Lost in the Moment (A Savioe Family Novel) (36 page)

“
He doesn’t have the freckle on his lip and he has that evil mastermind look about him. You know the one where you expect him to be petting a white cat surrounded by big bulky guys in suits while calmly ordering someone to be fed to his pet shark.” He lifted his eyebrow and shook his head smiling at his own joke. “He has been hiding under my bed and grabbing my ankles when I get home from school, changing the time on my alarm clock, stuff like that.” He shrugged his shoulder pulling the sleeve up with the motion. My eyes were drawn to his bicep. His defined muscles had only increased in size since he moved in and made use of the exercise room we had in the basement. He turned to look at me staring at him and asked me something.

I blinked at him a few times as I tried to comprehend what it was he said. “I’m sorry what was that?”

He smirked shaking his head. “Nothing, pet. Did you want to go directly home?”

I scratched the back of my head as I thought about it. “It doesn’t really matter.
I mean we can if you want. Totally your choice.”

He ran a hand through his hair
as he let out the breath he had been holding and sent me a sideways grin that made my heart race. “So you’re at my mercy then? Good.”

A shiver went up my spine causing my heart to tattoo a quick rhythm against my ribcage.
I sat back against the seat and stared out the window slowly twirling a piece of my hair between my fingers.
What did he mean by that?

             
                                          *****

             
             
Chapter Fifteen

When we arrived at the house, my leg was bouncing in my growing frustration. He hadn’t spoken another word to me the entire twenty minute trip. The only car here was dad’s, apparently Beau and Luke were taking their sweet time getting home.

As he shut off the car, I grabbed my bag and started to head inside. I had
just put the key in the front door when he called out to me. “Marie.”

“Yeah?”

He jogged up to me stopping at the bottom of the steps and shoved his hands in his pockets while he swallowed hard. “I….” He let out a deep breath. “Can we talk?”

I nodded slowly at him. “Yeah. Just let me put my things up. Okay?”
I turned back around and finished opening the door. He was nervous and that was worrying me. I dropped my keys on the table in the foyer and jogged up the steps to my room. I dropped my bag by my door and kicked off my shoes toward my closet. If we were actually going to talk, I wanted to make sure I was comfortable while we did it.

I flung open a few drawers on my dresser pulling out a simple tank and shorts.
After I changed, I grabbed a hair tie off my vanity and quickly pulled my hair up in a bun while I walked out of my room. I bounced down the steps and entered the kitchen.

“I’m in the living room, pet.” He called out to me.

I snatched a bottled water out of the fridge on my way out of the kitchen. My emotions were jumbled by the time I walked into the living room. I had to actually put my hand to my throat to try to calm myself before I entered. He leaned against the back of the couch with his legs crossed and hands in his pockets.

His hair fell across his forehead shadowing his eyes from my view.
My breathing faltered as I drank in the sight of him. Why did he have to be so attractive? I swallowed subtly as I stepped closer to him. “So what’s up?”

He pushed off the couch, grabbed my hand and led me around the couch to sit down. “
Marie, luv.” He started, keeping my hand in his. “At that party, I didn’t want that cow’s attention or any of the other girls there. I didn’t encourage her either. I had eyes only for you.”

“I know. I realized it the second I punched you.” I ducked my head as I blushed.

He let go of my hand absentmindedly rubbing his chin. “You pack a pretty wicked hit. You definitely hit harder than Hunter.”

My brows furrowed in confusion. “When did he hit you?”

He shook his head. “At the party. I was outside with Scott and Payne talking. He tapped me on the shoulder and decked me.”

My eyes widened in horror and rising anger. “What! He said he was cool wit’ ya.”

He chuckled softly grabbing my hand in his again. “Luv. It’s fine now. He felt like he owed me one hit from the number of times I’ve got him.”

“Oh.” I grumbled. Hunter was going to get a call over that. The jackass.

His thumb started caressing the side of my hand drawing my attention back to him. His eyes were swirling in torrid reverence. My legs immediately felt rubbery. “I know we haven’t had time to talk since you woke me up that night. Tommy has been working me like crazy. I’ve been picking up some of Beau’s shifts that he is missing because of practice and the therapist your dad set up for me has me scheduled twice a week to talk about everything that has happened since I moved here.”

