Marked

by Snow, Jenika

  “I’ve never been one to believe in fate or destiny,” he said in a low voice then dipped his gaze to my mouth before snapping his eyes back up to look into mine. “But after last night, and now running into you this morning—” He looked over at the door to his right—my hotel room door—and then looked back at me. “—and you’re in the room right next to mine?” He smiled slowly, and I felt my mouth dry, my throat tightening. “I’m starting to become a fast believer.”

  I opened my mouth but promptly shut it, unsure what I was going to say. But the memory of that woman moaning played through my head like a broken record, and I narrowed my eyes. I was jealous, annoyed. He was talking about destiny and fate and all that bullshit, when he just fucked some woman the night before?

  I straightened my shoulders and pushed away from the wall, taking a step toward him, crowding him the way he thought he was going to do to me. He lifted one dark eyebrow, his smirk growing. But he said nothing, clearly waiting for me to say whatever it was I was going to spew forth.

  “I’m not really one for destiny, but what I am one for is reality.” I crossed my arms over my chest and lifted an eyebrow, doing the same as he did. I pushed past the pounding in my head and body, my hangover and arousal taking a backseat as annoyance filled me. “And that reality was listening to you have sex last night.” His eyes widened a bit, but he didn’t respond. Good. “And just for the record, me and my friend could hear you guys clear as day.” I took a step closer and rose up on my toes, trying to be eye-level with him, but he was too damn tall. “She was faking it,” I whispered conspiratorially. I had no idea why I was being so catty right now. Maybe it was the fact that I’d felt something pretty profound in his touches last night, that I hadn’t been able to get him out of my head, and then came to the reality that clearly it had all been one-sided.

  But I did feel pride that I had the balls to blurt that out.

  I took a step back, needing to breathe, needing some room. He still said nothing, and I figured maybe I caught him off guard. But just as he opened his mouth to presumably speak, maybe deny it, or maybe boast about it, his hotel room door opened again and out walked the blond guy I’d seen him with last night, and a woman who was clearly doing the walk of shame. Her miniskirt was crooked, her shirt haphazardly pushed up her stomach. Her hair was a wreck around her face, and when she glanced over at me, I could see her mascara was smeared along her temple.

  The blond looked over at us, wrapped his arm around the brunette, and gave me a wink. “Hope we didn’t keep you up last night.”

  The woman giggled, and the two of them walked down the hallway, the sound of the hotel room door closing loud and echoing off the walls.

  Here I stood, right in front of Mr. Dark and Sexy, neither one of us speaking, but my face feeling hot as embarrassment flooded me. Okay, it hadn’t been him I heard having sex last night, but his buddy and that woman.

  He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked, the corner of his mouth tipping up as amusement played across his face. “You were saying?”

  I tipped my chin up and cleared my throat, narrowing my eyes. “How was I supposed to know it was your friend banging some chick, and not you?” I wasn’t going to apologize, not with how arrogant he was being right then. And I couldn’t help but feel annoyance that he looked at me with cockiness on his face, as if he were pleased I was embarrassed by the whole situation.

  And his smirk was doing nothing but pissing me off. Without the alcohol buzzing through my veins, I could see this man was arrogant. But not in an asshole, douchebag way. I didn’t get that vibe from him. But he liked the fact that he’d been right and I’d been wrong. And despite that being an obnoxious trait, I couldn’t help but also find it attractive as hell.

  I cleared my throat and gave him the sweetest smile I could muster, showing him it wouldn’t bother me. I would’ve had no problem apologizing for my mistake, if he hadn’t been so damn good-looking as he grinned at me, as if he were waiting for me to take my foot out of my mouth.

  “Sorry about the misunderstanding,” I did end up saying, because I wasn’t a total bitch. “Have a great day.” I started to walk past him. The feeling of his hand wrapped around my wrist instantly reminded me of last night. My body heated, chills racing up my arms and legs. I should’ve shrugged him off, told him to let go, but the truth was, I liked his touch.

