Temptation

by Hart, Romi

  She needed to get home, try to figure out what was going on. She couldn't call Marc; he'd be boarded on the plane by now. But if she didn't talk to him now, what would she say to him face to face? She needed to think rationally, consider the possibilities, but she couldn't even know if the reporter had told the truth or not. For all she knew, the story was a ploy to start rumors.

  "You can't run from this, Miss Brighton!" the reporter called out, winded and farther away now. "It's going to be big news. It might help if you had something to say now."

  "You want me to say something? Fuck off!" Reesa cried as she hailed a taxi. The driver pulled over and she slammed into the car before the woman could catch up. "Hell's Kitchen," she told him. It wasn't the right direction for home, but it would take her to Kylie's. She doubted the harassing lady would move fast enough to follow, and she could bet no one had Kylie's address. Let the bitch come for her at Marc's or her own apartment. They could bang on the door till the neighbor's complained. She wouldn't be there to answer.

  Unfortunately, the woman had a point. If all of this was real, Reesa couldn't run from it. She would have to face it sooner or later. First, though, she had to decide what she believed. Her heart told her Marc wasn't capable of something so heinous, especially since he'd vowed never to hurt her. Cheating would tear her apart, and this was worse than cheating.

  But her heart had been wrong before. Ethan had her just as fooled, and she hadn't given anyone a chance to do the same since. Until Marc. How could she let herself risk something like this? Maybe he'd been playing her all along, having affairs on the road every chance he got. Maybe, when they talked on the phone, he had a woman sleeping beside him.

  She started imagining wild frat style parties, with Marc screwing random women against the wall in the hallway, music thumping so loud no one could hear the girls' cries as they came with him. It suited the image the media painted of him much better than the persona he'd presented to her. Reesa knew they could twist things terribly; they'd obviously done it with her story. But Reesa also knew there was usually an element of truth to the stories, something that prompted the sensationally embellished tales. And more often than not, people didn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

  By the time she reached Kylie's apartment, Reesa had worked herself into a frenzy. She pulled out her phone to call and make sure her friend was home, noting that she'd missed several calls from Kylie. Her heart sank, the repeated calls confirming the truth of the allegations. Her best friend must have seen the story on the news and called, concerned.

  Tossing some cash at the driver, Reesa abandoned the phone call and bounded up three flights of stairs, slamming her fist against Kylie's door over and over until her friend opened it. She practically fell into her best friend's arms, the tears bursting forth immediately as she let the weight of the situation really settle in.

  "I don't believe a word of it," Kylie whispered soothingly, rubbing a hand over her back. "And I'm sure Jordan will confirm it."

  Reesa shook her head, sniffling. "Jordan would say anything to keep Marc out of trouble. And honestly, I don't even know the whole story. I just heard basic accusations from a damn reporter who wanted a statement. But people don't point that sort of finger lightly. What am I going to do, Kylie?"

  Kylie took hold of her shoulders and held her away, giving her the most solemn expression Reesa had ever seen on her face. "Do you love him?"

  "More than anything." Her heart ached, and she felt the world around her shattering like a mirror that had reflected a dream rather than reality.

  "Then, you listen to what he has to say and make up your mind. You know him, Reesa. You can't make snap judgments based on a stupid woman who probably wants to get revenge on all men for some wrong she suffered at someone else's hand. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation, and Marc was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

  "But why? Why would he be in a position where someone could even make such a claim?" She didn't want to think about the circumstances.

  "We'll have to wait and see." With an arm around her waist, Kylie guided her into the living room and sat her down on the sofa. "I can't get Jordan on the phone, so they're probably in the air right now. All we can do is wait. I'm going to get some ice cream, and we're going to have a pity party for a little while, eating our woes that you're in this predicament for whatever reason. I'll tell you what I know. Then, we're going to watch something funny to get our minds off it till we can get some answers."

