Page 15 of Marked for Obsession

“No. Confused, maybe.”Step.“Angry.”Step.“Definitely scared.”Step.“And by the flush in your cheeks and the way your pupils are currently dilated, I’d say you’re also feeling slightly aroused.” He stopped inches from where she stood, his spicy male scent intoxicating as he leaned toward her. “Oh yeah, Kitten. From what I can tell, you’re all those things and a whole lot more. But not stupid.” He shook his head slowly. “No, not you.”

Poppy swallowed against the desert that had suddenly sucked out every drop of moisture from her mouth. The ease with which this man could read her left her feeling open and raw, and she didn’t like it.

Not one little bit.

Ignoring the arc of energy brewing between them, she cleared the rasp from her dry throat. “Well…good.” She prayed her voice sounded as steady to him as it did in her head. “That’s good because I’mnotstupid. And as for the other, don’t flatter yourself. You’re not my type. Not even close.”

Liar, liar.

With his dark eyes locked on hers, the man claiming to be Monroe removed himself from her personal space to stand tall once again. Still wearing that smug smirk, he reached behind his back, the movement causing her to take a reflexive step backward.

“Easy.” He put his other hand palm-up as he pulled a wallet from his back pocket. Flipping the slim leather folds open, he pulled his I.D. free from its visible sheath and held it out for her to take. “Just proving I am who I say I am.”

Poppy took the Colorado driver’s license from him, her heart flipping inside her chest when her fingers accidentally brushed against his. She studied the I.D. closely, dumfounded by the name she found there.

Jaxon Miles Monroe.

The image…the name…it all matched up with what this man had claimed.

“You’re really him?” Poppy handed him back the license. “You’re Jax Monroe?”

“In the flesh.” He returned the I.D. to his wallet before sliding the folded leather back into his jeans pocket. “And you are…”

This guy really was the owner of Sin. He really was the private investigator Kyle told her about.

And he’s still waiting for me to tell him my name.

“Poppy,” she blurted after a slight delay. “My name is Poppy. Like the flower.”

Smooth, Pop. Really freaking smooth.

“The flower.” His lips formed a crooked grin.

Feeling a bit chagrined, she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and nodded. “Yeah, you know. They’re the red ones the Veterans hand out at the grocery stores every year.”

“I know what they are.”

Those eyes of his felt as though they were staring straight into her soul.

When he didn’t say anything more, she added, “My real name is Penelope. Penelope Campbell. Growing up, my dad always called me Poppy, and…I don’t know. I guess it just sort of stuck.”

Poppy couldn’t tell whether or not he was amused or annoyed. Of course, after the stunt he’d just pulled, she really didn’t care.

“Why did you lie to me when I first saw you downstairs?” she demanded.

“I never lied.”

She blinked. “Uh…yeah, you did.”

“Wrong. You asked if Mr. Monroe was here. I told you he was, which I am. Therefore, I didn’t lie.”

“Exactly my point,” she huffed. “Instead of just telling meyouwere the man I was looking for, you went on letting me believe you worked for him. I thought you were a bouncer here.”

“I am if the occasion calls for it.”

Poppy wanted to scream. “Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

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