“No, it didn’t. My brother dug it out of my hip bone with a pair of pliers,” he says, sounding proud.
I wince, imagining the pain.
I’m busy sticking down the last pieces of sterile bandages when he says, “I stepped infant of my brother.”
Looking up at him, I knit my brows and ask, “What do you mean?”
He sighs. “They shot at Simon. The guys we delivered to. It was going well, but then one of the brothers mistook him for someone else and got all worked up. He pointed the gun at him, and when I saw him squeeze the trigger, I stepped in front of him.”
My heart clenches tight, realizing just how much love this man has for his family. His protective nature goes above and beyond the norm. He was willing to give his life for his brother.He’s a good man, Stef. Only a good man would do something so selfless.
“Is Simon ok?” I ask quietly.
“Yes, the guy’s brothers freaked out at him and took him down, apologizing to us profusely. They promised us they would deal with him properly, but begged us to spare him.”
“And did you?”
“Of course, I think he was high. He needs rehab or something. I trust his older brother; we’ve worked with him for years.”
“That’s kind of… to forgive like that,” I whisper.
Marlen falls quiet, and in the passing moments, my body burns for him. Not just for his body but for his protectiveness. The love he has in his heart. His goodness. I want to feel all of it.
The more I think about it, the more I let myself feel the desire—the angrier I get with myself.
Frustration begins to build, and as I stand up, finished tending to him, I snap, “So you can forgive that guy, but not my family. That doesn’t seem fair. He almost killed you, and you just shrug it off?” Marlen stands too, but I’m so close to him that he ends up pressed right against me with my back against the bathroom basin.
“It’s not the same thing, Stefania. It’s a different situation. People can be purposeful and vindictive, and people can make mistakes. Those are two different things,” he growls.
I glare up at him, my face inches from his.
“People make mistakes. Exactly my point. People… people can…”
My eyes trace over his lips, his perfect jaw, up to those gorgeous hazel-green eyes, and suddenly I have no idea what I am saying.
Marlen growls again and steps closer to me. He puts his hand on the countertop behind me and pins me in place. I don’t know what he’s doing, and I don’t seem to care because all I can think about are his lips.
Standing on my tiptoes, I wrap my arm around his neck and pull him lower, onto my mouth.
Our lips lock together.
The kiss is electrifying.
It’s a catastrophic release of tension.
My body lights like wildfire as I press harder against his mouth. Every inch of me is humming with need.
Chapter 9 - Marlen
She arches against me, moaning against my mouth, sending currents through me that steal my breath and my thoughts. Her lips are perfect. Soft, smooth, warm, and sweet. I slip my hand around her lower back and pull her even closer, my cock growing hard against her as she digs her fingers into my shoulders. My body is screaming, melting, surging with feelings I don’t recognize.
Stefania moans again, and the sound is making me lose control.
I want her so badly. I’ve never experienced a kiss this intense.
Is it because I’ve been denying this from the moment I met her? Pushing away the thoughts of desire, the need, the yearning. All of that resistance is falling away now, leaving me with this raw, feverish lust. I didn’t realize howbadlyI wanted this, and now that I’ve tasted her, how do I stop myself from wanting more?
I thread my hand up into her soft hair and knot my fingers through the dark strands. She gasps when I gently pull her hair and tilt her head further back to deepen the kiss. I could take her now. She’s eager. It would be easy.
