Waiting for a Prince (13 page)

“Do you think we’ll have to wait long?”

Mark could have wept with relief to hear Sam speak. “There aren’t that many in front of

us.” He gazed anxiously at Sam. “How are you feeling?”

“Head hurts,” he whispered. Sam closed his eyes. Mark yearned to take hold of his hand,

but he wasn’t sure how Sam would feel about that, given their location. He glanced at the cut:

the bleeding seemed to have stopped at least.

“What happened, Sam?” Mark couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Sam winced. “Not now. Please.” He kept his voice low. He opened his eyes. Mark was

jolted by the pain he saw reflected there. “When I’m finished here, can we go back to your flat?

I promise, I’ll tell you everything.” Sam swallowed.

“All right,” Mark acquiesced. The look of relief on Sam’s face was palpable. “Just close

your eyes and rest quietly. It won’t be long now.” Sam gave him a careful nod and closed his

eyes. Mark sat back in his seat, his gaze fixed on the wall clock. He tried to shut down his

thoughts but it wasn’t happening. All he wanted right now was answers.

* * * * * * * * * *

way home. Mark supposed some of that might be due in part to the late hour, not to mention the

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way home. Mark supposed some of that might be due in part to the late hour, not to mention the

headache. When the doctor had examined Sam’s head and found a lump the size of a golf ball at

the back of his head, it had suddenly become clear to Mark why his friend had been so out of it.

“The doctor said you can take two painkillers before you go to bed,” he reminded Sam as

they walked into the living room. “Do you want them now?”

Sam stared at him uncomprehending. “I… I don’t understand.”

Mark became still. “You’ve had a couple of stitches in your head and you’ve been

disoriented since you turned up on my doorstep. You’re staying here tonight. No argument.”

Sam regarded him in silence for a moment and then nodded, once. Mark switched on the lamp

beside the sofa and then went to the kitchen cabinet where he kept his first aid box and various medical supplies. He pressed out two paracetamol into his palm and then filled a glass with

water. Sam was perched awkwardly on the edge of the seat cushion. Mark put down the glass

and tablets, and then grabbed a cushion and placed it at one end of the sofa.

“Okay, take these.” He handed the tablets to Sam who swallowed them dry with a

grimace, before taking two large gulps of water. “Now lie down, please.” Sam looked up at him

questioningly, but Mark fixed him with a firm look. Sighing, Sam stretched out on the sofa, and Mark pulled off his trainers. Then Mark sat on the floor beside him, hugging his knees. “So….”

Sam stared up at the ceiling. “Where do I start?” He spoke in almost a whisper.

“How about telling me what happened tonight?” Mark suggested gently. “We can sit like

this, if it makes it easier not to look at me while you talk.” He badly wanted to reach out and take Sam’s hand.
Let him talk first. This has to come out
.

Sam took a deep breath. “Becky saw us tonight.”

Mark’s jaw dropped. “Where? When?”

“On the beach. She was across the road at the Ryde Castle hotel in the bar with four or

five of her friends.” Sam swallowed heavily. “She saw us kissing.”

Oh hell
….. Mark’s heart sank. “Oh God, this is all my fault. Sam, I’m so, so sorry.”

Sam rolled onto his side to face Mark, his expression grave. “No, it isn’t. That’s what I’m

trying to tell you.” He inhaled deeply. “I’ll get to that in a minute. She told me that I wasn’t to see you again. And that if I ignored her, there would be… consequences.”

Mark’s stomach rolled at the thought of losing Sam. “What did you say to her?” His

heart fluttered as he waited to hear.

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Sam gave him a weak smile. “I told her that she and I were through. I… I stood up to

her.” He shivered as he gestured toward his face. “You can see how well
that
went down.” Sam swallowed. “She… she hit me with a wine bottle first. Then when she really lost it, she threw a wineglass at my head. But when I wouldn’t back down, she went at me with her nails—fuck,

they’re more like talons—and scratched me all to hell.”

Mark stared at him incredulously. “And you just
let
her?” Sam flushed. A sudden

coldness spread throughout Mark’s body. “This wasn’t the first time she’d done this, was it?”

