Red, White and Beautiful (The Red and White Series Book #2)

by Bec Botefuhr

I wake early in the morning, I can feel Marcus’ hard, hot body wrapped around mine. His arms are around my waist, his chest is pressed against my back and his cock is resting softly against my ass. I wiggle a little and I feel him begin to swell. Men. Seriously. They could get hard even when they’re asleep. I wiggle my ass some more and Marcus’ hand lashes out and grips my hip, stopping me. I smother a giggle as his fingers press into my skin.

  “Careful,” he murmurs sleepily. “I’m an active morning person.”

  “Maybe I am too,” I breathe, rubbing my bottom against him again.

  “Do you want me to fuck you there, sweet girl?”

  I stop rubbing. “No…why…do you want to?”

  He slides his fingers up my hip, side and then over my breast. He cups it in his hand and massages gently. His fingers have the perfect amount of roughness and I can’t help the little whimper that escapes.

  “I wouldn’t say no,” he murmurs, circling his finger over my nipple and causing it to pucker.

  “Oh.”

  “But we don’t need to worry about that right now, I believe I made you a promise.”

  Before I can speak, he flips me onto my back. His hard body looms over mine and he grins seductively as he slides his mouth down my body. Ohhhh, that promise. How could I forget? When his mouth finds my pussy, he grips my hips, tilting them upwards before pressing his face against my throbbing flesh and darting his tongue between my folds. I drop my head into the pillow and drown in the sounds of my own screaming as Marcus gives me an orgasm I won’t forget in a hurry.

  ~*~*~*~

  SIERRA

  Marcus is dressed and ready for work, while I’m still in his oversized shirt sitting at the breakfast bar. He rushes around, talking on the phone and barking orders at the poor person on the other end. I’ve made him late. I know he’s cranky at me for it. Marcus Harrison is rarely late and it really does not go down well when he is forced to miss meetings. I watch him as I munch on a piece of honey dew melon and take in his powerful form. My cheeks heat as I think about the way he slammed my body against the shower wall this morning and fucked me so hard…

  “Sierra?!”

  I tilt my head to see Marcus staring at me, he has an impatient look on his face as he storms over.

  “Yes?” I ask, shaking the delicious memories from my head.

  “I said I have to go.”

  “Oh, right. Ok.”

  “I’m late.”

  I smile. “You shouldn’t have fucked me again and you wouldn’t be.”

  He gives me a disapproving glare. “We’re not playing the blame game now, I have to run. You want food, call my house maid Jennifer and she will get you anything you need. Her number is on the bench, she’s always in the complex. You know my number, text me if you want anything. I’ll see you tonight?”

  “I have studying to do, I can’t just stay here all the time.”

  “I’ll have someone take you back to collect any books you need to study.”

  “Marcus…”

  “Have to go, later.”

  He kisses me quickly, not letting me answer, then he turns and rushes out the door. Damn bloody man is controlling me, even when he’s in a hurry. With a sigh, I stare at the door a while, when I realize he’s not going to come back and kiss me properly, I pull out my phone and ring Quinn. I know he’ll be wondering where I am and what happened last night. He doesn’t answer, so I leave him a voice mail.

  “Quinn, I’m alive. I’ll be back in a few hours and will fill you in on the juicy deets. Love you.”

  I close my phone and stare around the large home. I see a dark phone on the counter and realize Marcus has forgotten his phone. I stand and walk over, picking it up. It’s got a dozen messages, and I can’t help but open them. That’s when I come across one from someone named Candice. Who’s Candice? By the looks of things, she’s his new PA. I read the messages and see they were sent last night when I was sleeping. A swarm of jealousy floods me at the flirtatious tone both of them are using. I know I shouldn’t be snooping or reading these. Before I can do anymore, Marcus comes rushing back in. I press the close button before he can see I’m reading his messages.

  “Forgot my phone,” he grumbles, pulling it from my hands and not even wondering why I was holding it.

  “Marcus…”

  “Got to go, late.”

