“You couldn’t even help yourself, Lana,” he snarled. “You’re alive and that’s the main thing. I couldn’t deal with another woman I care about dying.”
“Like your mother?”
He pressed his lips to hers in a quick kiss. “Get some sleep, Lana.”
“What happened to her, to your mother?” She felt his sharp intake of air and noted how his body went rigid.
He slumped an arm over his closed eyes. “Now’s not the time to talk about her.”
“Okay,” she said politely. “Maybe another time.” Her voice thickened.
Marcus sighed. His eyes pulled open and he lifted his head to reposition the pillow. “Aren’t you tired?”
Hell, was she tired. All she wanted to do was sleep, to slip under the covers and screen herself from the black silhouettes, but the nightmares waited for her, every damn time.
“I’m exhausted,” she admitted.
He threw her a sideward glance as she shuffled beside him and her knee brushed over his cock. “It’s all a bit raw, Lana. After what happened to you. When you were in the hospital, it brought back memories of when she died. It’s hard for me to talk about it, so I don’t.”
Details were important to her. Lana had stumbled into his life, she was part of his present, but she yearned to know the details of his past. She wanted to learn the story of the man before her and find out what paths he faced to make him her hero.
“It’s okay if you can’t open up.” Her tone dropped with obvious disappointment.
His shoulders tensed and his lungs visibly deflated. “My mother was killed.” His voice cracked in a hoarse whisper.
She absorbed his warmth, holding her breath for his gravelly voice to give her a glimpse into his soul. A shadow passed behind his eyes like shutters were preparing to fall and lock the past away. His nails dragged across his stubble.
“She was killed by a drunk driver on her way home from work.” He paused to clear his throat. “I had a bad dose of chicken pox, the worst of it had eased. She had to work a late shift at the bar - I was pissed that she left me. She called during a break, and I begged her to come home. I was a stupid selfish kid. We needed the money, but she got the rest of her shift covered and left. The drunken scumbag went through a red light and hit her car side on. She didn’t stand a chance.” His husky voice faltered. “Worst of all, he’d been having an affair and was rushing home to his wife after being with some random woman at the bar.” Marcus dropped his chin.
Now Lana understood. “And Verto Veneri is a place for couples to have consensual affairs, without lies and deceit?” She cupped his cheek. “Did you start up Verto Veneri to stop married couples sneaking around?”
He gave a crisp nod. “Pretty much. A safe place for them to fulfil their fantasies without ruining their lives, or anyone else’s.”
“Was it just you and Jamie after that? What about your father?”
“Jamie was young. The little guy was crushed. He had these big fucking brown eyes that tugged at my heart strings.” A laugh bubbled in his throat. “The kid followed me around everywhere. Seriously, he was lost without her. And it was my fault. I was like his only anchor, and in a way, he was mine. Our dad fell apart. Threw himself into his job and worked around the clock to bring in extra cash. It was tough for a few years.” His shoulders raised in a negligible movement that agitated the velvet headboard. “I worked my way up the food chain and became the business man I am today. When Jamie was sixteen, I taught him about business and we’ve worked together as the fucking million-dollar dream team ever since.” His eyes gleamed with pride.
He brushed her lips with his thumb, dragging her bottom lip downwards. “Little did I know that my club would introduce me to the hottest girl in the world.”
A soft groan gusted from her mouth. Her eyes closed, savouring his touch, trusting his actions completely.
His fingers dropped to the locks of hair resting on her shoulders. She lowered her head and smoothed her palm over his heart, tracing the black ink.
“You make me feel safe, Marcus.”
10
It escaped him how the sexy tone of her voice had teased his limited self-control.
When she gave him the green light, he lost track of right and wrong. He needed to hear her scream his name, he wanted her to think about him, and only him.
Afterwards, he failed to mention that his mother’s death had put him off relationships for life. Looking after Jamie had been a challenge.
He stressed every fucking day about the kid getting knocked down or drinking too much booze and falling into the lakes. He thought when Jamie got older, the worry would ease, but it just plateaued.
Nowadays, they are best friends, but responsibility still weighs heavily. Their father had retired and wasn’t the man he used to be. Another obligation could just tip the fucking scale and knock him off balance.
Regardless, Marcus had welcomed Lana back to Fermanagh without much thought of where it would lead to. The urge to keep her safe was like a flesh-eating virus, spreading through his heart and making him crazy. Lana was under his roof and his for as long as he wanted her.
