Despite her often cool exterior she did listen when he spoke to her. She was such a mess of jumbled emotions and that made her dangerous to Lucas and to herself. Even though things between she and Marcus had been strained for a while, especially that final night of the Belham’s anniversary wedding, she knew that he loved her and there was a time that she was not confused about how she felt about him.
Just a fortnight ago at Courtney’s wedding when she caught the bouquet she turned and saw Marcus watching her face intently. At first for her, catching the bouquet of tiger lilies had seemed like a symbol that there might be hope for them like it was for Courtney and Ramon who had worked through a lot to be together. Marcus had actually begun walking toward her and their eyes held briefly and as he stood in front of her as his gaze seemed to search her soul for answers. Then she remembered what she had planned to do that night and right before his eyes she closed herself off again and walked away from him without a word. The drive home had been painful because from the corner of her eye she could see the muscle in Marcus jaw that worked when he was angry about something. She had thrown the bouquet of flowers into the backseat and the car was filled with the fragrant reminder of how callously she had dismissed him.
It was a horrible experience and she prayed that Marcus would not confront her in the car. She held on to the seat for dear life as he navigated the winding corners as they drove home refusing to answer him, even when he questioned her. She knew that when she got home she still had a few more things to pack and prayed that she would still make her flight. She had planned to make an excuse not to attend the wedding to make her leaving more seamless but Ramon including them in his plan to transport Courtney’s mother to and from the ceremony made that a bit difficult. Every night before she fell asleep, her mind replayed the tortured expression in his eyes as she told him their marriage was over.
“Lucas, I know you think that you love me, but I have so much baggage to work through before I ever even consider another relationship again,” explained Natasha.
“Natasha, I know that, but I have decided that I won’t stop trying and I won’t lie to you or to myself any longer. I love you and as I said to you the other night I am not going anywhere. I want to see you grow, and reach all of your dreams. I want to love you and help you erase all of the hurt and pain you have been through. I want to be the one you turn to when you want to talk about something Natasha.”
Hearing those words coming from Lucas, a single tear escaped out of Natasha’s eye and he reached across and smoothed it away with his thumb. These were the words she longed to hear, these were the words she wanted to hear from Marcus, the man she married and it all felt so strange coming from Lucas.
“Lucas the things that you say to me...”
“I mean every word Natasha,” he interjected earnestly. “Let me help you through this. I promise that I won’t try to get physical with you although that will require superhuman strength,” he laughed.
What was she going to do? She was still very much a married woman and here she was, sitting in a park with a man who was pledging his love for her while she had not resolved her own feelings for her own husband. Here was a man offering her all the things she had dreamed of and back at home was a man who refused to even try.
“Lucas I just feel so overwhelmed, I don’t know what to say to you right now.”
“You don’t have to say anything to me. Just know you are loved, that’s all. Look it is getting a bit late and I know you have your wardrobe fitting at four to prepare for the photo shoot this weekend and a choreography session in the morning. I want to have dinner with you but I will let you make the next move. I am not trying to crowd you but I must warn you that if you take more than two weeks to call me again, you may find me standing on your doorstep.”
“Lucas thanks for understanding,” she said sincerely and reached out and took his hand giving it a gentle squeeze.
Looking down at their joined hands Lucas exhaled forcefully and said, “Let me get you back to your apartment before I go back on my promise.”
Folding up the blanket Lucas and Natasha packed up the remains of their lunch and Lucas called Eli his driver, to meet them where he had dropped them off before. Offering her his arm again Natasha slipped her arm through it as they walked slowly back talking amiably.
They never looked across the park to see Marcus and Sheldon standing beneath the grove of oak trees watching the entire scene.
Chapter 9
“Steady bro!” said Sheldon as he and Marcus came out from behind the expansive trunk of the tree to sit on the wooden bench in front of it.
Marcus watched the retreating form of his wife and Lucas Johnson as they walked back through the park. Natasha looked so happy and carefree, a look he had not been able to arouse in her for a while now. He sank down on the bench and held his head in his hands and allowed the tears that he had been holding back to flow freely and silently.
Sheldon remained standing and allowed Marcus to have a private moment. He had brought along some surveillance equipment once he and Marcus had discovered where Natasha was staying. They had arrived in Atlanta and then booked another flight to Savannah where the university they thought she might be attending was located. They tried to follow through on Marcus’ first hunch about Natasha going back to finish her degree but they found out upon reaching there that she had not enrolled as yet.
Then they looked up Lucas Johnson in the phone book and decided that if they could follow him the trail would eventually lead to Natasha. That strategy worked so well that not only did they find Lucas but also Natasha’s apartment and the studio where she was recording some music.
Following them to this park and then listening in to their conversation was the hardest thing Marcus had ever done. It was all he could do not to storm over there and start a fight that would make history in Forsyth Park. If it had not been for the restraining presence of his friend Sheldon he did not know what he would have done. In fact, it was Sheldon’s expertise in security that helped them locate Natasha so quickly and his advice for him to wait and assess the situation first before rushing in.
