Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Alice! You are awake,” a voice said above her, sounding raspy. It set her heart aflame to hear his voice. She opened her eyes further and made out his shape hovering above her, but another swam into focus.
“Welcome back to us, my darling,” her mother whispered, and Alice smiled to see the soft adoration in her mother’s eyes.
She felt heavy, as if she was still dreaming and was struggling to pull herself from the depths of sleep.
Yet slowly, pieces of her memory returned to her.
Hackman's abduction, the attack, and Marco's arrival.
She remembered hitting her head when she was hurled against the wall and then shooting the gun Hackman had dropped, then William before everything went fuzzy.
“How long was I asleep?” Alice murmured when she realized that neither her mother nor Marco were in the same clothes they wore the last time she saw them.
“Four days,” Marco answered, and Alice could feel his warm fingers gripping her hand. “You had us quite worried.”
“I remember… so much,” Alice said, licking her dry lips and turning her head slowly to look at Marco’s face. He looked tired and tense with dark shadowy stubble on his cheeks that she longed to brush her fingers over. “You came for me.”
Marco stared at her. He looked as if he could not speak. For a second, Alice wondered if it was a dream, but then she felt a warm kiss pressed to her cheek and smelled her mother’s familiar lilac perfume.
“Oh, my sweet girl, I am so thankful you are awake,” her mother said, her voice thick with emotion. “I love you so very much.”
“I love you too, Mama,” Alice whispered, her heart lighter than it had been in her mother’s presence for a long time. There might have been turbulence between them, but the threat to her life had washed it away.
After that, her mother fussed over her for a bit.
She made Alice drink a glass of water and called for a maid to bring her some tea and scones.
Marco stood to the side for all of this, watching Alice with longing, only stepping out when the maid assisted her into a fresh nightgown after her mother helped her bathe.
The Dowager called Marco back in when Alice was settled back into bed.
She leaned down and kissed her daughter.
“I shall leave you both alone. The marchioness has asked me to join her and the marquess for breakfast,” her mother whispered, stroking her cheek and smiling tremulously. “I will be just downstairs if you need me.”
“Thank you, Mama,” Alice whispered. She turned to look at Marco as her mother let herself out.
Slowly, he sat down on the bed beside her, his eyes fixed on her face like he couldn’t believe she was real.
The feeling, Alice realized, was mutual.
She had despaired of ever seeing him again when Hackman took her.
“You are here,” Alice whispered. Her words seemed to spring Marco into action, and his hands reached for her face, trembling hands stroking her cheeks as if she were made of glass.
“Of course I am. There is nowhere else I could be.
" His voice was rough, and the stricken look on his face as he ran his thumbs over her cheeks frightened her.
When she opened her mouth to reassure him that she was well, he spoke again.
"I have to tell you something. I love you, Alice.
I have done nothing but love you since our first dance together.
I am sorry for everything. I am sorry for the pain I have caused you.
I am sorry I did not tell you sooner. I am sorry for everything. "
His words burrowed deep into Alice's soul even as she was shocked that he said them.
She did not know why his declaration surprised her.
Marco had come for her. He had put himself in front of a gun held by a madman to protect her.
Yet hearing him say that he loved her was even more powerful than his selfless actions.
Alice felt like she was falling, like she had tipped off a precipice, and all she could do was pull Marco close to halt her descent.
“Stop apologizing,” she demanded when he continued.
Marco paused and stared at her with anxious eyes as if he feared she would chastise him, but nothing could be further from her thoughts.
She regretted not being strong enough to tell Marco how she felt when she feared Hackman would kill her.
She urgently needed to do so now. Even though her head still felt thick, and her throat burned, she needed to tell him before another moment passed.
“I love you too,” she confessed quietly, her heart soaring when she saw how the words made Marco’s gaze soften, and his eyes slide shut.
"Being taken by Hackman showed me that I have been a fool.
I wasted so much time doubting you and my feelings.
I won't ever do so again. I love you, Marco, and am yours, body and soul forever.
I burn for you, my love." Her words tumbled out and felt clumsy, making her blush, but it did not matter.
Marco beamed at her and held his breath, hanging on every word.
