“Then why didn’t you come after me?” she stammered.
He stepped closer again, and this time she stood tall without retreating. “Truthfully, I couldn’t handle it. I got scared, if that’s actually fucking possible.” He half laughed. “I’m in control of every single part of my life. That’s a constant, but then you wandered in to my world and tipped it upside down.” He rubbed his hands over his face and scratched his coarse jaw.
“He took you because of the club. I had to protect you. Taking you back to my place was the only way, but it messed with my head. You slotted into my life like you were meant to be there. I shouldn’t have said those things to Mal…” his words trailed off.
She hugged herself tightly, protecting her heart. “I was intense, I get that. I was in a bad place and you let me leave. You totally cut me off. I stupidly thought we had something.” She looked away from his troubled face. “Just leave me alone, Marcus.”
His handsome features hardened in momentary defeat. “We do have something, beautiful. Something real. I feel it, Lana. No bullshit,” he insisted.
She swallowed hard.
“I’m sorry I bailed on you, beautiful.”
Silence swallowed them. Even though she was riddled with hurt and rejection, Lana couldn’t fathom why she desperately wanted him to hold her.
“It was a dick move. I should’ve listened to my heart and not my head. I thought you would be stronger without me.”
Her breathing hitched under the weight of his confession. “Are you serious? I told you I loved you, Marcus. You pretended like it didn’t happen.”
In one stride, he was inches from her melting heart. “Lana...”
She blinked wildly. “The time we spent together…was it just out of misplaced duty?” she dared to ask.
“I was trying to protect you, like I’ve tried to do from the second we met. Then it all went to shit. I doubted being the right guy for you. But you have to understand, when I put my lips to yours for the first time, something changed inside me.”
She fell into his hard chest and pressed her damp cheek to his smooth skin. His arms wrapped her shoulders and he grabbed the hair at her nape, yanking her head back. “Do you want Falcone?” he growled.
Her breathing stuttered. “No…I saw you hitting on the girl on the terrace,” she whimpered with a flush of foolishness on her rosy cheeks.
His teeth grazed the dip of her jugular. “Maria is Jamie’s solicitor. The girl has been after him for ages. He doesn’t mix business with pleasure, ever. I was playing along with her silly game. It was only brotherly banter. I’m sorry.”
Her lips lifted at the corners as his eyes flicked up to meet hers. “I thought Emilio bought me the beautiful dress I was wearing earlier. If I’m honest, a part of me liked his attention,” she admitted, hating how desperate it sounded.
His chin nudged upwards ever so slightly. “Did you like it? The dress?”
“Yes. Turns out he didn’t buy it for me.” She shrugged with a puzzled look on her face.
Marcus ran his fingers along her jaw and stopped at her chin, holding her gaze. “I know he didn’t buy it.” He brushed his lips across the tip of her nose.
“How?” she whispered.
“I couldn’t mess up the deal with Falcone. I knew he’d take it badly if I barged in and stole you from under his nose. So, I had to bide my time. Then the night I was in your bedroom, I saw what little clothes you had. I wanted to make you happy.” He paused. “And I wanted to see this sexy ass without being able to undress you.” He cupped her buttocks and squeezed.
Scrunching her brows together, she said, “Youbought it for me? It must have cost a fortune.”
“It was only a few thousand, a mere fraction of what your worth. Of what you mean to me.”
Her redundant broken heart jump started in her chest with each intoxicating kiss that fused the lonely pieces back together again. She melted into his strong protective embrace, and her soul relinquished to his seductive allure, happily dancing to the beat of his heart that played a melody just for her.
“I’ve missed you so much, but…how do I know you won’t cut me loose again? How can I trust you?” she mumbled as her lips clung to his.
“I can only promise you that I won’t run from this anymore.”
He thumbed her cheeks, taking her mouth with a tender kiss that was filled with promise, not like the passionate kisses she had come to expect from him. This one meant more to her than his words.
Their lips slowly separated. Her breathing became ragged shallow breathes. His arms held her close like he couldn’t let go. Holding her cheek to his taught pec, Lana listened to his words rumble in his chest.
“This is what I should have done when you were leaving. I should have held on to you and never let go.”