  I looked over my shoulder at him, tilting my head back so I could see into his face. God, he seemed so much taller and bigger than he had last night. His eyes were dark, penetrating as he stared at me, the amusement gone off his face, a serious expression now replacing it.

  “What’s your name?” His voice was a deep drawl I felt in every erogenous zone in my body.

  “Izzy,” I said without even thinking, without even missing a beat. I wanted him to know my name. I wanted him to say it, to hear how it sounded as it rolled off his tongue. And as if he read my mind, I watched as his mouth opened, heard how he said my name in the sexiest damn voice I’d ever heard in my life.

  “Izzy.”

  The air left me on a whoosh and I faced him, his hand still wrapped around my wrist as if he didn’t want to let go.

  “Don’t you want to know who I am?”

  Only a foot separated us, but it felt like I was pressed right up against him, his body heat, the scent of him, washing over me and making my head dizzy, my knees weak.

  I would’ve said I already knew who he was, Mr. Dark and Sexy, but thankfully common sense and rationalization kept my mouth shut. I licked my lips and nodded, even though I probably shouldn’t care who he was, right? But there was no denying there was an absolute connection I felt between us, this feeling that had excitement moving through me that went beyond basic attraction.

  The slow smile that crept across his face had my toes curling. God, what was it about this man that made me feel so on edge, like a high schooler finally getting to talk to her crush for the very first time?

  “I’m Tommy Harrison.”

  God, his name, seemingly so normal, maybe even average, was the hottest thing I’d ever heard. Or maybe it was just hearing his voice that did it for me. He probably could have read me the dictionary and I would have been close to climaxing.

  My throat was closed off, and the very notion of speaking right now was most definitely not an option, not unless I wanted to make a fool out of myself.

  I exhaled, not sure what to say, but feeling like these emotions, this need, wasn’t normal for me, especially after one night. It scared me.

  “Maybe I’ll see you around, Tommy.” I whispered it as a for-sure thing instead of a polite goodbye phrase, something people said when they knew they’d never see each other again. Because a part of me hoped to run into him again. A part of me wanted to do a hell of a lot more than that.

  I took a step back. I felt him add a little bit of pressure to my wrist, as if he didn’t want to let me go, but then he finally did. I liked saying his name... a lot.

  “I will,” he finally said, his voice sounding even deeper.

  “You will what?” I swallowed roughly.

  And that slow smile crept back on his full lips. “I will be seeing you around, Izzy.”

  My heart thundered behind my ribs. He sounded so sure, so confident about that. Without saying anything else, I licked my lips and turned to leave, feeling his gaze on me the entire time.

  Chapter Seven

  Tommy

  Dammit. I hated to see her leave, but I sure as fuck liked to watch her walk away. I adjusted my growing erection as I stared at her little apple-shaped ass. I didn’t even give a shit who saw me, because I was so focused on Izzy that all I could do was think about all the things I wanted to do to her.

  I planned on going to the hotel gym, but instead I found myself following her. I didn’t even have to know where she was going, because I could smell the sweet, spun sugar scent of her. It was like the cotton candy you get at the fair.

  The sound of the elevator closing to
ld me I’d just barely missed her, but that was okay. She wouldn’t get far. I couldn’t let her walk away, couldn’t ignore how I felt. I’d never felt this about a woman before, this instant attraction, this insane need to know more about her, to be with her. It wasn’t just sexual desire, although that was absolutely there. There was something when I looked into Izzy’s eyes, this pull, this almost innocence and vulnerability that called to the most basic, male part of me.

  I wanted to protect her, wanted to wrap my arm around her shoulders and keep her close as we made our way down the sidewalk with this proprietary air around us so everyone knew she was mine. It was fucking insane, insta-lust at warp speed, but it felt real.

