The doorman didn’t blink at the blood on Marco’s shirt, merely greeted him with, “Good evening.”
“Who’s Lara?” she asked.
“Matthias’s woman. Wife.”
“Wow, and you mentioned Sky’s with Ryker now?” she asked. “That’s a lot of changes in a short time.”
“It’s about time those two bastards found women who could handle them,” Marco said. “Although I’m still not sure what Sky sees in Ryker.”
Lila poked a finger into Marco’s cheek.
“What?” he asked as the elevator reached his floor—the pent-house suit. There was only one unit here and she wouldn’t be surprised if he owned the entire building.
“You’re in a good mood again,” she simply said. They got out of the elevator. There was a guy wearing a suit standing right outside the door. Marco nodded to him. She didn’t recognize this one but he seemed professional and didn’t give her a second glance. Marco opened the door and flicked the switch on.
Lila’s heart thudded violently. Normal people didn’t make jokes after seeing someone murdered. Was something inherently wrong with her? They entered Marco’s apartment.
“Where’s the kit?” she asked.
“Bathroom. This way.”
She followed him, curiously looking around his apartment. It was spacious and had doors leading to what looked like a pool. Marco opened the bathroom door and pulled out a first-aid kit from the shelf above the sink.
Lila pulled the toilet seat down and made him sit. Marco complied. He looked a little baffled by her actions. She didn’t know what she was doing either.
“Take off your shirt. I want to see your arm.”
“Just a graze, I told you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure. Dad used to say stuff like that all the time. Just a minor wound, bruise, whatever. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“No one talks to me like that,” Marco remarked but nonetheless did as she asked.
He unbuttoned his white shirt, revealing hard planes of muscle and ink. She swallowed and wondered if she’d made the wrong move. For a second, all she wanted to do was reach out, explore every inch of his marked skin, and touch the fierce beasts embedded there. A hawk’s wings wrapped around his right shoulder. A dragon curled around his six-pack abs and ribs and probably the entirety of his back.
“Like what you see?” Marco sounded amused.
The smug bastard knew she was gaping. She cleared her throat and focused on her task. Lila opened the first-aid kit and took out her supplies. She cleaned the wound first, and Marco didn’t even let out a hiss when she dabbed it with disinfectant.
“You’ve been patched many times, huh?” she asked.
He said nothing as she finished placing a bandage over the cut. He was right. It was just a graze, but she was glad she’d taken care of it. She packed everything back in the kit and set it aside. What next?
The last thing she wanted to do was sleep. The image of the dead man would haunt her in her sleep. Had she done the right thing in keeping quiet? Lila couldn’t turn the clock back now. She’d made her choice. All that was left was to stick to it, stick by her man, except was Marco her man?
“You’re good at this. Too good,” he finally said. Marco stood up, practically towering over her. Her back touched the counter. She let out a squeal when he placed his hands on her waist and lifted her so her ass sat on the marble surface.
Marco positioned himself between her legs. God. He looked good, just in his pants. Lila’s dress rode up her thighs so that her black lace panties were exposed to his face. He slid his hand up her thigh and she didn’t bat it away. She breathed hard.
“What happened just now won’t happen again,” he told her, looking deep into her eyes. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Just tell me something. That guy—he wasn’t a good man, was he?”
Marco shook his head. “He’s working for the Bratva. They control most of the drug trade in the city and use bastards like that all the time. Addicts to do their dirty business for them.”
“That’s low,” she whispered.
“Listen to me, Lila. He would’ve killed me, then you without hesitation. If he’d failed, he’d tattle to his bosses about you, about us. That’d put you in harm’s way and I can’t have that. That’s why he needed to die.”