Chapter 36
36
T heresa climbed into bed naked as the day she was born and sighed. Marco chuckled and slowly scooted toward her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind. She lay her head on his arm, his other pulled her closer. His warm skin touched hers and she felt wrapped in the safest, sexiest cocoon.
She closed her eyes and whispered. "I've never spooned before."
His voice, deep and sexy in her ear chuckled. "Really? I'm your first spoon?"
"Yeah. Lame right?"
"I don't think so. I'm happy to be your first."
She laughed.
He kissed the back of her head. "I love you, Theresa."
She stared across the room for a moment, though it was dark and she couldn't really see anything. "Did you mean to say that or are you sleep-deprived?"
He chuckled. "I meant to say it. Because it's true."
She could feel his heartbeat strong and solid on her back. His arms tightened slightly. She smiled. "I love you too."
His arms tightened again and he sighed. That sounded so sweet. So lovely. A tear slipped from her eye and dripped onto his arm. She sniffed lightly, embarrassed that she cried twice tonight. His soft steady breathing near her ear told her he didn't know about this time, so she didn't have to tell him. She closed her eyes and sleep took her sooner than ever before.
She woke to Marco setting a cup of coffee on the bedside table and a plate graced with two macarons.
"Thank you." She stretched.
He sat on the edge of the bed and slowly leaned in to kiss her forehead. "You're welcome."
She smiled. "How are you feeling this morning? I see you're moving around, though slowly."
"I'm sore. But I'll be fine in a day or two."
His hand smoothed over the left side of her face where she likely had a nice purple mark. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. How purple am I?"
"I'm more purple than you."
She smiled. "It looks good on you though. You look all manly and primitive."
He chuckled. "Okay. I've never been called that before."
"Oh, I'm your first?"
He grinned. "You're first for a lot of things, Babe. I've never said I love you to anyone before. You were the first person I’ve barged into a woman's bathroom for. Attending a charity ball was another first. And I've never stayed in a cabin more secure than the White House before. I've done all of those with you."
She sat up. Some of her muscles argued but it wasn't terrible. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders because she didn't want to hurt him anywhere. "Thank you. I really do love you too. I think I have for months, but I didn't think we could ever be together, so I held back."
He grinned. "I'm glad that changed. I think I've loved you from afar for a long time too. But you kept yourself aloof and I didn't know why. I'm glad that changed too."
She lightly touched the skin around his purple eye. It was warm to the touch. "Except for this big bad boy."
"I'd do it again."
She kissed him gently. Neither of them was in any physical condition to make love. Hopefully soon though.
"Drink your coffee and enjoy your macarons. I'm making breakfast."
"Okay. I'll be out soon."
She watched him leave the room. Nice view. She picked up her coffee cup and sipped the hot delicious liquid as she nibbled the macrons. Thinking about all that had transpired in this past week, her head whirled. She never would have thought all these changes would have happened in a week's time. But she wasn't sorry. About any of it. Well, except Mitch's car and the Sandbar suffering a Molotov. And of course, she was sorry anyone was killed, but they were bad men doing bad things. Every time she thought about how close she came to being in their custody, her blood ran cold.
She pulled back the covers and stepped from the bed. Her sweatpants and T-shirts were in the dresser. She quickly dressed, picked up her plate and coffee cup, and carried them to the kitchen. As she passed the sofa and her pitiful-looking dress she stopped a moment and stared at the damage. She wondered if it could be repaired.
There were rips at the bottom and one at the waist. The sugary drink that was spilled on it stained the front. The glittering stones all over the dress now looked like sad little rocks. Their glimmer had dimmed.
Marco came to stand behind her. He took the empty plate from her hand and whispered. "It's just a dress."
"I know. But I felt so pretty in it. And we didn't get to dance last night. I felt like a princess with her prince. Now it looks like the princess partied too hard and my prince is bruised and battered."
He kissed the top of her head. "You're always pretty. The most beautiful woman I've ever known."
She chuckled. "Right."
His left arm snaked around her waist and pulled her back to his body. "I would never lie to you about that. You're gorgeous. And one day, we'll dance. I promise."
She smiled and rested her head against his chest. "Thank you."
He chuckled. "Breakfast is ready, Baby."
He stepped away and the minute he did, she felt alone. She fell harder and harder for Marco every day. She was a goner for him.
She sighed and turned toward the kitchen just as Marco set a plate in front of her stool. That made her chuckle. They'd been here four days and now that was her seat.
Marco carried a plate to his stool, and they sat to eat. Today's menu was crepes. Cream cheese and strawberries. Goodness, she'd need to begin working out again if he continued to cook like this for her. She never ate this much when she lived alone. She'd grab something at work or home, something super simple, like half a sandwich or some fruit.
"This is delicious Marco."
He grinned. "Thank you. I noticed at the Sandbar, you used to devour these."
"You noticed that?"
"Babe. I noticed everything about you."
"Did not."
He chuckled and shook his head. "You love cream cheese crepes and steak sandwiches. You don't like the seafood pasta. You love spaghetti, with meat sauce. You don't care for the fried fish sandwich. You love my steak, cooked medium rare. You enjoy my smoked pork chops. You dislike the eggs from the carton that we use for gluten-free foods. You do like my deviled eggs."
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him. "You paid that much attention?"
"And so much more." He took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. "You usually wear your hair in a ponytail on the day you haven't had time to wash it. You wear it down when you come to work then put it in a ponytail before customers come on the day you wash it before work. It's so shiny and soft looking I've always wanted to dig my fingers in it and let them run through the strands."
He leaned toward her and his hand slid into her hair at her temple, then slid back. He pulled his hand away and let the silky strands slide through his fingers. "Like this."
He did it again. She stared at his eyes as he watched her hair flow from his fingers.
Her hand reached up and mimicked the same motion in his hair. He always wore it a bit longer, grazing his collar in the back. She let the strands fall from her fingers. She slid her hand into his hair again and he closed his eyes. She asked, "Do you like that?"
"Mmm."
His fingers slid into her hair again, but this time he kneaded her scalp gently. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his fingers on her. She mimicked the motion on his scalp and received a gratuitous moan and a smile. "That feels fantastic."
"Yeah."