28. Marcus
28
Marcus
Don’t do it, Marcus.
Don’t. Walk away.
My hands curl into fists. My gaze remains locked on Lauren’s chest. Her pink nipples look firm, her breasts high and full. I want them in my mouth so fucking badly.
Walk away, dude.
She stares back at me, standing tall and defiant. Such a fucking temptress. That bold stance is so na?ve, I would laugh if I had the strength. Weakness isn’t a familiar trait, but right now, that’s exactly how I feel.
Powerless.
Lauren thinks she knows everything about me, but she has no clue what she wants to sign up for. Over the years, she’d caught glimpses of my wild ways, but I’m not sure she understands. She’s still there, staring, hopeful, waiting for me to make a move.
Stepping forward could ruin her.
Retreating will ruin me .
Tension runs over my body as I move slowly toward her. My hands clasp her cheeks, which triggers a moan that makes my stomach clench with aching need. My erection bridges the gap between us, inching toward its desired resting place. I can already feel her pussy hugging me, warm, slick, stroking from base to tip, driving me crazier than I am right now.
One of us will go crazy tonight, wrecked beyond repair probably.
“I swear to God, Lauren,” I whisper against her lips. “You’re killing me.”
Gasping, her lids half-closed, she grips my sides. “Let’s die together, Marcus. Kiss me.”
I take her hands, running my fingers through hers before pressing them against the wall. With a tortured sigh, I press my forehead to hers. I want to do more than kiss her lips. I want to claim her right against this wall, her hands gripping my shoulders, leg thrown over my hip, whimpers leaving her mouth as I drill her hard and deep. One night of sweet passion.
A night I’d regret in the morning.
One of us will be ruined tonight. Based on what’s at stake, I’d rather that person be me.
It takes every ounce of my willpower to let her go.
“Marcus?”
I turn away from her questioning stare, my cock swelling painfully, punishment for not walking away the second I saw her in the hallway. “Get some sleep, Lauren.”
Her sharp scoff follows me down the hall into my room.
Twelve hours later, my body still punishes me for denying it pleasure last night. I have a headache that won’t quit, despite taking painkillers, tension running from my lower back right up my spine, and a semi-permanent erection that shows no signs of going away soon.
As I press send on my last correspondence of the day and shut the laptop down, I hear Lauren’s sudden scream. Earlier, she’d mentioned going for a walk outside, and with the guards manning the property, it was easy to focus on work, knowing she’d be perfectly safe.
Until now.
The chair bounces against the wall with a crash as I get to my feet and take off. After what feels like an hour, although it’s only a minute, I burst through the back door and immediately see Lauren near the wall, arms wrapped tightly around herself, two guards flanking her sides. There’s Gareth, who has been here from our first day, and a tall, slender one I’ve never seen before.
“Just a slight misunderstanding,” Gareth assures me when I ask anxiously. “I assumed the security company would’ve informed you about the new member on our team. It’s obvious they didn’t, since Lauren got terrified when she ran into Steven just now.”
“For which I can’t apologize enough,” Steven adds, looking as remorseful as he sounds.
“Don’t worry about it. This is an admin issue, not yours,” I reply, guiding Lauren toward the back door. “You okay?”
She nods softly, but her brows are still pinched, her expression slightly pale. As I close the door behind me, she mutters, “For a moment, I thought they’d finally found me.”
“Hey.” I pull her into my arms. She resists for a beat then melts into me. “We’re doing everything to keep you safe. They’ll never get access to you, got it?”
Lauren buries her face into my chest. Her body shakes, and my heart turns to mush. “I hate feeling weak, Marcus,” she cries. “I hate that I have no control. I never do.” She pulls back, and her face is wet with tears. “Not over my personal life, not at the office. I can’t even control whether I live or die.”
My brain zones in on one thing. “What’s happening at the office?”
“It’s not important, just some harmless pranks,” she replies, swiping her cheek.
Her tone sounds casual, but I still press. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
I take her arms, staring in her face. “You know what? I believe that. Guess what, Lauren? You’re far from weak. You’re one of the boldest women I know, especially with how you stood up to your dad for that CEO spot.”
“Well, it’s not mine yet,” she reminds me, still wiping the tears from her face. “I have a few more months to prove myself.”
“And you will. I believe that.”