After sitting there silently for another fifteen minutes Marcus finally found his voice.
“Sheldon, do you think I’ve lost her for good?”
“You heard it for yourself, she did not exactly tell this guy that she loved him too. She knows she needs to work out her own life first. I think that is a good sign.”
“You know, I knew that this would have been hard but to stand here and to listen to that man say those things to Natasha,” said Marcus brokenly.
“Look don’t beat yourself up, let us stay rational and think of a plan.”
“She has everything that she wanted right now. She is getting to record some music and who knows where it will all lead for her.”
“I am sure that is true but you heard her, she is not ready to move on as yet and I am sure it’s because she still loves you,” said Sheldon reassuringly. “Look you don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself. Lucas is playing hard ball and sooner or later Natasha is going to crack under that pressure. That guy is really convincing!”
“Sheldon you are not making me feel any better about this by putting those images into my mind!” snapped Marcus.
“Exactly, I am trying to get you to get off this bench and go and take some action. Go and see your wife tonight!”
“I don’t know if I should just show up at her door like that! She may not be ready to see me as yet!”
“You won’t know unless you take the plunge. It seems to me that you have a two week window or less to work some magic before Lucas comes a’ calling again.”
“If that man touches my wife, I swear...”
“Okay let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Let’s go. We have to get you ready for meeting number one.
Sitting in her bathtub sipping on a glass of wine later that night Natasha felt as though she could finally relax. Lucas had ordered some dinner fo
r her and it was waiting for her in the kitchen. The wardrobe fitting had been so amazing. All of those new clothes and having her own image consultant bringing clothes from designers who wanted the exposure was truly an exhilarating experience. Lucas had taken the entire evening off and made sure that she got to her appointments on time and had even stayed and cheered as she modelled her clothing selections. He was beginning to grow on her a little, she would admit it. He was such a wonderful man and he was doing all he could to make sure she had a smooth transition. So why was she still thinking about Marcus every waking moment in between.
Standing up, she applied a fragrant body mist and then gently towel dried her skin. Then she walked out to her bedroom where she had laid her bathrobe. She could not remember the last time that she walked from her bathroom to her bedroom naked at home. She had always been careful not to give Marcus the impression that she was open to lovemaking and part of that meant dressing in the bathroom. It was a feeling of freedom now being able to do this.
Suddenly her doorbell rang.
Tying the belt of the short silk robe she’d put on quickly, she walked out toward the door. Briefly checking the video monitor she saw a tall man standing by the door with his head bowed. Thinking that it was Lucas, she just pressed the button that would unlock the door to allow him to come in. After all, he was the only one that knew she lived here. Deciding she would speak to him briefly at the door before making an excuse to get him to leave she folded her arms across her chest. When the knock on the door sounded she said come in and she watched the door open slowly.
“Lucas I thought that you promised that you would give me two weeks to think about all of this,” she said with a note of warning in her voice.
As the door opened fully, she saw instead saw a man who was dark skinned, taller than Lucas wearing a black jeans and a long-sleeved hunter green pullover. It was Marcus!
“Marcus? What are you doing here? How did you find me?” stammered Natasha in total shock.
Seeing his wife standing there wearing nothing but a flimsy silk bathrobe, with her hair still damp from her bath Marcus was nearly undone with longing to just to have her wrapped in his arms again. That material clung wetly to her alluring curves and revealed her toned shapely legs. Even from the distance of a few feet that separated them he could distinctly smell the fragrance of peaches and cream body mist that she always used to perfume her still damp skin. She looked good, happy, rested vibrant and totally sexy.
“Honey, you look so beautiful!” said Marcus softly with his gaze raking her from head to toe.
Caught off-guard by his response Natasha just stood there staring at him. She never considered that Marcus would find her or at least not until she was ready to be found.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he continued.
“Marcus, I don’t think we have that much to say to each other”, she lied now feeling nervous and slightly aroused by the smouldering look he was giving her.
“Well I have a lot that I need to say to you and I don’t want to do it out here in the hallway,” he countered seemingly unfazed by her response. But the truth was that his heart was doing crazy things in his chest just being this close to her again. He prayed silently that she would at least give him a chance to talk.
“Okay come in, but you can only stay a few minutes,” she finally said, terrified by the instant and deep explosion of heat that now filled her inside.
Marcus fought to control the jealousy that began boiling in him the moment he saw what Natasha was wearing and hearing her call out Lucas’ name as if that man had the right to visit his wife whenever he felt like it.
“Let me go and put on some clothes, I just got out of the bath, and I wasn’t expecting anyone,” she explained quickly as she noted how his expression darkened when he looked at her clothes or lack of them.