Sam shook his head slowly, his eyes full of misery. “The black eye?” Nod. “And before that?”

Sam closed his eyes and Mark felt a wave of nausea. “Oh, please tell me why you’d stay with

someone who did that to you.”

“That’s a long story.” Sam whispered.

Mark couldn’t hold back any longer. He took hold of Sam’s hand and clasped it tightly.

“We have as long as it takes. I’m not going anywhere.” Those gorgeous blue eyes opened wide

and Mark was floored by the look of gratitude he saw there. Mark leaned forward and kissed the

tip of Sam’s nose.

Sam puffed out his breath unsteadily. “Thank you.” He reached across and stroked

Mark’s cheek softly with his fingers before wrapping them around their joined hands. He took a

breath. “You already know Becky’s dad, Donald, is well off. Well, he and my dad were at school

together. They were inseparable, apparently. Both are now very successful business men.” Mark

nodded. “About three months ago, Dad came over to the island for a week or so and the two of

them got together. Dad and I were invited to a big party at Donald’s place in Seaview. It was

there that they introduced me to Becky.” He shivered and Mark tightened his grip. “Dad made

some joke about how it would be nice if she and I went out together, sort of keeping it in the

family.” He laughed bitterly. “There was nothing I could say. He’d already mentioned quite a

few times to me on the phone that it was strange I hadn’t had a girlfriend yet. The last thing I wanted was Dad becoming suspicious.”

“You’re sure he’d react badly if you came out?” Mark wanted to know. “Maybe it would

be okay. Maybe—”

Sam shook his head. “Trust me, Mark. I know
exactly
how he’d react. He’s not reticent

on the subject, believe me.” Tremors rippled through him, and Mark knelt beside the sofa and

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on the subject, believe me.” Tremors rippled through him, and Mark knelt beside the sofa and

stroked his back gently, watching as his shivering eased. “I had no choice but to say yes. And it was okay, for the first few weeks at least. I didn’t do anything more than kiss her a couple of times, and I could tell she was surprised that I didn’t make an attempt to get her into bed. It wasn’t long after that, though, that I started to hear the stories.”

“What stories?”

Sam let out a wry chuckle. “You know how things work on the island, Mark. It’s a very

small place. Everyone knows everyone else. And secrets don’t
stay
secret for very long.” He winced.

“Is your head okay?” Mark regarded him with concern.

Sam smiled. “You are such a sweet man.” He lifted Mark’s hand and kissed it tenderly.

The gesture warmed Mark inside. “I started to hear rumors that Becky had a temper, and the

tales appeared to be emanating from some of her ex-boyfriends. Except that saying she had a

temper was apparently putting it mildly. One ex complained that she’d become violent.” His

gaze clouded over. “I asked her about it. She didn’t react well. It seemed her dad had heard the same stories and was trying to get her to attend some anger management course on the

mainland.”

Mark snorted. “I take it she didn’t want to go.”

Sam shook his head. “She didn’t think she needed anger management, and she thought

her dad was over reacting. But when he started making noises about how she had to attend the

course or
he’d
start thinking about cutting her allowance, she needed a way to convince him that the boyfriends were lying.”

Mark widened his eyes. “Oh,
this
is gonna be good.”

Sam’s stare became distant. He slumped into the seat cushion. “It was then that she went

rooting around in my chest of drawers and found my magazines—and my Fleshjack.” He gazed

at Mark, eyes full of misery. “And of course she put two and two together.”

Mark froze. “What happened?” he whispered.

“I was convinced she’d break it off between us after that, but it seemed Becky had other

plans.” He gulped. “She told me that we were going to stay together and that I had to somehow

convince her dad that there was no truth to the stories—or else she would go straight to
my
dad and tell him his son was gay.”

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Mark tensed. “That bitch. That blackmailing little
bitch
!”

Sam’s chin trembled. “I had no choice, Mark. I had to agree to it. So she began arranging

meals out with her family, giving her dad plenty of opportunities to see how
great
we were getting along.” He gave a sardonic laugh. “I must be a
really
good actor, because her dad took me aside to tell me how pleased he was that we were together and that I was obviously a good

influence on his daughter.”

