I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear the fog from my head. The room was unfamiliar, and it took a moment for the memories to come flooding back. Marcus… his penthouse… last night. I groaned and stretched my sleep-heavy limbs, my fingers brushing against cool, empty sheets.
“Marcus?” I called out hesitantly, biting my bottom lip as silence answered me. Confusion swirled in my chest, forming a small ball of panic. Had something bad happened to Marcus? Another attack.
That was stupid. If there had been an emergency, he would have woken me. Not just left me alone.
Oh. Left me alone.
Just finished with me, perhaps. My heart sank. Last night had been insane. Terrifying and exciting. Erotic and emotional. But maybe just for me. For Marcus, it might have been normal. Or worse, disappointing.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, feeling the plush carpet beneath my feet. “Get a grip, Olivia,” I muttered under my breath, forcing myself out of bed and wrapping a silk robe that was draped over the foot of the bed around me.
The bathroom door was slightly ajar, and as I pushed it open, my breath caught in my throat. There, in the steamy confines of the glass shower, was where Marcus had gone down on me with such fervor that I could barely stand.
A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I recalled the deliciously carnal moments we’d shared. For just a brief moment, I allowed myself to indulge in the memory – the taste of his mouth, the feel of his hands, the sound of our mingled moans echoing off the tiles.
After a long moment of delicious reflection, I shook my head, trying to clear away the enticing thoughts. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by lust when there were so many unanswered questions swirling in my mind.
My gaze fell upon Marcus’s discarded shirt, crumpled on the bathroom floor. A scuff mark marred the fabric and a dark stain caught my eye – was that blood? I shuddered, recalling the chaos and violence at Club Desire, how Marcus had handled it all with an unsettling ease. Daylight showed his world to be much less alluring than it had seemed in the dark.
“Enough,” I whispered to myself, steeling my resolve. I smoothed my hair back from my face, tightened the robe’s belt around me, and continued my search for Marcus into the hallway, determined to settle this, once and for all.
The sound of grunting and metal clanging led me to a bright, glass-walled atrium, where the sun glowed behind Marcus. Shirtless and glistening with sweat, he was lifting weights with a fierce intensity. His broad shoulders flexed and strained as he hoisted the massive barbell above his head, his powerful arms trembling slightly with each repetition.
God, he’s beautiful, I thought, my breath hitching in my throat. The sight of his muscles rippling beneath his damp, tattooed skin left me momentarily speechless, my earlier resolve wavering.
A soft moan escaped my lips before I could stop it, and Marcus’s attention snapped to me. He lowered the weight with a final grunt and stood up, his green eyes locking onto mine.
“Olivia,” he said, his voice deep and warm. “I’m glad you’re awake. I’ve got some exciting news for you.” He strode towards me with the predatory grace of a lion, stopping just close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body.
“News?” I asked hesitantly, my heart pounding in my chest.
Marcus wiped the sweat from his brow and explained, “I found a position for you at the law firm I keep on retainer. They’ve offered to let you work remotely, and I’m willing to give you one of the apartments on the floor below this one so you’ll have your own space.” He paused, then added, “Given what your rent was for that terrible apartment you’re living in, this is a much better solution — nicer, safer, and free.”
All the air went out of the room. I blinked, sure I must have misheard him. I scanned back through his words. Nope, he’d said what I thought he’d said.
“Are you out of your mind?” I blurted out, my shock overruling any lingering desire. “We just met, and now you want me to live and work with you? How do you even know what my rent is? Never mind, I don’t care. There’s no answer that doesn’t make you a lunatic.”
“Think of it as an opportunity, Olivia,” Marcus replied coolly.
“Opportunity? No, this is madness!” I cried, shaking my head.
It was a dramatic and romantic gesture, if we’d been dating for months. But after one night together? Absolute madness. “Marcus,” I began, struggling to find the right words. “That’s… a very generous offer. But don’t you think it’s a bit much? We barely know each other.”
His green eyes bored into mine, filled with a determination that unnerved me. “This is how we can get to know each other. I want you close, Olivia. Close and safe. It’s a perfect solution.”