  Dejectedly, Reesa nodded. Chocolate ice cream did make her feel better, and Kylie had a whole pint, just for her. She listened while Kylie ran through what details there were. According to the news, Monique Carson had been at a local bar where the team was hanging out last night. She'd been drinking with Marc, and things had gotten heated. They'd been making out, and when he tried to take it further, she'd turned him down. He'd gotten violent, beating her and sexually assaulting her. Supposedly, she'd gone straight to the police station to file charges, and the only reason the police hadn't arrested Marc was because they didn't have DNA evidence yet.

  It didn't sound like the Marc she knew, but Reesa couldn't let it slide. She had to keep her guard up now, not letting her emotions control her. "I'll listen to what he has to say," she said cautiously, feeling her world crumbling around her. "But I have a terrible feeling about this."

  Kylie placed a comforting hand on her knee. "As much as you don't want your judgment clouded by your feelings for Marc, you can't let the fear Ethan beat into you make your decisions, either. You need to wipe the slate clean so you can draw reasonable conclusions."

  "What would you think?" She asked, tears rolling down her cheeks again.

  "Honestly? I'd trust my heart. I would look into his eyes when he talked to me and trust what I saw there." She offered an encouraging smile.

  But Reesa felt far from reassured. Her heart had gotten her into trouble before. It was the last part of her body she wanted to trust.

  Chapter 11

  She'd expected her phone to ring as soon as Marc hit the airport, or at least after he'd tried to find her at home and her apartment. But Reesa had yet to hear from him, and she'd verified that his plane landed nearly two hours earlier. Would he really avoid her like a coward?

  A knock at the door had her even less hopeful. Likely, that would be Jordan, coming to see Kylie, and it would mean she needed to leave before she felt like an intruder. She stood to gather her things, but Kylie told her to sit down. "I don't want to be a fifth wheel."

  "You won't," Kylie told her. "That's Marc at the door."

  Reesa's jaw dropped. "How..." She couldn't even finish the question.

  "I texted Jordan and told him that Marc needed to get his ass over here as quickly as possible because he had some explaining to do." Reesa started to protest, but Kylie shook her head. "This is neutral ground, and Jordan and I will go down to the 24-hour diner and have some coffee. If you need us, we're a phone call away, and we can be here in two minutes. Good luck."

  Before Reesa could respond, Kylie flung the door open. Marc stood there, looking haggard. He leaned against the door frame, hulking in it, his eyes sunken in and ringed with black. His face was puffy and red, and his shoulders slumped heavily, as if he carried a ten-ton brick on his back. Jordan hung behind, almost timid, like a shadow.

  Stepping aside so Marc could enter, Reesa glared at him. "Good luck," she muttered, sliding past him and into Jordan's waiting arms. Reesa probably wasn't meant to hear the exchange, but the room had fallen eerily silent when the men arrived. Even her heart and lungs stilled, leaving her cold and empty as she finally allowed herself to meet Marc's gaze. She steeled herself and stood, though she still flinched slightly when the door clicked closed, leaving her alone with him.

  Panic tried to take her, not allowing her to resume breathing, and she fought it. The Marc she knew wouldn't hurt her. And the Marc this Monique woman accused him of being would have to be royally stupid to attack her now, with potential
charges over his head. She didn't have to worry about that, not tonight.

  "Reesa, I'm sorry," he said, shoving his hand through an unruly head of hair. His voice was gravelly, as if his throat was raw from an emotional roller coaster. "I'm so sorry. First of all, I should have called and told you about this myself. I'd hoped the lies wouldn't make it out before I got home to warn you."

  She scoffed. "Fat chance. You know, I didn't even see it on television, or on the internet. I got smacked in the face with it by a reporter waiting for me outside my building at work." She had been so angry, but the words came out with no feeling behind them at all.

  Marc's face was a mask of guilt. "I hate that you went through that."

  She took a deep breath and sighed, growing impatient. "Just tell me what happened, Marc. I don't have the strength to drag this out all night. Is it true? Did you hurt that woman? Rape her?" The words felt foreign and disgusting coming out of her mouth, and she shuddered, stepping back to put more space between them. There was already a good eight feet, but it didn't feel like enough.

  "Of course it's not true!" he told her vehemently. "Did you even believe I was capable of something like that before you knew me?"