The breath died in Mark’s throat at the expression on Sam’s face. So much pain…

“Sam, just look in the mirror. This is more than Becky having a temper. Where will it

stop?”

Sam’s eyes opened wide. “But it
has
stopped. I left her. I couldn’t stay with her after this.”

“But what about your dad?”

Sam stiffened. “Can’t do anything about that now. It’s coming. She said as much

tonight.” He drew a sharp intake of breath. “But I’ve had three months of this shit. No more. To be honest, it only got bad in the last few weeks, when….” Mark caught his breath, unable to

look away. “When I started to realize I had feelings for someone.” The words slipped out into

the quiet room and Sam met Mark’s gaze.

Mark’s heart gave a leap in his chest.
Oh God, please
….. “Sam, I…”

“Yes?” There was such a hopeful expression on Sam’s face that Mark couldn’t breathe.

“Mark?”

Mark laid his hand gently on Sam’s scratched cheek and leaned in close, their lips

meeting at last. Sam’s eyes closed and he gave himself up to the sweet, tender kiss. How long

they kissed, Mark had no idea. He lost all concept of time, aware of nothing but the silkiness of Sam’s lips, his sweet breath, the heat radiating from his body. When at last they parted, Mark let out a contented sigh.

“Oh Sam, I love you.”

Sam became still. Those soft lips parted as he stared at Mark, eyes so large and round.

That poor, damaged face was never lovelier. “I love you, too. I wanted to tell you how I felt, but

—”

Mark laid a finger gently on Sam’s lips. “It’s okay. I know.” His face broke into a smile

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Mark laid a finger gently on Sam’s lips. “It’s okay. I know.” His face broke into a smile

of sheer joy. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say those words.” He hadn’t

removed his hand from Sam’s face. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Say them again.”

Sam’s face was wreathed in a beautiful smile. “I love you, Mark.”

Mark let out his breath in a slow, steady exhale before moving closer once more to take

Sam’s mouth in a kiss that seemed to spin out into yet another time-stopping moment. Sam

sighed into his mouth, the sound swallowed up as Mark kissed him softly.

Reluctantly Mark broke the kiss and pulled away slightly. “I have to tell you, I’m so

relieved that you broke up with Becky.” He focused on Sam, his eyes narrowing. “But why

didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

Sam’s cheeks burned and he tried to look away, but Mark wouldn’t relinquish hold of his

face, forcing him to look Mark in the eye. Sam’s breath suddenly hitched. “How could I tell

you? The idea of telling anyone, even you, that a woman hit me. I mean, women don’t hit guys,

do they? God, Mark, I was so ashamed.”

Mark let out a soft sigh. “Oh, Sam, if you only knew….” The crease between Sam’s eyes

appeared. Mark let go of him and sat back on the floor, winding his arms around his knees once more. He was aware of Sam watching him, forehead furrowed.
God, this is hard
. Mark

swallowed and met Sam’s anxious gaze.

“When I was growing up, there was stuff going on at home that I never told a soul about.

I couldn’t, because I felt too ashamed.” He heard Sam’s breath catch. “My mum…. My mum

has a temper.” He hesitated, unable to believe he was finally about to share his painful secret.

“And she took it out on my dad.”

Sam stared at him wide-eyed. “Oh Mark.” He reached for Mark’s hand and grasped it

tightly. “Was…was it bad?”

Mark snorted. “Bad? How about bad enough that it sent him to an early grave?”

Sam’s mouth fell open. “Oh no.”

Mark closed his eyes, but it was no use. He could still see his father’s haunted expression

as he lay in the hospital bed. “He never stood up to her, not once. He just took it all. I used to get so angry, wondering why he didn’t just walk out of there.” He swallowed several times. “I know

now. He told me when he was in the hospital. He didn’t want to leave me alone with her. And

there was no way he would ever have challenged her for custody. The shame was too great. You

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there was no way he would ever have challenged her for custody. The shame was too great. You

were right. What man ever wants to own up to being hit by a woman? ” Hot tears pricked his

eyelids and he wiped them away with the back of his hand.