Marco (The Men of Indecent Exposure #1) (28 page)

My mind replayed the first time I let him enter my body as I rode him now on the bed. He gripped my breasts gently at first, and then harder when I placed one hand on top of his, showing him how I wanted to be touched. He was always so careful with me, but now was not the time. Right now, I wanted him at full strength, full power.

Another image crossed my thoughts and I remembered how hard he made me come that first time and how good it felt to have him come inside
me
. I could recall my thoughts being a blurred mess of
‘we shouldn’t be doing this’
and
‘but it feels so damn good’.
Thinking about it all, I rode him harder.

“Ve más despacio,” he moaned, his words reaching beyond the Spanish I understood.

Not bothering to stop and ask for clarity, I rocked and grinded on him harder, feeling the friction of his body inside mine as the onset of an orgasm hummed in my core. A whimper left my mouth in a much higher tone than the normal sound of my voice. It filled the air as I clenched his chest in my fingers. Every drop of tension and frustration flooded from my body in one rush of energy. Watching me, feeling my wetness cover him when it surged, Marco gripped my hips tighter and arched upward, closing the distance between his face and mine. The next second, a burst of hot fluid entered my body when it left his.

His deep, gruff voice filled the air around us as more Spanish spilled from his lips, causing goosebumps to prickle my skin at the sound of it. His palms were damp against my back as I rode him those last few seconds until he finished. When I was sure he was just as satisfied as I was, I eased back into position at his side, panting.

We had both been fighting this for so long, fighting this immense pull. Finally giving in to it was everything I imagined it would be and
then
some. I couldn’t remember ever feeling more satisfied in
any
aspect—physical, emotional. Marco had reached me on every level, maxed me out to the point of not being able to see straight. Even though we were done, he was still everywhere, holding all of my senses hostage as I focused on absolutely nothing but this high he had me on.

My stomach tightened in a way that was uncomfortable, but not alarming like last time. Whatever was happening made the baby more active and I placed my hand there to feel her as I continued to breathe heavy. Marco glanced over and concern filled his eyes the next second.

“You good?” he asked, still breathless himself. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Seeing him switch hats so quickly, going from
‘papi-mode’
to actual
‘daddy-mode
’ made me smile.

“I’m fine,” I assured him. When I reached for his hand, he laid it flat over my belly, feeling what
I
felt—our daughter moving more strongly than I ever experienced.

He smiled a bit and then his eyes found mine the next second. I was surprised to see so much emotion behind them, but most of all there was contentment. There was any number of ways to end our evening together, several ways to solidify our bond, but… Marco said it best without using words at all. He turned onto his side and placed a kiss on my stomach. It was perfect timing, perfect everything.

His fingers continued to trace the spot where his little
princessa
had just moved and he daydreamed for a moment. I found myself wondering what had him so dazed, but then he let me in, said aloud the thought that caused him to drift away.

“That’s us in there,” he smiled, inciting another kick from our little one. “That’s you and me.”

Feeling overwhelmed by this moment, and even the one that had just passed, I took a deep breath. Another kiss pressed to our daughter and I wondered if anything else in my life had ever been this perfect.

But it was like I said, I was listening to that still, small voice that told me not to fret about the future, because if I had to guess, Marco would do his damnedest to make sure everything worked out.

Marco

I slept better with her in my bed both times she stayed over. Whenever I moved to turn over or stretch, she was right there and I loved it; loved sharing my space with her. When we woke up this morning, she was in my arms. Her round belly pressed against my side while her head rested on my chest. It didn’t get any better than this.

We showered and ate a light breakfast together, but she needed to get home to her friend and I was due to meet the guys at the gym. It would’ve been nice to just chill at my place with her all day, but, with us both having places to be, it would have to wait until some other time.

Resting my forearm across Brynn’s open driver-side window, I stared at her pretty lips and remembered all the incredible things she did with them the night before. When I pressed a kiss to her mouth, she was smiling as I pulled away.

“Drive safe, okay?”

She nodded at my words and her eyes went to my chest, reminding me I hadn’t bothered with a shirt before stepping outside.

“You coming back later?” I asked, having a momentary lapse in memory, which made her laugh.

“I would if I didn’t have company.”

I shook my head. “Damn… I forgot just that quick.”

Her smile widened and she pushed one side of her hair behind her ear. “I’ll call, though,” she promised.

I looked her up and down, seeing the deep brown of her thighs where her shorts didn’t cover. “You better,” I teased, kissing her one last time just because I had to.

