Marked. Part I: The missing Link (30 page)

I oblige because I'm not emotionally ready for the repercussions of what will happen if we kiss, and for this to be realized while drunk tells me I'm making a smart decision.

“As you wish,” I softly say, opening my eyes to meet his before focusing back on the movie, hoping he caught exactly how I meant that to be taken.

Still drunk enough to admit to Jay I love him.

Stupid drunken idiot.

Jay wraps his arms tightly around me, resting his cheek on my head, and we tangle our legs together. For a blissful moment, I let myself pretend he's mine.

Chapter 30

Thursday, January 23

9:28am

“
Time to wake up, Lily.” I feel a smack on my ass.

“
Hey!” I cry, rubbing it over the sheet, “Can I stay here and sleep while you go see Arianna?”

Memories of last night at the club coming flooding back, and that mixed with my headache has me wanting to avoid Arianna's hotel room at all costs. Thank God we did not go home with her last night, that would have sucked (and ripped my heart out).

“No, you need to come with me.”

“
Please don't have sex when I'm there,” I groan, throwing off the covers and heading to the bathroom.

“
I thought you didn't care,” Jay reminds me while brushing his teeth.

I close the bathroom door for privacy and raise my voice so he can hear.

“That was the alcohol talking. I guarantee if we had actually gone to her room and I had had to hear you guys doing it, I would have puked all over her perfect little suite.”

I hear him rinse out his mouth and I flush the toilet.

“I was never going to sleep with her.”

I open the door and wash my hands, “That's not what it looked like last night.”

He's standing behind me and we stare at each other through the mirror.

He starts to smile, “So you do care?”

I nod my head, face flushing in embarrassment.

He's still smiling and slaps my ass, “Get dressed so we can go.”

I begin to change, “Why weren't you?”

“
Going to sleep with her?”

I nod yes as I pull down my shirt, realizing I had just been completely nude in front of Jay and then dressed without even realizing it. We are getting way to comfortable with each other.

Jay flips his shades down, “I didn't want to.”

“
Would you have if I wasn't here?”

“
Yea,” he responds honestly and it makes my stomach drop. Well, boo.

I put on my sunglasses to hide the hurt in my eyes, followed by my new hat, and I brush my teeth.

Once we're in the cab I talk again, “She's gorgeous.”

“
Yeah, she is,” Jay confirms, staring out the window.

“
Do you love her?”

“
No.”

“
Did you ever?”

“
No.”

“
She said you were each others' first?”

“
Yeah, we were.”

“
So, you must care about her?”

Jay scratches his scruff, “What's with all the questions?”

“Just curious,” and jealousy's a real bitch. “She told me the two off you spent a week in a hotel, never leaving.” I loathe the animosity and bitterness in my voice. I lasted a nanosecond at playing aloof with him. Have I mentioned how hopeless I am?

Jay laughs, “She told you that?”

“Yes.” Stupid pout forming on my face, “Did you?”

“
Kinda. We were in Vegas doing a job together. We never left the hotel we stayed at – which isn't hard to do. So technically, yeah, we never left, but she mislead you a bit. I think she's jealous of you.”

My turn to laugh.

“I'm serious. The whole time we danced she kept asking me questions exactly like you're doing. She even called this morning to ask about what happened when we got back to the hotel.”

“
I didn't hear the phone ring.”

“
You were passed out and snoring.” He rubs the side of my mouth with his thumb, “With a little bit of drool.”

I bite the tip, causing him to groan. I have no clue what possess me to do this but I take the whole thing into my mouth and suck.

Jay's eyes darken, “I wouldn't do that if I were you...”

“
Why?” I ask around his thumb. He closes his eyes as my lips travel up, slowly releasing it.

“
Fuck it,” Jay growls, sliding over and taking hold of my face, smashing our lips together and forcefully kissing me. His tongue thrusts inside and his hands form into fists in my hair, knocking my hat off, forcing me closer, and his mouth devours mine in a way he never has before. I'm lost in a sea of pleasure tearing through my body.

My hands take hold of his neck and we begin to slide down in the seat, our lips sucking and biting, our bodies grinding into each other.

The driver clears his throat, “I'm going to ask you two to wait until you leave my cab before taking that any further.”

Out of the corner of my eye I watch Jay reach into his pocket – never breaking his lips from mine – and throw a hundred over the seat.

“Carry on,” the driver chuckles.

And
oh god
do we ever. I thought we'd had heated kisses before, but this one surpasses them all. When the driver slams on his brakes it forces Jay's erection against me and we both whimper. He places his hand on the back of the driver's seat to steady us from tumbling to the floor. When the car starts moving again he brings it to my waist, under my shirt. He starts to stroke my bare skin, sliding it around my back and unsnapping my bra.

Are we seriously doing this in the back of a taxi?

When his fingers find my nipple I stop caring and get lost in the moment.

His hand reaches for my pants and I stop him from going any further, “Jay, stop, we can't do this here.”

I'm panting and breathless, but so is he as he groans and rests our foreheads together.

“
I guess I got a little carried away.”

“
Maybe a little,” I smile and peck his lips, which only makes us go at it again.

“
We've arrived at The Fairmont, my guess is right on time,” the driver says, sounding highly amused.

We break apart, both of us pulling down our shirts and sitting back up, wiping our mouths, completely out of breath. I reach to refasten my bra. Jay pays the driver and I can't look at him as we exit.

Once on the sidewalk we both start laughing. Jay pulls me to him and kisses along my neck, “I never knew how fun taxi rides could be.”

“
It's us, Jay. We could make waiting in an airport fun.”

