by Mia Knight
She walked up to the second level and looked out at a surprisingly well-maintained backyard with a bench, trees, and shrubs. The house had three bedrooms, two bathrooms. The master had a bed, nightstand, and not much else. The closet held a handful of suits, workout clothes, and shoes. The second bedroom was filled with boxes, and the third was empty.
The house had been designed with beautiful stone accent walls, built-in shelves, and a corner bathtub in the master that invited her to take a load off and soak. This place had a sense of peace and tranquility about it. It wasn’t something she would have considered in the past, but at this point in her life, it was perfect. Charisse expected her to choose a super luxe home comparable to what she had with Vinny. This… this felt just right. Both she and Marcus could afford something much grander, but maybe he had been drawn to the same sense of well-being embedded into the walls.
She walked back to the dining area and leaned on the metal railing and surveyed the first floor. She was already mentally decorating when Marcus walked out of the office and pocketed his phone.
“I’ll buy it from you,” she said immediately.
“Buy?”
“You said you’re never here.”
“My stuff is,” he said as he climbed the steps.
“I can put it in storage and help you find another place.”
“You like it,” Marcus surmised.
“Yes, it’s perfect for me.”
“You don’t have to buy it from me. I told you, you can stay here.”
“I know, but I want it, and I have to settle somewhere. I looked at twenty-six houses in three days, and I hated all of them. Besides, who knows how long it’ll take Gavin to kill all the Black Vipers?” She cocked her head. “And if you think I can live here without decorating, you’re crazy. Let me buy it from you. I’ll pay you double what you bought it for.”
“You want it that bad?”
“Yes!”
He went to the fridge and pulled out two bottled waters. He handed her one and drank from the other. “I’m not selling.”
“Why not?”
“Because I like it.” When she opened her mouth to argue, he held up a hand. “If you still want it after you’ve been here a while, maybe we’ll negotiate.”
“But you’re a businessman! You’ll make a profit!”
He leaned against the railing. “I don’t need the money.”
“Hard ass,” she muttered.
His mouth crooked at the corner as he sipped his water. He studied her silently as if he was waiting for her to say something.
“What?” she asked and looked down at her dress to make sure she didn’t have cum stains or something.
“You got your head sorted out?”
Her head snapped up. “Excuse me?”
“You’ve been on a wild bender. I want to know if you’re done or still going.”
“I haven’t been on a bender.”
“Carmen, you fucked my brains out three times, twice in public, once in front of our goddaughter.” When she opened her mouth to argue, he added, “I caught you pole dancing in the penthouse suite, kissing Kody Singer, and now I hear you killed the leader of the Black Vipers, all in two weeks.” He crossed his arms. “And I’m sure I’m missing a whole lot of other stuff.”
She tossed her hair. “What’s your point?”
“My point is, I want to know if you’re done trying to cheat death.”
“I’m not suicidal,” she said even as her mind supplied a flashback of her reaching for the gun in her bedroom.
“The night Gavin went to Hell, you told me you wanted to live. You told me to wake you up.” He placed his hands on the railing on either side of her, caging her in. He leaned down and tilted his head to the side, so their lips were mere inches apart. “You’re awake, you’re alive, and I want to keep you that way.”
Her heart thudded in her ears as warmth spread to every part of her body. “I’m fine.”
“You’re far from it, but you’ll get there. Are you done with your bender?”
“I haven’t been—”
He kissed her, and she sank so fast, everything around her ceased to exist. One hand gripped her hair while the other cupped her face to hold her to him. Classy sin. His taste tempted, teased, and calmed her all at the same time.
He lifted her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and kept his mouth busy. She didn’t care where they were going or why. He settled her on her back on something as soft as a cloud. She broke the kiss to press a hand against the mattress.
“This bed is amazing. I’ll buy this from you too.”
“We’ll share it,” he said as he grabbed her face and turned it back to him so he could continue ravishing her.
She grinned as he shrugged off his suit jacket and lay on top of her. They made out like teenagers while they explored through their clothes. When she couldn’t take the teasing any longer, she thumped his shoulder.
“I want your dick!”
He buried his face in her hair and laughed. She hit his shoulder again and tried to roll him on his back, but he was too heavy.
“I’m serious!”
He slid off her and began to undress. She came up on her elbows to watch the show. Despite the fact that they had hooked up several times, she hadn’t seen him completely nude. She waited with bated breath as he bared his body for her delectation. Marcus Fletcher was fine. He had a sculpted body with hair on his chest that led straight to his moneymaker. He had broad shoulders and muscles in all the right places—arms, abdomen, thighs. His hip bones were prominent and made her mouth water with the need to trace them with her tongue. She sat up and stripped off her jacket.
“No, let me,” he said.
He pulled her to the edge of the bed and pulled off the bomber jacket. She worked the dress over her hips and held her hands in the air so he could pull it off. He stilled when he saw her matching black lace lingerie set. She grinned, enjoying his bemused reaction. When thirty seconds passed without a word, she decided to speed things up by widening her legs.