After that, I leaned away from her car, watched her back out of my driveway, and into the street. She had my mind completely gone, shorted out, and stuck on her. That was new for me. I rarely, if ever, let myself get this attached to a woman. I usually kept a wall between me and whoever I was seeing at the time, and it worked for me. Seemed to work for them, too. On occasion, one would get too clingy, would get the wrong idea about how serious we were, but I had no problem cutting someone off who didn’t know how to play her role.

It was different with Brynn, though. I actually liked having her around and even welcomed the idea of her being the only one I spent time with.

My thoughts stayed on her as I changed for the gym and grabbed my things. As soon as I climbed in my truck and started the engine, my phone rang. Without looking, I knew it wasn’t anybody but Justin calling because I was running a little behind.

“Quit sweatin’ me. I’ll be there in a few,” I said with a laugh.

However, the light, feminine voice on the other end let me know I was wrong to assume it was one of the guys.

“Have a minute?” Elena asked in a clipped tone. I honestly didn’t expect to hear from her again after the way things went last night.

My response to her came as I backed out of the driveway. “Yeah, I can talk,” I replied casually.

I waited and listened for her to speak again, but she was quiet on the other end. When her voice finally did come back, it was laced with animosity.

“So, I’m just gonna make this quick
,”
she started. “You won’t have to worry about seeing or hearing from me anymore after this. In fact, the only reason I’m calling is because I hate not tying up loose ends.”

I didn’t speak, hearing the hurt and frustration in her tone as she forced those words from her mouth. If I had to do last night all over again, I wouldn’t have done a thing differently—choosing Brynn, the things we’d done on stage, off stage, none of it. However, that didn’t mean I didn’t feel bad for hurting Elena’s feelings in the process.

I knew seeing me choose someone other than her had to sting, especially after rejecting her when she tried to kiss me the last time we saw one another. We weren’t together in any sense of the word, but I think we were both expecting to explore that possibility once she finally moved back to Houston permanently. So… I got it. I understood why she was upset.

“Listen…” was as far as I got before Elena fired off a question.

“That was her, wasn’t it?” she asked. “The one you knocked up?”

I blew out a breath and tried to be understanding to the fact that she was upset. Normally, I would’ve checked someone for being so reckless with their words, but I let her speak. I figured she probably guessed who Brynn was last night because she’s showing so much now. And chances are, it was obvious that she and I weren’t exactly strangers up there on stage.

My lack of a response forced a cynical laugh from Elena’s mouth. “I knew it,” she breathed. “So what… you two are together now or something? Or have you been with her all along?”

I shook my head as if she could see me. “No, it wasn’t like that. I never played games with you.”

“Whatever,” she said in a huff, adding, “I knew this was a bad idea from jump, I just didn’t want to believe it.”

Pulling up to a stop sign, her words had me listening harder than I was before.

She took a moment to gather her next thought, but once she did, she didn’t hold back. “I mean… between the stripping and you admitting to getting some random chick knocked up, I should’ve known not to mess with you, but I let my idiot friend drag me back down there.” A short pause followed and she scoffed before adding, “Your life is damn a joke, Marco. A freakin’ punchline.”

“Then why the hell did you show up last night?” I asked coldly. I tried to keep my cool when my character came under fire, but I’d never been good at that.

“That’s a great question,” she said with a laugh. “Since you asked, I was actually planning to be done with you after the
last
time, but, like I said, my girl talked me into showing up. She thought I was being too cutthroat, thought I owed it to us both to talk things out, which was what I planned to do after your show.” Elena fell silent for a moment, but then came back with another revelation. “You know… it’s not that women are ignorant to that fact that men like you aren’t the kind you settle down with, but you’re so damn
good
at making us
think
we’re special. So good at making us
think
there’s hope that you’ll change one day.”

“I don’t need anyone to change me.” I felt myself getting angry, but did my best to keep it under wraps so I wouldn’t blow up at her.

She took her time thinking about that. “Yeah… well,” she scoffed. “I sure hope you enjoy being alone, because no woman in her right mind will ever take being with a guy like you seriously,” was her final conclusion. “Have a wonderful life, Marco. I sure hope this girl knows what she’s getting herself into.”

*****

Brynn

If I’d snuck back in before the sun came up, I might’ve gotten away with it, but that wasn’t the case. Leaving him last night just wasn’t happening.

“Ohhhh, you’ve got some explaining to do,” came Mona’s voice the second I walked through the door. There was a mixture of relief and amusement in her tone, but I didn’t look up to confirm either.

“What the hell
do you think you’re doing running out of here in the middle of the night? And
then
shutting your phone off?” she asked.