“You’re going to a therapist and what practice? Beau doesn’t have practice.” I interrupted
tilting my head to the side.

He smiled sadly at me. “Your dad did a background check on me, pet. He found out from his contacts and just because he is bloody brilliant that my uncle is quite possibly responsible for my family’s death. When I overhead his conversation with your mom over it, I couldn’t help but find out what he knew.
”

I placed my free han
d on his cheek gently brushing it over his beard. “Is it helping?”

He closed his eyes and leaned into my caress. “I don’t feel as lost, but it still hurts to talk about them. He wanted to put me on medication but I refused when I read over the side
effects. To be truthful just being here surrounded by a family like yours helped a lot.” He grabbed my hand and placed a kiss in the center of my palm. “And you. You made me want to be a better man.”

My breath caught in my throat as desire and longing spread through my body. Our eyes met, speeding up my already erratic heartbeat
. I chewed on my inner cheek before I leaned forward to kiss him.

His lips were so soft as I grazed mine against his sudden indrawn breath. He
pulled back resting his forehead on mine. His tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip almost as if he was trying to savor the taste. I closed my eyes to ward off my sudden need to jump him.

My voice was a husky rasp
when I sighed. “You already are a good man, Marcus.”

His smoky gaze met mine as I allowed all of my emotions
to shine through. I no longer cared that I could get my heart broken by him; just being able to share what I had for him was enough for me. He touched the side of my cheek as he looked over my face in wonder. “Marie?”

             
                                          *****

Drez

The roar in my ears from my beating heart was deafening as I stared into her amber eyes. Was she
indicating what I thought she was? Her look. It was the same one I had seen my mother give my father. One of pure adoration and dare I say... love.

She leaned into my hand turning her head slightly to kiss the inside of my wrist.
Her lips were a whisper against my skin yet they ignited me in ways that made all of my previous lovers pale in comparison. That simple action, that innocent whisper, mixed with my hope that I saw love in her eyes touched my very soul and made my heart ache.

I pulled her against me
, wrapping my arms around her as I rested my cheek against the top of her head. She placed a shaky hand against my chest before letting out a soft contented sigh. Somehow, I managed to adjust our position on the couch. I rested my head against the arm of the sofa with her sprawled out on top of me. I closed my eyes and relaxed for the first time in a long time.

I must have dozed off for a moment
, the next thing I knew the sun was setting leaving the sky painted in hues of red and orange over the treetops. She shifted slightly adjusting her position. “Maw-cus.” Her rasping voice purred out at me making me shiver. I opened my eyes and stared into hers. Her chin rested on the back of her hand as she looked at me chewing the side of her lip.

“Yes, pet?” I hoarsely answered as I rubbed her back.
She moved again starting a slow burn of desire in my veins.

“Someone is at the gate. Can you let me up so I can buzz them in?”

I blinked rapidly as my brain slowly comprehended what she had said. I moved my arm and sat up when she slipped off me. I ran a hand through my hair. “I’ll get it, luv. Why don’t you grab us something to drink?”

She nodded before heading toward the kitchen.
She stopped by the archway and sent me a shy smile. With a goofy grin on my face, I walked over to the intercom and buzzed in the guy from Nox’s. When Roxy helped me order the meal, I allowed her to choose something that she thought Marie would like.

He
strode up to the door carrying my order in a box. He nodded at me in greeting. “Dresden?”

I nodded my head yes.
“Thanks, mate. I hope Mr. Charvat didn’t have any problems with someone delivering this.”

He grinned shaking his head.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. When he found out that you were a friend of little Roxanne he insisted. Do you need any help setting it up?”

I
sighed taking the box out of his arms. “No thank you. I can manage.”

He nodded,
turned around and headed back to his car, as I went back in the house. I placed the box on the counter and peeled back the flap. Each small container was labeled with the dish inside it and a bottle of white wine sat in the corner of the box with a small note attached. I unfolded the note quickly reading it over. Apparently, the little bit charged it to her dad’s account and paid extra for the wine.

