“So I’m ready to get my back scrubbed.” She smiled coyly up at him. “How about you?”
“Oh I’m more than ready. Now move up a bit so I can join you.” He started to pull off his t-shirt. She was momentarily shocked at his actions. She swallowed as his hands moved to his shorts.
“Umm I thought you’d had a shower and could wash my back from the side of the tub?”
“I changed my mind,” he stated as he shimmied out of his shorts and boxers. She could see he was already half aroused. Was he conceding the wager already?
“Does this mean you’re saying I’ve won the wager?”
“No.” He laughed as he stepped into the tub, his hair-roughened leg brushing seductively against her back. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, not wanting to let Marco know how even his leg brushing against her back could turn her on.
As he settled in behind her Phoebe held herself stiffly, almost too afraid to relax against him. She jumped as his hands moved up her back and settled on her shoulders, starting to massage them gently.
“Relax,” he whispered against her ear. If she wanted to win the wager, she needed to not let Marco intimidate her. She needed to turn the situation to her advantage.
She let her body relax against him as his fingers worked magic on her tense shoulders. As she leaned back she felt his arousal jutting against her back. She could reach around and grasp it. If she did that then she would win for sure.
Before she had a chance to act he moved his arms around her and clasped his hands loosely under her breasts.
“I thought you were washing my back?” she asked breathlessly.
“All in good time.” He kissed the back of her neck. “All in good time.”
As he caressed the underside of her breasts, she wiggled her hips, causing a delicious friction between her back and his erection. She would make him lose control if it was the last thing she did. She was on fire with his touches but she wasn’t going to let him know how much he was affecting her.
Marco moved his hands from her breasts, back to her shoulders again.
“Where’s the soap?”
Phoebe pointed to a bottle of body wash. “Right there.”
She moved her hips again and had the satisfaction of feeling him pause in the action of picking up the bottle and then feeling him take a deep breath before opening it and squeezing some of the liquid onto his hands. She shivered when the cool liquid connected with the warm skin of her back.
As Marco started massaging the liquid into her shoulders, she couldn’t control the moan of pleasure that erupted out of her. She couldn’t think or act. His hands were working magic, arousing her to the point where all she had to do was turn and lift her hips, and then she’d be able to lower herself over his hard length.
She gasped when a cascade of water flowed down her back. “What are you doing?”
“I have to clean off the soap.” He sounded innocent but she knew he was far from it.
“A little warning would’ve been nice.”
He laughed and gave her shoulders another squeeze before he stood up. “Well now that I’ve washed your back, I’ll leave you to soak and order the Chinese.”
He was out of the bath before she had a chance to respond. What she did notice was that he was very aroused.
“Going to take a cold shower?”
He laughed as he pulled his shorts on sans underwear. “Maybe, but it’s a small price to pay for winning the wager.”
She groaned and sank fully under the warm water as he walked out the door. She should’ve realized he had it all planned out. He was the ultimate plan-maker. There was no way he was going to lose. He wouldn’t let himself. Even if he had to go to the brink of desire, which he had, he wouldn’t have given in to his baser needs. She hadn’t acted quickly enough to not give him the option of leaving the bath.
She surfaced and sluiced the water away from her face and squeezed it out of her hair. So now what did she do? Marco was going to live with her for a full week. If she thought about it, it was no different than his staying with her at the beach house. But that had been neutral ground; now they were on her home turf. The first place she could finally call all her own. She paid the mortgage. She paid the taxes. It was her home and no one else’s, and now Marco was going to invade it.
Phoebe stopped her thoughts there. She had a choice. She could let Marco’s presence in her house upset her. Or she could treat it like he was a visitor. She wouldn’t allow herself to memorize anything he did.
As she pulled the plug and watched the water swirl down the drain she wondered why she was convinced that at the end of the week their relationship would be over. Did she have little faith in what they had shared? Was she so certain that they couldn’t build on it and make it a relationship where love was the central part of it?
A knock sounded again. “Chinese will be here in about fifteen minutes.”
“Okay, I’m out now. I’ll be with you shortly.”
Marco didn’t answer and once she was sure he was gone, she wrapped a towel around herself and escaped into her bedroom. As she dressed, she let her mind drift back to the last thought she had.
Did she want a loving relationship with Marco? Did she want to risk her heart again?
Yes! The word was almost shouted in her mind. She sat on the bed, shocked at the feelings flowing through her, the feelings she’d denied had existed. She was in love with Marco. That was why she’d broken off the engagement. She hadn’t wanted to admit to herself that she had gone and fallen for him.
She knew Marco believed in their relationship, he’d told her that. He’d told her the first day he had arrived at the beach house that they were good together. And he had kept saying it. Could she make him fall in love with her? She knew he cared. Could she push him over the edge?
