Page 75 of Drawn Together

“Would you like to take a walk with me, Marfil?” Marcus said, looking first to my father, as if we needed his permission.

“Sure,” I answered automatically, hating that he thought I couldn’t decide for myself.

“Go on, go on. We old men have to talk business, unfortunately,” Emilio Kozel answered, smiling.

Marcus offered me his arm and I took it, verifying that under his perfectly tailored navy blue tweed jacket and khaki pants was an athletic body in perfect physical condition. He was older than me, probably around twenty-nine or thirty, but he was so attractive that it didn’t matter. In reality, he seemed to be around the same age as Sebastian, who was staring at Marcus with an unfriendly expression.

Hmm, this could be interesting.

Apparently, Marcus didn’t seem overly interested in the races because he led me out of the private balcony and outside to the fields surrounding the racetrack. I didn’t know if we were allowed to be there, but he assured me it was fine.

“My family all but keeps this place running, so don’t worry, we can do whatever we want.”

As he said this, I saw that four bodyguards trailed behind us, Sebastian and Logan among them, maintaining a good distance but glancing all around to ensure everything was in order.

Marcus noticed me looking at them and sighed. “They’re annoying, I know. Your father told me that you don’t like havinga bodyguard,” he said as we strolled over the freshly cut grass, enjoying the open air.

“I don’t like having someone with me everywhere I go, no,” I answered, relieved to be able to talk to someone who understood how horrible it was to have their privacy hijacked.

“If you were mine, you’d have five of my best men guarding you at all times.” He stopped and looked down at me. “As attractive as you are, you’re begging for trouble.”

I stopped short and stared at him in disbelief. “You talk about me as if I were an object that can be owned,” I answered, rage beginning to flare up inside me.

Marcus seemed surprised by my response. “Please don’t misinterpret my words,” he said, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I just meant that, considering everything that’s happened over the past few months… you know, the kidnapping, the car…” I tensed, and he went on, “You should have the best security in the world, Marfil.”

“I do have good security. Sebastian Moore is in charge of it,” I answered proudly.

Marcus’s eyes darted to Sebastian for an instant, and he raised his eyebrows. “I know him… Good man, they say.”

“Who says?”

Marcus seemed to regret having let that comment slip. “Tell me about yourself, Marfil,” he said, abruptly changing the subject and ignoring my last question. “Your name, for example… Why Marfil?” he asked with an amused smile.

I shrugged, thinking of the last person who’d asked me the exact same question. “My mother chose it… Apparently my skin was very pale when I was born,” I settled on, not wanting to elaborate further as I had with Sebastian.

Marcus looked me up and down before placing a hand on my heated cheek. “Great nations have gone to war over women like you… You could be this century’s Helen of Troy,” he joked.

I found the comparison amusing; no one had ever complimented me using a reference to Greek mythology before.

“I always felt sorry for her,” I said.

“You sympathize with a woman who would leave her husband for another man?”

“I sympathize with a woman who was forced to marry against her will and instead fled with the love of her life, yes.”

“You’re a romantic, then,” he said, lowering his hand, starting to walk again.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been in love,” I answered.

Was that still true?

“Well, we’ll have to remedy that,” he said, stopping under a tree near the stables, where the guards couldn’t see us. “Have dinner with me; it’ll be a date,” he said, staring as if dazzled by me.

The man piqued my curiosity. He was incredibly handsome, charming, and sure of himself. Why not have dinner with him?

Sebastian appeared in my thoughts just then. But he had made it clear that nothing would ever happen between us. I was tired of pining away over him when deep down I knew he was right. I deserved to have passionate romance, didn’t I? Could Marcus Kozel be my Prince Charming?

“I’ll think about it,” I said.