at where I'm holding onto her. "I don't understand why you're concerned. I understand you've been appointed as my secondary bodyguard, but Jaylen does a good job of protecting me, so dull down the macho act. My well-being has nothing to do with you."

"See, that's where you're wrong, Sophia," I drawl, closing the space between us. "Your well-being has everything to do with me. I should know where you are at all times and I should be able to ensure that you're safe and not in harm's way because you're mine and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe."

She laughs and steps back, pressing her back against the side of the car.

"I am not something you can own, Kaleb, and even if I was, I wouldn't be yours. In case you're forgetting, it's mine and Jericho's name on that marriage certificate, so if I was to be owned by anybody, it would be him."

"I don't give a shit about that stupid piece of paper you both signed. It means nothing," I hiss, pressing my body against hers and grasping her chin in my hand, forcing her to look at me as I speak. "You're mine, dolcezza , not his. I'm the one you're fighting feelings for, not him. It's my heart that's connected to yours. It's my dick that's been inside of you. It's my mouth that you crave. It's my arms that you want to be wrapped around your perfect little body. He may have given you a ring and signed a contract, but he can't give you the love you deserve. I can, and I will."

"You're delusional," she breathes, watching me with those big blue eyes. "We spent one night together, Kaleb. We didn't know who each other were and we have to agree that it was a mistake. We need to forget that it happened."

If her words were sincere, they would hurt, but I know my girl. I can tell she's unsure of what she wants and I know for a fact that she's just reiterating what she thinks she should be telling me right now, not what she wants to tell me.

She lifts her arms between us, pushing them against my chest and forcing me back.

Jaylen chooses that moment to come stalking out of the house, essentially bringing this conversation to an end. I look down at Sophia, meeting her fierce glare and I wink at her before turning and walking away.

I have plenty of time to help her realise we're meant to be together, so I'll leave her in her pit of denial for a while until I come up with something else to help her figure it out.