“She’s mine, you bastard!”
Melissa again? Good God, she didn’t want to share any part of Marc fighting over the Queen Bitch of the Universe, even in a dream.
“Marc, you’re dreaming. Wake up. Now!”
“Stay out of this, Melissa.”
Whoa! Careful who you call Melissa, if you know what’s good for you.
She grabbed his shoulder to try and wake him. His arm sailed out, impacting her side and sending her flying off the bed. She quickly realized she’d hurt nothing but her ego. Her brothers had taught her to anticipate a punch like that, making her embarrassed she hadn’t reacted faster. But they’d also shown her how to fall with minimal damage. She stood up and watched as he flailed his arms and legs in some silent battle with Gino.
Remembering the setup of this bedroom, she went to the closet and pulled out a package of thick rope. Hemp, a little scratchy, but she needed to subdue him before he hurt someone, namely her. Remembering the way she’d hogtied Allen Martin with the technique she’d learned in Marc’s playroom and some techniques Luke had taught her since, she had Marc flipped onto his stomach and roped into a hogtie in under thirty seconds. He fought against the restraints, but in the absence of a toy bag with cuffs and other restraints, this was the best she could do.
“You bastard! You fucked my girl! I never want to see you again!”
Seriously? All this drama for a woman like Melissa? Now he was pissing her off, though she knew this was a much younger Marc rehashing something that happened long before he’d met her.
Trying to emulate Melissa’s accent, she said, “Marco, darling, calm down.” His struggles stilled for a moment before he raged and fought the air around him again.
“You have everything. Why did you have to take her, too?” His body was bathed in sweat at his exertions.
Oh, Marc. She so didn’t deserve either of you.
She used some of the inflections Melissa had used in her voice. “Marco, you’re too wild-spirited. I need someone stable like Gino who can support me. But I’ve enjoyed being with you these past…” Angelina had no idea if they’d dated months or years, so she let her words fade away. Her heart told her Gino loved his little brother. He’d merely taken one for Team Marco when it came to Bitch Melissa.
A knock at the door drew her attention away from Marc. She made sure he’d stopped struggling before she left him for a moment. Before she reached the door, it opened and Adam stepped in. His gaze settled immediately on Marc’s hogtied form on the bed, and his brows lifted before he turned his attention to her. She’d been yelling at Adam yesterday for mistreating Marc, and now she’d subdued and incapacitated him herself.
He remained silent a long moment, and then he smiled. “You seem to have everything under control.”
“Um, he got a little rough and—”
“Don’t apologize. I came up to check on you more than him. He’s still having some pretty violent dreams?”
Angelina fought the urge to rub her left breast and side where Marc’s fist had impacted with her and sent her sprawling earlier, so she gave a nod instead. “I have four brothers.”
“I haven’t forgotten how you took care of yourself on the mountain last fall.” She would have thought the trauma of his subsequent cougar attack would have wiped away Adam’s memories. He reached out and unknowingly patted her sore arm. She winced and pulled away. His gaze narrowed. “You’re hurt. Let me see.”
She shook her head and took a step back. “It’s nothing. He’s given me worse bruises when we’ve played.”
Or during a nightmare.
She grinned, hoping to lighten the moment. No way was she removing her sweater to reveal to Adam the bruises he’d left.
“You weren’t warmed up for this—and it wasn’t play.”
“I’m fine, Adam. Now, was there something you needed?”
He scrutinized her a moment and finally shook his head. “Karla and I will be bringing up some lunch soon. I’ll ask her to check them out.”
She rolled her eyes. Dio, save me from overprotective Doms.
“He’s sleeping calmly now. Let me call you when I think he’s awake enough to eat.”
“I wasn’t talking about feeding him but you. You haven’t eaten in at least six hours. I need you to keep up your strength.”
Something warmed in the pit of her stomach. Okay, sometimes she did enjoy the fact that Marc and his friends watched over all of the submissives in their community.
“Thanks, Adam.” She found herself crooking her finger at him to bend toward her. The man was a couple of inches taller than Marc’s six feet. He leaned over, tilting his ear toward her mouth, expecting her to whisper something in his ear. Instead, she pecked him on his whiskery cheek, breathing in his clean, woodsy smell.
The man stood straight again appearing flummoxed. “What was that for?”
“For taking such good care of all of us, Adam.”
He shook his head and waved away her words.
“Deny it all you will, but I’m glad to be a part of your family.”
“You’ve earned your place here. I’d given up on Marc ever dealing head-on with whatever was in his past. He hadn’t been able to identify and move past it until you came into his life.”
“He opened up a whole new world to me when he found me downstairs.”
But she still had no idea what kind of future they would have together. She’d hoped Marc would see they were right for each other, once he came out of this. After all he’d done to try and win her back, she had no doubt at all Marc had made a commitment to her, ring or no ring.
“Cara?”
Angelina turned to find a groggy-eyed Marc staring at her. Her stomach flipped a somersault. Did he recognize her or was he still talking to Melissa?
