Page 58 of Colombian Chemistry

Just let go, Irene. Enjoy him while you can.

And enjoy him I did. In the shower, on the bathroom counter, on the floor of the bedroom, and in the bed at least three more times before we finally fell asleep in each other’s arms.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Marcus

When I opened my eyes, it took a second to remember where I was. But waking in this orange and brown bedroom wasn’t what surprised me... it was the woman in my arms.

Irene.

After so many years of making it a point to leave before I fell asleep, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d awakened to the soft, warm skin of a woman pressed up against me.

And I couldn’t remember a time in my life I’d slept better than I had with Irene in my arms.

She has to leave today. Don’t get attached. It’s for her own good.

The selfish, alpha male inside me roared against my words, wanting to keep her and claim her as my own. But I knew better. Irene would never be safe here. The Jungle Kings would never stop looking for her. I couldn’t risk her life just for my own selfish need to keep her in my arms.

I’d made many sacrifices in my life, but saying goodbye to Irene would dwarf them all.

“Good morning,” she whispered. Her warm breath drifted across my chest and sent a shudder through my body.

“Good morning.” I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Did you sleep well?”

“As good as if the Jungle Kings had killed me dead. I don’t think I’ve ever slept that good in my life.”

“Same. It was amazing.”

“You’re just feeling that way because you got to sleep on your favorite pillow.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Yeah, sure. That’s the only reason I slept so good.”

She wiggled in my arms and squeezed me tight. I returned the embrace and closed my eyes as I rested my chin on top of her head.

“Your heart is racing,” she said.

“What?”

“Your heart. I can hear it pounding through your chest. Like a drum.”

I listened for a moment and then realized she was right. My heart was racing once again.

“It only does that for you,” I said softly.

“What do you mean?”

“My heart. Adrenalin stopped affecting me years ago. I honestly hadn’t felt my heart race in longer than I could remember... until I first saw you.”

She lay quietly in my arms, and then I felt a cool drip of liquid slip down my chest.

A tear.

Shit. I’d gone and made her cry.

I tightened my grip. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Irene looked up with those glassy eyes and wiped a tear from her cheek. “No. I’m glad you did. It makes me feel less crazy for how strongly I feel about you. It doesn’t make sense. I’m a scientist, and I understand chemicals cause people to feel a certain way, a biological necessity to make us reproduce, but this is so much more. I never understood it when people talked about it. I always thought they were stupid, to be honest, just unable to grasp that their overblown emotions were just nature’s way of ensuring the survival of our species, but I get it now. This isn’t just chemicals. What I feel for you is so much more.”