Forbidden Desire (Lee County Wolves) Book #3

by Teresa Gabelman

  “There’s nothing weak about you.” Marcus frowned.

  “There was. But because I want a life with you, I found my strength again. I took back the power that he stole from me. I want you to teach me how to protect myself. I want to get my concealed carry. I want to put a restraining order on him. I need to call the police in California to warn them about his threats against my parents. For the first time since the abuse started, I want to take action, and I’m not afraid to because I have you at my side.” Roxy finally reached out to touch his hand. “If you kill him and get arrested—”

  “I wouldn’t get arrested. We have ways,” Marcus responded, cutting her off.

  “Okay, then we wouldn’t have worked. Knowing you killed a man, even a bastard like Bruce because of me when there was another away, would haunt me.” Roxy sighed, then smiled sadly. “I guess I wasn’t made to be part of the shifters’ way of life. I just know that I can’t do or be the strong woman I want to be without you by my side. I can’t do any of this without you. I want to make you proud, Marcus. I want to be proud of myself, and I haven’t been for a very long time. I did what I had to do today because if not, you wouldn’t get all of me.”

  Marcus stared at the woman kneeling in the dirt before him, and he had never loved anyone more. There would never be anyone in his lifetime that he loved as much as he loved Roxy Patel.

  “I just wanted to tell you that and to tell you I’m sorry.” Roxy started to stand, but he grasped the hand that rested on his, stopping her.

  “I’m not going anywhere.” His voice was rough with emotion. “And I’ve never been prouder of anyone in my life than I was of you.”

  “Then why did you leave?” Roxy tilted her head, uncertainty in her eyes.

  “To keep my promise to you,” Marcus replied, honestly. “You asked a lot of me when you asked me to promise not to kill him. I promised you not because of fear for me, but because of the love I have for you. Don’t you know by now that I would do anything for you? I would kill for you. I would, obviously, not kill for you. I would lay down my life for you.”

  Roxy’s head dropped, and her tears hit the dirt between them. As she started to look back up, she gasped. “What happened to your hand?”

  He looked down to see his hand torn to hell, his blood smeared on hers. “I hit a tree… or two.”

  “We need to clean that,” she said absently, then glanced at the tree. “Why did you do that?”

  “Because I promised my mate I wouldn’t kill a man.” He pulled her to him. She willingly came to him and straddled his lap. “So I decided to kill a few trees.”

  “I love you, Marcus Foster,” Roxy whispered, putting her forehead against his.

  “And I love you, Roxy.” Marcus kissed her, then quickly pulled away when she hissed in pain. Anger hit him hard, and once again he had to push it away. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’ll heal.” She hugged him tightly, then laid her head on his shoulder. “It’s beautiful here.”

  “Yes, it is. I come here often when I want to be alone.” Marcus frowned. “So how in the hell did Hunter know where I was?”

  “I don’t know, but I asked him to take me to you, and he did, so now I have to give him free coffee for life,” she replied, then shivered, cuddling closer to him.

  Marcus chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds like Hunter.”

  “It’s snowing.” Roxy lifted her head off his shoulder and tilted her head back to look at the sky through the trees.

  Marcus watched the flakes floating around them, then noticed she didn’t even have a coat on. “Where’s your coat?”

  “Don’t need one with you holding me. You’re so warm.” Roxy snuggled closer. “I could stay here forever.”

  Her words hit home with him. He had thought that so many times sitting in this clearing. “Roxy.”

  She stopped peering at the sky and falling snow flurries to look at him. “Yes?”

  “I’m not prepared, but there will never be a better time than this time right now.” Marcus glanced down at the ground and grabbed a twig and quickly broke it at length, knotted the two ends together, and looked back at her. “Will you marry me?”

  Before she could even comprehend what he asked, Marcus felt maybe it wasn’t the time and second-guessed his impulse to ask.

  “I mean, I know you’re probably not ready, and this isn’t the ideal place for a proposal.” He looked down at the oddly made ring in his hand. “And this isn’t really the ring that I would—”

  “Shut up.” Roxy’s voice cracked.

