AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He bent his head down, kissing my forehead. “You do look nice.”
I snorted.
“I mean it,” he said. “I liked what you were wearing earlier, but it’s kind of nice to see you in the skirt.”
“It’s slutty.”
“Shut up and let me compliment you. I like your legs,” he said. “You’ve got really nice legs.”
I couldn’t take this right now. “I thought you were supposed to be listening.”
He chuckled and then drew me in tighter.
Once we both shut up, I was able to hear a lot more. I kept my eyes on the pool, on the ball flying back and forth, but behind me, I could hear voices.
The woman had a nasal voice, high-pitched like a yappy dog. For the longest time, she complained about the women in the pool. That bikini was ugly. That girl had stretch marks.
The guy she was talking to would comment, and then compliment on how much better she was compared to the other escorts.
Henry, on the other hand, was a clam. He watched the girls, oblivious.
I leaned into Marc, whispering. “He’s a lump.”
He nodded his head slowly, his face close to mine. “Just wait it out. Try to find out who she is.”
When I could, I looked over at the woman. She didn’t seem different than the other escorts. I wondered if Henry picked her out special. Her hair was long and sculpted, like she just got it styled today. She seemed really at ease next to the boss.
Marc kept his hand on me while he listened. At first, he kept it to the small of my back. Slowly, his hand slid further down, until he was clasping me by the hip.
“You know,” he said, swaying a bit with the music that was blaring from a stereo on the other side of the pool. “St. Augustine’s got a nice surf this time of year.”
“And?” I asked, totally spacing on his meaning because I was thinking it somehow had something to do with the missing girl.
“Have you ever been surfing?” he asked.
I shook my head against his shoulder.
“Brandon and I go out every once in a while,” he said. “When we travel, we like to test out the water where we go.” His hand dipped closer toward my butt. “Maybe you and I could head out once before we leave.”
I blinked, processing. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
“We’re on a date,” he said.
I mumbled something and lifted my head, shaking it. “This is a stakeout.”
“Don’t say that so loud,” he said, smiling at me. “We’re together at a party. That sounds like a date. Sometimes you’ve got to take the dates you’re given.”
He was trying, and it made my heart hurt that he was. “Marc,” I said softly, turning my eyes away. I couldn’t stand to look at the blue and green in his eyes. They were luring feelings out of me I didn’t want right now.
He leaned in, pressing his lips to my temple in a kiss. He whispered against my skin. “Bambi.”
He misread my attempt to turn away his affection. When his lips touched me, I stilled, nearly pressing my head back against it. I was tired, hungry, and weak when he was trying to show affection. I was more a girl than I wanted to admit, wanting attention and craving it. Images of him coming in to save my life flashed in front of me. If I’d met Marc alone, without the others involved, I would have fallen so hard way before now.
Maybe I was lying to myself thinking I hadn’t already.
His hand on my butt squeezed gently. He released it and then rubbed the spot. He kissed me again, closer to my ear.
“I thought we were supposed to be listening,” I said.
“I can kiss you and pay attention,” he whispered.
My heart started to flutter, nervous. Not about Henry. It was about Brandon. He could come out any minute, and see Marc kissing on me.
It was about Axel, too. He wouldn’t appreciate this.
Marc was doing a number on my heart though. Those wiggle sparks he was talking about before started to ignite in my stomach again. For a moment, I wanted to space out, to pretend it was just me and him, since we were pretending anyway.
Guilt, however, would settle.
I was still undecided about the Academy, about whether I was going to dive deeper into this team, or leave them if they were decidedly evil.
I’d told Blake that I’d do whatever it took to find out the truth. Being swayed by my attraction to them wasn’t going to help if I one day made the wrong move and they kidnapped me like they did that vice-principal, or possibly Wil.
I could only hope Wil was okay.
God help me if they turned out to be good guys, because if I wanted to stay, I wasn’t sure they’d let me after they all found out the truth.
