Seducing Phoebe (Crimson Romance) (6 page)

She wanted to push the plate away and demand they talk right then, but she was starving. The apple she’d had before she’d gone to the beach was so long ago. A quick look at the time glowing on the microwave showed it was close to midday. She had been at the beach a long time.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” Phoebe said around a mouthful of food. “But it won’t work.”

“What am I trying do?” Marco asked as he sat beside her with his own plate. Suddenly the spacious breakfast bar shrunk in size.

“You’re dragging out having our little chat, hoping I will change my mind and let you stay. But it won’t work.” She put her sandwich back on her plate. “I need to be by myself, Marco.”

• • •

Marco looked at the woman beside him. Her damp hair was drying in soft curls around her shoulders. His hands itched to reach out and touch the silky blonde strands. It had taken all his willpower not to sweep her up in his arms and kiss her when she’d walked onto the back patio. Her bikini had showcased the body he adored. If he closed his eyes the image of her as she wandered up from the beach would play like a movie. A movie he was happy to sit and watch over and over and over again.

He knew he wasn’t going to leave, no matter what she said or wanted. He was determined to fight for her.

“Why do you need to be by yourself?”

She hesitated as if she was trying to work out what to say. Was she only giving lip service to him? Was she expecting John to come and see her? Had he already visited Phoebe? He clenched his fist at the thought of another man touching her. Phoebe was his and he didn’t share.

He counted to ten, getting a reign on the anger that was starting to sizzle through him.

“It’s not that hard of a question to answer.” He kept his voice neutral so as not to give any indication of what he was truly feeling. “Or is the reason you don’t want to answer and you want to get me out of here quickly, is because you’re expecting someone else to turn up on your doorstep?”

“I can’t believe you said that,” Phoebe gasped. “Why would you even think that?”

“Quite easily; it’s not an unreasonable conclusion to come to.” He paused and finished off the final mouthful of his food. “After all, you broke off our engagement because of another man.”

He quickly picked up her plate, as he had visions of the food remaining on the plate being dumped over his head.

“I think you should leave.”

Marco took the plates over to the trashcan and scraped the remnants of their lunch into it. He’d overstepped the mark. He’d let his anger and jealousy get the better of him. He couldn’t regret it though — what he’d said had been nothing but the truth. Phoebe had used the re-appearance of John back in her life as a reason to break off their engagement.

He placed the plates in the sink and walked back over to where she was still sitting at the counter, her back so straight he was surprised it didn’t shatter.

If he wanted to get things back on track he needed to make amends. He sighed and walked over to where she sat on the high kitchen stool, her back so rigid and straight he could feel the anger emanating from her. Anger he’d put there with his crass words. He placed his hands on her shoulders and swiveled her around so that she was facing him. She refused to look at him so he lifted her chin with his finger so that their eyes connected. The hurt shining in them pierced his heart.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. They weren’t easy words to say because he had spoken the truth before, but he didn’t want to hurt her. The last thing he wanted was to push her away when his only goal was to bring her closer to him again.

When she didn’t respond, he said it a little louder. “I’m sorry. What I said was uncalled for.”

She placed her hands on his chest and for a moment he thought she was going to push him away. It was what he deserved. Instead, her hands flattened against his chest. Her fingers tapped softly against his shirt, before moving up to his shoulders. He held his breath as he waited for what her next move was going to be.

• • •

Phoebe had no idea what she was doing trailing her hands from Marco’s chest to his shoulders. All she knew was that when he’d turned her around and apologized, all the reasons as to why they had gotten together in the first place fired to the forefront of her mind. She couldn’t deny the physical attraction that still flared and burned brightly between them. Slipping off the stool she closed the distance until she was flush against his hard body. She sighed when his arms closed around her, cementing their embrace.

The hairs on her arms stood to attention and her skin quivered to life. This was their strong point. Physically, they matched. No matter how hard she tried to forget, her body remembered, and shouted at her to give in to its urges and wants and needs.

