by Faye Avalon
“Fine. I just didn’t expect to see you today.” She smiled at him, determined not to let him think his arrival was anything but a pleasant surprise. “How come Roscoe gets a welcome and I don’t?”
He looked at her steadily, making nerves dance along her spine. Then she let out a breath as he reached for her. She wrapped the hand that wasn’t holding onto Roscoe’s leash around his neck as he pulled her close, and sank into the kiss.
Tongues tangled, teeth clashed as they stood outside her cottage in a quiet country lane embracing like two lovers reunited after months apart. By the time Beth drew away they were both breathless.
His hands grabbed her ass. “Where are your keys?”
She placed her free hand on his chest. “I can’t. I’m on shift and I don’t think my employer would take too kindly to a member of staff enjoying a quickie in work time.”
“Who said anything about it being a quickie?”
His sexy grin always undid her. She ran her fingers over the exposed V of his neck. “As much as I’d love to say yes, I really can’t. I’ve got to get Roscoe back and then I’m on pen cleaning duty.”
“Such a glamorous existence,” he quipped and made her smile. Then his expression turned serious. “I want to see you tonight.”
“You’ve got that charity function, remember?”
He looked like a man who’d just been handed a life sentence. “How could I forget? Amber keeps phoning every damn minute to make sure I remembered to collect my tux.”
Oh, did she? Didn’t she have better things to do, like remind her fiance to collect his tux? Hell. She was turning into a jealous shrew. What was the matter with her? “And have you?” Beth asked, her chin tilted into the air. “Collected your tux?”
Again that steady look, but he didn’t release her. “It’s in the back of my car.” He squeezed her ass. “I want you to come with me.”
“What? To the formal?”
“I figure if I’m going to suffer, you can too.”
A little frisson played along her spine. She wasn’t overly comfortable at formal functions, but the thought of spending the evening with Marco was almost too much to refuse. She imaged how he’d look in a tuxedo. She imagined how he’d look when she got him out of it. Wow. It was almost too hard to resist. But she hadn’t attended a fancy occasion for years and wasn’t entirely comfortable with all that dancing and proper dining.
“I—I don’t have anything to wear.” The closest she came to smart wear was the number she’d worn on their first date and that would be woefully lacking amongst all the female glitterati in their finery.
“Come on,” Marco encouraged. “We’ll get the chance to show off our salsa moves.” When she continued to prevaricate, he pulled her close and touched his mouth to hers. “I want to spend the evening with you, Beth. Then I want to take you home with me and fuck you senseless for the whole damn night.”
Hell. She wanted that too and the thought of it dissolved the last of her resistance. “What time would I need to be ready?”
His smile was worth the couple of hours she’d spend deliberating over what the hell to wear. “I’ll call for you at seven.”
“Seven? My shift doesn’t finish until six.”
He kissed her long and hard. “Seven.”
“Why don’t I come to your bar? It seems ridiculous you coming all the way out here. You’ll only have to drive me back later.”
“I won’t be driving you back later. One whole night of fucking you senseless, remember?”
How could she forget? Her pussy was already anticipating his invasion, her blood already heating at the prospect of feeling his hands on her, his mouth. She wanted to return the favor, run her hands all over him, let her mouth cover every inch of his flesh. “Okay. Seven. I’ll be ready.”
He released her, but took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Me, too.” He gave her another long kiss, then bent down to rub Roscoe who had settled on his side for a nap.
Beth watched him stroll back to his car and get inside.
He started the ignition and rolled down the window as she walked up to the side of the car.
“Marco?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m glad you decided to take a drive out into the country, and even gladder you found that hot woman.”
He winked at her and drove off.
Chapter Eight
Despite her fears, Beth didn’t feel at all out of place in the wide-legged black trousers and sequined halter top she’d borrowed from one of the girls at the Center. The Annual Charity Ball hosted by a group of prestigious companies scattered along the south coast attracted the local bigwigs and celebrities, and Beth was enjoying herself.