  That should’ve scared the fuck out of me, but the fact that it didn’t, that I embraced it, had my obsession for her climbing higher. And the truth was if I hadn’t run into her, I would’ve searched high and low to find out who she was. I would have retraced my steps, tried to find anything out. I would’ve called in favors, asked buddies who ran security in the city. It was extreme and excessive, bordering on a stalker-ish, but when something felt as incredible as it did when I’d been with Izzy, there was no way in hell I was going to ignore it.

  I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

  It was too strong, too pronounced inside me.

  I took the next elevator and headed to the lobby. I had no idea where she was going, but I assumed it was for breakfast, possibly coffee, given how early it was. I walked around people as soon as I got off the elevator, heading toward the room where I knew everything was set up. I could still smell her sweet scent. I didn’t know if it was because she’d just been here a moment ago or because her scent was ingrained in my brain now.

  I was pretty sure it was the latter.

  I stepped into the banquet room, long tables set up against the wall, silver platters filled with an array of breakfast items.

  There was a small line for the buffet style meal, and people made their way to each dish and filled their plates.

  I noticed Izzy right away, at the end of the line, a plate in hand, her focus on her shoes. I could see she had her brows knitted as if she were in deep thought. My entire body tightened, my muscles clenching, and I found myself walking over there before I could stop myself. But I wouldn’t have fucking tried to stop myself regardless.

  I stood behind her, Izzy oblivious to the fact that I was right there. God, she smelled so good, so sweet, that it had my mouth watering.

  I leaned in, closed my eyes, and inhaled deeply, the strands of her hair gently brushing against my nose. When I straightened and opened my eyes, I could see a couple people looking at me with confusion on their faces. I probably looked like a fucking creep.

  Izzy shifted on her feet a couple times and glanced over her shoulder, and when she saw me standing right behind her, her eyes widened, her mouth opening a little. But then she narrowed her gaze at me and turned to face me fully, her lips pursed as if in annoyance.

  But I didn’t miss the rapid beat of her pulse at the base of her throat, or the way she started to breathe harder. She could act like she didn’t care about my presence, but her body betrayed her.

  “Do you normally stalk women?” She tried to sound tough, but her voice trembled.

  “No. Never,” I said honestly, my voice hard and serious. I wanted her to know I meant that. “But then again, I’ve never felt this way before.” I wasn’t going to beat around the bush. I’d just be honest, tell her the truth. The worst that could happen was she turned me down. That would just make me want her more... try even harder to convince her we had to get to know each other better.

  She lifted an eyebrow. “Really.” She didn’t phrase it like a question. “I bet that has lots of ladies dropping their panties.”

  I hated she thought that about me. I felt my expression sober even more, get serious. I took a step toward Izzy until I was crowding her. I was pleased she didn’t move back. “I only speak the truth, Izzy.” God, I loved saying her name. “I can’t tell you the last time I’ve been with a woman. Years.” Honesty was the best policy, right? I had to give her credit; she kept her expression neutral, although for just a second I saw her expression shift to surprise before she masked it. “So when I say I’ve never felt this way about a woman, that I’m not ashamed to follow her because I have to know more about her, that’s the truth.”

  She swallowed, not speaking, and everything in me wanted to just pull her in and kiss her.

  I was trying to keep my voice collected, trying to act like being so close to her didn’t affect me the way it did. But that would be a downright lie and impossible feat.

  “You can’t tell me you don’t feel the same connection I do. It’s undeniable, Izzy.” I was so close to her that if I exhaled roughly, our chests would brush together. She had her head tipped back so she could look into my face, and I wanted to lift my hand and cup her cheek, stroke my finger along her skin. I still remembered how soft she felt, how she molded perfectly to me.

  I looked down at her hand that held the plate, her fingers wrapped tightly around the edge, her knuckles white. It was like she was gripping on for dear life, as if my words affected her so much she could barely control herself. Good. I wanted her so on edge she couldn’t deny it, couldn’t lie to me about it.

  “Tell me the truth,” I said roughly, almost begging her to be honest.

