Obsession Too: Loving An Alpha Male

by S. K. Lessly

  The DIA was a U.S. agency that specialized in defense and military intelligence. They reported on defense-military issues on a national level, to the Secretary of Defense and heavy hitters in the Department of Defense regardless of whether we were at peace or at war. There were various departments within the DIA charged with such tasks as collecting data and analysis, science and technology, and clandestine operations. You could guess where I went.

  This was where Josh and I became partners. We were part of a group under the DIA that secretly handled threats to our borders as well as to our troops. We worked together on a lot of cases, but we also worked independently whenever it was necessary. We did everything from collecting data to taking down any individual that was deemed a threat to the U.S. Everything we did was covert with only a handful of people who had knowledge of what we did for sake of the country.

  When we were combined with Shane’s team and moved to another unit, things changed. Our goals broadened to scopes I’d never thought possible, but my role diminished. I was assigned to more group oriented missions with me channeling in on my sniper skills once again. Shane boosted my ego, of course, by saying that I was the best the military ever had, which was true, but I knew what he was doing. He was keeping me out of the dog fight, and I didn’t like it.

  Maybe that was the problem tonight. Maybe it was the need to hunt that drove me into action because when I pulled out my knife tonight and dug my blade into the meat and muscle of Simon, something stirred in me. It was that old familiar feeling, that taste of combat, and that rush. And I loved every minute of it. I was sorry that things had turned out the way they had, but I wasn’t sorry for dispensing that sick bastard. May he burn in hell.

  Completely riled up again, ready to fight, I decided I was done swimming. I stood in the center of the pool and pushed my long unruly hair from my face. That’s when I found out I wasn’t alone.

  How in the hell did he get in here without me knowing? I stared at him, my fingers in mid motion, unable to move a muscle. I went back through my steps upon entering my house. I remembered putting on the two deadbolts before I turned on my alarm and walking through my house to make sure everything was locked before I came out here. My eyes moved to the direction of my backyard gate and saw the lock was still intact. None of my motion sensors around the interior of my gate had gone off and neither had my alarm.

  So, how in the hell?

  My unwanted visitor sat in one of my high-back bar chairs on my patio with his arms folded, watching me. The ominous shadows of my candlelit backyard made it slightly impossible for me to make out the face of my visitor, but I didn’t need to see who he was. The slight tremble that started to overcome my body, the sudden increase of my heart rate, and the overwhelming butterflies in my stomach told me exactly who he was.

  I sighed, truly not wanting to deal with his shit tonight. I’d dealt with enough. My uninvited guest leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs and studied me. From the distance, I could see that he was still wearing the black T-shirt and dark jeans from earlier.

  Maybe this would be a quick visit.

  I thought about keeping my ass in the pool. I could wait him out. He’d have to get tired at some point and go home. After all, he did have a woman to go home to. However, just as I started to kick around an idea to test his patience, he busted my bubble.

  “I have all night, so don’t worry. Take your time.”

  Smart ass…

  I swam the rest of the distance and then slowly mounted the steps leading out of the pool. I was careful to concentrate on every step I made. Once I was clear from the pool, he threw me the towel I had thrown over a lounge chair close to him. I mumbled a ‘Thank you’ and started to dry off, mainly covering myself as he considered me. We both were quiet for a spell before I broke the silence.

  “I don’t remember giving you a key to my house, Major Cooper. What are you doing here?” I dried my hair, covering my face from view, so I could quietly take in a few deep breaths.

  Damn, the way he’s watching me is very unnerving.

  He had never looked at me this way before. There was nothing in his demeanor or the way he was behaving. It was all in his dark stare. He had a set of amazing blue eyes. In fact, all of the Coopers did. They were a blessing from their mom, whom by the way, was striking in her own right. But as for this Cooper right here; if you looked hard into his intense blue eyes, you could see specks of green in them. The green wasn’t very dominating, but as I got closer to him, using the sparkle from the candle that was lit on the table next to him, damn if I didn’t see the glitter of emerald through his eyes.