She had been from the moment she’d opened the door to Marco. His appreciative “wow” had shot her confidence into the stratosphere. She knew she looked good, but nerves had danced from the moment she’d accepted his invitation.
Beth liked Ethan from the start and delighted in the way he’d swept her into a dramatic dip and kissed her cheek when they’d been introduced. Despite herself, she warmed to Amber, too. The woman had done everything to make Beth feel like part of their small group of eight at the table. The remaining couples were friends of Marco’s and Ethan’s and were equally amiable.
While she liked Amber, during the meal she couldn’t help watching how she interacted with Marco. She hated herself for it, but couldn’t seem to stop. But when nothing untoward presented itself, except for Marco’s relentless teasing of both her and Amber, Beth decided to let it go and enjoy herself.
Marco outshone her expectations of how he’d look in his tuxedo. His dark Mediterranean heritage seemed more prevalent against the crisp white dress shirt, his eyes darker, sexier somehow.
He leaned across the table as coffee was served. “A couple of dances and we can be out of here.”
“You’re not enjoying yourself?”
She fluttered her eyelashes innocently and his mouth kicked up at one corner. “I’ll be enjoying myself more when I get you naked and underneath me.”
“Shh.” Beth glanced around the table, but thankfully nobody seemed to have heard. “You’re always doing that.”
“What?” Marco leaned closer and placed one arm across the back of her chair. “Doing what?”
“Making suggestive remarks in the hope someone will hear.”
“As long as you hear me, I don’t give a damn if anyone else does.”
“Exactly.” Beth sat primly, enjoying the way it made him lean even closer. “So you can lower your tone please.”
“Suitably reprimanded,” he said with a grin, then pressed his mouth to the spot on her neck below her ear that always made her go weak.
“Marco.”
“Beth,” he parodied as his mouth brushed her ear. “When I get you in my bed, I’m going to strip you naked. Slowly. So slowly that you’ll be begging. For my mouth. For my cock.”
“Marco. For heaven’s sake.” But she was smiling now, too.
“First there’ll be licking. My tongue needs to taste every damn inch of you. It’ll be sliding its way along that beautiful slit of yours, delving into your sweet pussy to lick every drop of cream.”
Beth shifted in her seat, his words pushing fire into her blood and setting her alight. “You’re not having all your own way tonight,” she warned him softly. “My mouth has plans, too.”
His low groan made her feel powerful and she turned to look into his eyes. Oh, yes. She was definitely falling for him.
“I’m heading to the ladies’ room, Beth.” Amber’s voice came from behind her. “Want to join me?”
Beth almost jumped in her seat, so deeply entrenched in the scenario Marco had relayed to her that she hadn’t been aware Amber had moved. “Sure. Of course.”
She stood and felt Marco’s hand slide covertly over her ass. She didn’t dare look at him, because she knew she’d see mischief sparkling in his eyes and right then she wasn’t sure she’d be able
to stop herself from grabbing him and yanking him away from the damn function so they could get naked as soon as practically possible.
Amber slipped her hand through Beth’s arm as they walked across the dance floor toward the cloakrooms. “Enjoying yourself?”
Beth glanced at Amber and smiled. “Very much. You?”
“I always enjoy these things. Especially now I’ve got Ethan into a tuxedo. He looks pretty hot. Marco scrubs up well in his too, don’t you think?”
Beth forced a smile and pushed down the returning resentment toward Amber. “You look lovely,” she said changing the subject before her eyes began shooting daggers at the woman for her remarks about Marco. “That dress is gorgeous. It really brings out the color of your eyes.”
“Thanks.” Amber pushed open the door to the ladies’ room, and glanced back at Beth. “I love your outfit, too. Very elegant. Like you.”
The quiet compliment warmed Beth and made her feel lousy for having had such negative feelings toward Amber. “It’s borrowed, I’m afraid. I don’t actually possess anything suitable for something as grand as this bash. If I’d had more notice, I’d have splashed out.”
