6. Marcus
SIX
MARCUS
Triumph flares in my chest as Lainey walks past those keys and into my cabin.
Her choice to stay ignites every possessive instinct I’ve been fighting for months, feeds something primal I’ve kept caged for too long.
She fought me at first, all fire and fury when I carried her out of The Summit. But the moment I set her down, that resistance melted into something else entirely.
Now, Lainey is standing in my living room, her delicate frame dwarfed by the rugged logs that make up the cabin walls. And seeing her in my clothes, in my space, does things to me.
I’ve never brought a woman here. I built this place with my own two hands after I got out of the Marines. Every log, every nail, and every piece of furniture was chosen to reflect exactly what I wanted. It’s my sanctuary, my fortress, the one place I’ve kept sacred and untouched by anyone else’s influence.
Until now.
Lainey’s presence changes everything. The air feels different, charged in a way it never has before. She’s standing there, her wide blue eyes taking in the room like she’s trying to memorize it, her fingers brushing lightly over the edge of the leather couch I hauled up here from town years ago. She looks so small against the backdrop of my world, yet she doesn’t seem out of place. If anything, she fits—like she was always meant to be here.
I gesture to the couch, needing to do something with my hands other than touch her.
“Sit.”
Her chin lifts slightly. “I’d rather stand.”
“It wasn’t a request.”
Lainey sinks onto the couch, but that spark remains in her eyes. Good. I don’t want to break her spirit—just her resistance to what’s building between us.
I lean against the mantle, putting the massive fireplace at my back.
“Now talk. What were you doing at The Summit with my son?”
Her eyes pop wide. “How did you know I was with Axel?”
“That’s not important. What were the two of you doing there?”
Lainey sighs. “It’s complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it.”
I know I’m being a dick right now. But I can’t help it. I need answers. Not just because I need to keep her safe—though that’s part of it—but because I need to know if she’s back with him.
If she’s still his.
Lainey swallows hard. “I was doing a favor for my brother, Derrick.”
“What kind of favor?”
I don’t know much Derrick Daniels, but what I do know, I don’t like. The guy’s doing a seven-year stretch up at Blackwater for armed robbery and who knows what else.
From what I’ve heard, he’s bad news. And he sure as hell doesn’t take care of Lainey. If anything, it’s the other way around. I can only imagine what kind of “favor” he’s asking of her now. My jaw tightens as I wait for her to answer, my mind racing with possibilities, none of them good.
“He owed Enzo Castellano some money,” Lainey explains. “He asked me to make the last payment for him.
I take a slow breath, trying to keep my temper in check. “How much?”
“Five thousand dollars.”
Five thousand. It’s not exactly chump change, but for a guy like Enzo Castellano, it’s not a make-or-break amount either. Still, I know he’s not the type to let debts slide, no matter how small. If Derrick owed him money, Enzo would’ve made damn sure he collected every penny. One way or another.
I study Lainey’s face, taking in the dark circles under her eyes and the way her bottom lip trembles slightly. She looks exhausted. Drained. Like she’s carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
“Is that why you were crying earlier?” I ask. “Because of the money?”
“No!” Lainey’s head snaps up, her blue eyes flashing with exasperation. “I was crying because I’m overwhelmed, Marcus. Between the diner and Derrick and Axel, I feel like I’m drowning. I don’t know how to keep everything together anymore.”
The mention of my son’s name makes my blood run cold.
“How is Axel involved?”
“I asked him to come with me,” she says quietly. “I didn’t want to go alone.”
A harsh laugh escapes me. Part of me wants to be proud that he tried to step up and protect her. It shows he’s got some of my instincts after all.
But the other part of me, the part that’s been simmering with rage and jealousy, wants to knock him on his ass for even thinking he could handle this.
For thinking he could be the one she turns to.
“My son is not equipped to protect you,” I snarl. “Axel has no idea what men like Enzo Castellano are capable of.”
“Axel knows more about Enzo than you think,” she snaps. “We got into an argument about it at The Summit. He didn’t want me to give Enzo the money. He said I needed it to repair the oven at the diner instead.”
She pushes off the couch and starts pacing, her hands gesturing wildly as she speaks.
“But what choice do I have? Derrick is all I have left. Our parents are gone, and I promised them I would always look out for him. I can’t lose him too.”
“Axel’s right, Lainey,” I say. “You can’t keep putting yourself in danger for Derrick’s mistakes.”
She crosses her arms over her chest defensively. “He’s my brother, Marcus. I can’t just abandon him.”
“There’s a difference between abandoning him and enabling him,” I counter, pushing off the mantle to close the distance between us. “Paying off his debts, risking your safety, your livelihood—it’s not helping him in the long run. It’s just delaying the inevitable.”