I closed the door and then answered. “I didn’t turn it off, it died and I didn’t have my charger on me.”

She was quiet and I finally locked eyes with her. There was definitely no anger there, just concern. I would’ve felt the same way had the tables been turned.

“I didn’t mean to have you worried,” I apologized.

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, watching as I slipped out of my shoes, and then a slow smile spread across her face. “Mmm hmm… didn’t think I heard you, huh?”

My cheeks were warm and tight with a smile of my own.

She cocked her head to the side and asked, “What’d you do?” in the most suspicious tone ever.

I set my purse down on the coffee table and then plopped down on the couch beside her. I had no intentions of hiding this from Mona, but it wouldn’t be easy to share the details about Marco I’d kept to myself. There was the possibility of her judging him, or judging
me
for having feelings for him, and… I just didn’t feel like dealing with any of it. However, she
is
my best friend and if I was going to tell anyone the whole truth, it’d be her.

Mona tilted her head to the side and took in my expression. “Whatever it is, spill it.”

I leaned against the cushion and prepared my mind for this confession, just letting the words flow uninhibited. “The Marco from last night was…
thee
Marco.”

Mona’s eyes stretched about as wide as they could as I turned to stare at her. “Wow… definitely didn’t see that coming.”

“He uh… he just told me about what he does not too long ago,” I added.

A hush filled the room as I was sure Mona was trying to digest my news. I, on the other hand, was trying not to bite my nails waiting for her to say something. Peoples’ opinions didn’t mean everything, but I can admit to caring a lot about what Mona and my brother thought of me. For one, I didn’t want them worrying about me while I was out here without family. I wanted them to know I could handle this situation I’d gotten myself into without complicating my life further. And if I had to guess, that was exactly what Mona was thinking—
‘What the hell kind of mess is this girl making of her life?’

“I um… I’m not sure what to say,” were the first words she spoke after a long pause. “I mean… of course you’re grown and I support your decisions,
whatever
they may be, but,” she paused again and I held my breath. “Are you sure you really want to get involved with…” she shrugged, trying to find the right words. “Are you sure you want to get involved with someone like that? Someone who leads that kind of life?”

And there it was, that judgement I was afraid of. No, Mona hadn’t said anything
I
probably wouldn’t have if we were in one another’s shoes, but I still hated hearing it. And even more, I didn’t like hearing that twinge of doubt in her voice—doubt that Marco was someone who had long-term potential. And it dawned on me that the reason I hated hearing that tone in her voice was because
I
was starting to see the long-term potential in him.

He was caring, protective, and had a good heart. The more time we spent together, the more I found myself longing to have my family be complete. No, I wasn’t jumping ahead and hearing wedding bells or anything like that, but I could see things with us gradually deepening as time went on. I’d take my time and I was sure Marco would agree that was best, but… yeah… I saw potential in him I didn’t months ago and Mona’s disapproving expression was dashing that growing hope—as if they hadn’t already been dashed enough.

She placed a hand on top of mine and my eyes went there. “I didn’t mean to rain on your parade,” she clarified. “I’m not trying to be negative or anything. I’m just making sure you’re not being blinded by those hearts I see in your eyes,” she added sweetly, smiling when she spoke.

I always valued Mona and Ced’s opinions. They knew me better than anyone and, therefore, I listened when they expressed concern for me or my decisions. That wasn’t me letting people run my life; that’s wisdom. These weren’t just people off the street who liked to tell me how to live just because they enjoyed hearing themselves speak. These were people who loved and cared about me. So, for that reason, I didn’t rush to speak just to defend myself, Marco, or my feelings. I let Mona’s words sink in and I listened with my mind as well as my heart.

“Can I ask you something?” she said next, cutting into my now cluttered thoughts.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“If it wasn’t for you having this baby and if you’d known what he does for a living from the beginning… would you give him the time of day?”

I thought about that, but when I opened my mouth to speak, Mona cut in again.

“I mean, consider everything, Brynn,” she added.

So I did. I considered everything. I thought about how, before realizing he danced, he wasn’t typically available on weekends for anything other than quick check-ins and rushed conversations. I thought about how late he’d gotten in the night before from the club. I thought about run-ins with people who’d seen him perform and the implications that could have on my life… on my child’s life. Would I be okay with having to hide that side of who Marco was just so people wouldn’t judge us? Would I want to deal with the repercussions that could arise when people inevitably did find out? Was I okay with the women throwing themselves at him? Was I okay with him having to pretend to love it while he took to the stage for them to gawk at him? Touch him? Was I prepared for all of that?