  Reesa shrugged, ignoring the anguish and pleas in his eyes. "I can't trust my judgment, Marc. You know that. I've failed in the past. And I don't know how good of an actor you are. Maybe all of this has been an attempt to fool the world. Hell, maybe you're really trying to change who you are. I don't know. But I'm giving you a chance to explain what happened. How could you even put yourself in a spot that gave a woman a chance to accuse you of something like this?"

  Taking one long stride, Marc fell into the armchair that faced the couch she stood by. He covered his face with his hands and sat there, trembling for a moment. When he looked up at her finally, there were unshed tears turning his eyes into liquid pools. "I don't know what happened to her, Reesa, I swear. She inserted herself into the group at the bar, and I stepped aside. So did Jordan. Some of the others were teasing and flirting, and we watched and laughed. Then, she came to me, tried to get my attention. I was polite, but I told her she needed to pay attention to the news more because I was in a relationship. She waved it off, and I had to get more insistent.

  "Finally, she seemed to accept it, and she tried her hand with Jordan. He gave her the same story, even though he's somehow managed to keep things private up till now. She said goodnight and walked away. I swear, that was the last I saw of her, Reesa. I had another drink and went back to the hotel. Jordan and Tyler came with me."

  She narrowed her eyes at him. "You've got to be leaving something out. If you had someone with you the whole time, you could have given an alibi, and the police would have dismissed the allegations."

  "I went to the bathroom a couple of times. That was all. The rest of the night, there was someone to witness everything I did." He sounded so hopeless, so exhausted, that Reesa almost went to comfort him. But she still didn't trust her instincts. "Please believe me, Reesa. I would never hurt you, especially like this. You know I'm not a violent person. I've never laid a hand on you."

  That much was true. But her doubt got the best of her. "I don't know, Marc. I know how men are. I know how easy it is to lose control when you've been drinking. I've seen it with my own eyes, experienced it firsthand. I don't know what to think."

  "Then don't think," he said, shoving to his feet. He cut the distance between them in half instantly, and Reesa forced herself not to retreat. His stance, his features, everything implored her not to believe the accusations. "Just feel, Reesa. I need you to get through this. Together, we can do this. I don't know if I can face it alone."

  She bit her lip, tasted the salt of her sorrows. She had to look away, break eye contact. His green orbs, usually filled with light and sparking with strength, had gone dull and lifeless, mirroring her own feelings. She didn't want to turn her back on him, but her fear consumed her. What if she was wrong? What if she gave him the benefit of the doubt, and DNA came back to prove him a liar? An abuser? A rapist?

  She couldn't fathom living through such humiliation and devastation. Reesa had barely survived her last relationship with a man who couldn't keep his hands off her, and she had the skeletons in the closet to prove it. Her feelings for Marc were rooted even deeper than what she'd felt for Ethan. To have those ripped from her soul...

  She'd have no reason to live.

  It was better to cut ties now, save herself a modicum of pain and try to pick up the pieces, repair the damage now before it wiped away every shred of dignity she had. Her last remaining hope for humanity. She opened her mouth to talk to him, but her bottom lip quivered, and she had to press her lips together to make it stop.

  Coming closer, Marc held out his hands, palms up. "I love you, Reesa. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Nothing is more important to me, except your happiness. And if you can't be with me and be happy, I understand. But I beg you to give me a chance here. I can prove it."

  She crossed her arms over her chest, halfway hugging herself as she stared him down. "How can you do that?"

  "The DNA," he said, suddenly more confident. "I gave them a swab, and when the DNA comes back, it'll prove I didn't do this."

  Reesa frowned. "It might prove you didn't rape her. But it doesn't prove anything else."

  His expression darkened, and when he spoke, his voice was barely audible. "Do you really think I could beat a woman? Is that how you see me, after all this time?"

  "No, but..." But what? What could she say? She'd told him she wouldn't make him suffer the backlash from her past, and yet, here she stood, accusing him of the same kind of violence she'd suffered. Did she really think him capable of injuring someone in such a way? Her arms fell to her sides, and her shoulders curled in on her as she hung her head. "I don't know what to think anymore."

