The stony erection she’d given him ground into her hip, taunting her with a promise of satisfaction.
Those tempting lips of his swooped down and landed on her mouth with a kiss that was so fierce it made her insides ache with need.
She sighed into him and reluctantly threw her hands to his chest to give them both a safe measure of distance. Their lips ripped apart.
“We can’t do this.” Her voice trembled, sounding uncertain but her palms did what her heart refused to accept. They kept him away.
His lashes flicked up, the black lust turning molten like she’d slapped his cheek. “What’s wrong?”
“This is wrong. We’re in my house, not the club. It’s bad idea.” She doubted her own words as they echoed in her ears.
His head tipped to her neck and he inhaled slowly, then he whispered against her skin, “Something as good as this can definitely not be wrong, Lana.”
She sucked in courage and nudged him back. “I’d like to be alone.” Twisting away from him, she scrambled to gather her strewn clothes.
“Lana.” The tone of his voice on verged on ruthless.
“I’m sorry, Marcus,” she whispered. “This…” Lana waved her hand in the space between them. “This is so confusing.”
He just stood there, staring at her with a stern expression. A rebellious lock of hair hooked his brow, daring her to come closer and fix it into place.
With his trousers puddled at his ankles and a sexy scowl darkened his lustrous eyes, he gritted out, “We can fuck, Lana. Just once.”
She hugged the tank top close to her chest. “I’m not like the rest of your women, Marcus. I won’t just drop at your feet when you demand it. I’m in a relationship with Rory, and this is his house. Now, please leave. I won’t do this to him.”
Her head shook but her body remained on high alert, sensitised and aching for his touch.
A powerful hand swept the hair back from his brow while he slowly gained control of his heavy breathing. She could see the internal battle flash behind his stormy eyes and secretly hoped he would take her anyway.
This was all her fault for letting things go too far, for teasing him with false hope of a happy ending for his dick. He inched back, took a deep breath and rounded his shoulders in what was almost a light shrug.
They stood in silence for a moment, then Marcus finally pulled up his boxers and his trousers, turned and sauntered away, leaving her all alone in the kitchen.
Her heart lurched, hearing footsteps that took him away, the devastating sound magnified in the heated silence. Had he glanced back, he would’ve seen tears of frustration spill down her flushed cheeks as the front door clicked shut behind him.
* * *
Rory returned, looking rather worse for wear, shortly after ten the following morning.
Bleary-eyed and sickly pale, his monosyllabic greeting irked her to the core as he trudged up the stairs and slumped into bed.
This was truly the craziest scenario she had ever encountered. Her boyfriend had spent the night with another woman. And she knew about beforehand.
Yet she’s the fool who turned away a man who ignited a soaring blaze of passion in her soul. She was either loyal to the core or kidding herself that Rory was the right guy for her.
An ache pinched her heart as she recalled the agony on Marcus’s handsome face when she pushed him away. What woman would lead a guy on, suck his dick and tease him into thinking they would have sex—then ask him to leave before it went that far?
No doubt he went back to his apartment with a better replacement. They weren’t hard to come by for a wealthy man like him. She imagined he only had to walk into a room, and the women gathered like vultures.
A harsh wave of jealousy crashed over her, or was it regret. The devil had offered her a taste of the forbidden, and she declined. Even though it pained her to watch him walk away, both of them unsatisfied.
Moving downstairs and away from Rory, she flipped open her laptop and paused for a second to check he was still soundly asleep. Then she typed the name Marcus McGrath into the search engine.
Reams of links displayed before her eyes.
‘McGrath dines out with Ally Doyle in Barcelona, May 2016’
An old picture popped up. Even though it was dated a few years ago, her silly heart shattered. She studied his sultry smile and glossy white teeth, the same teeth that had both bitten and teased her to a frenzy.