  “But…”

  He’s gone again and that’s enough for me to feel angry and raw. Is he flirting with his new PA? Maybe I’m reading it wrong? I can’t help the way my heart throbs angrily though, I’m hurt by the way he spoke to her. I close my eyes and try to think, but my phone begins ringing. I stare down at the display. It’s not a number I have in my contact list. I answer it with a brisk hello.

  “Sierra? It’s Ben.”

  Great. I can’t escape him. He honestly just won’t stop getting in my face. After what he did, it surprises me he’s even bothering trying to speak with me. He should know me well enough to know that I don’t deal well with people interfering in my life and trying to cause me pain.

  “Ben, what do you want? You’ve done enough.”

  “I wasn’t trying to hurt you, but I thought you needed to know. Marcus was using you.”

  “Are you serious? After what you did you’re really going to judge him.”

  “I was out of line, I admitted that.”

  “You scarred me for life, in more ways than one!” I bark.

  “And I’m sorry, what I did…I had no idea what I was doing. I was so angry and…”

  “I don’t care, ok? I’ve moved on and I don’t care about you anymore, so can you just stop hassling me.”

  “I rang you for a reason, I want to make it up to you…I want to fix what I broke.”

  “Ben…”

  “I want to offer you an internship with my company.”

  “What?” I whisper.

  “I know you lost the job at the White House, and I know this doesn’t even come close, but it’s a great experience and I’m willing to give it to you.”

  “Why?” I breathe, shocked.

  “Because I hurt you, and I want to give you something back.”

  “Ben…I…”

  “Don’t say no right off the bat because you’re angry. This is a chance to get your career rolling.”

  “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  “Marcus replaced you, he surely didn’t expect you to not find another job?”

  Thinking of Candice has my blood boiling.

  “I just…”

  “Think about it,” he pleads. “Just think about it before you say no, ok?”

  Still in shock and admittedly hurt over Candice, I do the only thing I can, I say ok. Ben hangs up a moment later, promising to call back in a few days for my answer. I know Marcus won’t be happy about this, but I can’t make a choice based on how he will feel. God, why am I even thinking about this? Ben was awful to me, I couldn’t work for him. His company is huge though and the experience, aside from the White House, would be a one in a million chance. Putting my head in my hands, I sigh deeply. God, why do I get all the hard choices?

  I slide off the kitchen stool and walk into Marcus’ room to re-dress myself in my dress so I can head back to campus. I really can’t just sit here all day waiting for Marcus. I know he’ll be angry at me, but I really have to continue with my study and I am angry at him and Candice, so staying isn’t really an option right now. When I’m dressed and ready, I head downstairs and wave down a cab. One stops for me right away, and I slide into the front seat and give him my address. He chats casually to me the entire way, but I can’t get Ben’s offer or Candice from my mind. I need to talk to someone about this. I truly do.

  When I get back to campus, I pay the driver and head back to my dorm. When I get in, I throw my things down, change out of my dress and make my way to Quinn’s room. I know he’ll be in bed, he doesn’t have classes this morning but I need to talk to him. When I get to his room, I knock softly, he do
esn’t answer so I use the key he gave me and slip inside. I see him curled up in his double bed, sleeping on his stomach. I tiptoe in and slip off my sandals, then I crawl into bed beside him. He groans and rolls onto his back. He’s warm from being under the covers and I feel an instant comfort as I snuggle in closer.

  “You smell like sex,” he grumbles.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “Are you pregnant?”

  “What? No.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “No.”

  “Did you murder someone, or do something really bad?”

  “No.”

  “Then let me sleep,” he whines.

  I shove at his chest and with a groan, he pulls me into his arms so I am resting my cheek against his chest.

  “What happened?” he grumbles.

  “Ben offered me a job.”

  “Your ex Ben?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, and Marcus would flip if he knew.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “It’s a great opportunity, but Marcus won’t let it happen easily, and I don’t want to ruin what we have.”

  “You should tell him, I think you should make the choice overall, but no more secrets, you need to let him know.”

  I sigh, knowing he’s right. “He’ll flip.”

  “Let him, you only need to worry about doing the right thing, not about how he’ll react.”

  “I know, but we just got back together and things are rough.”

  “Then maybe you need to consider choosing your battles, Sierra, maybe you need to let this one go.”

  “It’s such a good chance.”

