Page 37 of His to Keep
Her blazing red hair was half knotted on top of her crown, the remaining tresses pouring down her back like streams of fresh blood.
Marcus grinned widely. “Why do you ask?”
Pouting her glossy lips, she waved a swatch of fabric with nonchalance, trying to hide her obvious flush. “I was just wondering if he was here. Perhaps he could join me for a drink this evening?”
He stretched back in a low leather armchair, in his already prosperous French hotel lobby. His lips curled to a rakish smile. “He’s flying in later. We’ll be in the bar this evening if you want to join us.”
“Us?... Un ménage à trois?” She licked her lips, smiling with a delicious wickedness.
“Afraid not, Cherie. I don’t share women with my brother. Ever,” he replied with a husky timbre.
Her lips smacked apart and she shrugged. “Shame. I don’t usually mix business with pleasure, Marcus, but you two are...irresistible, and together...it would be…” She couldn’t finish the sentence and fanned her face with dramatic vigour instead.
He shook his head and puffed a blast of air down his nose. “Not gonna happen. I’ll tell Jamie to keep an eye out for you.” Marcus stood.
Cherie dropped the swatches on the table and daintily lifted to meet him face on. He leant in and kissed her cheek lightly, then the other. A polite ‘au revoir’, rather than a sensual invite.
* * *
Jamie’s flightlanded on time. He arrived at the hotel in high spirits and was ready to party.
He barged into Marcus’s suite like a rogue bowling ball, searched out his brother and brought him to the carpet in a headlock. The two wrestled and punched playfully until Marcus pinned him to the floor like a savage bear.
“I’ve got you hooked up with Cherie tonight.” Marcus chuckled, hoisting Jamie off the camel coloured carpet.
Jamie unbuttoned his gleaming white shirt that hugged his torso. “She had better not be a stalker, or I’ll shave your eyebrows off when you’re sleeping.”
Marcus grunted. “I could still have sex with more women than you, even with no eyebrows.”
“I don’t count how many women I’ve been with. That’s just pointless.”
Marcus slapped Jamie on the back. “Or you can’t count that high.”
Jamie bounced on his toes, jabbing Marcus lightly on the arm. “I can count right up to a billion, big brother, and that’s exactly where the pounds will hit once you sort out this deal with Devereux.”
They ambled over to a built-in bar in the corner of the luxurious suite. Its mirrored shelves were miraculously blemish free and reflected the puffy clouds hiding the blue sky.
“I’m heading out to New York soon. The deal is pretty much done.” Marcus forced a smile.
Not even a billion-pound bank balance could fill the emptiness he hid inside his black heart. Jamie grabbed a bottle of beer, yanked off the cap and handed it to his brother.
“I’m finalising business with Emilio Falcone and the other Italians. This will be the biggest deal I’ve closed to date.” Jamie’s eyes sparkled.
Marcus patted his little brother on the bicep, squeezing his brawny muscle. Jamie was his world. The kid brother who had followed him around like a bad smell and turned out to be his closest and best friend.
“I knew you could score it, Jamie. You’re fucking ruthless. I’m really proud of you. I know dad is too.”
“Uh shucks, dickhead. That girl has brought out your softy side.” Jamie launched into Marcus and hugged him playfully. “What’s the story with you and Lana?”
The sound of her name spliced through Marcus’s head like a sniper’s bullet. His gaze dropped and he took the beer without saying a word.
“Well? Are you going back to Belfast to see her?” Jamie persisted.
His blood crashed against his muscles like hot oil. “I don’t have time for her. So just leave it. Don’t even think about lecturing me either. The whole shit just pisses me off.”
“She had it rough, Marcus.” Jamie shrugged. “It’s obvious you really like her.”
“I wanted it to work but the whole thing fell apart the second I left her side. I fucked up.” His mouth twisted in a snarl.