He groaned when she finished speaking and gripped the collar of her nightgown as he crashed his lips down against hers.
Alice was overcome by the scrape of Marco’s new stubble and the pressure of his hands.
She slowly opened her mouth, and Marco’s tongue surged inside, and suddenly her blood turned molten with need.
She realized that none of the kisses they had shared before now were hotter or sweeter than this moment.
She knew now that Marco loved her, and she felt it in his frenzied kisses.
He growled as she matched his need with fervor.
Every press of his lips or sweep of his tongue promised more to come.
He moved his lips down her jaw and throat, kissing the bruises tenderly as she arched against him. He stopped at the high collar of her nightgown, making no move to loosen the ties.
“Don't hold back, my love,” Alice whispered. There was an urgency inside her now that she couldn’t deny.
Now that they had declared their love openly, she needed him more than ever.
She wanted to repeat every sensual act they had done and more, wondering if things would feel different now that they had confessed their feelings.
“I must,” Marco said, pulling away with a rueful smile.
“Why?” Alice asked, tangling her fingers into his hair, and tugging it softly. Marco moaned and dropped his head down onto her chest, breathing in deeply as he rubbed his face against her neck, burying his nose into her unbound hair.
“I want to spend hours running my tongue over your body. I want to worship you with my mouth, tasting every inch of you, but you are injured and need rest."
“I have been resting,” Alice murmured, her cheeks burning with the desire in Marco’s voice. “I would rather do everything you just described."
He chuckled, but his throat became thick with emotion when he looked at her. "I was terrified I would lose you, Alice. I have never been in such hell as I was when you wouldn't wake up."
“Oh, my love,” Alice whispered, stroking his cheek affectionately. “I am so sorry I caused you pain.”
“I would bear any pain and suffering for you,” Marco said earnestly, and Alice believed him. "Your safety and happiness are all that matter."
She ran her fingers up the pulse in his neck, feeling it beat as if it were something fragile. She stilled when she recalled that terrible moment when she thought Hackman would make good on his threat to kill Marco. Her blood chilled at the memory.
Sensing Alice's disquiet, he frowned. "Are you ill? Should I call for the doctor?"
“No, I am well. It is only that… I almost lost you too,” Alice whispered, blinking tears out of her eyes. “I cannot bear the thought of losing you. Of never knowing what it is to be possessed by you wholly. Of not revealing how I felt about you."
“But you did tell me, beloved,” Marco smiled, stroking her hair back from her face. “You were too stubborn to lose consciousness without telling me you loved me. You have always been more courageous than I.”
“Your bravery saved me,” Alice said, pulling his lips down to hers again and kissing him ravenously. “Let me show you how grateful I am for that.”
“When you are well again, you shall have me in every way imaginable," Marco whispered back, his eyes dark and lustful.
“But …” Alice’s need was overwhelming her. His words were not enough, not now. She needed his touch to show her how alive they both were. “I need you.”
Marco growled wordlessly, pressing his face into Alice’s hair and inhaling, reaching for her, and sliding his hand over her shoulder. He tugged the edge of her nightgown over her collarbone, his lips following. It was overwhelming, and for a moment, Alice stopped breathing.
“Alice, are you well?” Marco pulled back; his eyes wide with concern.
“Yes, just dizzy for a moment,” Alice gasped.
“We need to stop. This is too much for you,” Marco said determinedly.
“No,” Alice hissed, grasping his shoulders and looking into his concerned eyes. “I want you. I need you.”
“I have never wanted anyone as much as I want you, Alice,” he growled and lowered his body down on her.
It was perfect, his weight making her feel real and present, so totally live.
His feverishly hot body pressed into hers, making her body tighten from the sizzling contact.
Little fires sparked beneath her skin, causing her to shift restlessly under him.
She felt his arousal, proving to her that he needed her too.
“I am yours, Marco,” Alice breathed.
When he took her mouth with a devouring kiss, Alice anchored herself to him by throwing her arms around him. His tongue enticed hers in a passionate dance, stealing every sound and breath from her. When their mouths parted, they were both out of breath, their eyes hungry and flesh impatient.