“Mr. Fletcher, I’ve been soooo naughty,” she said in her high-pitched schoolgirl voice.
He visibly tensed. She was about to muster up a girly giggle, but that wasn’t necessary. He launched himself at her. Her back hit the mattress even as he ripped her flimsy string bikini off and sank into her.
“I told you about that voice,” he growled.
“You like it,” she whispered as she ran her nails down his back.
He cupped her breast and thumbed her nipple. “I finally have you in a bed. I wanted to take my time—” He broke off as she rocked beneath him. “Carmen.”
She ran her hand through his damp hair. “You can take your time next round.”
He took her at her word and got to work. He did her missionary style. Rough, hard, and deep. She urged him on with her schoolgirl voice until she was too lost in the moment. He came first, but she didn’t mind. She rolled him onto his back and rode him until she found her own orgasm. She flopped on top of him, cheek pressed against his heaving chest.
“Twice today without a condom,” he said, “You been with anyone besides me?”
“No,” she said sleepily.
A hand cupped her cheek. She opened one eye to see him smiling and looking extremely smug. “That’s good news, babe.”
“I’ve had a slow week,” she joked.
He chuckled as he tipped her to the side and curled himself around her. One arm wrapped her close as he buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath.
“You have anywhere to be?” he asked.
“No.”
“Then sleep,” he said and twined his leg with hers.
He rested heavily against her. She closed her eyes and absorbed the feel of a man holding her close. She could feel the differences between Marcus and Vinny’s bodies and immediately stopped trying to compare and just let it be. It hadn’t just been a long week; it had been years of stress and heartache, but right now, sh
e was at peace, and she wanted to savor it.
“You’re safe here,” he murmured into her hair.
“I know.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it all go.
16
She cracked open one eye and surveyed her bare surroundings for a full minute before she remembered where she was. She was with Marcus in her future house. She stretched and found that she was alone in bed. She padded into the bathroom and gave the tub a longing glance before she stepped into a shower big enough for four people.
Her mind was cloudy from sex and sleep, but she felt better than she had in days. Sex had always been her drug of choice. She liked sex with food, sex with alcohol, sex with costumes… She wasn’t picky. Sex made her feel alive, wanted, powerful, sensual. Marcus was doing a damn good job of keeping her topped up.
She stepped out of the shower and felt no qualms about going through Marcus’s closet to find something to wear. She settled on a thin white tee with a small V neck. It was soft and rode high on her thighs. Her stomach rumbled as she made her way to the kitchen. She turned on the lights and fell in love all over again. The house wasn’t too big or too small; it was just right. Everything was strategically placed and tailor-made for her. This was her house; she just needed to convince Marcus of that.
She heard the rumble of his voice coming from the office. She went into the garage to fetch her phone from his car. She had three missed phone calls from her mom, one from Lyla, and one from an unknown number. She dialed her mom as she walked into the house.
“Carmen, are you all right?” Mom asked quickly.
“Yes. Sorry, I forgot to call. Mickey and Frederick are with me,” she said as she peeked through the curtains. They sat in their SUV, staring straight ahead. When and where did they pee?
“Where are you?”
She hesitated only a second before she said, “I’m at Marcus’s house.”
“Marcus Fletcher?”
That managed to surprise her mother.
“Yes. He heard about my trouble and offered to let me stay at his place.”
“You’re going to live with Marcus?” Mom sounded stunned.
“He doesn’t live here. He lives in the casino, and I’m going to buy it from him.”
“I didn’t know you two were so close. This is great news.”
“It is?”
“You sound happy, which makes me happy. Are you coming home tonight?”
Mom sounded supremely unconcerned now.
“I don’t know. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Okay. Tell Marcus I said hi.”
“I will,” she said.
“Carmen?”
“Yeah?”
“I always liked him,” Mom said.
“I know.”
“Okay, baby. Have fun.”
She hung up, shaking her head. She had seen Mom and Marcus talking at several get-togethers. He was a natural charmer, and her mother wasn’t immune to him. She listened to her voicemail as she headed toward the kitchen. It was the volunteer from the event. The terrified pit bull hadn’t been adopted.
She paced around the living room. Gavin put her things in storage before selling the house she shared with Vinny. She had no idea what was in the storage unit since she never had the balls to go through it, but now that she had a house to decorate, she was eager to comb through her old belongings. She could imagine several pieces that would be perfect here.
“Hey.”
Marcus gave her a sweet kiss while one hand slipped under her shirt and cupped her ass.
“You had a good nap?” he asked.
“Yes.” She took in his workout shorts and white tee, which was identical to the one she wore. “This must be the longest you’ve ever been away from work.”
He gave her ass a squeeze before he let her go. “I come here maybe once every two weeks.”
