by J. M. Davies
“I won’t be long,” she said.
She walked out of the room and dashed down to the nursery, keeping her mind occupied on what she needed to say to Marcus later. Maybe the time for words should come after they shared a night together. Maybe it would be easier for them both. She rubbed the back of her neck to relieve some of the tension there. Hearing the cries of the newborns, she nodded at the staff and carried on toward the cot that held the baby. She lifted the glorious bundle of life that smelled wonderful to her and cradled him in her arms. She watched his tiny finger curl around hers and move, absorbing all his delicate features and aware of the steady beat of his heart. All the while, she was aware of another strong, healthy cry that continued to haunt her and drown out all other sounds. A cry that pleaded with her to be heard. Unable to hold on any longer, Ella placed him down and kissed his forehead. She left without glancing back and raced back to Marcus. Glancing at her watch, she noted she had been no more than twenty minutes and yet as she approached the room, shouts rippled into the corridor.
“How? She can’t be. Christ, she was only having tests. Ella would have told me straightaway. She would have known I would want to know.”
Ella stood at the door, freezing in her steps. Ice filled her veins, including her heart, as she took in Marcus’s wide eyes and raised eyebrows. His lips now pressed into a firm line as if cemented together for fear of what would be released. She glanced at Ava, who smiled at her shamelessly and without regard for what had happened.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize she hadn’t told you. I assumed she had. I’m very sorry.” Ava clasped Marcus’s hand, and Ella noted she didn’t use her name once.
Jake reached the door and walked beside her as she entered, watching the vamp. The vibes she caught from Jake told her he was on her side. “Ella wanted to wait until you were better.”
Ella patted his arm to acknowledge his help, but knew it wasn’t going to make this conversation any easier. She should have told him straightaway. She had misjudged the situation.
“Get out, both of you. Now,” he growled. Marcus swung his long muscular legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed his buttoned Levi’s. He shoved his legs into them. She noted the ropey muscles of his thighs and the fact his injury had healed. Her eyes wandered over his exposed sculptured chest with a light dusting of dark hair; she lifted her head and bit the side of her mouth. His jet-black eyes rested upon hers.
“I’m sorry, Marcus. I wanted you to be completely healed before I told you about Josephine. The doctors said she had a massive heart attack while she was having the scan. Despite doing all they could to restart her heart, they couldn’t. I’m so very sorry.”
Marcus stood with his jeans on and stalked toward her until they were a hairbreadth apart. Marcus inhaled a breath and his mysterious eyes reached deep inside her, as if attempting to read her thoughts, and she dropped her lashes. Realizing she had been staring and drooling over his beautiful body for far too long, she turned away.
“I don’t know if now is the right time, but she came to me, Marcus. I stood there in the corridor. I was waiting and the exam seemed to take forever. Josephine appeared out of nowhere. At the time, I wouldn’t accept what was staring me in the face. She wanted me to tell you that she loved you very much—”
Marcus didn’t move an inch. “Go on, I want to hear it all.” His voice sounded hoarse and dry.
She twisted her fingers and let it all out. “Josephine said it was her time. Some of her words were riddles—she even spoke about our baby. Steel arranged the autopsy and the results only confirmed what they suspected. There was nothing suspicious. We have arranged a small service for Josephine tomorrow. They couldn’t delay it any longer. I’m sorry.”
She stared through the clear glass window, watching the staff scurry around on the busy ward, all the while her heart galloped as her awareness of Marcus burned stronger inside and she clenched her hands. Now wasn’t the time.
“I can’t deal with all this right now. Christ.”
Ella nodded as he raked his hand back through his hair and his nostrils flared. She studied his knitted brows and deep frown as he shook his head. She wanted to reach out and touch him but his brusque manner and stern features halted her. Ella folded her arms and she turned toward the door.
“Look at me, Ella. I know the cycle of the moon and its effect on you. I can smell your arousal from here.”