Amber gave her a sideways glance as they placed their evening bags on the counter. “Sorry. That’s probably my fault. I should have encouraged Marco to ask you when you two first got together. I honestly thought he’d get there before I had to prompt him.”
Beth’s hairbrush froze in her hand. She looked at Amber who was busily applying lip gloss. “You told him to ask me?”
In the mirror, Amber met Beth’s gaze. “Oh, not exactly.” She screwed on the top of her lip gloss and popped it back in her bag. “Shit. I could have phrased that better. Marco didn’t want to come and was pulling out every stop to squirm out of it. I flatly refused to let him do that, so I thought if he asked you he might be more agreeable to attending.” She held Beth’s narrowed gaze. “He was.”
Beth gave her hair a light brush, then put the brush back in her bag. “Maybe Marco prefers to make his own decisions.” Damnation. That sounded bitchy even to her ears.
Amber placed a hand on Beth’s arm. “I’m really sorry if I’ve upset you.”
“You haven’t upset me. It’s just that you seem to have an awful lot of sway where Marco’s concerned. I know he had a thing for you. It doesn’t make it easy.”
“I’m not sure I have that much sway, but even if I have, Marco’s pretty besotted with you.” Amber glanced around the empty ladies’ room, but lowered her voice anyway. “What happened between us was fabulous and I’ve never regretted it for a moment. But it’s over. As soon as I realized I loved Ethan and he loved me, we ended it.”
Beth’s blood ran cold. They’d actually had an affair? “How did Marco feel about that?” Her throat felt so tight it was hard to push the words through.
“He was fine. Ethan said when he told him, he was already flipping through his contacts list. Not that he’s had loads of women or anything,” Amber said quickly, placing her hand on Beth’s arm again.
“Its okay. I know Marco’s not a saint.”
“Oh damn. You’re upset. I really have upset you. Beth, I’ve never seen Marco look at a woman the way he looks at you.”
“Except when he looks at you.”
Amber’s startled gaze seemed almost genuine as she stepped back. “He’s never looked at me like that. Never. Not even…not when… Look, Marco’s a really great guy and he has a reputation, I admit it. But he doesn’t cheat and he doesn’t lie.”
Oh really? And what about the little fact he’d forgotten to disclose about having sex with Amber? The woman he thought special and was now engaged to his best friend.
Her heart plummeted to her toes and all she wanted was to go home. He’d lied to her. Deliberately kept his affair with Amber a secret. Played it down.
Beth picked up her evening bag. God, it was happening again. While Marco’s lack of transparency was hardly on a par with her cheating ex husband’s, it hurt anyway. What was it about her? Did she have some hidden message tattooed across her forehead that gave men permission to treat her that way?
At least she’d found out about Marco’s predilection before it was too late. She could end it now with no harm done. “I’m going to get some air.”
Beth was already at the door when Amber touched her arm. “I’ll come with you.”
“No. I just need to make a call. I’ll be back in a minute.”
She was aware that Amber hovered in the foyer looking after her as she hurried to the doors leading to the gardened entrance of the glitzy ballroom, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop.
She wanted to call a cab and get home. She wanted to lock the doors, turn of the lights, and forget this whole damn business with Marco had ever begun.
****
He found her sitting on a bench by the taxi rank. A light drizzly rain had fallen and she looked so forlorn sitting there with her head bowed slightly, her shoulders slumped.
Amber had told him what happened, and he could only imagine what she was thinking as she sat there in the dark. He was a fucking idiot not to have told her he’d slept with Amber, but he’d seen how she reacted to the mention of Amber and had thought it best to play the whole thing down. He’d obviously misjudged.
“Hey.” She didn’t look up as he sat next to her, but she stiffened as he popped her jacket around her shoulders. “I should have told you.”
She angled her chin into the air and looked straight ahead. “Then why didn’t you?”