  “I came to check up on you,” he informed me. “Due to the way things went down earlier, I wanted to make sure you were okay and possibly up for a drink. Maybe we can go find a quiet place somewhere, have a few, and talk or something.”

  When he was finished, I couldn’t help the scoff that erupted from my lips. I wrapped the large beach towel around my chest just underneath my armpits and placed my hands on my hips.

  “Well, that was very nice of you,” I said to him, my voice drenched with sarcasm. “But I’m going to have to pass. I don’t want to be around a whole bunch of people, especially any males with the last name, Cooper. I don’t have the patience to deal with the public. I’m a bit unstable as it seems.”

  My guest smiled at me. “Good. I’m not in the mood for people either,” he replied before he grabbed a brown paper bag that I had just realized was sitting in front of him. He pulled out a bottle of something I couldn’t identify through the darkness and placed it on the table. “Why don’t you go take a shower, get dressed, and have a drink with me? Oh, and bring some glasses when you come back out too.”

  I shook my head. “As tempting as that sounds, I’m going to have to decline. You know your way out.”

  “Look, you need to decompress, and so do I. We can drink right here. Come on. Go and change and then come back and have a drink with me. It’s Courvoisier. You know how much you like brown liquor. Now hurry up before I drink it all.”

  I stared at him for a moment with my mouth gaped as he opened the bottle, raised it to his mouth, and took a swig.

  “Why are you still here?” he questioned after he took down a second healthy gulp.

  I blinked and found myself mumbling an apology before I headed inside to do exactly what I’d been told. Twenty minutes later, I was back out on my deck dressed in a fitted T-shirt and cotton shorts. My unruly black curls were secured in a messy bun at the crown of my head. While I was in the shower, it seemed that my guest had made himself right at home. He’d rummaged around in my pantry and found some chips and pretzels and had placed two bowls in front of us filled with the snacks.

  He had also grabbed us two glasses already and when I came outside, there was one waiting for me. He’d managed to find my wireless speaker, synced his phone to it, and had music from a Spotify playlist entertaining us. Four Tiki candles had already been lit, keeping the bugs away. Shane had also lit a large candle on the table between us, which sort of added ambiance to my backyard.

  I had lived in a ranch-style home for a few years now in the suburbs of Virginia; my home once being a condo in DC. My house had three bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms, the living room, and the formal dining room were located in the front of the house. A large kitchen and breakfast nook occupied half of the back of the house. My bedroom, with two large walk-in closets, took over the rest of the house, with the bathroom between the front and back of the house.

  My backyard was vast, which was uncommon for this part of the city. It backed into woods that were protected by some county ordinance, assuring no construction would occur on the land. I had a large fence built along the perimeter of my property that separated me from the unknown as well as my neighbors. But it was still awesome knowing I didn’t have to deal with any houses obstructing my view of the trees behind me.

  I brought my glass to my lips and took a sip of my drink. Just sitting here with
him, listening to instrumental jazz, sipping on very good cognac was kinda nice. My unwanted company hadn’t bored me relentlessly with gibberish, which was an added bonus. For some reason, though, I still couldn’t completely relax.

  My guest kept eyeing me from time to time, giving me fierce unreadable blue eyes that made me feel self-conscious. I was also slightly bothered by the fact that his presence here felt so natural. Most guys couldn’t stand when I was quiet, into myself, and fidgety like this. I half expected him to say something about it or complain about my silence, but he didn’t comment on my quietness or the fact that I couldn’t keep still.

  That, of course, was driving me insane…him not bugging me. So, I decided to bug him.

  “This is nice and all, but don’t you have some place to be?”

  “Why? Are you expecting company or something?” he asked, looking over at me.

  I shook my head. “No, not at all, it’s just… I don’t want to get you into trouble or anything.”

  He sneered and shook his head, and I saw the edge break through his otherwise calm demeanor. “Don’t you worry about that. You’re not going to get me into any trouble.”

