A wall of a man.
I blinked, my eyes trailing up from the thick boots, past the black jeans and thetattoos snaking up his arms, to the broad shoulders barely contained by his black shirt. And then I saw his face. Tanned, sharp jaw, messy dark hair, and eyes so deep and stormy I half-expected thunder to roll in behind him.
“Oh,” Was all my brain could think to say.
He tilted his head, those dark eyes zeroing in on me. “Cora Holland?”
I took a step back, my pulse quickening. “Who wants to know?”
He raised a dark eyebrow. “Well, me.” Bluntness dripped of his voice.
Oh lucky me. Another example of why I liked girls as well as this corruptgender.
“Right… am I allowed some context?" I rolled my eyes, hiking my thumb over my shoulder. "You see, I left my crystal ball upstairs and I'm not really one for cardio before lunch.”
Mystery man cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping over me like he was sizingme up. I didn’t hate the attention, but I didn’t like it either. Something about it felt… warm. Which didn’t make sense, considering the almost black colour of his eyes and the fact that his voice sounded like a rock being dragged across gravel.
“I'm Marcus,” he said finally, slight smile on his lips. “I’m the head of Romano Security.”
Romano Security? What the hell is—?
He’s the best of the best of the Romano group. He’ll keep you safe. Oh, andhere he is now. Cora, this is Jamie Radcliffe.
My palms went clammy at the thought of him. I didn’t need this right now. Nottoday. Not ever.
I looked back up at the man before me. Head of Romano Security? Sohe’stheone who trained Jamie into thebest of the best?
I blinked at him, deadpan. “Okay? What do you want, a gold star and a highfive?”
He smirked, the corner of his mouth lifting like he half expected my tone. “No.I’m here to—”
“Uh huh,” I cut him off with a yawn, pushing past him toward the steps. “I’ve got somewhereto be.”
As I tried to move, his arm shot out, blocking my path.
I stopped short, glaring up at him. “And what right do you think you have tocrowd me like that?”
The second the words left my mouth, the memories hit. Jamie. His hand on myarm, his voice in my ear, the way he made me feel trapped in my own skin.
My chest tightened like a vice, and I took a step back.
Marcus’s eyes darted between mine, something flickering in them. Concern,maybe? Guilt? I didn’t care.
“I came here to apologise,” he admitted after a moment, his voice softer as his arm fell, his hand shoved in his pocket. “Onbehalf of everyone at Romano.”
As I kept my eyes darting between his, anger whirled up my body the longer I was under his shadow. “Wow.”My head nodded, genuine disbelief masking my face. “Thank youfor apologising for something that happened nearly three months ago. God, I feelsomuch better.”
His jaw tightened, but he stepped back, giving me space as I moved past himdown the steps.
“Look, I know you’re angry,” he called after me, his voice hardening again. “Believe me, we all are. But I wanted to let you know that we’re doing our best to get youanother—”
“Another what? Another slimy man-child youwon’t background check properly so he can take advantage of me again?” My voice shook, my hands curling into fists at my sides as the words fired out of me like bullets. “That sick fuck hurt me. So if you think for one second I’m putting any ounce of trust into a stranger who helped ruin my life, then I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad fucking news.” I turned on my high tops and headed down the rest of the steps, clocking the black car blocking our drive. “Now go clean your pathetic little Porsche and piss off, would you?”
“It’s aBentley, actually.” Marcus’s voice stopped me in my tracks, dripping with dry amusement.
I glanced over my shoulder to see the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. So I mirrored him. “Well,if you can afford a Bentley, you can afford a watch,” I shot back, “just in case this happens again and you don’t apologise three months late.”
For a moment, neither of us moved. His smirk faltered, the bravado thinningjust enough for me to glimpse something raw beneath it, something he clearly didn’t want me to see. The air between us felt heavier, stretched taut, like I’d hit closer to the bone than I meant to.