They stood locked in an embrace, not saying anything for long moments. She pulled away; even though she wanted to stay where she was, she knew she couldn’t. It was clear Marco didn’t want to let her go, because he pulled her tight against him again. She looked up to ask what was going on and found her lips captured by his.

His lips moved softly over hers. There was no arrogance in the kiss. It was full of promises, and she didn’t want it to end. She got up on her tiptoes and opened her mouth under his. The kiss became more and more intense with each passing second. She jumped slightly when his hands connected with her skin. She hadn’t even felt them move down and under her t-shirt.

The need to feel his warm flesh overwhelmed her. She reciprocated the action and lifted his shirt until she felt the muscles of his back. Her breasts ached for his touch, to feel his hands caressing them the way he always had. She pulled her lips away from his and angled her neck to allow him to trail hot kisses along her jaw line before nibbling at the tender flesh below her ear.

“Marco,” she moaned as he sucked on her ear lobe. She grabbed his head so that his lips could torture hers again. The kiss had gone from sweet to erotic in a matter of seconds. Their tongues dueled, trying to get the upper hand in the sweet torment they were treating each other to.

It felt so right.

“Why?” Marco asked as he pulled his lips away from hers and rested his cheek against hers, the light stubble from his re-growth causing shivers to course through her. “Why are you throwing all this away?”

With those words, the mood had been killed. The fire inside her doused in a coldness like that first dive into the cold ocean. She pushed him away as she wrestled with her shirt, pulling it down over her bare skin. She was surprised her bra was still intact. Marco was a professional at getting her bra undone with a quick flick of his wrist.

Phoebe hated to think what would’ve happened if he hadn’t pulled away. She couldn’t believe she’d lost her head with just one touch of his lips. This was why she needed to be alone. She couldn’t trust her feelings or her thoughts when all it took was one kiss and she was a melting heap of hormones. If she was truthful with herself, she wasn’t dealing very sensibly with the situation they were now in. It was so unlike her to fly off the handle at every word or touch.

She needed to get control back, and she was going to start now. No more acting like a whiny child who wasn’t getting her own way.

“I think you should leave now.” She walked away, heading towards the front door to show him out.

“No, I don’t think so, Phoebe,” he said with quiet resolve. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She wanted to scream in frustration at his refusal to do what she asked. All thoughts of changing and becoming calm and rational flew out the window with a couple of sentences. Why was he being so difficult? Why was she only now seeing this arrogant, stubborn side of him?

She put her hands on her hips, hoping he could see she wasn’t in the mood for any more of his behavior. She should’ve realized her stance wouldn’t touch him. “I don’t believe I invited you here in the first place — you just turned up. I told you I needed some time out. Why can’t you respect that?”

“Because I think you’re wrong. I believe we’re perfect for each other. You can’t deny that we have passion between us.”

Phoebe resisted the urge to fan her face as a blush stole over it. She couldn’t deny it; they did have amazing chemistry. But she wasn’t going to let “amazing chemistry” rule her life. Chemistry fizzled out and you were left with nothing.

“You’re right. But a relationship needs more than just hot chemistry to make it work.”

“I thought we were doing a pretty good job with our relationship, before your
friend
came back to town. We were only a few weeks away from being married. I don’t think that makes our relationship empty.”

“If I’d known you were this arrogant, I’d never have gone out with you in the first place. I can’t believe this,” she said as she walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. What she really wanted was a glass of wine, but she didn’t want to give Marco any indication that his presence disturbed her. “Why are you acting the way you are?”

“I’m not usually this way,” he said on a sigh and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. It gave him a much younger, sexier look. She definitely needed something cold to drink now.

“So I guess it’s just dumb luck that I’m seeing you act this way then?”

He laughed and the sound lifted some of the darkness that had pervaded her soul after their kiss. “Consider yourself privileged.”