Marco knew he was on shaky ground and wasn’t sure of his next move. But he knew he had to shoot straight with Beth. “Because she was in love with Ethan and he was in love with her. What happened between Amber and me wasn’t going anywhere.”
“So it didn’t need mentioning? Not even when I asked you outright if you still had a thing for her?”
Shit. “I don’t have a thing for her, at least not in that way. What happened was one of those things that—”
“How many times?”
“What?”
“How many times did you fuck her?”
Double shit. How was he supposed to answer that?
When he hesitated, Beth stood up. “I don’t know why I’m making such a big deal of this anyway. You don’t have to answer to me. Lord knows we’re not going anywhere either.”
As she started to walk away, he grabbed her arm. “It’s not what you think.”
“Isn’t it?”
She shucked off his hold, or tried to. But he wasn’t letting go anytime soon. “Look I know I screwed up, but things with Amber and me were never serious so I didn’t think it needed mentioning.”
“You were never serious?” Her eyes were blue slits of anger as she glared at him. “Isn’t it funny how men always say that when it actually is serious. Very serious.”
Marco had the distinct feeling she wasn’t just referring to him. “Is that what your ex said?”
She glared at him a minute longer, then looked straight ahead again, pulling her jacket onto her shoulders as it fell away. “We’re not talking about my ex.”
Marco took a chance and touched her hand as she clung to the bag on her lap. “Maybe we should. The way I see it—”
“The way I see it is you’re in love with a woman and start banging her, only to find she’s in love with your best friend. When said best friend tells you it’s finished because he’s in love with her too, you have to bow out gracefully. Am I close?”
“No.”
She clasped her bag tighter. When it was clear she wasn’t about to respond, Marco rubbed his fingers across her tight knuckles. “I wasn’t in love with her.”
Her hands relaxed a little, but still she said nothing.
“Not only wasn’t I in love with her, but I knew before I started fucking her that Ethan was.”
He saw her throat contract as she swallowed. The rain was a steady flow now and he wasn’t about to start spilling his guts all over a public thoroughfare. Besides
which, a taxi had turned into the rank and Beth was starting to stand.
Panic and irritation joined forces and tightened his chest. He curled his fingers around her arm as she moved toward the taxi. “We haven’t finished our conversation.”
As the cab pulled up, Marco turned to the driver who had rolled down his window. “Sorry. You’re no longer needed.”
Beth tried to pull out of his hold, but Marco held tight.
“Everything okay, lady?”
“She’s fine.” Marco kept his gaze on Beth’s as the driver hovered with the engine running.
“Perhaps she’d better tell me that herself, mate.”
Beth glared at Marco, but he saw the flicker of indecision beneath the anger in her eyes. “Tell him, bella,” Marco said gently. “I want to talk to you, to explain.”
She hesitated for so long, Marco held his breath. Then she turned to the driver. “Thank you. I’m okay. I’m sorry if I’ve inconvenienced you.”
The driver hovered for another moment as he looked from Beth to Marco, then nodded, wound up his window, and drove off.
Beth didn’t speak as they walked to where Marco’s car was parked, and the beep of his remote sounded like gunfire in the quiet space. He ushered Beth into the passenger seat and leaned in. “Buckle up.”
When she didn’t move, he leaned across and fixed her belt himself. As he walked around the car to the driver’s seat, he pulled out his cell. No doubt Amber had already given Ethan a heads up about what had happened in the ladies’ room, so he’d simply tell Ethan that he and Beth were leaving. Ethan would draw his own conclusions as to the reasons why.
The call made, he closed his cell and shoved it in his pocket. That was the easy part done, but now came the hard part. He had to steel himself for the explanation he owed Beth. He didn’t know how she’d take it, how she’d react. Maybe their month together was about to come to a premature and abrupt halt when she ended it between them. Maybe it was even for the good. It saved him the trouble of ending things himself in a few short weeks’ time.
But as he opened his door he couldn’t shake the feeling that gnawed in his stomach at the thought of her walking out on him. And why he should care so much when she did.
