Red, White and Sensual (13 page)

She points to the tea in front of me and I flash
her a warm smile before sipping it once more. She turns to the fridge and pulls out a whole chicken.

“Will you stay with us tonight, Marcus?”

“Only if it won’t put you out.”

My mother waves her hand.
“Of course not, I wouldn’t ask you to drive home after all this effort!”

“Then I’d be honored.”

“It must be hard to take a night away from work,” she says, pulling out a large pot. Here comes the chicken soup.

“Not so much,” he says, flashing his phone. “They can reach me if needed.”

“It must be a nice change, to get away.”

Marcus nods. “It is.”

“And your fiancé didn’t come with you?”

I cringe but cover it by sipping my tea.

“No, Chayne has her own affairs to deal with.”

“Of course, she must be quite busy.”

“Quite.” Marcus says, in a rusty tone.

My mother doesn’t notice, she just continues chatting to Marcus about his job and his life. I sink down onto a stool, feeling my body growing tired and weary. Marcus stares over at me after about half an hour and then stands, walking over and placing his hands on my shoulders.

“You need to rest.”

My mother looks over from her pot of soup and frowns. “You do look awful, go and lie down honey.”

“I’ll just sit on the couch.”

Marcus helps me up and we walk into the living area. I stare at the large, leather lounge and my body aches for it. When I sit down onto it and my body sinks into the plush cushions, I groan. Marcus sits beside me and hands me a glass of water and asp
irin, does the man have a stash in his clothes or what?

“More, it’ll help.”

I take it and groan as it slides down my raw throat. I feel sore, achy and just exhausted. I make sure to take a few extra sips of water before leaning my head back on the couch and sighing deeply. I close my eyes and I can hear Marcus shift so he’s closer to me. He doesn’t touch me but I can feel his thigh pressed against mine. In minutes, my world fades out and I’m asleep.

CHAPTER 12

I stir from my sleep and I can feel a warm, firm body part pressing against my cheek. I snap my head up with a groan and see Marcus is still sitting beside me with his laptop on his lap. I was leaning against his shoulder and instead of moving me, he let me sleep there. He looks over at me, and a half smile touches his lips.

“Sorry to startle you, how are you feeling?”

I look around the room, my mother is still in the kitchen pottering away. When she sees I’m awake she quickly gathers a bowl of soup. I turn back to Marcus.

“I’m feeling…achy. How long was I out?”

“Two hours, give or take.”

“You sat here with me leaning against you for two hours?”

He shrugs and
places his laptop onto the couch beside us. He meets my gaze and gives me a heart wrenching smile, then he stands and stretches, making a groaning noise as he does. My mother watches him and her cheeks grow pink, then she turns to me.

“Time for some soup,” she says, “you need to eat.”

She brings a bowl over to me and places it on the coffee table in front of me. I look up at her and she’s giving me a stern, serious look that tells me
not
to argue with her. I shoot Marcus a quick glance and he’s also giving me that look. With a grunt, I pick up the spoon and put some soup into my mouth. The hot, salty warmth slides down my throat and I can’t deny that it’s delicious. A small moan escapes my lips and I sheepishly look over at Marcus and try to ignore the hungry look in his eyes.

“Is it ok?” My mother asks, not noticing our little moment.

“It’s wonderful, momma, as always.”

Pleased, she turns and walks off. My sister comes into the room then, freshly showered and looking
divine in her tiny dress and heels.

“Where are you going?” I ask, suddenly feeling a little hideous beside her. I probably smell like old spew and my hair no doubt looks like a tangled mess.

“Out with Dane.”

“Oh?” I smile, waggling my eyebrows.

“Shut up, Sierra, we’re just friends. Just like you and Marcus.”

She winks at me and my mouth drops open, before I can respond she rushes into the kitchen to say goodbye to mom. Marcus’ loud, booming laugh fills the room and I give him a horrified stare. I’m glad he finds it funny. My sister doesn’t suspect….if she does,
does that mean my mother does too? Oh god. I stand and excuse myself before rushing into the bathroom.

When
I get into the vast bathroom with its white tiles, massive basins and huge bath, I slam the door. I turn on the tap right away and splash my face with water. What am I doing right now? Why am I at home with Marcus when I should be back at work, not here playing happy family. He’s not my family, he’s not even my boyfriend, he’s a fuck….that’s it. God, what am I doing? I’m going to break my own heart and I’ll have no one to blame but myself.

“
Sierra?”

Dammit. It’s Marcus.

“Um, I’m just washing up.”

“Open the door.”

His tone tells me not to argue with him, with a sigh, I open the door. He steps in right away and shuts the door behind him. Then he leans in close so only I can hear him.

“Why did you run off?”

“What are we doing, Marcus?”

His gaze searches my face. “We’re visiting your family.”

“I don’t mean right now, I mean this,” I indicate between the two of us.

“We’re enjoying each other.”

“Marcus, you’re engaged and I’m going to go back to school in less than two months. What the hell are we doing here? It’s dangerous, risky and stupid.”

Marcus reaches up and strokes my face,
then he turns his hand to cup my chin and force me to look up at him.

“Sweet girl, I know what I’m
risking, and I want to risk it for you.”

“Why?” I whisper.

“Because you make me different…”

I make a
whimpering sound. “Tell me why you’re like this, Marcus?”

“Like what?”

“So in control, so dominant, so sure of what you want. Did something bad happen to you? Are you searching for a way to fix it and you think I’m the thing that can do that?”

