Page 77 of His to Keep
Marcus waded towards the tiled ledge with her legs still wrapped around his body like a sea urchin, minus his bulging cock. When the water all but lapped at his ankles, he released his hold.
She gazed into his serious face, his eyes tinged with gold like shamrocks in a field of corn, quickly turned dark with desire.
“All fours, now,” he commanded.
Without hesitation, Lana crouched down and obliged. Lifting her ass in the air, her knees dug into the tiny mosaic squares underneath.
Her insides vibrated with delicious anticipation as he jogged to his deserted jeans, collected a condom from the pocket and tore the foil packet, ready to slide it down his cock.
The door flew open.
Marcus froze.
Her shrill scream was muffled by the deafening bang that rocketed through the peaceful serenity and ended with Marcus slumping to his knees, hugging his right side.
A deep breath stilled in her lungs and the burning lust vanished from her veins, replaced with heart stopping terror. Carl Reed stood at the entrance with a smirk plastered across his face.
Her wide eyes darted back to the surreal image of Marcus. In slow motion, she watched the air leave his lungs. His shocked gaze dragged up from the bloodied wound, resting on her quivering lip.
Each of his forced inhalations slowed, becoming shallow.
“Marcus?” The words almost failed to leave her throat.
Her heart hung in the eerie silence that followed, her hearing strained to detect his short gasps. The momentary disbelief dissipated into the reality.
Scrambling towards him on hands and knees, the racing pulse thrummed in her skull, dulling the rumble of Carl’s cruel laugh. “Marcus,” she cried.
Marcus’s eyes glazed under lowered brows, staring at her like he was taking a snapshot of her face to keep with him for eternity. Swaying sideward, his eyelids squeezed shut.
As he slumped to the tiles, she bounced forward to protect his head from crashing to the hard surface.
“Nooooo! Stay with me, Marcus. Please don’t leave me. Please. Stay with me. Stay with me,” she begged through wild breathes.
Strangled sobs choked in her throat, turning each stuttered breath into a whimper. Her shaky palms carefully allowed his head to rest on the ground. Shuffling back to assess the damage, her hands flew to his naked chest, then joined his face, staining his pale cheeks with a flash of red.
Her guts flipped in shock. Dropping her gaze, she watched the swirls of water blend with bright red blood. A trail of devastation trickled along the ridges of the tiles, draining towards the pool.
She didn’t hear Carl yell profanities at her as he stomped across the room like the champion prize winner, nor did she give a second thought to her vulnerable nakedness.
“I love you. I love you. Please, Marcus,” she chanted.
A puff of air left from his lungs, but his eyes stayed shut. Her hands slid over his icy torso in search for a bullet hole. Slipping and gliding through the crimson mess, her quest abruptly ended. She was hauled away from his body.
Her bloodied hair swamped her face and she toppled back. An unbearable ache crippled her reactions as Carl loomed over her quaking body. Hugging her bare stomach, she tucked in her knees, weeping uncontrollably.
She had to look at Marcus, to see his face, to help him, to hold him. Lifting to her haunches, she prepared to crawl her way back to his side, but a blast of pain blasted up her spine as Carl kicked her in the back with the toe of his boot.
“You were fucking him, Lana? You’re just like all the rest them. I thought you were different,” he spat out.
She winced in pain, almost cowering away from his stale smoky breath, until she sucked in a deep breath and prepared to fight her way back to her love. Shoving Carl sideward, she scrambled through the diluted blood stream, hoping to get closer to Marcus.
His boot slammed down on her hand, making her cry out, but she carried on regardless, driven to save him.
Each time she burst forward, Carl kicked her ribs or stamped on her fingers. The fear of losing Marcus was far worse than the bruises she gathered on her broken body.
They had only just found their way back to each other.
This couldn’t be the end.