  “Oh, okay, um… if you don’t mind me asking, why is that? I know I would be kind of pissed if my man…” I started, but the look he gave me shut me up quick.

  “I actually do mind you asking, unless you feel like telling me what happened with you and Simon tonight.”

  I frowned and slouched in my chair. “Well, I guess we need to change the subject then, huh?”

  “Yup, I guess so.”

  We sat there silent, drinking and staring out over the landscape of my backyard.

  I brought my glass to my lips before I asked absently, “So what should we talk about? Since your life is off-limits and so is mine…” I looked over at my guest when I didn’t hear his reply and found a huge smile plastered on his face.

  “Did anyone ever tell you the time Josh lost a bet and had to perform Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice, Baby” at our high school talent show?”

  I choked on the liquid that was supposed to have slid smoothly down my esophagus. Instead, it was forced out, and I sprayed my deck. “Are you kidding me?” I gasped loudly, swiping the back of my hand along my lips. “Hell no, I haven’t heard that story. Oh, please share that bit of info right bloody now!”

  Chapter Four

  Kenya

  “The woman is certifiable. Do you know that?” Josh said though gritted teeth.

  Josh had walked into our D.C. brownstone on ten. I hadn’t seen him this angry since…well not since the time Misty, Lili, and I went to some biker bar outside of town and got into it with a motorcycle gang.

  It was the usual story, someone thought we were trying to take their men, which was very unlikely. But Misty had been eyeing a few guys on and off during the night. She had been trying to figure out which were men and which were women. It was a bit confusing, in her defense.

  Needless to say, words were exchanged between parties, but the biker bitches or whatever you called them, started to talk some serious mess. I had the esteemed pleasure of being with two very volatile and aggressive females who didn’t take too kindly to being told what they could to with certain objects or where they could go. Needless to say, things escalated rather quickly. Bottles were thrown and furniture was smashed. My eyes were like a baby doe’s, wide and completely out of my element. I didn’t have a clue how to respond until someone took a swing at my face.

  Josh had taught me a few tricky moves to protect myself from an attacker around the time we first started dating. I told him about my ex hurting me, and he showed me a couple of ways a female could fend off an attack. After I was kidnapped by gunpoint a few years or so ago, I learned how to correctly fend off an attacker from Lili, his sister. Josh had warned me to stay away from her fighting lessons, but by the time I got that message, it was too late. Lili helped me find some of myself and recover from my ordeal by showing me the proper way to defend myself.

  Josh, of course, was pissed when he found out that Lili had taught me a few things. It wasn’t that he didn’t want me to be able to protect myself, it was the method by which I was taught and more importantly, what I was taught.

  Lili didn’t sugarcoat anything. She gave it to me raw. She showed me not only how to fight, but how to do it grimy, gritty, and with no mercy. For example, Josh had shown me what to do if someone grabbed me from behind. He showed me the usual places to hit a guy, how to get out of a hold, put my attacker down, and run like crazy. Lili and then Misty showed me what to do after I got the guy down. They gave me the tools to inflict the greatest amount of pain I could so that he didn’t get up for a while or in some cases not ever.

  Knowing how to truly fight for survival gave me a huge boost of confidence. I didn’t go around starting fights, but I knew if one came at me, I could protect myself. That’s what I did that night at the bar. Some woman was sitting next to me watching the fight ensue. Lili was taking on two rather large women that I’d thought all night were men. Misty had three, and I believed at least one of the women she was fighting was a man. I was shaking my head, texting Josh that we were going to need some help immediately, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fist coming toward me.

  I reacted swiftly by leaning back so that the punch sailed past my face. I then took the arm and pulled it through the momentum of the punch and the woman next to me ended up on the floor. Needless to say, I wasn’t a bystander in that fight anymore. As I said, things got very messy, and by the time Josh, Malcolm, and my brother arrived, we had annihilated the women in that gang and some of the men.