  “I’ll understand—”

  “Shut up, Marcus.” Roxy put both hands on each side of his face. “A million times yes. I will marry you.”

  “Really?” Marcus’s eyes widened.

  “This is the perfect place, perfect time…” She looked down at the twig ring in his hand, then lifted her left hand. “…and perfect ring.”

  He slipped it on her finger with a grin. “I promise to get you a better ring.”

  “This is the ring that means something to me.” Roxy looked down at it with a smile. “I’ll cherish it.”

  “I cherish you.” Marcus kissed the side of her mouth that wasn’t split. “I will always cherish you.”

  ******

  As Marcus carried her out of the woods, she was in absolute heaven. “I can walk, Marcus.” She sighed, not really wanting him to put her down. But they had been walking for a while, which made her lift her head from his shoulder and look around. “Where are we? My house wasn’t that far away.”

  “No way am I putting you down.” Marcus smiled down at her. “And we aren’t going to your house. We are going to our home.”

  They emerged from the woods, and before them was a two-story log cabin with a wraparound porch and a red tin roof. “Please tell me that is real?” Roxy straightened in his arms, her eyes taking everything in.

  “It’s absolutely real,” Marcus said proudly. “And it’s all yours.”

  “Ours,” Roxy said absently, then wriggled to get set down. Once her feet hit the ground, she ran up to the porch and laughed. “I’ve always wanted a log cabin with a wraparound porch and tin roof.”

  “I know.” Marcus walked toward her and leaned against the railing. “I heard you talking to Clare one day.”

  Her heart fluttered at his words. She remembered that day. She had just opened the coffee shop, and Marcus had been their first customer. He sat at one of the tables while she and Clare excitedly talked about their plans for the shop. She also said her goal was to one day have a log cabin in the woods with a wraparound porch and a red tin roof. Suddenly, everything was too much, and the tears along with the racking sobs from her soul started.

  “Roxy?” Marcus sounded concerned as he jumped over the railing and pulled her into his arms. “What is it? I’ll change whatever you don’t like.”

  His words made her cry harder and then laugh. She was laughing and crying all over him. “It’s perfect.” She hiccupped. “It’s just so much. No one has ever done anything like this for me. You heard something I said and made it come true. Who does that?”

  “The man who loves you,” Marcus answered without hesitation. “And I would tear it down and start again if you were displeased.”

  “I don’t deserve you.” Roxy cried, then laughed again. “And I really have to stop crying because it’s really hurting my face.”

  “You deserve everything,” Marcus said, then frowned. “Come on, let’s go inside and tend to our wounds.”

  Roxy followed him, her swollen red eyes taking in everything and already making plans on where her garden would go, where the two rocking chairs would sit on the porch, and then she walked through the open doorway Marcus had unlocked. “Oh my God!” she whispered in awe.

  “I didn’t furnish anything because I want it all to be your touch.” Marcus walked further into the room. “Check it out while I start a fire and get the first-aid kit I have stashed.”

  At a loss for words, Roxy nodded, lo
oking around like a kid in a toy store for the first time. She was amazed and dazed all at once. Seeing the staircase, she ran up it. There were two bedrooms and a small loft room, which she fell in love with.

  “Well, what do you think?” Marcus had come up the stairs, his eyes on her.

  “It’s a dream.” Roxy hugged him tightly. “I love it doesn’t even describe my feelings.”

  Marcus smiled proudly. “Every piece of wood, nail, and anything else was done with you in mind.”

  “Thank you!” She kissed him, but when their lips hit, she hissed in pain. “Dammit. I want to kiss you so bad.”

  “Come on.” He took her hand and led her back downstairs. He already had a fire burning in the fireplace with blankets and pillows in front of it.

  She kicked off her shoes before she sat down on the blankets and waited while he threw another log on the fire. It was growing dark, but the glow from the fire provided just enough light. He sat in front of her and reached for the first-aid kit. He had a bowl of water and towels. He wet a towel then gently started wiping the dried blood from her face. The more he stared at her face, the more his eyes darkened with anger. She knew the sight of her battered face was sending him over the edge, but she wanted him here, present, without the anger toward her ex.