“I’d hardly call it a privilege, but whatever.” She drained the rest of her water, still itching for a wine. If only he’d leave then she could enjoy a glass of her favorite vintage on the back patio, gazing out at the ocean. “So are you leaving now?”

She gripped the counter as he once again moved into her personal space. He placed his arms on either side of her, trapping her. She didn’t want to admit it, but she quite liked this more assertive Marco. She certainly wasn’t going to let him know — if she did, then he’d never leave her alone.

“I told you before, I’m not going anywhere.” He whispered the words against her cheek.

The shiver she experienced wasn’t from the cold water she’d just finished. It had everything to do with the six-foot-two male in front of her. If she moved her head a fraction to the left she’d be able to graze her lips against his cheek. Then a couple of more millimeters and she’d be able to kiss his lips. With his body pressed up against her, she could tell that this close embrace was affecting him as well. She wiggled her hips slightly and his indrawn breath was the response she wanted.

“I don’t want a quick roll in the hay with you, Marco.” Phoebe gave him a shove and slipped under his arms. She walked out of the kitchen.

“Did I say I wanted a
roll in the hay,
as you so eloquently put it?”

“You’ve heard of the saying
actions speak louder than words
?” She waved her hand around in the air. “It was pretty clear by your actions that you want something.”

He threw back his head and laughed again. It was a rare sight to see him laugh so freely. Even though they were in the midst of an emotional upheaval they were joking around. Something they’d not really done before.

A thought struck her — she claimed that he didn’t know her, but she didn’t really know him either. Not the real Marco, and that was the reason she couldn’t marry him. She couldn’t deny that she was attracted to him. But she wanted more than just attraction. She wanted to be able to do what they were doing right now. This lighthearted banter was something they’d never done. Between her work hours and his work functions, they’d never really done the casual date thing where they sat on the couch with popcorn and watched an action flick followed by a chick flick.

That had been what was missing. That was why she’d rekindled ideas of perhaps getting back with John because they had done fun things together. Their whole relationship had been based on fun. How long would that have lasted? How long before fun wasn’t fun anymore?

“You’re thinking really hard there, sweetheart. Are you coming up with any answers?”

Phoebe hadn’t heard him move to her side. He didn’t touch her. His hands hung loosely by his side, but she could’ve been held in a tight embrace with the comfort she felt from him standing next to her.

“We don’t know each other, do we? I mean
really
know each other.” She walked over to the couches and sat down. The sun glinted off the ocean and it looked like a blue piece of silk with diamonds sprinkled over it. “I got so caught up in the moment,” she whispered to herself. “Everyone around me was married and starting families. I wanted that too.”

“Are you saying you feel nothing for me at all?” Marco asked as he took a seat on the couch beside her. “Because let me tell you, I wasn’t caught up in the moment. I knew exactly what I wanted then, and I know exactly what I want now.”

Phoebe let her hands be enveloped in Marco’s larger ones. She wanted to believe that he felt more for her. But he’d never told her he loved her. He’d never told her much about his past or his past relationships, even though he’d known all about her sorry relationship with John. All Marco had said was that he’d had a couple of serious relationships but they hadn’t worked out.

“And what is it you want?” she asked.

“You,” he said simply as he brushed his thumb over her hand. Electrical currents zapped along her arm, causing her brain to short-circuit. “And I don’t plan on leaving until I have you back.”

Phoebe wrapped her arms around her body as she gazed at the setting sun. After Marco’s declaration she’d given up trying to make him leave and had gone to her room where she’d fallen asleep. When she’d woken a few hours later she’d found the house empty, and a feeling of desolation had come over her. So much for him saying he wasn’t leaving until he had her again.

Now, as the sun said its final goodbye to her, she wondered what she was going to do that evening.

With a sigh she turned — and stopped. Leaning against the doorframe stood Marco. He’d changed from his earlier t-shirt and shorts into jeans and a button down shirt. She’d never seen the jeans before, they looked well worn and soft, and hugged him in all the right places.