His words instantly made her cheeks burn. Heat coursed through her veins, making her limbs mushy and limp. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. She lifted her eyes to meet his and saw heated desire shining in his coal-like eyes. Her body rippled with frantic need, but resting her gaze on his face, she saw no softness. His jaw lay clenched and his nostrils flared. His dark-chocolate eyes zeroed in on hers and he bent in the curve of her neck.
“I need you.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Several times during the night, Marcus had woken and caught sight of Ella lying over the bed as close as she could without climbing up onto the tiny hospital mattress. Absorbing her dazzling pale gold locks that fanned down over her back and her face soft in sleep, his heart ramped up speed, but he didn’t want to disturb his sleeping beauty. At times, her hand searched out and touched his, squeezing as if to reassure herself that he was there and to let him know she was. Despite being dazed from the drugs he had been pumped with upon arrival at the hospital, he had been able to catch snatches of conversation and blurry images of the scenes once settled in the room. He observed the look of shock and disbelief on Ella’s face as she examined Ava, unsure who the woman was. He told himself he would explain once everything settled. He would let her know the woman was his past, but his eyes lingered on Steel as he comforted his wife. That last image plagued him throughout the night.
He tossed and turned as the early morning hours flitted past. He would have adjusted his position in the uncomfortable bed to gain better access to Ella’s body as her soft touch elicited a stirring in his blood and loins. Since capturing the interaction between Steel and Ella when he touched her, it played over and over in his mind. The green-eyed monster squeezed tight around his heart, sending any rational reasoning to outer space. Jealousy was a new experience for him. Women fawned over him. It was never the other way around, but with Ella and not having had sex for a while, this driving force surged in his gut.
Hours later, when he awoke only to see her caressing a baby, his ardent lust evaporated as it called to mind their loss and increased the distance between them. He didn’t know what to think as he watched her croon over a stranger’s baby. Holding and cuddling it as if it were her own. The violent need rose to understand how she could bear to hold another when their baby was dead. Finally, when dawn broke and morning rose, leaving him unrefreshed but physically feeling stronger, he was determined to put a few issues to rest. However, when he let Ella go to say her good-byes to the orphan in the nursery, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Ava descended and from that moment on, everything went to shit. As soon as Ella turned the corner and was out of sight, the woman launched.
“You fucking bastard. Why didn’t you tell me you were married?” She stood next to the bed with her hands on her curvy hips. She wore a tight, short skirt and a low-cut cream blouse that left nothing to the imagination and her sizable cleavage glared at him. To most men, she was a walking fantasy—long legs and a voluptuous figure. But not to him. She was work. They had been agents together at the FBI. A wave of impatience burst from him that he wished he could rein in.
“Why should I? You knew what we had wasn’t serious, Ava. It was in the past. You were an agent, the same as me, working undercover. I was your support and contact. We had mutually satisfying sex—that was all. It relieved the tension. Don’t make it out to be anything more.”
Jake covered his mouth with his hand and twisted away from him.
He glanced at his friend, who was obviously uncomfortable at being in the room. Shit. He thought Ava knew the boundaries of what t
heir connection was. How had he misread the situation?
“Look, we haven’t had sex for over a year, Ava. In that time, you went ahead and married your target. Congratulations. I assumed any feelings you had for me faded once you took those vows,” he said with a quieter voice.
Marcus examined the woman’s clear, creamy complexion as it tightened and she snapped her eyes away from him.
“I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t marry Carlos, he would have killed you.”
Her words stole his breath and pressed down on his chest. It couldn’t be true. She wouldn’t take up with the known psychopath Jose Carlos—the infamous leader of the Knights, whose regard for women was notorious—to save him. Could she? His gut told him no but ice filled his heart at the thought it could be true.
“Why?” he said so quietly, as if to himself. He rubbed his temple with his hand.
Ava shifted position and took a step closer, reaching out to stroke his cheek. “I loved you. I knew to gain more information about the cartel, I needed to insert myself within the group. Harker, my boss in the FBI, even sanctioned it.”