  “I can do this, Marcus.” Roxy didn’t want to spoil the mood.

  “Am I hurting you?” He stopped, waiting for her answer.

  “No, not at all.” She would have lied if he were hurting her, because she knew he needed to do this. His next words proved that.

  “So, is this promise I made you a lifetime promise?” Marcus studied her lip, his eyes not rising to meet hers.

  “Are you asking me if there are holes in the promise you made me?” She tilted her head so she could see better in the firelight.

  “Yes, I am.” He dipped the towel in the water and wrung it out.

  Tension flickered between them, and he stopped his hand from rising to her face when she said, “If he comes back, he’s coming back to kill me.” Roxy knew her words were true. “But I don’t think that will happen because he’s a coward, and I saw fear in his eyes. Fear of you. I’ve never seen him afraid of anything. So because I know he’ll never come back, then no, it’s not a lifetime promise.”

  “Good, because if he steps foot within twenty miles of you and I know about it, he’s a dead man.” Marcus continued to clean her face.

  Her stomach dipped at his protectiveness, something she had never really felt from a man before. Soon, it was her turn to clean his wound on his hand. “I can’t believe you punched a tree.”

  “Yeah, well, I needed to hit something,” Marcus grumbled, then hissed when she patted the open cuts with peroxide.

  “Don’t be a baby,” she teased, then dabbed some more.

  “Hey, that shit stings.” Marcus’s frown turned into a grin when Roxy started blowing on it.

  “Can we stay here tonight?” she asked, then watched his smile grow. God, she loved his smile. It felt like home, and how dumb did that sound? But it was so true.

  “Absolutely.” He grabbed the bloody towel, water, and peroxide, putting it out of the way.

  Settling down, they talked, laughed, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Soon they lay together, quietly watching the fire, with her in front of him, cuddled tightly against him. As she stared at the flames, Roxy savored the peace that settled over her.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “For what?” he asked against her ear.

  “Loving me.”

  “You’re my life.” Marcus held her tighter. “And I’m never letting go.”

  Chapter 16

  Marcus stood in Jonah’s kitchen looking at Ross and the six men who were ready to join their pack. There had been no more signs or messages from her stepbrother, Carl, in the last week. Though Ross made it clear that she’d believed it when Carl had said he wasn’t done. Since she knew him best, the pack listened to her and were instructed to not let their guard down.

  “Any problems last night?” Marcus asked Dell who had been on training duty with them. It was essential that they knew the layout of the land. They’d already run the route and learned it in their human form. Now they were running it in their wolf form.

  “No,” Dell responded with his usual one-word response.

  “Ah, okay.” Marcus looked at each of them. “Anyone having a hard time with remembering their route?”

  “No,” again was Dell’s answer.

  “Well, okay.” Marcus grinned. “Always good talking to you, Dell.”

  Leda walked in, then stopped quickly. Marcus noticed her eyes stopped on Devon, one of the new shifters, and looked away quickly, her face turning pink.

  “Garrett’s looking for you,” she said quickly.

  Marcus glanced at Devon, then back to Leda with a raised eyebrow. “Okay, well, I’m here where he told me to be.”

  “Hey, I’m just delivering the message,” Leda shot back with narrowed eyes, then turned to leave. “I’ll tell him you said he’s an idiot for not knowing you were where he told you to be.”

  The guys laughed, even Ross chuckled. “Smartass.”

  “You taught me well, Marcus,” Leda shot back before hurrying out the door.

  “Okay, take the rest of the day off,” Marcus instructed the group. “Get some rest because I’ll be testing you over the next night or two.” Marcus headed out, catching up with Leda. “So, what was that?”

  “What was what?” Leda frowned, picking up her pace.

  “Your googly eyes at Devon. I thought you had something going with Steve, the mighty vampire warrior.” Marcus loved teasing Leda. She was quick-witted and always had funny comebacks.