She smiles broadly. “Thank you for that. It means more than you’ll ever know.”
In response, I hug her again, and this time, she hugs me back immediately. Lauren might be right about things not going back to normal, but in this moment, it feels pretty close.
A soft knock precedes a gentle creak as the door slides open. Lauren sticks her head inside a second later.
“You up?”
“No, I’m fast asleep. Don’t you hear me snoring?” I joke, and she scrunches her face at me.
The door closes behind her. I look at it, then at her. “What’s up?”
“I can’t sleep.” She comes closer to the bed, fiddling with the hem of her tank top. “Do you mind if I chill with you for a while?” She catches the speculative stare I give her and raises both hands. “No funny business, I swear.”
A brief silence ensues while I contemplate whether my willpower is strong enough to survive having Lauren in my bed, especially when I’m still semi-hard from jerking off in the shower. I throw the covers aside and pat the space. After all, I like living on the edge.
“Get in.”
Lauren smiles and joins me, curling up on her side with her back to me, careful to keep some distance between us. I lie back down, taking in the curly hair on her nape, the dark locks brushing her soft shoulder, how her tank top and bed shorts hug her curves. She keeps wiggling her tiny feet, tempting me to cure that restlessness with a foot rub.
Tempted, but not stupid. I know the outcome if I dare touch her.
“Marcus?”
“Mhm?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
The bed dips as she turns to me, curling up again. Her eyes are soft, genuine. “For making things uncomfortable between us. You wanted to keep things friendly, and I’m sorry for not respecting your decision.”
I’m itching to tell her that the last thing I want to do is keep things friendly, but she doesn’t need that back-and-forth behavior, not from me. I’m her protector. I shouldn’t be tearing her down.
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” I reply. “We both made a stupid decision, but we were wise enough to stop before it went any further.”
“Yeah, thank heavens for that,” she mutters.
“You said it was impossible for you, but how about we both try?”
“Try what? ”
“How about we pretend this never happened.” I raise my smallest finger. “And swear we’ll never make this mistake again.”
Slight hesitation precedes Lauren’s smile, and she lifts her finger. “I swear.”
Our pinkies hug then release. Lauren sighs then throw the covers off her. “I feel better now,” she announces. “Thanks for putting up with me, Marcus.”
“Anytime.”
She leans over and pats my cheek then shimmies off the bed. As the door closes behind her, I flip onto my back, staring up at the ceiling fan. Gabriel once said I’m not the Patron Saint of Self-Control. Oh, if only I could explain how wrong he was.
Even with this truce, even with this newfound self-control, it’s going to be torture living under the same roof as Lauren, knowing I can only look, not touch.
A sudden, loud ringing pulls me from a deep slumber and into the pitch-blackness of my bedroom. Reaching for the flashing phone on the night table, I swipe the screen. It’s only a little after three, for fuck’s sake.
“Gabriel,” I grunt, “whatever your reason for calling me so early, it better be good.”
“Oh, it’s better than good,” he replies. “The shooter squealed this morning. A couple hours ago, they got everyone.”
I push myself up to sit, wondering why I haven’t heard from my dad. “Are you for real?”
“It’s on every news network. Turn the TV on.”
I get out of bed and feel along the couch until I find the remote. A burning building greets my eyes when I select a local news network. Reading the words running across the screen, I breathe a sigh. “Jesus.”
“The FBI took down the entire crime family,” Gabriel says. “Every lieutenant. Foot soldier. Some killed, the others brought in. No one was spared in that raid. ”
“This is amazing news,” I mutter.
Gabriel agrees. “Oh, yes. Lauren’s going to do somersaults when she hears this. Finally, she gets to come home.”
I nod. “Yeah, finally.”
“I imagine how relieved you are. Noah told me you didn’t want to go back to the cabin,” he says.
Noah, forever the chatterbox. “Yeah, I had tons of things to cover that I couldn’t get done virtually,” I reply.
“Dude… damn, I can’t thank you enough for your sacrifice. You’ve been there for Lauren since day one and I’m grateful for everything. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
A queasy sensation settles on my stomach. “You’re never going to find out.”
“I know. I love you, man.”
“Love you too, brother.” I turn away from the TV. “Let me go wake Lauren and give her the news.”
Before I say something I’d regret.
Like admit I did the one thing you warned me not to do.