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I was a little mouse, timid, afraid to run, more afraid to stay.
“Marco?” My voice was barely a whisper. He nodded once to Ant. He and Orlando edged past me.
Marco’s strong fingers, hands that had touched me, sending shivers over my flesh, brought a cup of coffee to his lips.
I sat in the chair next to him and folded my hands in my lap.
“Who is he?”
I lifted my gaze to his. The dark and dangerous intensity in his eyes was a blow to my belly. My gut tightened, and the nausea surged outward. Gone was the man who wanted to devour me with passion. Marco reeked of hatred. And it was all directed at me.
I wanted to tell him something, even a small lie, but I’d promised never to betray him or to lie to him. I hadn’t. So, I stayed quiet.
“Allegra, what would you have me do?”
I’d have him promise to protect Dee and promise to trust Knox. But Knox was Irish, and Marco had a vendetta. “Trust me.”
He tapped his phone and opened the screen. “Trust you, a lying bitch that hides the identity of her lover?”
The words hurt. My eyes burned and scratched with every watery blink. “You know he’s not my lover.”
Marco growled. “I know he had his hands on you.” He stood and leaned over me. “After he spills his blood at my feet, you’ll have to learn how to live without him.”
“Marco, please.”
“You’ll no longer have to hide.” He straightened and buttoned his black, single-breasted coat. He rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck. Then he rubbed his hand over his mouth, tracing his mustache and the edge of his beard. “For a moment, I thought you were mine. Maybe you never were. But you wereneverhis to care for.”
“You know. You listened.” Fear sank her talons deep into my chest, a cry climbed into my throat, and my secret coursed like poison through my veins. “You were there.” He’d seen me with Knox. Those were words we’d spoken, never texted.
“Eavesdropping is an activity you’re familiar with.”
“If you were there, if you listened, you know I only spoke to him for a few minutes.”
“Who. Is. He?” His nostrils flared with heaving breaths. “Don’t fucking lie to me.”
I recoiled from the vehemence of his tone.
He slammed his fist to the table. “I asked you for his name! Who do you know in the fucking Irish mafia? Tell me something because your silence is deafening.”
Oh my god. He already knew too much. He’d never understand. Pain ripped through my chest, tearing my emotional heart in two. A tremor started deep in my core. I couldn’t trade Knox’s life for a marriage to Marco. I needed Knox to protect Dee.
I twisted his ring on my finger, remembering the way I’d fallen when he’d slipped it on my finger. “You can take me home now.”
“Will you arrange another meeting with your Irish lover?”
“He’s not my lover,” I repeated. My denials only seemed to make him angrier. I covered my face with my hands and calmed my racing heart with several steadying breaths.
“You refuse to tell me his name. He means more to you than the vows we spoke.” His bitter laugh caused a clutter of spiders to crawl over my flesh.
“No.” But Knox didn’t mean less. And Deidre meant everything. “I’m yours, Marco. I haven’t betrayed you.” Tears filled my eyes again. “You and our marriage mean everything to me.” I pressed my palm to his chest.
Rather than push him away, he captured my hand under his and anchored it to the ridge of his scar beneath his black dress shirt. With a step back, he pulled me to my feet. He crowded into my space, holding me hostage with the storm of betrayal in his eyes.
“Do you feel it?”
His heart pounded against my palm. Mine raced with the same chaotic pulse. Shallow breaths rushed past my lips. He was too close. The heat of his body burned. I burned.
His grip tightened on my fingers. “This no longer beats for you.” He dropped my hand. “It’s time to go.”