“
Mmm,” his lips brush along my jaw, “I never tried that one before.”

“
You're insatiable, you know that?”

“
Only when it comes to you.”

Our mouths are back together, our tongues assaulting the others.

“It's real convenient we're at a hotel right now,” Jay says against my lips.

“
Only because we're supposed to be meeting Arianna, or we would already be in a bed,” I feel the need to point out.

“
Oh shit, I forgot about that.”

Jay rubs the top of his head and we both give the other a goofy grin. He takes my hand, interlocking our fingers, and we head inside.

I'm thrilled when the elevator is packed tight and Jay pulls me against his front. I can feel his still hard erection pressed against my back. He slowly slides his hands down my arms, leaving behind goosebumps, and he holds my hands, crossing them around my waist. He's nibbling on my ear and I can feel his smile that's not quite as large as mine.

I have no clue what just happened to my life in the past twenty minutes. We went from flirting and occasional touches to being the couple we were before he left.

Am I ready to go down this road, knowing he'll be sending me on my way again? I wish I had an answer. Both of my options leave me wanting Jay, so do I have him while I can, falling further in love, or do I stop this and hope the pain won't be as great? This is when I wish I had a girlfriend to talk to.

Jay answers the questions for me when Arianna answers her door and he promptly drops my hand, taking a sidestep to form a nice gap between us. I try not to let the hurt register on my face.

Arianna is standing there looking sensational in a black lace-trim skirt that hits mid-thigh. The top is a tucked in white long-sleeve blouse with big round gold cufflinks that feature the Oscar de la Renta's floral symbol. Her feet are wearing black booties. Her makeup is more overdone than I think is necessary for her kind of rare beauty, but she looks classy and incredibly sexy.

We walk into the suite and I watch as her hair gleams and glistens from the natural light pouring out of the open window while she sashays further inside. She belongs in a museum for all to gawk at.

The room is spectacular, but not surprising; it would feel wrong for Arianna to be in anything less. The main room has a view of the bay and Coit Tower in the distance.

Jay takes a seat on the only couch, putting himself in perfect view of the window. I decide to sit cross-legged on the oversized cushioned chair – it's the furthest seat from Jay. I did this on purpose because it's hard for me to concentrate on anything but his lips right now. Any closer and I'm not sure I would be in control of my actions.

Arianna joins Jay on the couch, on the end closest to me. She flips her hair over her shoulder and I catch a whiff of fresh rain.

Damn, even her smell is sexy.

It's not fair that
my
exes are Will and Matt, but I get
her
to contend with.

“
I watched the video of you two on the racetracks,” Arianna casually says, examining her nails, “That was some kiss, and one hell of a race. I had forgotten how skilled you are.”

Jay's muscles tense and his eyes harden, lowering in on Arianna, “Excuse me?”  His voice has turned menacing and gruff, a heavy scowl on his upper lip. Arianna shifts uncomfortably in her seat; I think she's nervous. Jay has switched to his intimidating, horrific persona, and for the first time it has no affect on me.

“I wasn't spying,” Arianna's voice is shaky as she responds.

It brings a smile to my face, because she has known Jay since they were thirteen and he still has the power to terrify her. I've only known him for a month and am unaffected now. I know this is not who he really is, but the person he's cultivated to overpower and have the upper hand.

I can see his skin has reddened and he's trying to rein in his rage.

“
I had that removed,” he seethes, teeth grinding together. “Fucking Lazra. I need to make a call.”

He gets up, taking long thunderous steps to the bedroom, and slams the door.

Arianna turns to me, “Is he working with Laz?” Her eyes are wide, appearing stunned.

Jay lets out a loud growl that causes Arianna to jump in her seat. We can't make out what he's saying, but there's no doubt whoever he is talking to is shitting their pants right now.

“She needs him to retrieve something for her.”

Arianna scrunches up her face in confusion, “But he hates Laz. He would never work for her.
Ever.
”

I shrug at the same time a loud roar vibrates the walls and Arianna sinks a little into her seat, nervously darting glances at the bedroom door.

“Honestly, Jay doesn't tell me much, but she's the reason I'm here. She saw that video and I guess spied on us for a while, then kidnapped me as a bargaining tool to get Jay to help her. She promised to destroy the information she has on us...me and not let anyone else see it.”

Arianna's brows shoot up, “Interesting.”

I'm about to ask her what is when Jay comes back out and takes his seat. He bends a leg up on his knee, jiggling it on his lap while he works his jaw.

Arianna turns her attention to him, “Is she really worth having to work with Laz?”

He ignores her and continues working his jaw, burning a hole in the middle couch cushion with his blazing eyes.

“
I mean, isn't keeping her with you only making it worse? It proves she means something to you. You should have sent her home right away. Laz probably thinks she's your one and now you've stupidly put her life in danger.”

This causes Jay's hands to ball up and turn white, “Yeah, well, I haven't been thinking too clearly lately.”

Jay gets up and starts pacing the room.

Arianna glances my way, “You know you can't trust her, right?”

Is she talking about me?!

Jay halts, “You don't think I fucking know that!” Then his hand points in my direction, “What the fuck was I supposed to do with her? I couldn't send her home until I knew no one else was after her. Then I made the stupid mistake of telling Laz that Lily is more important than finding the fucking Marker!”

Arianna gasps, covering her mouth with her hand, “Is she? Her real name's Lily?”

I hate how they are talking like I'm not even here, it's getting me agitated.

Jay lets out a curse and sits back down on the couch. He buries his head in his hands, “No, she's not.”