Sitting in the blasted bed didn’t help as she poured out words that made his ugly past rear up in his face. Ella had changed everything, but he had been stupid to imagine his sins would be absolved or forgotten. He knew one day all his secrets would spill forth.
“In the beginning, flirting was okay. I was an undercover waitress and there were many parties. There were dozens of women there in training. But to gather more intel, I had to make an impression. Once I caught Jose’s attention, there was no turning back. He was my target, and I knew I was helping you gather information that would put him away. I wanted to help those women, too. I couldn’t do any of that unless I got closer. I didn’t know once I established a relationship it would lead to a marriage proposal. After our last meeting together, there was a shift in him. I panicked. He asked if I was seeing anyone. He threw some pictures at me. The only way he didn’t gun you down was because I mentioned you were a jealous ex-lover. The next day, he produced a ring.”
She dropped her hand to his and gripped his wrist. An enormous solitaire diamond sparkled at him.
The story couldn’t be true. He had heard that she had gone rogue and the next thing was that she had up and married the bloody cartel boss. Her hold tightened on his arm and he flashed a look at her long red nails. He was at a loss for words and for the first time in his life, he tried to read the woman’s aura before him. Josephine said he had abilities like she did. As he focused on her stance before him, nothing came to mind. All he could picture was a dense black fog. Looking at the glow, a nausea gripped him and he pulled away. He rubbed his face with his hands to clear his mind.
“I am very sorry to hear that your mother passed away, Marcus.”
Hearing her words, he shot around and drew his brows together, confused and stunned. It couldn’t be true. “What!” he barked. He pinned his gaze back at Jake and then at the doorway, where Ella stood, face pale.
“Ella wanted to wait until you were better,” Jake said.
He flashed a quick look at his friend, who was defending his wife who had yet to speak. But somewhere in his consciousness, just looking at Ella told him that Josephine was gone. Why hadn’t she been the one to tell him?
“Get out, both of you. Now!” he yelled.
Both Jake and Ava quickly exited the room, leaving him alone with Ella. The door closed and he counted down his anger. He pushed his legs over the edge of the hospital bed and tore off the white gauze bandage from his right thigh as he flexed the leg. The skin had healed to the point that the black sutures fell away. There was a small pink mark but as he moved there was no pain. His body needed exercise but as he took a deep breath, he couldn’t process how his body healed so fast. He swiped a glance at Ella, who stood inside the closed door with her arms folded; her eyes surveyed his naked chest. She was aroused and damn it all to hell, he couldn’t deny the raging need to claim and possess her that wove through his veins. Even so, he shoved his legs into his jeans and stood.
“I’m sorry, Marcus…” she began and he listened to everything she had to say. He pressed her as she halted to explain everything. As she recounted the day Josephine had the test at the hospital a week ago, he shook and wanted to smash something. He padded barefoot across the floor toward her, aware of her discomfort as she stared at the door. As she told him of Josephine’s message, the words washed over him like a spell. As she mentioned their baby, he wanted to block everything out.
“I can’t deal with all this right now.”
Ella nodded and he raked his hand back through his hair. He knew his tone was abrupt but he couldn’t stop the growing conflict inside his body. He needed her touch and yet he was angry too. He knew she was in a heightened state of need; he had seen the moon last night. Marcus watched her as she leaned toward the door.
“Look at me, Ella.” He reached for her arm. She swiveled back, sucking on her lower lip, which drove him crazy.
“I know the cycle of the moon and its effect on you. I can smell your arousal from here,” he said, his voice thick.
A darkness aimed at Ella grew tenfold. However, standing alone in the hospital room with the door closed and despite his displeasure as she explained her reasons for delaying the news, he couldn’t help but stare into her bright-blue eyes. Marcus flicked his gaze, studying her long, wavy, golden hair that he wanted to weave his hands through. Even wearing loose gray sweatpants that rested on her hips made her desirable. Her pale-pink T-shirt clung to her rounded breasts and fell to her navel, leaving the skin below bare. He ached to touch her. The acute awareness of her gripped his body, bringing his manhood painfully to life.