Phoebe closed her eyes and for the first time in her life she let herself imagine a future with Marco. A future where they were equals in a relationship. Where they were married and had children.
Her breath caught at the thought of carrying Marco’s baby, of seeing his face light up with delight the way Alex’s did whenever he spoke of Sophie and Louisa. The way Dawn’s face softened with love when she spoke of Andrew. Yes, she wanted to have children with Marco. She wanted it all.
All she had to do was convince Marco this was what he wanted too. And she had the following week to make it happen.
• • •
“Do you want another egg roll?” Marco asked as he held out the plastic container.
Phoebe patted her stomach, feeling like she was about to explode. “No, I couldn’t eat another thing. Where did you get that Chinese? My local restaurant has never tasted this good.”
Marco moved to clean up all the takeout containers. Phoebe knew she should offer to help but she quite frankly couldn’t move.
“I phoned the one near my place.”
“And they delivered here? We don’t even live close to each other.”
He gave a rueful laugh. “Well I had to be very persuasive and guarantee a big tip for the driver. But it was worth it.”
“Oh, it was so worth it. Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he murmured as he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Why don’t you pick out this ‘chick flick’ you want to watch. I promise that I won’t complain while we watch it.”
She laughed and watched as he walked out of the room. He was now wearing old jeans and they hugged his behind like a second skin. She shivered at the thought of the firm flesh that lay beneath the material.
Pulling herself out of the lounge chair she sat in, and walked over to where she stored her movies. She browsed her collection and found a movie. It was the first time they’d ever sat down to watch a movie together. They’d never had the opportunity to do it before.
“So, what form of torture have you picked out for me?”
Phoebe laughed. She figured Marco would be able to take anything in his stride, chick flick and all. “I hardly think watching a movie is a form of torture. You can see for yourself whether you like it or not. I’m not saying a thing.”
“Hmmm okay, I’ll trust you.”
Phoebe put the disk in the machine and went back to sit in the chair she had been sitting in before.
“Oh no you don’t.” Marco stated as he reached out to grab her hand. With a slight tug of his hand she found herself toppling down onto the couch next to him. “I believe I said I was going to curl up on the couch with you to watch the movie.”
“You might have said that,” she replied as she straightened herself up.
“I did. Now shhh. The movie’s starting.”
She giggled at his bossy ways, finding this playful side of Marco quite endearing. Another aspect of him she was just starting to see.
She couldn’t help herself — she snuggled in a little closer and as his arm wrapped around her shoulders she felt quite content and safe. A feeling she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
• • •
Marco was glad he didn’t have to think too hard while watching the movie. All his thoughts were concentrated on the woman in his arms. He loved holding her again. His body was still on fire from their shared bath; the cold shower he’d taken had done nothing to take the edge off his desire. It had been the hardest thing to do to walk away from her. He had had a feeling she was about to do something that would have made it impossible for him to say no. So he’d summoned up some strength he hadn’t known he had, and walked away. He couldn’t afford to lose the wager. He needed to be with her, sharing day-to-day things with her. He needed to show her what their future could be like. He needed for her to come to him willingly.
As the movie progressed he tried to maintain his relaxed stance but he couldn’t. The movie was too close to what he’d experienced with Veronika. The main female character was pretending to be something she wasn’t and her male counterpart had no idea he was being duped.
“You’re not enjoying this, are you?”
He couldn’t lie and say he was — with Phoebe lying in his arms, he knew she could feel his body tensing. Even though it had been a long time ago, it was still raw to share how naïve he’d been. It was embarrassing, and he shifted his body in discomfort now just thinking about it.
“Well, I’m an action movie kind of guy, but I promised I would watch this with you.” He was surprised when Phoebe reached for the remote and stopped the movie. “Why did you do that?”
As she went to move out of his arms the temptation to keep her there was strong, but he let her go. She was only a short distance away from him but he felt like it was a yawning chasm between them.
“I know you’re keeping something from me, Marco. It’s more than just not enjoying the movie. What’s wrong?”
CHAPTER 12
Phoebe waited and watched. She didn’t know what it was, but there was something about the movie that was making Marco uncomfortable and she had an inkling that it was something important to him.
The question would be whether he would answer her or not. Would he take that plunge and share something so private with her? Or would he avoid the subject altogether?
“It’s nothing really, more the premise of pretending to be someone you’re not. Like this movie — she’s a hotel maid but she’s impersonating a woman of society.”
Disappointment pooled in her stomach like a rock dropping to the bottom of a pond. He was never going to be open with her. She should just kick him out right now.
“It’s a movie, Marco, nothing like that happens in real life. And I know it’s more than just the premise of the movie. But still, you clearly don’t trust me enough to want to share it with me.”
She stood and turned away before he could see the tears that where threatening to drip down her face. “I’m going to bed,” she mumbled.
“Phoebe, wait. I’m sorry. Yes, there is something, I just can’t talk about it.”