Marie
stood beside me handing me a glass of soda. I could tell her curiosity was sparked. “What’s that?” She leaned against the counter trying to peer over my shoulder.

“
You’ll see.” I chuckled as she stood on her tiptoes and inhaled a deep breath.

“
Food? When did you order that?” She slowly lowered her heels back on the floor and tilted her head to the side.

I shrugged
starting to pull out the small containers. “I’ll tell you if you do me one favor?”

“Um… okay.”
She raised her eyebrows at me. “What is it?”

“Go put on something nice while I get things set up.
” I stepped away from the box, grasped her face in between my hands and whispered against her lips before placing a chaste kiss on them. “Please, luv, humor me.”

“O
-okay. I’ll be down in a few.” She frowned at me pouting her lips as she strode out of the kitchen.

             
                                          *****

Almost an hour later,
after I had finished setting the table, lighting the candles and dimming the lights in the dining room, I managed to change into a pair of black slacks with a matching button down shirt following a quick shower. I decided against wearing a tie and jacket. With how nervous I was about making everything just right for her I’d end up sweating all over it.

I turned on the docking station for the MP3 player
, hooked up the device and turned the volume down low. A soft guitar wove a sweet harmony with a piano. I looked around the room double-checking every little detail. Our glazed salmon sat on the plate next to the grilled asparagus and the small flute of white wine. The mint chocolate cheesecake was still in the kitchen for later. The candles were lit sitting away from the flowers I had purchased earlier in the day.

She cleared her throat behind me as
a song about someone’s sweet lady started to play. I turned around and was completely gobsmacked. She had on a silky floor length green dress with a slit up the side exposing a hint of her creamy skin. Her hair was piled on top of her head in loose curls that framed her heart shaped face, which had on the barest hint of makeup on it. She looked bloody gorgeous.

That dress hugged her body in ways that should be illegal.
Her perky breasts were put on display to perfection. The way her waist dipped in before the gentle swell of her hips blossomed made my mouth go dry as I lost most of my ability to speak. I cleared my throat pulling slightly at my collar. “Marie. You are absolutely breathtaking.”

She blushed ducking her head
slightly before looking around the room. “You did all of this for me?” I nodded slowly as I walked over to a chair and pulled it out for her. She took a seat and smiled up at me. “So that’s why Jess canceled tonight.”

“
Yes. She knew I had something planned. So did Roxy and Luke.” I took my seat across from her. “I hope you like fish.”

“Shug, I’m from Louisiana. My dad is the only person in the entire extended family that isn’t involved
in the fishing industry.” She smiled over the small bouquet of lilies.

The light from the candles danced across her bare neck
and collarbones drawing my attention to the freckle that winked at me above her breast. I swallowed hard wiping my palms against my leg under the table. My gaze traveled up the curve of her neck, to her chin and lips that were curved up in a small smirk. Why was she smirking? I looked up to her eyes and saw that her eyebrow was raised in humor. I felt a slight blush creep up my neck at getting caught checking her out.

Her eyes twinkled in
mischievousness as she lifted a fork to her mouth. Her lips slowly enclosed the tines drawing the attention of every nerve in my body. She closed her eyes in ecstasy as the salmon hit her taste buds. The pink of her tongue swept past her lips as she licked the remnants off them. I swallowed hard at the sheer sensuality of her eating. Keeping my self-control was going to be more difficult than I had imagined if she kept that up.

I blamed
Luke for planting the thought of sex in my mind. If he hadn’t mentioned where he stashed his condoms, I wouldn’t be having this much difficulty suppressing my desire. Just knowing that they were in the house and we were alone…. I shook my head banishing the thought from my mind. This night wasn’t supposed to be about that. It was for her. To show her that I wasn’t an ass that cared only about a good stuffing. That she meant the world to me.

“
So how did you manage to get them out of the house?” She asked before taking a tentative drink from her glass.

“Charles decided at lunch that he was staying at Brian’s over the weekend. Roxy wanted Luke over there tonight and Beau has that away game.”
I gave her a lopsided grin.

“Beau has a game? Wait. He’s back on the team. When did this happen?” She scrunched up her nose
and frowned.