Lainey’s eyes narrow. “Is that why you brought me here? So you could lecture me about my life choices?”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. Is that what she thinks this is? Some kind of intervention?
“Because if that’s the case,” she continues, her voice rising with each word, “then I want to go home. Now.”
I take a step closer, invading her space until I can feel the heat radiating off her body.
“No, that’s not why I brought you here,” I tell her. “I didn’t take you so I could lecture you or tell you how to live your life. And you know it.”
Lainey tilts her head back to meet my gaze, her blue eyes searching mine for answers.
“Then why? Why do you care what happens to me?”
Why?
Because she hums under her breath when she thinks no one’s listening, and the songs get stuck in my head for days.
Because she treats every person who walks into that diner like they matter, from the rich bastards who barely acknowledge her to the elderly couples who can barely afford their meals.
Because she’s strong enough to carry the world on her shoulders but soft enough to make me want to murder anyone who makes her cry.
Because she’s everything I’ve ever wanted and everything I shouldn’t have.
The question hangs between us, the air heavy with tension. I know the answer, but admitting it out loud feels like jumping off a cliff without a parachute.
But I’m done running from this. From her.
“Because you’re mine,” I growl, the words tearing out of me like a confession. “You have been since the moment I first saw you.”
She blinks up at me, her chest rising and falling faster now. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said.” I lean in closer, and my breath stirs the hair at her temple. “Mine.”
I used to hear stories when I first moved to Cooper Heights about people on the other side of the mountain in Cooper Hills falling in love at first sight. The kind of tales old-timers would spin over whiskey, their eyes glazing over like they were seeing something the rest of us couldn’t.
To be honest, I never put much stock in it before tonight. Most folks on this side of the mountain are too jaded to admit to believing in fairy tales.
But now, standing here with Lainey, her blue eyes wide and her lips parted like she’s waiting for me to prove it, I get it.
I don’t know why, but she’s mine. Not because I said so, but because something deep in my gut—something primal and unshakable—knows it’s true.
Her lips part, then close again, and I can see the struggle in her eyes—the fight between what she thinks she should say and what she’s feeling. I can feel it too, that tension in the air, thick and electric, like a storm about to break.
“Marcus, you can’t just say I’m yours,” she whispers, her voice trembling.
“Why not?”
“Because you barely even know me.”
“I know enough,” I growl. “I know you’re smart and stubborn and too damn selfless for your own good. I know you’re the kind of woman who would sell herself short just to protect someone else. And I know you’ve been carrying this weight alone for too long.”
Her breath hitches, and she looks away, her cheeks flushing.
“You don’t understand. You don’t?—”
“Let me,” I interrupt, my hand cupping her chin, forcing her to look at me again. “Whatever it is. Let me carry it for you. Let me take care of you.”
For a moment, she just stares at me, her blue eyes searching mine like she’s trying to find some hidden motive, some reason not to trust me. But then her lips part again, and this time, there’s no hesitation.
“Okay,” she breathes.
My hands slide into her hair, tilting her face up to mine.
“Now tell me the truth. Are you and Axel still together?”
I hate the way the question sounds, but I have to know. My chest tightens as I wait for her answer.
“No,” she whispers. “He and I were never serious. We dated for a few months. But then he cheated on me, and we broke up. We both realized that we’re better off as friends.”
“Good,” I growl. “Because I’m not sharing.”
I crash my mouth down on hers, claiming her in a kiss that’s been building for months—years, even.
She gasps against my lips, but then she kisses me back with a hunger that matches my own.
My hands slide down her back, gripping her hips and lifting her off the ground without breaking the kiss. She wraps her legs around my waist instinctively, and I carry her to the wall, pinning her there with my body as my tongue slides against hers.
She tastes like everything I’ve been craving—sweet and warm and so damn intoxicating that I can’t think straight. My hands roam over her curves, memorizing every inch of her as if I need to prove to myself that she’s real, that this is real.
“But what about Axel?” she gasps again when I finally pull back to let her breathe. Her chest heaves against mine, and her eyes are dark with desire. “This is wrong. We shouldn’t...”
“Shouldn’t what?” I growl, nipping at her bottom lip. “You think I give a damn about rules or what anyone else thinks? You think I care about anything but you right now?”
She shivers in my arms.
“Let me take care of you, sweetheart,” I tell her. “Please.”
Her eyes search mine for a moment longer before she nods slowly, a small whimper escaping her lips as I kiss her again. This time, there’s no resistance in her touch, no hesitation in the way she clings to me.
For the first time in years, I feel something inside me crack open—something raw and unfiltered that I’ve kept locked away for too long.
And tonight, I’m claiming my prize.