He took in his surroundings with a confused look on his face and then stared at her as if he didn’t know who she was, which upset her. What if they couldn’t bring back the Marc she loved? What if he was lost in a past where he thought he was still dating Bitch Melissa and wanting to marry her?
His eyes opened wider. “What are we doing in here, pet? I hope I didn’t miss anything important.”
Angelina relaxed and smiled, returning to the bed. She heard the door click closed behind her, already having forgotten about Adam.
“I’m sure there will be time to make many more memories in here together.” She crawled between the sheets and faced him. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a Humvee—several times in quick succession.”
She smiled. “That’s more or less what happened. Adam, Damián, and Grant, maybe me even, all had a hand in making you feel that way.”
“You think you could get me out of this hogtie? Who is responsible for trussing me up?”
Angelina grinned. “Well, Sir, you taught your submissive well.”
He shook his head as she grabbed the safety scissors and cut the ropes. “What do you remember about the scene?”
“Adam and a bunch of crazy-ass dreams—maybe hallucinations is a better word.” He grew pensive. “Mama told me the truth. I did have another mama. She died when I was three.”
“What specifically do you remember about her?” His body grew tense, and she rubbed his arm until he relaxed again.
“I know the woman must have been my whole world at three, but I don’t feel a connection with her the way I do Mama.”
Hearing him call Mama D’Alessio his mother pleased her. “She really does love you and Gino like her own children.”
“Hell, she might be my birth mother, as Solari said, but even if she isn’t, she’ll always be Mama to me.”
“When you’re feeling better, we should go talk with her. I have a feeling she still has answers to some of your questions. I hope you’ll be able to forgive her someday for not telling you the truth.”
He pulled away and quirked a brow at her. “I’m not sure there’s anything to forgive. She did the best she could.”
“I just have one question.”
“What’s that?”
“Who the hell beat my ass? Mistress A didn’t make a reappearance, did she?”
Angelina suppressed a giggle. “I assure you I had nothing to do with you being punished in that scene.”
* * *
Midmorning, Angelina led Marc down the hall to the shower in the bathroom attached to Karla’s old bedroom. She let the water turn to hot as she reached for the hem of his tee to undress him.
“I can undress myself, amore.”
“I know you can, but I have a strong need to take care of my man right now. So please indulge me.”
He grinned. His face had the look of someone haunted, but a spark of life had returned to his eyes.
Adam had left Marc’s overnight case containing clean clothes and toiletries in the room next door, where Angelina had been taken after being beaten by Allen late last summer. Apparently, Luke was making repairs to the bed in Karla’s room.
“You’ll feel better after a shower.” Not to mention getting into a bed with clean linens.
All of this had happened because she’d wanted him to open up and let her be a part of his life. Could she ever forgive herself for kicking him out of her house the morning after Luke’s accident?
Angelina, however, wanted nothing more than to take care of Marc. She stripped down herself so she could get into the shower with him. “Here we go, baby.” She took his hand and led him into the stall. This would be one of the tamest showers they’d ever taken together. Once inside, the hot spray warmed her skin, but Marc’s remained cold for several minutes. He’d been through such an intense ordeal.
She lathered the shower sponge and scrubbed his shoulders, chest, and back. They’d probably bathed him right after the scene ended, but it couldn’t have been more than a hosing down judging by some of the crystallized sweat and grime on his body.
When he turned around, she saw the bruises and welts on his butt and muttered under her breath, “Hasn’t anyone around here heard of a freaking safeword?”
Marc grabbed her hand and turned back to face her, his expression fierce. “No safeword. Couldn’t take the chance. I’ve run too many times.”
Of course, she’d been forced to watch the video of Marc consenting to this insanity. Was he even in his right mind when that video was made?
She took the bottle of shampoo and poured a generous amount into her cupped hand. “Bend toward me.” Being a nursemaid hadn’t been something she’d ever aspired to, but Marc brought out her nurturing instincts. If anyone needed to feel the loving touch of a woman, it was this wounded man.
But what she wanted more was to be his lover again. Maybe even his wife someday. The mother of his children. She’d never felt her biological clock ticking so loudly as now, perhaps because she was in Mama-Bear mode, as Adam put it.
Marc leaned forward as she’d instructed holding onto her girls for balance and causing her to break out in a grin. He held one nipple to his lips and sucked. She hissed in surprise and swatted his arm, giggling in relief at having him returning to his old self. He definitely wasn’t treating her like his mama—either of them.
As the shampoo washed down her body, he pulled away, probably to keep the soap out of his mouth. She scrubbed his hair and scalp. “Keep your eyes closed, baby.” After rinsing his hair, she took the bar of soap and lathered up the sponge again before washing his lower half. She was extra gentle with the welts, but the way he tensed his butt cheeks told her she was hurting him. He’d never marked her that hard and, knowing her tolerance for pain was extremely low, never would have. Tears burned her eyes, but she couldn’t undo what had happened.
She turned off the water. After toweling him off, he took the towel and did the same for her, paying special attention to her breasts. She smiled and took the towel from him when her nipples became too sensitive. “That’s good, Marc. Thank you.”