  She inhaled sharply and licked her lips, and I couldn’t help but lower my gaze to the sight, watching as her pink tongue ran over her smooth, pink, and supple bottom lip. God, her mouth was delectable. My heart started beating a little harder and faster at the images slamming through my head, ones with me pressing my mouth to hers, slipping my tongue between the seam of her lips, and claiming her in every possible way.

  “I feel it too,” she admitted on a whisper.

  I didn’t hold back my groan, this rough sound that left me, vibrating my chest, seeming more feral than anything else.

  “I felt it but thought I was crazy.”

  I loved how she was being so open and honest with me. I loved how she wasn’t afraid to tell me how she felt, even though I was sure she was just as scared of the situation as I was.

  “Then let’s do something about that.” There were a hundred different things I could’ve suggested, ones that would leave us sweaty and stated, unable to walk the next day. And as much as I wanted to do those things tenfold, I needed to get to know her. I needed her to get to know me.

  I needed us to fall down the rabbit hole together and explore what this was between us.

  “I don’t know how long you’re in the city, but let me take you out. Let me get to know you better.”

  I watched as she thought about it, and I was afraid she’d say no. Not a lot of things scared the shit out of me... but her rejection terrified me.

  “Okay. Dinner, Tommy.”

  I felt my grin spread across my face as euphoria filled me. I felt like a fucking kid at Christmas. Now, I just had to convince her tonight wouldn’t be the last time I saw her.

  Should be easy enough, because I was one persistent asshole when it came to what I wanted, and I never wanted anything more than I did Izzy.

  Chapter Eight

  Izzy

  Nadine hadn’t cared about me going tonight. In fact, she’d still been nursing her hangover all day, had stayed in her pajamas, and had a stockpile of water bottles on the bed as she watched some romance movie.

  I left her complaining about feeling sick, possibly having to kiss the toilet bowl, and how she’s never drinking again.

  And now here I stood in the lobby of the Brazilian restaurant Tommy suggested we eat at tonight. I was nervous, anxious... anticipating what was to come.

  This morning, after he asked me to dinner, we’d eaten breakfast together, which was still giving me a little bit of butterflies in my belly. And before we parted ways for the day, we exchanged numbers. We could’ve easily come here together, but instead, I told him I would just meet him here, so the
re were no expectations or assumptions.

  I stared at the big blue neon sign of the restaurant, feeling a little overwhelmed.

  Comida de Carne.

  I’d never eaten at a Brazilian steakhouse before, and I was actually excited to try. Or maybe I was just excited, because it was dinner with Tommy.

  The restaurant was beautiful, with low lighting but bright neon accents all around. The music was loud, maybe a little too much, but it fit the atmosphere. And there were so many people, some lingering, others waiting for a table, and the rest seated to eat.

  Then I felt a light touch on my shoulder, drawing me out of my thoughts. I turned around, looking up to see Tommy standing there. He gave me this slow, sinfully sexy smile, and without saying anything, we headed to the hostess desk, and he gave his name. We were led up the stairs, passing tables, a salad and appetizer bar, then up another flight of stairs. I researched the restaurant a little before we’d come, knew they had dancers that preformed intermittently, even an acrobat show.

  Once seated, the hostess gave us the rundown of the coaster style cards in front of us. On one side it said Não and the other Si. When the servers came around with the meat, we’d keep our cards flipped to Si—yes, if we wanted more. If we were done, flip it to Não—no.

  Seemed simple enough.

  I ordered a glass of red wine, and Tommy got a beer. Then we were left alone and the look he had on me made me feel as if he were touching me. His stare was that intense.

  “What do you think about this place?” He had to lean forward and speak loudly in order to be heard over the music.

  “It’s loud and colorful. I like it,” I said honestly. His grin told me my response pleased him. I don’t know why I felt a thrill move through me at that realization. I finished off my wine, and just like magic, the waitress came over and asked if I wanted another.