“Why? Why is it so hard for you to trust me? Why is it so hard for you to share things with me?”
She heard his sigh of frustration, and for a moment, she felt bad for pushing, but only for a moment. If he wanted them to have a future together he needed to not keep things from her.
“Sweetheart, it’s not a matter of not trusting you. It’s a part of my life I’d much rather forget.” He paused and looked at her. She felt his gaze to the soles of her feet. “It’s embarrassing.”
She didn’t care if it was embarrassing or not, she’d shared plenty of embarrassing moments with him. “I’m sure it’s no different than being ceremoniously dumped the second a better opportunity turns up. But it doesn’t really matter, does it? The problem is, if you really cared about me, you wouldn’t be ashamed to share it with me.”
Phoebe walked up to him and poked him in the chest. “Couples share everything with each other. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the embarrassing. Guess you only expect me to share everything with you? Well that’s not how I want things to work.”
She moved away and headed towards her room, turning again to say one last thing. “If you want us to work, Marco, then you need to let go of your uptightness and share your past with me. If you can’t do it, then I’m really glad that I broke off our engagement.”
She walked out then, letting him chew on what she’d said. It was probably the most truly honest thing she’d ever said to him in the whole length of their relationship. She took responsibility for not communicating properly with Marco. If she had, maybe things would’ve been different. Maybe she would’ve brushed off John’s calls and not let them get to her. She couldn’t blame Marco totally for the problems in their relationship. She had played a huge part in causing some of them.
Phoebe reached her room and closed the door, leaning against it. She didn’t think she’d sleep tonight and even though she knew a warm drink would help her, she wasn’t planning on leaving her room until she was certain Marco had retreated to his own room.
She wandered over to the bed and lay down on top of the covers. What to do next? What was going to happen tomorrow morning? Maybe she should call the hospital up and see if there was an available shift. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it wasn’t too late, she could send Dawn a text message. She was sure Dawn wouldn’t mind giving her a shift. As the new Nursing Unit Manager, Dawn was responsible for the rosters. It was strange how many lives had changed in just under two years. Sophie, had gotten married and had a baby and then resigned from a job that she loved so she could be a full time mother, a move Phoebe had never expected Sophie to do. And Dawn … well, Dawn had gone from being a shadow of a person to grasping life with both hands. Both women had had the love of a good man to give them the strength to change the paths their lives had been travelling. Now they were both travelling the path they were meant to.
Phoebe wanted to know what her path was. Where was she headed? And was Marco going to be on that path with her or was their path broken beyond repair?
• • •
The moment Phoebe had walked out, Marco knew he’d stuffed up. Why couldn’t he tell her about Veronika? Why was he holding back? Phoebe was right, though — if he couldn’t share his past with her, the woman he’d decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, who could he share it with? If he wanted Phoebe, and he did, he would have to swallow his manly pride and tell her his most shameful secret.
With his decision made he headed towards Phoebe’s bedroom, turning off the television and lights as he went. As he got to her door he noticed the sliver of light shining beneath it.
Taking a deep breath he raised his lightly clenched fist, ready to knock on the wood. He halted, wondering if tomorrow would be a better time to have this disc
ussion. Both of them would’ve had some sleep and would be able to have a rational, unemotional conversation.
It only took a moment for him to realize how silly that was. There was no way he would be able to sleep tonight. He suspected that Phoebe would be the same. He may as well do them both a favor and just get this conversation over with.
He knocked and without waiting for her permission to enter, he twisted the door handle and entered her room.
“I don’t believe I said you could come in.”
She wasn’t on the bed, and after allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim light from the lamp he noticed that she was sitting on a window seat. She looked so beautiful and fragile in the soft lighting. He wanted to stride over there and just kiss her. Kiss away the sadness he could feel reaching out to him. Kiss away her worries. Kiss away the bad memories and replace them with good ones.
As much as he would enjoy that, it wouldn’t solve the issue that was standing between them.
“Would you have let me in if I’d waited?” he asked as he made his way into the room and sat on the corner of her bed.
“I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not.”
He chuckled; at least she was being honest. He thought back to what she’d said to him — he figured that the words she’d spoken to him before she walked out were the first brutally honest ones she’d ever spoken to him. There was something about the way she wanted his trust that called out to his soul.
They really did need to work on their communication skills with each other. And by walking into her room tonight, he was taking the first steps to being more open with her.
“I owe you an apology, Phoebe.”
She remained still and her gaze hadn’t wavered from whatever she was looking at out of her window. “Really? Another apology? What’s this apology for?”
“For keeping things from you.” He knew he didn’t want the conversation to happen with her so far away from him. He wanted to hold her hand, take strength from her presence so he could bare his most embarrassing moment to her. “But then again I think maybe you have some things you haven’t told me either.”
Lovers Unmasked: The Complete Series Page 49