“How long have you had this house?”
“Almost two years.”
“And you don’t have a dining table or something to sit on?”
“All I need is a desk and bed. Everything else is unnecessary.”
“Spoken like a true workaholic.”
“And proud of it. I can make us sandwiches or call for takeout.”
“A sandwich is fine.” It sounded amazing, actually. She was starving.
She leaned against the counter and watched him pull out the fixings for sandwiches. He poured pretzels into a bowl and slid them across the counter to her. Amused, she took one and munched.
“Since you’re my new landlord, I guess I should run this by you,” she hedged.
He glanced at her as he arranged bread on a cutting board. “You’re not going to pay rent, so you can’t call me your landlord.”
“What am I supposed to call you?”
“A friend.”
Friend. She silently tested the word and liked it. “Okay, friend, I want to get a dog.”
He carefully smeared mayo on bread. “A dog?”
“There was this dog at the event today. No one will adopt her. She’s a wreck. She needs a second chance, and I want to give it to her.”
He strategically placed thin slices of turkey over the mayo. “What breed?”
She crossed her arms. “What kind of dog do you think I’d pick?”
“A Pomeranian?”
“Seriously?”
“It’s not?”
“No, she’s a pit bull.”
He shook his head. “If the dog has been abused—”
“Beau was abused, but he’s one of the best things that happened to Lyla. Even Gavin loves him. Besides, you can’t judge from the outside, and everyone deserves a second chance.” Like me, she thought.
“I should’ve known you’d choose a breed no one would imagine you with. Always doing the unexpected.”
He spent an inordinate amount of time choosing the right pickles. She had to admit, the sandwich he was building looked delicious.
“Is that a yes?”
“You can do whatever you want,” he said as he added a slice of provolone to his masterpiece.
“You’ll let me take over your house? What if I end up staying here longer than a month or two?”
He slid her sandwich over and took a bite of his own. “Fine with me.”
“What about when you want to get away from the hotels and need somewhere to go?”
“Then I’ll come here.”
“What if our sex turns to shit before Gavin and Angel kill the Black Vipers?”
“We’ll still be friends, and you can still live here.”
“What if I annoy the hell out of you?”
He grinned. “I’m sure I can handle it.
“You’re right. It’s more likely you’ll annoy me.”
“Why would I annoy you?”
She examined his commercial worthy sandwich. “You’re too perfect.”
“I’m far from perfect.”
“I have yet to see your bad. It’s fucking annoying.”
He laughed. “Trust me, I have a lot of bad traits.”
“Well, let’s hear it.”
“I’m competitive.”
She frowned. “You think that’s a bad trait?”
“It is when you’re as obsessive as I am. I want to be the best in every aspect, especially business.”
“You need to be competitive to be successful. That doesn’t count.”
“I’m hyper focused.”
“Not impressed.”
“I’m selfish.”
“There’s no proof of that. You go out of your way for everyone, and you’re offering to let me stay at your house.”
“I don’t want anything to distract me from work, which is why I’m not in a relationship,” he said.
“Okay…” she drawled. “That’s a little selfish but not surprising. You’ve been carrying the load for a long time, so I’m not surprised you haven’t had time for a relationship. Come on, what else?”
“Gavin says I’m never satisfied. I’m ob
sessed with improving everything.”
She fake yawned. “Seriously, you have no idea what a bad trait is.”
“Okay, what are your bad traits?”
She blew out a breath. “Where do I start? I’m impulsive, manic, have a hair trigger temper, I love things that glitter and shine, I love presents, and I have a hard time letting go.” She sped past that last one. “I’m also high-maintenance, vain, selfish, arrogant, bitchy, bratty, lusty, and according to you, occasionally go on benders. And that’s just off the top of my head.”
“Is that all?”
She grinned at his dry tone. “I believe in embracing one’s flaws. It’s what makes me irresistible.”
“I’ll remember that when you start being bratty. What does that mean, by the way?”
“That I may throw tantrums and want to be babied when I feel like it.”
“Thanks for the heads-up,” he said as he finished off his sandwich.
Unruffled, as usual. “You aren’t concerned what people will think about me being here?”
“No. Are you?”
“No, but you have a squeaky-clean image.”
“I’ll survive.”
She munched on pretzels between bites of her sandwich. “What if I refuse to move if you don’t sell it to me?”
He grinned. “I’m sure we’ll work it out. Besides, we have to make it work since we’ll be co-parenting.”
She froze with her sandwich an inch from her lips. “Excuse me?”
“We’re Nora’s godparents,” he said and laughed. “You should see your face.”
She scowled. “Gavin’s right. You’re annoying.”
“You like the house, and I work a lot so I’m not going to demand sex every night.”
“And if that’s what I want?” she challenged.
His voice lowered. “You have my number.”
He went to a wet bar in the dining area and made himself a gin and tonic with an efficiency that made her stare.