“And yet you decided to wait for the mark to wear off. Without telling me.”
“For your own protection.”
I put my face in my hands. There we were, back at the P word. The man was obsessed with it. A fact I ought to be grateful for, but there was thewhyand thehow, and hishowwas so messed up, I didn’t know where to begin.
I waited until I thought my voice wouldn’t exceed the decibel level of a dragon roar to speak.
“And you were going to bring this up…when?”
“As soon as I could.” When I pinned him with a hard glare, he stuck up his hands. “Not soon enough. I know.”
That was an understatement, but I didn’t trust myself to reply.
Lucky for him, my phone rang.
“Yes?” I snarled into it.
“Um…everything okay?” Roux replied.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Next question.”
Poor Roux. He sounded stressed himself.
“Did you catch the morning news?” he asked a little ominously.
Marius leaned in to listen, but I pushed him away. He could come close when he made up to me…somehow. Right now, I was still furious.
“Uh…no…” I said, watching Marius pull out his phone. He hit a few keys, then cursed.
I leaned in, and he let me, but that was only fair in my book. He owed me, dammit.
My jaw dropped as I skimmed the BBC headline.
Latvian art expert murdered.
Underneath, the subtitle screamed,Hotel guests raised the alarm after hearing cries, but too late.
I skimmed the body of the article.Raisa Kepke, 59, pronounced dead at the scene… Signs of forced entry… Cause of death not yet officially established…
“Get your asses over here,tout de suite,” Roux grunted.
* * *
We did, though only after a thorough scrub in the shower to erase the scent of sex. But nothing dimmed the glow of my skin, and I grumbled at Marius the whole time we rode the Tube.
The nerve he’d had, secretly marking me! The gall! How patronizing!
Then again, if I were in his position, I might have done the same to him — and not just to protect him, but for entirely selfish reasons.
I glanced at him, going ramrod straight with a sudden thought.
“Wait. Did you say this marking thing you did is to claim a partner and keep others away?”
His throat bobbed. “Yes.”
I thought of Bene, Roux, and Henrik. “Will the others be able to tell?”
He nodded slowly, and I panicked, tightening my scarf.