“That’s not a solution at all. You can’t just decide to control every aspect of my life like this and call it problem solving.”
“Control?” he asked, his face a mixture of confusion and irritation. “I’m offering you a better life. A chance to escape that shithole apartment. To work in a prestigious law firm. To be with me. Don’t be too proud to accept help.”
“By invading my privacy and making decisions for me without even asking? That’s not help, Marcus. That’s… possession,” I said, my blood boiling.
Marcus took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest, eyes narrowing. “You were more than happy to have me take care of you last night, Olivia.”
“Enough!” I said before he could continue. “I get it. You’re used to getting what you want. But I am not a company for you to acquire. I’m a person. With my own life. You’re practically a stranger. And, I’m pretty sure, a criminal.”
His face changed with my words. A mask of blankness, but I’d seen a hint of the rage underneath. And something else that might have been hurt.
I turned around and walked away from him, making my way back to the bedroom. In part to find my clothes, but more to keep from seeing the look in his eyes.
“Olivia, ” Marcus said from behind me. “Calm down.”
“I am calm.” I kept walking, gathering my belongings.
“We’re not done talking,” he said.
“I know. But I need to get dressed.” Tears filled my eyes. “Please, just give me a minute.”
Marcus sighed and held up his hands. “Fine. I’ll be in the kitchen. We can have coffee and talk like rational people.”
That seemed ironic coming from the man acting crazy, but I let it go for the moment.
I shut and locked the doors to the bathroom. Just in case. I washed up as best I could, wrestled my hair into looking semi-presentable and put my clothes on. After a series of deep breaths, I was as ready as I was ever going to be. I grabbed the robe I’d borrowed and left the bathroom.
Heading over to the kitchen, I could hear Marcus… humming? I bit back a laugh. Maybe I’d been too hard on him. The offer he’d made was nuts, but it seemed to come from a genuine place. Could anyone who hummed making coffee be that bad? I was an adult now, time to stop looking at things so simplistically.
And when I entered the room, seeing him again brought back the flood of emotions from last night. He’d been so passionate. And tender. And demanding. And patient. A man of contradictions that worked so well in the bedroom, why couldn’t it be the same outside of it?
I gathered my thoughts before speaking, not wanting to argue. “Marcus, I’m sorry if I was rude before. I didn’t mean to be. You just surprised me.”
“I understand,” he replied, setting out two mugs on the breakfast bar. “Sit. Let’s talk.”
I perched on the edge of a stool and held out the robe. “I didn’t see a hamper. Where should I leave this?”
Marcus chuckled. “Wherever. The cleaning crew takes care of all of that.”
I nodded, looking down at the robe, feeling suddenly awkward. “Wouldn’t have pegged you for a silk robe kind of guy.”
He shrugged. “I’m not. I keep them around for guests.”
Guests? Guests. As in the other women he brought home to try out as pets. This was just his routine. It all started to make sense. “Of course,” I said. Anger and embarrassment filled me. Here I thought this man was an obsessed weirdo. Nope, just a typical jerk with more money than most.
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “I was just kidding about the–“
“Save it,” I spat, my anger fueling me now. I dropped the robe on the floor and stood up. “See you around, Marcus.”
“Stop!” he barked, his voice commanding and sharp. It would have made me freeze in place if not for the fire burning inside me, the frustration at being treated like a toy he just wanted to keep playing with until he got bored and moved onto the next one.
“No,” I replied darkly, feeling the lingering heat of his gaze on my back as I passed him. I was seeing everything clearly for the first time, and I never wanted to see Marcus Moore again.
“Olivia, wait,” he called after me, his voice softer and kinder now. But I couldn’t afford to listen, couldn’t let myself be drawn back in by his bullshit.
I sprinted out of the penthouse and into the elevator, jabbing at the button for the ground floor. My chest heaved with each breath, my entire body trembling from the intensity of our confrontation, blinking back tears I refused to shed.
“Shit,” I whispered to myself as the doors slid shut, feeling the weight of my decision settling on my shoulders. What a naïve fool I’d been. No longer. I was going back to my real, normal, safe life. This was the end.