  Josh was furious. I mean his face was so red, it reminded me of a cartoon character’s face with steam coming out of its ears right before the head explodes. That was Josh. Malcolm was pissed, but he didn’t show it as much as Josh had, and my brother was damned amused. He had grown up with me and he’d never seen me defend myself. Hence, it was a huge accomplishment to him.

  But my husband wasn’t very happy with me and definitely wasn’t very happy with Lili or Misty. He even tried to ban me from seeing them. Yeah, he tried.

  “Baby,” I said to him trying to get him to focus instead of rambling on in a fit of rage. “What happened? I thought you guys were just going to pick that guy up?”

  I was laying across the bed on my side when he came into our bedroom. For awhile now, I was trying to get up the strength to take a shower before I crawled into bed. I had just fed our six-month-old baby boy, Josh Junior, who we affectionately called Jay-Jay. He had woken up screaming as if he’d had a nightmare. I swear that little boy knew when his daddy was gone and was possibly in danger.

  Jay-Jay was a very good baby. He’d been trained early to sleep through the night. But when Josh went away on missions, it was as if the baby sensed it, and he would be uneasy until Josh came home. Mama Joe had told me that Jay was just feeding on the vibes I was giving off, but I didn’t believe that.

  Granted, every time Josh left for a mission, I was on edge. I’d worry from the time he walked out of the door to the moment I laid my eyes on him again. I physically checked him over before he was able to put his bag down, which normally led to other things, but I was always satisfied in more ways than one that he was okay.

  Nowadays, he went straight for the baby. It didn’t matter the time or whether the baby was asleep or awake, Josh made sure to hold and talk to his son. I recognized early on the bond that those two shared, Josh did too. I’ll admit, I was a bit jealous of father and son at first. The way the baby’s face lit up whenever he saw Josh was like no other. But all of my jealous feelings would slip away the moment I would see father and son together. It was a sight to behold, I must admit.

  Tonight, I had to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill over my cheeks as I listened to Josh and the cooing sounds of our son through the baby monitor sitting next to me. In everyday life, my husband was not a patient man, but with us, he was like a different person.
He was sweet, attentive, and amazing.

  When Jay-Jay was born, Josh was scheduled to go out of town the next day. In the hospital, he promised he wouldn’t be long and he wasn’t. He was home in two weeks. After that day, he stayed by my side, taking care of me and our baby and making another baby.

  Yes, that’s right.

  The moment I got the okay to have sex again, he was on me. He managed to knock me up about two months after I had Jay, the cheeky bastard. Now, I was pregnant again and my body was stretching to lengths I didn’t believe was healthy. I was huge for only five months. I didn’t care what my doctor said, it felt like I had two babies in my belly instead of one.

  After Josh promised our son he’d spend time with him tomorrow, my beloved husband finally made it to the bedroom and that’s when he started going in on Misty. I was familiar with the Simon case. I was there when Nickels and Junior found out about him, and I assisted in collecting as much evidence as I could to bring him down. During my research, I found out some interesting news that I hadn’t shared yet. I knew whenever I decided to, shit was going to hit the fan.

  Josh managed not to rip his clothes off as he stripped down to his boxer briefs, while cussing and mumbling his displeasure with Misty. I tried my best to keep my eyes on his as he chastised his partner, but I failed miserably.

  Josh had one of the sexist bodies, if not the sexiest body, ever created. And I wasn’t saying that just because he was my husband. It was just a fact. I actually believed he’d gotten bigger in terms of muscle mass since we met. He told me I was seeing things, but I knew I wasn’t. He’d increased his workout regimen since the moment his son was born. I figured it was a man thing, brushing up his protective side. When I got pregnant again and he found out I was having a girl, I swear his workout time tripled.

  Josh’s arms had always been defined, and his chest and abs phenomenal, but now I didn’t know. It was like he’d found new muscles to reveal on his fat-free body. Seriously, there was no place on his body where fat could be stored. The fat would just get bullied and take an ass kicking by all of the muscles his body produced. He’d surpassed the eight pack a long time ago and found new packs to generate on his sides. He was beautiful to look at, and I always loved to run my hands and my tongue all over his…