Natasha hurried off to her bedroom and when she got there she shut the door and leaned against it, her heart pounding in her chest. Marcus was outside in her living area and she had just unknowingly called him Lucas. He had somehow found her and now he wanted to talk. There was nowhere to run. Although she had been telling herself that she needed to talk to Marcus and to find dome kind of closure, she thought that she would be the one to initiate contact when she was sure about what she wanted to say and it would have been through her lawyers. She did not expect to feel the full weight of emotion that just bombarded her just now. All of the defences that she had practiced erecting on Derrien Island were down and she did not expect to notice just how good he looked or the spicy scent of his aftershave or how sexy his voice sounded as he spoke. She did not expect to feel as though someone had set loose a thousand butterflies in her stomach or that her heart would hurt so much or that she would become so aroused when she saw his gaze darken as he slowly surveyed her appearance.
This was the reaction that was missing from her relationship with Lucas. This raw to the bone attraction and desire were apparently still reserved for Marcus Nicholls alone and that thought made her even more nervous than ever. She had really done a great job fooling herself that she was cold to him these last eight months.
Pacing back and forth across the floor she took deep lung full’s of air to try to steady her riotous emotions. But nothing seemed to be working. This surprise had totally rocked her off centre and she had no answers for it. Remembering that she was only clad in a short silk bathrobe, she was again filled with embarrassment. Marcus probably thought even less of her now that it was clear that she might be expecting another man at her home while they were still very much married.
She quickly brushed her teeth and slipped on a yellow lounge jumper and quickly blow-dried her hair before emerging again.
Marcus was standing by the window overlooking the street below and he turned around as she entered the room.
“Sorry that I took so long but I had just stepped out of the bath when you rang the doorbell,” said Natasha again, pretending to appear composed when inside she was anything else but that.
“Natasha, we need to talk!” said Marcus with a serious expression on his face.
Feeling panicked again because she was just not ready for this conversation as yet Natasha had to find something to say quickly.
“Look, I was just about to have dinner, would you like something to eat?” were the words that came out of her mouth. How did finding an excuse for him to leave turn into her inviting him to stay? Everything about this whole meeting was going opposite to what she’d envisioned.
Marcus still absorbing his wife’s beauty wasted no time in accepting her dinner invitation. He had half expected her to make up some excuse about needing to go out when he saw how she was dressed, but an invitation to dinner was perfect. It would give him the time to say the things that he needed her to know.
Natasha felt as though she could kick herself in the shins if that was even anatomically possible. This was exactly the reason why she had to operate behind shields with Marcus. Whenever she allowed herself to feel what was in her heart for him it made her weak and instead of fighting for her life she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. It was too late to take back the invitation now without seeming unkind, so she set about placing some plates on the dining table near her kitchen and some forks. Lucas had found a place that sold West Indian food and had some sent to her just in-case she was homesick for the kind of cooking she was used to on Derrien Island. So, she heated the food briefly in the microwave and served it on the two plates.
“You can sit Marcus,” she said noticing that he had not moved from the spot near the window. When he turned around to face her she thought that he was going to sit but instead he bypassed the table and walked straight up to her and before she had time to react he held her face between his hands and kissed her. Threading his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck he continued his assault on her mouth and she felt powerless to stop him. In fact, she felt herself responding and wrapping her arms around his neck as she pulled him closer. Al
l hope of having clear thoughts now were now totally erased with Marcus making such a sweet and thorough invasion of her mouth. His hands drifted down her spine and he pulled her entire body against the lean, muscular contours of his body. She could feel the unmistakable evidence of his arousal and she knew then what Marcus intended to do. As his lips blazed a trail of kisses along her neck, she was finding it very hard to remain on her feet as her legs trembled beneath her. Feeling her trembling against him, Marcus picked her up and strode to the direction of her bedroom. Letting her slide down his body as he opened the door he walked her backwards until she fell on the bed beneath him.
“Marcus” Natasha began, but he silenced anything she had to say to him by continuing to kiss her and to embrace her. He felt like a man who was starving, who had not eaten for days. This was not the plan, but seeing Natasha looking so beautiful, he had a natural reaction to the woman who had been his wife for the past six years. From her immediate response to him, he knew that this marriage was not over. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that letting her go was not an option and he would do whatever it took to convince her of that.
Pushing the straps of her jumper off her shoulders he made quick work of removing it deftly from her body before removing his own clothes.
Natasha has almost forgotten how attracted she had always been to Marcus’ body, so well chiselled with muscles bunching in his shoulders chest and arms. Even when he took off his clothes he never broke his gaze with her. She had never seen him this intense and it thrilled her that he seemed to be somehow staking his claim on her.
Taking her in his arms once more, Marcus kissed and touched every inch of her body before joining their bodies intimately and making love to his wife until they were both covered in perspiration and the sheets were soaked. Hearing Natasha cry out with pleasure and say his name, filled him with a possession that he had never known before. This was his wife and he would be damned before he let another man take her from him.
Forgotten Love (Derrien Island Trilogy) Page 11
