30 Days (Lost Love Trilogy #1) - Belle Brooks Page 0,27
haven’t slept with anyone since Mike, and Mike was my first. So Marcus makes the number-two spot on how many people I’ve allowed to touch me in this way. This makes me beyond pissed. Why did I let this happen? If I was only ever with Mike, maybe he’d come back to me. Because it would prove I was supposed to be his. Now, there’s one more. Marcus has stolen something from me I can’t get back. Fuck! Now I’m the whore!
Knowing I can’t stay the night, I begin devising a plan to sneak out. Wiggling my body little by little, his heavy arms slide free, and I ease myself from the bed.
“Where the hell is my dress?” I whisper.
“On the balcony,” Marcus answers.
Great.
Climbing out from the sheets, he walks past me without a single glance. The door remains open after his exit and as quickly as he left, he returns with the missing item in hand. Giving it to me, he sits facing me on the edge of the bed.
“Thanks,” I mutter, putting it over my exposed skin.
“Abigail, something’s wrong. I’ve asked you and you’ve denied it, but I know there’s a problem. Tell me.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“But there is.”
“I promise you there’s not. Just let it go. I had fun, you had fun, and now I need to go home.”
“I’m not buying what you’re selling. You can tell me what’s bothering you.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because I do. I don’t want you to leave here hurt.”
“I’m not hurt.”
“But you are.”
I can see this stand-off won’t end anytime soon. Marcus likes to ask questions and he likes honest answers. Something about him tells me he can pick a bull-shitter from a mile away.
Huffing, I glare into his eyes. If he wants the truth, then he can have it. I gave him ample opportunity to drop the subject and, like the stubborn arse he apparently seems to be, he won’t. “Fine, you want me to tell you?”
“Yes,” he snaps.
“It’s you. You’re the problem, okay?”
He rears back a little and places his hands on his hips, his eyes dipping in sadness. “Why?”
“Because you waltz into my life, and in the one day you’ve been in it, you’ve—” I can’t bring myself to continue.
“It’s been two days,” he says, running his fingers through his hair.
“What?”
“The cemetery. I’ve been in your life for two days.”
“Tell me one thing. Do you always make moves on girls who are vulnerable?”
He smiles. He fucking smiles. “I’m an opportunist, Miss McMillian.” He must see confusion on my face. “It’s a pretty simple and clear reasoning.”
Anger builds within me. Or is that regret? “So what? You wait until someone is broken and then pounce, like a tiger hunting prey?”
He laughs.
The fact this amuses him causes my fists to clench.
“No. I wait for a beautiful opportunity to present itself and then I claim it for my own. Big difference. There’s nothing wrong with having what you want.”
“So I’m an opportunity? That’s how you view me?” If steam could blow from my ears, it’s doing it right now.
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s messed up!” I yell.
“Messed up?” he asks like this term is foreign to him.
Panic pulses through my veins. The need to get out of this house screams in my head. “I can’t … I shouldn’t have … I …” Words don’t come out the way I intend, so I stand, clutching my chest, which aches so much I think it might explode.
“It’s okay. I wanted you. Hell, I needed to taste you … to touch you. I’ve wanted that since I laid eyes on you yesterday, and again this morning. Trust me, it was better than I could have imagined.” He reaches out, skimming my arm. This one touch ignites a fire within me. A fire needing to be extinguished immediately.
“Well, I’m glad you got what you wanted. But for me, this was a mistake. A catastrophic fucking mistake. I need to go.”
“Abi, stop. Don’t run. What am I not getting?”
There’s a delayed silence.
He stares intently, looking worried.
“You’re not getting me!”
“Hey, hang on. There’s something deeper going on here. I want to be your friend.”
“Well, I don’t need any more friends. You don’t get it, do you?”
He shakes his head.
“Being with another man, any man like this, was never supposed to happen. Then you come along with your good looks and magic, and you tricked me. I’m damaged, Mike. My life is a train wreck and I’m most definitely cursed, contrary to what others may think. Stay away from me, do you