Page 32 of Asphyxia
“Marcus—”
“Stop. Trying. To deny me… just let me have this.” He murmured before claiming my mouth with his, driving his tongue so deep I didn’t even try to fight him.
Marcus loved me?
Itwasfreezingcoldoutside—the middle of a Minnesota winter. I was curled up in front of the roaring fire Adrian had just started in the living room of our rental for the weekend.
We were staying in an extravagant cabin along the north shore. A lodge that Adrian had rented for my birthday as a temporary escape. Just the two of us spending time together, alone, with nothing but the flickering light from the fireplace and the chunks of fluffy snow that fell outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was magnificent. The view, the quiet, and Adrian…
“Here, sweetheart.” Adrian smiled as he bent down and handed me a large mug filled with what smelt like mulled wine.
I could see the steam billowing from over the rim of the glass, my hands warming as I wrapped my fingers around it and inhaled the sweet and spicy aroma. I hummed as I pressed my cold lips to the mug and took a long sip.
The deliciously sweet wine warmed me from the inside as I drank, closing my eyes and letting go of all my stress from the previous week.
This was everything: the perfect birthday.
The only thing missing was my sisters, but they always refused to do anything where Adrian was involved.
It hurt that they would skip my birthday just to avoid being in the same breathing space as Adrian, but I understood where they were coming from. He never made an effort to make Chyler and Alexis like him; it was as if he didn’t even care what they thought of him.
Adrian sat down behind me, pulling me into his lap as he wrapped his body around mine. A blanket followed his arms, bundling me up in his loving embrace. I leaned back into his chest, resting theback of my head against his shoulder, angling it to nuzzle the side of his neck.
There was nowhere else I’d rather be than right here with him.
There were no expectations here, just me and him.
Snuggled together for a weekend of blissful, quiet solitude.
Chapter 17
Dean
Thelasttwodayshad become a blur of information and drama—especially between Derek, Alexis, and Eli.
Who would have known that Alexis was working closely with Eli and that Derek and I would just so happen to walk in on the two of them right in the middle of a heated make-out session? Derek, not taking that scene too well, immediately knocked Eli to the fucking ground.
“Derek!” Alexis shrieked, her eyes meeting mine from over Derek’s shoulder as she attempted to block him from attacking Eli further.
Without pause, Derek shoved Alexis into me, and I gripped onto her biceps, holding her in place as I watched him charge over to where Eli sat on the floor, hauling his ass up and slamming him against the refrigerator.
“Derek, stop,” Alexis’s voice broke as she attempted to pull herself out of my grasp.
“Tell me I’m wrong, Lex,” Derek growled, not removing his eyes from Eli, twisting his fist even tighter in his shirt.
I was always one for a good show, and Derek definitely gave that with his over-the-top, aggressive, and possessive behavior regarding Alexis and what he just witnessed. But at some point, a line needed to be drawn, and he was reaching that line at an alarming pace—
“Don’t you fucking move, you piece of shit.” Derek snapped at Eli as he attempted to reach for something—most likely a knife—to defend himself.
I could continue to stand here and hope that Eli would survive Derek’s wrath and we could resume what we had initially come here for, but the look in Derek’s eyes told me everything I needed to make a decision.
Derek was more than ready to murder this man’s ass right in front of Alexis and me—fuck the consequences, would be the accurate phrase for it.
“Derek.” I cut in, releasing Alexis and approaching his side. “Do as she says, I’ll deal with him. You deal with her.”
Needless to say, I figured out who Derek had been sleeping with.Alexis.