  “Ain’t no ring on this finger.” Leda flipped her hand up in the air. “And what the hell are googly eyes?”

  “There better not be a ring on any of those fingers. You’re too young, and Garrett has two babies on the way so he can’t afford to be killing some kid because he was stupid enough to give you a ring. And googly eyes, you know, what you were doing with Devon.” Marcus batted his eyelashes, mocking her.

  Leda glared at him. “Steve is busy and so am I. We hardly talk. And I did not do that thing you just did with your eyeballs to Devon.”

  “Good because he’s too old for you,” Marcus warned. She was like his kid sister, and there would be hell to pay if some horny-ass guy sniffed around her.

  “No, he’s not,” Leda grouched as she veered off and headed toward the coffee shop. “I swear I’m never going to be able to date normally.”

  “Probably not,” Marcus called after her as he opened the door to Garrett’s and walked in, then wished he hadn’t. Sadie sat in the kitchen crying while Garrett looked like he wanted to kill somebody.

  “Where’s Roxy?” Garrett frowned, looking behind Marcus. “I told Leda to get you both.”

  “The coffee shop.” Marcus glanced at Sadie who openly stared at him as she dabbed at her eyes, which were tearless at the moment. One side of her mouth was still puffy from Roxy’s fist. “And it’s probably best she stays there.”

  “I wanted to apologize.” Sadie sniffed, but Marcus wasn’t falling for it. “I really didn’t realize how bad it was between Roxy and Bruce.”

  Leda and Roxy walked in talking and smiling until they saw Sadie sitting with Garrett and Marcus.

  Marcus pulled her to him, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Keep calm, killer,” he whispered with a grin.

  “I’m calm,” Roxy said, loud enough for everyone to hear. Her eyes stayed on Sadie. “For now.”

  “Roxy, I’m really sorry about what happened,” Sadie said, then looked down at her hands. “I met your ex in Lexington when I was there on business.”

  Marcus knew she was lying and wanted to call her out on it early so they could get past the bullshit, but Roxy beat him to it.

  “Sadie, that’s too much of a coincidence.” Roxy shook her head. “I don’t believe you. How did you get
the information on my ex?”

  “That’s not a lie.” Sadie struggled to keep calm, they all could see it. “I met him in Lexington.”

  “Sadie, I lived with a lying, manipulative man for longer than I’d like to admit. And you don’t hold a candle to him when it comes to either of those things.” Roxy frowned, anger filtering through the calm façade she was trying to maintain. “So why don’t you just tell the truth for once in your life and come clean. If not, I’m busy and need to get back to it.”

  “He wants me to move. To leave town.” Sadie pointed at Marcus and started crying again, obviously wanting to deflect from answering Roxy. “I don’t have anywhere else to go. I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve apologized, and I’m not lying. I didn’t realize how bad it was between you and your ex.”

  “You put my mate in danger.” Marcus growled the words, not falling for her lies, making Sadie cry harder. He glanced at Garrett and rolled his eyes.

  “Honestly, this is a waste of time.” Roxy sighed. “I really don’t care what she does or doesn’t do as long as she stays away from me. What’s done is done.”

  “It’s your call, Roxy,” Garrett said, his arms crossed, looking as if he would rather be anywhere but there dealing with this shit.

  “I thought I just made it. I don’t care.” Roxy glanced down at Sadie. “But fair warning, Sadie. Stay away from me and mine.”

  “Why is everyone so mad at me. I didn’t do anything.” Sadie’s voice rose slightly, but she was still doing the “feel sorry for me” act that no one was buying.

  “You did plenty and got caught,” Roxy replied, then kissed Marcus on the cheek. “I have to get back to the coffee shop. Do whatever, but I’m not making that decision. She’s been warned to stay away from me.”

  Marcus watched Roxy walk out before turning toward Garrett. “Now what?”

  “Go home, Sadie.” Garrett sighed, rubbing his forehead.

  “Am I allowed to keep my home?” she asked, looking between Garrett and Marcus.