He smiles, it’s warm, deep and beautiful. “I’m not damaged, I don’t have a scarred past, I didn’t have bad parents or a horrible upbringing. I’m just a man,
Sierra, and I know what I want and what I want, is you. Can you please just enjoy this for a moment? Please?”

He leans down and grazes my cheek with his lips, lingering there for long moments and then pulling back.

“Now, it’s time to go and please your mom by making sure you eat more food.”

I smile and roll my eyes at him. “Yes, boss.”

CHAPTER 13

My father and Marcus get along
surprisingly well. After dinner, they both chat about fishing, camping and other manly things. I head into the kitchen to help my mother clean up while they go out to look at my dad’s cars. I grip a dish towel and pick up a plate as my mother washes it. I’m mid-way through drying when she asks me a question I really hoped she wouldn’t.

“Are you and Marcus seeing each other?”

My hands tremble as I try to find a way to answer her without lying.

“Not…exactly.”

She sighs and stops washing to turn and stare at me. “Sweetheart, he’s engaged.”

“I know that
, momma, but it’s not like you think.”

“I know that, believe me, I have figured it isn’t how it looks
, but what you’re doing is wrong.”

I feel my eyes well with tears, and when one slips down my cheek she steps forward and wraps me in her arms.

“I don’t want to want him, momma, but I do. It’s so intense, he makes me feel things I never thought I could feel and I can’t seem to walk away.”

“It will end honey, as beautiful as it feels now, it will end. It will also break your heart. A man like that can’t just be with
anyone, he can’t just run away with you and give you everything you deserve. He’s engaged, not to mention he’s the Speaker of the house. He can’t just pack up and walk away from that, no matter how you both might feel.”

“I know,” I wail. “And I know it’s going to hurt
, but I can’t seem to stop myself.”

“You’re a big girl
Sierra, I can’t make you walk away, but I can tell you that if you don’t, you’re going to end up so severely hurt.”

“I think I’m falling in love with him
, momma.”

“Oh
, Sierra.”

She holds me tight, stroking my hair and hushing me with soothing words. I hear my father come in and I quickly pull back, swiping the tears from my eyes. When he and Marcus step into the room, I do everything to avoid Marcus’ gaze. I know it’s on me though, I can feel it burning into me.

“I might go for a walk along the beach,” I whisper.

“Of course,” my mother says.

I put the dish towel down and rush out of the room. I slip on my flip flops and step outside. The air is warm, and I can already smell the salty air from the beach down the road. I begin walking, trying hard to keep my emotions intact. My mother is right, Marcus will break me. I can’t ever be what he wants or needs, I can’t be with him. It just won’t work out. When I reach the sand, I find a dark spot and I sit down.

“
Sierra?”

Dammit. I hear Marcus sit down beside me. I hadn’t realized he was following me.

“Marcus, I just need…”

“I know what you need
, Sierra, I know and I also know I should be giving it to you, but I just can’t stay away. I don’t want to stay away from you and it scares the hell out of me. I want you, Sierra, and it fucking burns.”

I turn to him, I can’t see him in the dark
, but I reach out anyway. I feel the rough stubble on his cheek as I rub my fingertips over it.

“I’m going to get hurt
, Marcus, we need to stop…”

“No,” he whispers. “I don’t want to stop.”

“I can’t say no to you, I can’t, so I need you to say no to me.”

He leans forward and his lips find mine. “I can’t.”

Then he crushes them down onto mine with such force I stumble backwards. My back hits the sand and his body falls over mine. His lips explore mine, taunting, teasing, making me want him so much more. When his tongue slides against mine, I groan and wrap my arms around his neck. I can’t fight this, I can’t and the truth is, I don’t want to. If I get hurt, I get hurt, but right now, all I want is him and god help me, I can’t push him away.

“Marcus, you’ll get sick,” I whimper against his mouth.

“I don’t fucking care.”

His tongue slides down over my throat and I groan when it finds that sensitive little nook at the base of my neck and shoulder. His fingers graze up the side of my body, gently pulling my shirt up as he goes. I expect him to capture my hands as I roam his body, enjoying every crevice, but he doesn’t. He’s letting me touch him, he’s
giving up control and he’s giving me what I want. Him.

When his fingers slide up and over my breasts, I arch up and beg for more. He
slips my bra up and pinches my nipples, rolling them about between his thumb and forefinger. His lips are on my neck, suckling and nipping while he works my top half with his fingers. Feeling confident, I reach down and find the top of his pants. I yank at his belt and he shifts his hips, letting me undo it. Feeling excitement rise at the control I’ve got, I unzip him and slide my hand inside.

When I feel his hard, hot length against my fingertips, my groin clenches. Marcus reaches down, cupping my damp panties as I wrap my fingers around his cock, gently stroking and forcing a grunt out of him that’s so erotic, I feel my entire body shiver. Marcus rubs his palm against my sex, gently working me over without actually touching me. I stroke him faster, drowning in the sounds of his groans and moans as he becomes harder and harder beneath my palm.

“If you keep doing that, I won’t last.”

I gently release him and he grips my panties, pulling them down.
He releases only one foot and spreads my legs wide. He stops when his cock is pressing against my throbbing heat.

“I have no condom,” he murmurs.

“I am on the birth control shot,” I whisper, arching.

“I’m clean,” he says gritting his teeth.

“Me too.”

“Good, because I want to feel all of you.”

He slides inside me without pause, and I groan as he stretches and fills me. He growls my name, gripping my hip and using it to drive his gentle thrusts. He’s going easy on me, probably because I was so sick. His pelvis works gently back and forth, bringing me to the edge so quickly it’s a little embarrassing.

“Already baby?” he murmurs, jerking those hips in
that
way.