Page 36 of Marked for Obsession

“Hey,” was all she could think to say.

Jax’s assessing gaze fell over her. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” she lied with a smile.

Suspicion flashed behind his dark eyes, but thankfully he didn’t call her out on it. “Your soup’s still hot.” He went to retrieve it.

While he got the Styrofoam bowl from the microwave, Poppy stood in awkward silence next to Ivan. The blond-haired man with chiseled features remained silent, his gaze almost suspicious in nature as he spared her a sideways glance.

“There you go.” Jax set the bowl and a plastic soup spoon on the counter in front of one of the bar stools. Next to it, he placed two packages of saltine crackers, as well as several salt and pepper packets. “What would you like to drink? I have soda, beer, wine…”

“Water’s fine.” Poppy walked around Ivan to where her meal awaited.

Climbing on the stool, she settled herself there before lifting the plastic lid from the bowl. A cloud of steam rose in a swirl of vanishing tendrils, the aroma they brought with it nearly making her moan.

“I’ll leave you two to your dinners.” Ivan shared a look with Jax as he turned and began walking toward the door. “You know where to find me.”

A low grunt was Jax’s only response as he handed her a glass of ice water. Picking up a rectangular Styrofoam container and drink, he walked toward her and sat on the bar stool next to hers.

With a quick flick of his thumb, he popped the container open to reveal a massive burger with all the fixings and generous load of crinkle fries. Her arteries started to clog from just looking at it.

“I’m surprised you eat that sort of thing.” Poppy took her first sip of soup, the savory flavor the perfect blend of chicken, rice, and herbs.

Jax picked up the burger with both hands. Sinking his teeth into it, he waited until the bite had been chewed and swallowed before asking, “Why does that surprise you?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Seeing how fit you are, I guess I assumed you only ate super healthy stuff.”

“Most of the time, I do,” he rumbled. “But there are just some days that call for a greasy burger and fries.”

The man had a point.

As he took another bite, Poppy refocused on her own food. She could see his point. After what he’d done for her today, the man had earned the right to eat an entire bag of burgers if he wanted.

A long stretch of silence passed between them before she finally spoke up again. “So…Ivan…” Poppy decided to go for a normal topic of conversation. “You guys seem pretty tight.”

“We are.” Jax took a drink of his soda.

When he didn’t offer more, she pressed on. “How long have you known him?”

“Since the first day of BUD/S.”

BUD/S?Poppy blinked. “You were a SEAL?”

It certainly would explain the ease with which both men had taken down her masked intruder. That and the lack of emotion after the fact.

“Ivan and I both were.” He nodded. “Served on the same Team for a few years before we both decided it was time to get out. Ivan doesn’t have any family, none that he claims, anyway. So he moved here to help me get my businesses up and running, and he’s worked for me ever since.”

“My dad was Navy,” Poppy revealed. “It was before I was born. He wasn’t a SEAL or anything like that, but to hear him talk about it, he still loved what he did.”

“And what did he do?”

“He was a mechanic.” She smiled thinking of the stories her dad had shared with her in the past. “Dad said he loved being in the service and had planned to stay in until he could retire. But he ended up getting medically discharged after the helicopter he and his crew were on crashed.”

“Damn.” Jax’s dark brows bunched together.

“Yeah, he got really lucky. They all did. He and his crew had just taken off when there was some sort of engine failure. I guess they were still close enough to the ground that when they landed, the chopper didn’t explode. But it rolled a couple of times, and Dad got tossed around pretty good. Twisted his back and knee all up.”

“Any fatalities?”

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