  “I know that, but you suffered without Marcus. Is it worth risking him again?”

  I snuggle into him. “Why are you always so smart?”

  “Oh you know, I was born that way.”

  “There’s something else…”

  “Sheesh.”

  “I saw texts on his phone this morning, to his new PA. I think I was reading too much into them, but they seemed flirty.”

  “Sierra,” he groans. “You can’t do that. Why are you with him if you don’t trust him?”

  “I do trust him,” I protest.

  “Really, then why did you look at his phone?”

  I go silent.

  “You two seriously need to talk, you shouldn’t be talking to me about this, you should be talking to him.”

  “I know…”

  “Don’t read too much into it, go and talk to him. Please!”

  “Ok!” I say, going silent.

  “You and your booty drama.”

  I chuckle, lay a moment longer, then get out of his bed with a sigh. I really do need to get some studying done today, and I have an afternoon class to attend. Quinn sits up and looks over at me. “You going to be ok?”

  I give him the thumbs up. “I’ll be fine.”

  “All right, well I’m going back to bed for a few hours.”

  I roll my eyes at him, flash a smile, and leave his room. When I get back to mine, I sit at my desk and fire up my laptop. Time to get serious with this studying. I am mid-way through an extremely difficult subject, I’m chewing on my bed and frowning at the screen, when my phone rings. I stare down at the screen, Marcus. Why doesn’t that surprise me? Pulling the pen from my mouth, I answer the phone.

  “Hey.”

  “You didn’t stay at the apartment?”

  “I have studying to do.”

  “And I said you could do it at my place.”

  “Marcus,” I warn, giving him my best scolding tone.

  “Don’t say my name like that. Why didn’t you stay?”

  “I wanted to come back and do my study, and I have an afternoon class, ok?”

  He sighs deeply. “Fine, I’ll pick you up after work.”

  “No, it’s ok, I’ll meet you at your place.”

  “Sierra…”

  “Marcus, please, I don’t need you to control me everywhere I go.”

  He sighs deeply. “Fine, I’ll meet you there.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Is something wrong, Sierra?”

  “We’ll talk later ok?”

  “Sierra.”

  “I have to go, Marcus,” I say, cutting him off. “Bye.”

  When he hangs up, I hang my head and sigh. I know I’m keeping him at arm’s length, but I can’t help it, I’m so scared of getting hurt again and while things are so up in the air, I don’t want to give up my control. I’m in love with Marcus, that much I know, but sometimes his need for control frightens me and I wonder if he’s forced to give it up, if he’ll give me up, too. It’s petty, I know, but I can’t help my feelings and how they affect my everyday life and my relationship with a man, who is so dominant, I think he’s forgotten how to live any other way.

  I get back to my study. By early afternoon, I’ve done as much as I can. I gather my backpack and head out to class. It’s a long, dreary class and I don’t finish up until well after four o’clock. When I’m done and I’ve gotten back to my room, I see a mass of missed calls from Marcus. Sighing, I pick up the phone, but he hasn’t left any messages. I drop my bag and take a quick shower before changing and gathering some clothes for the night. I’m just picking up my bag when a pounding on the door has my head snapping around.

  Rushing over, I open the door to find Marcus standing. He’s panting with rage and his eyes are wild. He’s not wearing the suit from work, but instead workout clothes. A black singlet and loose cotton shorts. He’s sweating, his body is so wound up, I can see the veins in his neck. I knew Marcus exercised, but what did he do, run over here? Why is he running at this time of the afternoon anyway, that’s not like him? I open my mouth to speak, but he barges past me and slams the door. I spin around, confused. Have I done something wrong?

  “When were you going to tell me?” he barks.

  In shock, it takes me a moment to process him being here so I can answer. “Tell you what?”

  “That you took a job with Ben!” he roars, spinning around and running his hands through his hair.

  What?

  “I didn’t…I didn’t take a job with him.”

  “Bullshit, don’t you lie to me, Sierra.”

  “He contacted me this morning, I didn’t say I was going to do anything, I was going to speak to you first and…”

  “Are you stupid, Sierra?”

  “I beg your pardon?” I snap, crossing my arms.