  Marc didn't speak for a long time. Then, when he did, he asked a question. "Do you love me?"

  Her head snapped up, and she met his gaze with a fierce one of her own. "Yes, Marc, I love you. But love is blind. I've proven that." Her demons tore at her, clawed at her skin, telling her not to trust him or any other men. But her heart begged her to wait, to really assess the situation for what it was. She needed to focus on the here and now, which was a stark contrast to her former experience. "I want to believe you," she admitted softly. "But I--"

  She was cut off by his phone ringing. Marc cursed loudly and frowned at the caller ID. Then, his brows went up to his hairline, and he held up a finger, asking her to wait. Glancing at the screen, she saw the area code was a Washington phone number. He answered it on speaker, and she chewed her bottom lip, waiting to hear who was at the other end. "This is Marc."

  "Mr. Winters, this is Detective Julian Marshall of the Seattle Police Department."

  "Hello, Detective. What can I do for you?" he asked.

  The man chuckled, and Reesa felt hope blossoming in her chest. "Honestly, Mr. Winters, I first want to thank you for all you've done. Your cooperation has really assisted in making our investigation move swiftly and smoothly. But I also called to inform you that the results of the DNA tests have come in."

  A smile spread across Marc's face, and suddenly, Reesa knew. In her heart, she knew without a doubt that Marc was innocent. She didn't need to hear the rest. His reaction spoke volumes. Still, she didn't move, frozen in place, as Marc said, "That's good news."

  "For you? Yes, it is. Obviously, you've been cleared by the results. That includes the scrapings under the victim's nails. We've actually found a match in our system for the alleged assailant. I'm not at liberty to speak on it at this time, but suffice it to say you are cleared of any charges, and we'll be speaking to the victim. You can likely expect a statement of false accusations to be released soon."

  Marc's eyes glowed, his grin splitting his face, and Reesa shook so hard she had to sit down. "Thank you, Detective. I appreciate everything you've done."

  "You, too, Mr. Winters. I wish you and your girlfr
iend the best. We may contact you again for a statement regarding the events prior to the...incident." He emphasized the words, and Reesa wondered what really happened that made him sound so callous about it. "And we may also come back to you, if you'd like to press charges for defamation of character."

  But Marc was already shaking his head. "No, I don't want to do that. I'm sure the embarrassment will be punishment enough."

  "Very well, Mr. Winters. Goodnight." The phone went dead, and Marc looked down at her, his face filled with relief and excitement.

  But now, Reesa's heart ached for another reason. "I owe you an apology, Marc." She'd really struggled with the idea of his innocence, when she should have taken his side from the start. "I should have trusted you. You're everything you said you were, and I still tried to turn you into the villain. How can you possibly want to be with me now?"

  Marc dropped to his knees in front of her. "Reesa, don't do this. Your past has made it so hard for you. Ethan tried to ruin you, and you still managed to survive and become an amazing person. And you were terrified of me," he added, mirth in his voice. "But you gave me a chance because you have a good, solid heart. I saw the doubt in your eyes, even when you told me you couldn't believe me. I know you'll never doubt me again."

  Reesa swallowed a sob. "How do you know? How can you give me that kind of credit?"

  He caressed her cheek with his hand, and she felt the adoration seeping into her skin, warming her. "Because I love you. And love may be blind, but it also conquers all."

  She had to laugh, and she leaned in, kissing him, drawing sustenance from his strength. It was a sad, desperate kiss at first, but it heated quickly, making her toes curl as it grew passionate. Her lips parted, and Marc took advantage of the opening. She welcomed the taste of him, let her tongue dance with his as she thought of how their bodies connected with the same eagerness.

  Reesa didn't even realize she'd parted her knees until he leaned between them, his chest and stomach warm between her thighs and enticing the moisture to gather in her core until it overflowed. She panted into his mouth, her body igniting with a fire the likes of which she'd never experienced. She would either melt or burst into flames if she didn't get her clothes off.