The desperate need to be buried deep inside her warmth consumed him. He wanted to hold and explore every inch of her delicate body. A frenzy swamped him, making him lose sight of his rage. The powerful, musky scent of Ella was an aphrodisiac. She was his. There were no more words to be said—not now.
“I need you,” he hissed.
An equal look of shock and passion flared in her powder-blue eyes; the pupils dilated and evaporated the color with her arousal.
He closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing their hips together to let her know his growing desire. He had never needed anyone the way he needed Ella. He groaned as her silky hot skin brushed over his torso.
“Marcus, not now. Not here.” She pressed her hands on his chest as if to push him away.
The animal in him growled. He moved his hands to her hips to mold her against his body, pressing his arousal at the juncture between her legs, and rocked into her. She wet her lips and he could feel the heat of her. He brushed her neck lightly with his lips and whispered low in her ear.
“Right here and right now. I know you need this as much as me,” he said, his voice hoarse.
He nudged her back against the wall and locked the door with one click. Knowing everyone could see into the room, he closed the blinds as he had no intention of drawing a crowd. His heartbeat thundered. There was little time but enough for what he needed and craved. Ella gripped his arm and her breasts crushed against him. Glancing down, he peered into her wide eyes, a mix of want and fear.
“You’re annoyed with me. Let’s take this home,” she said in a soft voice as she squeezed his arms.
He dipped his head and kissed the sensitive skin below her ear.
She shivered against him and her scent rose.
“You want this. Deny me if you can.”
He sucked the pale flesh, leaving purple marks for all to see that she belonged to him and him alone. Ella moaned and sagged into him. He coiled his arm around her waist to support her. Sensing the reluctance dissolving, he pushed on. Ella cupped the back of his neck, dragging him closer. The heat rose between them. Inside his body, an uncontrollable lust raged and he couldn’t hold back much longer.
He slipped his hand to her hip, sliding her loose sweatpants down, and gras
ped the edge of her silky thong to tear them from her. Ella cried out and he crushed her lips with his. Their lovemaking wasn’t going to be slow as his desire turned animalistic. Marcus pressed his hand down over her mound and found her velvety folds swollen and wet.
“You’re soaking, Ella. Don’t fight this need. Listen to your body. Tell me you want this.”
He buried his finger deep inside her hot core and she clung to him.
“Yes,” she said urgently.
Ella moved her hands, pressing into his back as if she couldn’t get close enough. The primal need to claim her right here escalated and he couldn’t wait any longer. He unbuttoned his jeans and in an instant, her hands were there to push them down, letting his erect cock spring free. As her pupils widened, he knew her frenzy for this coupling was as powerful as his.
“Wrap your leg around my waist.”
She didn’t hesitate and wove her long leg, clamping it around his waist. He hoisted her up and leaned her back into the wall as the tip of his cock probed her moist entrance. For a moment, he played and nudged the slick wetness, making her moan. When Ella lifted her head, and leaned it back into the wall, all restraint vanished. Marcus thrust his rigid manhood deep inside her deliciously tight channel in one swift motion.
“Ah,” she moaned.
As soon as he entered Ella, her muscles clamped tight around him, like a vise milking him, and waves of unbelievable pleasure assailed him. The sensation burst and wrapped him in an erotic and frenzied claiming. He thrust as deep as he could reach and pulled back, delighting in the glorious friction it created. Ella’s nails dug into his back and he loved that she was as lost as he was. Sex was always amazing between them. Unable to hold back, he thrust again and again. He rocked his hips, needing to obliterate everything outside of the two of them. Ella moaned and clung to him, pushing in tandem with his rhythm. God, this was heaven. He stared at the pulse in her neck that beat fast and he wanted more.