He smiled and bent down to kiss her lips. When he wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer, she hissed when he pressed against the bruise on her breast. Marc pulled away.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just a little bruise.”
He turned her sideways and lifted her arm. He growled. “Who did this to you?”
The protective Marc she loved was back.
“It was an accident. I forgot to duck.” Pushing him away, she drew a ragged breath. “Let’s go to bed.”
“I asked you a question.” He stared at her with such intensity, her stomach dropped.
“You had a nightmare sometime in the middle of the night. I assure you I’m fine. Only hurts when someone touches it.”
“I hurt you?”
“You didn’t know what you were doing.”
Regret filled his eyes. “I’m so sorry. Perhaps it would be better if you slept alone.”
Angelina placed her hands on her hips and, Dom or no Dom, let him have it. “Marc D’Alessio, if you think you can get rid of me again that easily, you have another think coming.”
“I just don’t want to hurt you a—”
“I. Said. It. Was. An. Accident. Normally, I’d have evaded the punch, but I wasn’t fully awake. Now, let’s go back to bed.”
He measured her words a while longer before he smiled slightly. “Thought you’d never ask, cara.”
He reached for her hand. Retrieving guest robes from the hooks behind the door, she helped him slip into one and put on the other before leading him through Karla’s old bedroom and into the hall to the room where they’d be sleeping now. The only time she’d slept here, she’d been taken care of by Marc first and then Karla. Today, she planned to continue to take care of Marc’s needs. Adam and Karla were across the hall if anything became more than she could handle, but after that one outburst, he’d been extremely gentle with her.
Choosing to sleep skin to skin, she removed his robe and slipped out of her own, turned back the coverlet and sheet on the sleigh bed, and crawled in. She beckoned for him to join her. He did so without hesitation and pulled her against him.
“Thank you for staying with me, amore. I like having you taking care of me much more than Adam and Grant.”
“I should hope so!”
They lay entwined in each other’s arms, her cheek against his chest, his chin on her head holding her close. When he reached to cup her breast, she slapped his hand. “Cuddling only.”
“You know how badly that plan went for us last time.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I’m so sorry I sent you away that morning. If I’d known you’d concoct something as insane as that interrogation scene—”
“Enough. It’s over. Bottom line is that it made me face what was holding me back. We might not be together now if I hadn’t taken that risk.”
“Have you remembered anything else you’d like to talk about?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk with you about that stuff right now.”
Angelina tried to mask her disappointment. Were they back where they’d been before, with him shutting her out? Maybe all this anguish had been a waste of time.
“I’d rather think about the future than the past. I’ve missed you so much, Angelina.” He stroked her hair. “Promise you won’t leave me again. I’m going to try really hard not to shut you out again.”
She leaned away and propped herself up on her elbow to study his face. Tears shone in his eyes, and she couldn’t keep them from forming in her own. Even if Marc never completely opened himself up to her, life without him was not an option. She bent to kiss him gently on the lips before moving his head to her chest so he wouldn’t see her tears.
“I’m here, Marc. I’ll always be here for you.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “Buonanotte, amore.”
In a very short time, his breathing became steady and shallow. She didn’t blame him for being exhau
sted, even though he’d slept for much of the past three days now. Her man was returning to her in small ways.
“Sweet dreams, my love.” She hoped he wouldn’t be plagued by any more bad dreams or triggers today. His mind and body needed comfort and peace.
Angelina stroked his hair, still wet from the shower, and hummed a lullaby. It had been so long since she’d heard it sung to her; Mama sang it in English.
Lullaby to a sailor,
You are my beautiful sea
Sometimes so nice and calm
Sometimes just like a storm.
But your mind is not free.
Please do not forget
That among the moon and the stars,
I am waiting for you with open arms
She hoped he would find peaceful sleep in her arms today. Soon enough, they would have to discuss where to go from here. Both seemed to want to be together, which was the main thing. They could work out what the future beyond that entailed later.
He groaned, and Angelina held him closer, hoping to keep the ghosts away. Right now, she wanted him to rest.
Tears burned her eyes, and she let them fall at last. Marc was safe again in her arms.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Marc squeezed Angelina’s hand as the elevator ascended to Mama and Papa’s penthouse condo. He wasn’t sure what information he would come away with this time, but the memories stirred up last week needed to be placed into some context he could use to make sense of his past.
“I’m proud of you, Marc.”
He glanced down at her and smiled. “For finally facing my mama?”
She grinned. “No, for being courageous enough to confront the past head-on the way you did. A lot of people would just keep muddling through and not try to change behaviors that weren’t working for them. That you were willing to face your fears and go through so much to break down the walls blocking you from a better life is just…one of the reasons I love you.”
Marc wasn’t sure any of his newfound revelations would change how he acted, but… “One thing I do know is I never would have gone through that if you hadn’t held my feet to the fire—or shown me you wouldn’t put up with my shit.” She had encouraged him to find the truth all along, but he hadn’t been ready to deal with it until now. Thank God he had her standing beside him for today’s meeting with Mama.
Somebody's Angel (#5 in a Military Romance / BDSM Romance series) (Rescue Me) Page 47