Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
God.
Oh God.
Why?
She forced himself to watch one video after another, and the tears started to fall as she saw Marcus grow from boyhood into adolescence and finally adulthood, and all the while shadows of the past lurked in the darkness of his eyes.
And in the final video, it was between Marcus and a priest, and his confession was all about her.
Padre, forgive me for I have sinned. My wife is an innocent – but I almost dirtied her with my own hands.
When she returned to the living room, she found Marcus with his head bowed, his hands in such a tight clasp his knuckles had turned white. Marcus, Marcus. She wanted to call out to him, but she was weeping too hard for her to speak.
When his head suddenly lifted up, she saw the fear in his eyes—-
Fear that she couldn’t accept someone like him—-
And she nearly slid to her knees.
Pain engulfed her, but it was all for him.
All for him.
“Oh, Marcus.”
He whitened.
“W-why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.” His voice was toneless. “I didn’t know if I could bear it if you found me repulsive—-”
“Never,” Anneke said brokenly.
“Or what I’d do if you’d look at me with pity—-”
“I’m not,” Anneke whispered shakily. “I’m not pitying you—-”
“Yes.” And this time, Marcus’ tone was bitter. “You are.”
Nine
“Marcus, wake up. Please?”
It took a while before the softly spoken words penetrated his mind, and another moment before he could finally open his eyes. He blinked and then he blinked again. Anneke?
She was freshly showered and dressed in a sunny yellow short-sleeved romper. She looked too delicious, dangerously so, and as the beautiful sight of her drew Marcus fully out of his sleep, something else emerged.
Fuck.
He was aroused, and when the fact made him stiffen, the action unfortunately drew her attention towards his erection.
Anneke’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
Marcus swiftly sat up and threw a pillow over his lower half, all the while feeling absurdly self-conscious. To his complete disgust, he could even feel a flush coming over him.
Accidenti.
He was acting like a goddamn schoolboy in a sudden encounter with his first crush.
Looking at her, he saw Anneke still staring wide-eyed at where his erection was buried under the pillow and thick covers, and despite himself Marcus could feel his lips twitch.
“Anneke?”
“Mm?”
“May I ask why you’ve come to my bedroom?”
“Uh...”
“And perhaps you could look at my face,” Marcus drawled, “—-while we talk?”
Oh! Anneke’s gaze flew up to Marcus’ face in dismay, and her face turned red at the gleam of amusement in his dark eyes. “Sorry,” she stammered. “I was just—-” Entranced by the size of his cock?
He raised a brow. “You were just...what?”
“Umm, nothing.” She changed the subject, saying in a rush, “Anyway, I hope you had a good night’s sleep?”
“Si. Thank you for accommodating me at short notice.”
Anneke made a face. “It wasn’t like I left you a choice.”
Marcus’ lips only curved in the briefest of smiles, but he didn’t say it wasn’t so, and Anneke didn’t expect him to. It was the truth, after all. Last night’s events still haunted her, and she could see in his dark eyes that it was the same for him. There were so many things for them to talk about, but the moment she had tried broaching the topic last night a shuttered expression had fallen over his face. She knew then he still wasn’t ready, knew that he still believed she pitied him.
But that was all going to change now.
It had to.
“So...” Anneke cleared her throat. “I was wondering if you could accompany me to town. I have a couple of errands to run.”
Marcus didn’t answer right away. The words made it seem like things were normal between them, made it look like everything was okay now – but was it, really?
“It’s just going to be a short while,” she hastened to add when he still didn’t speak.
Realizing she had misinterpreted his silence, he shook his head, saying softly, “I would be happy to accompany you, bambina. You only have to ask me anything, and it’s yours.”
Anneke only nodded, and when she retreated from him, he had to clench his fists to control the urge to haul her back into him.
“I’ll leave you to shower,” Anneke was saying over her shoulder as she padded towards the door. She turned back to him just as she reached for the knob, asking, “Join me for breakfast?”
“I’ll be with you in fifteen.”
“Okay.” Her fingers wrapped around the doorknob. “And Marcus?”
“Si?”
“I hope you meant what you said—-”
Ah.
“Because there is something I want to ask of you.”
THEIR WALK TO TOWN after breakfast was like a trip down memory lane, and Anneke made sure to keep everything light and limit her reminiscing to their happy moments. She even had him carry a familiar tote bag, and her heart felt close to bursting with pleasure when she saw his eyes widen at the sight of it.