I shook away the thoughts, needing to focus. “I can’t do this now,” I said to Marc. He was too distracting and I was too weak to fight him.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said. “They’re not paying attention to us.” He kissed my ear again, taking the lobe between his lips and nipping.
Why did he have to be so sweet? I was fighting off feelings. Truth was, I didn’t want to pick between them. It was too difficult of a choice, because they were all incredible. It was so selfish for me to think so, but I wanted to tell them what was going on, because all the decisions weighing on me were too much. Stay or go? Join the Academy or don’t? Date him, or him, or him? If they chose for me, I would know who liked me the most, who I had the best shot with.
My tiredness made me want to give it all up. His kisses made me feel like confessing it all. If I put it all out on the table, maybe they’d tell me everything and it would stop this vicious pile of lies from getting any higher.
What was holding me back was that I was scared he’d make me decide between them. Right here, right now, I wasn’t sure, and that scared the bejeezus out of me. I’d always been able to walk away, as if not being able to decide meant I really didn’t want something.
But that wasn’t the case with them. Walking away was difficult. Axel had already said if I tried it now, they’d follow. Would they if they knew the truth?
I was scared to confess I was having a hard time. That could mean they all backed off, turned me away. Rejected, again, when I had no one else.
I sighed.
“Bambi,” he said softly. He lifted his hand from my butt, holding at the small of my back, drawing me in. “You okay, sweetie?”
“Don’t be so nice,” I said softly. I hadn’t meant to say it, but it slipped.
He laughed in a low rumble against my skin. “Not into nice guys? Because I should tell you, I hog blankets in the winter.”
I tried to smother a smirk and shook my head. “Please.”
“And if you leave good food in the fridge, I will eat it before you get there.”
I bit my lip to stop a laugh.
“And,” he said, moving until his abdomen was pressed against mine as he held me close, forcing me to look at him. He kept his hand on my hip, as he clutched the beer he was holding. He focused on my face. “And I’ll find Wil,” he said. “I swear. And I’ll make sure neither of you ever have to go back to that fucking father of yours.”
“Marc,” I said, trying to pull away. I didn’t want this right now. It was making my heart hurt again.
He held on stronger. “I know you’ve been worried about something,” he said. “I can see it in your face. You tried to leave before. I know the feeling, trying to clear your head. Make sure you’re making the right decision. I know you didn’t get a chance to really do that, but I’m telling you, you can trust us.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” I said.
He nodded. “I know it is. I’ve done it, too.”
I shook my head slowly, closing my eyes. He was too difficult to look at. “It’s not the same,” I said softly. There was no way he could understand what I was going through.
Marc shifted quickly, and there was a clunk and a small splash against my leg. My eyes shot open but before I could focus, he captured my c
heeks between his palms. He’d dropped the beer to hold on to me.
“Tell me,” he said. He leaned in until he was almost too close to look at. “Tell me how it’s different.”
“Marc…”
“I’ll fix it,” he said, his voice started to rise and then he closed his mouth and looked around. When it appeared no one was paying attention, he looked back at me. “Maybe our circumstances aren’t exactly the same, but if you’re telling me there’s a problem and you’re keeping it from me, stop it. Just tell me.”
“It’s nothing,” I said, although my voice wavered. My heart lifted at his pleading, and for a moment, I was tempted.
He leaned in slowly, until he was close enough that I could feel his warm breath on my skin. “Liar,” he said quietly. “The longer you hold on to it, the longer it’ll be a problem. It won’t be if you just tell me what’s going on.”
Maybe he knew more than he was telling me. “What do you think is the problem?” I asked.
His mouth closed as he stared at me for the longest moment. I sensed there was something he wanted to tell me but was waiting me out to tell him first.
Did he know? About Brandon? About Raven? Maybe Axel? Was there something else he was thinking?
A shrill laugh from the other side of the pool broke the moment as we both turned to look.
Future was on the other side of the pool. She’d stripped off her shirt, standing only in a bra and the skirt. She was doing a swinging dance, rubbing her hands on herself.
