Page 82 of Drawn Together

He hadn’t even made eye contact with me. He was angry, I could tell. I would’ve been, too, but it didn’t matter one way or the other. He might be bothered that I went out with someone else, but he still stubbornly refused to touch me because he was my bodyguard, and that made me angrier than anything else. Why didn’t he speak up and say I belonged to him? Why couldn’t he at least admit that he felt something for me?

I woke up a thousand times in the night, my usual nightmares interspersed with scenes of Marcus suffocating me with a diamond necklace as Sebastian stood watching from a distance, without intervening, without even blinking. I called to him, stretching out an arm to show that I needed him, but he just looked on, impassive, as a crushing sense of loneliness pressed down on me.

CHAPTER 22MARFIL

Friday morning, my sister left to spend the rest of her spring break with her mother and stepfather. It made me sad to say goodbye, knowing I wouldn’t see her again until the month we always spent here in the summer.

Marcus Kozel and I went out again that night, not alone but with a group of his closest friends, who he wanted to introduce me to. They were nice and I felt comfortable around them. After an hour of friendly chatting and an intense kiss outside my house, he said goodnight, promising that he’d visit again before the end of my stay to say goodbye.

Things with Sebastian had cooled considerably. I avoided him and he avoided me, a major feat, given that we were forced together all the time. And even though Marcus showed an avid interest in me, Sebastian was the one who occupied my dreams. As much of a catch as Marcus might be, and as happy as my father was with me for the first time in my life, I couldn’t keep going out with him while another person consumed my thoughts. It wasn’t fair to him.

I would tell Marcus how I felt and suggest we just be friends. That was my plan when he came to see me early Saturday morning.

“One thing’s for sure, you can really ride,” he said as we galloped together through my father’s fields.

“How about a race?” I said, throwing him a glance over my shoulder.

“Last one to the barn owes the other one a kiss!” he shouted, catching me off guard as he galloped past at top speed.

I followed automatically, but he had a head start and beat me there.

Sebastian and Wilson were coming up behind us, but they stayed outside to give us privacy. I didn’t need to look at Sebastian to know he had on the same poker face he’d been wearing for days.

“You lost,” Marcus said, walking over to help me down from my horse. When my feet touched the ground, Marcus bent over to kiss me, but I reared back with all the subtlety I was capable of. “Aren’t you going to give me my prize for winning?” he said, trailing kisses along my neck without my permission.

“Marcus…” I started to say gently, looking at the spot where, days prior, Sebastian had behaved quite unprofessionally with me.

“Oh, come on, princess,” he said, placing his hands on my hips and pulling me to his body, wanting more. “Give me something to remember you by…”

He was a good kisser, but I didn’t feel anything. Also, kissing me right there, with Sebastian outside, made me uncomfortable.

His hands roamed my body and cupped my breasts.

I stiffened.

“You’re going too fast, Marcus. I don’t…” I began, but he placed his mouth over mine, shutting me up with a kiss. His tongue felt like it was about to poke my tonsils out, and I was immediately disgusted. I pushed him away, but the more resistance I applied, the harder he forced himself against me.

“You drive me crazy,” he said, squeezing my ass so hard it hurt.

“Let me go!” I shouted, angry and scared, upon noticing that my attempts to distance myself from him were completelyunsuccessful. I couldn’t get him off me, and none of what Sebastian had taught me to defend myself could be put into practice in that moment. “Fuck, Marcus!”

“I deserve something in exchange for following you around all these fucking days, don’t you think?” he said, thrusting his erection into my groin and blocking my attempts to kick him.

“Let me go, you fucking—”

He covered my mouth with one of his hands as the other squeezed my left breast, hard.

Never in my life had I been treated that way. Not even Regan had dared to go that far. My heart pounded and fear coursed through my veins. I knew in that instant that it didn’t matter what I said. If he could, he’d take me right then and there, against my will.

“Sebastian!” I screamed at the top of my lungs when Marcus moved his hand from my mouth to rip my blouse open.

“Be quiet, fuck!” Marcus growled in a terrifying tone.

I sobbed soundlessly, barely able to breathe. Then I heard a loud click. Marcus stopped. I opened my eyes, trying to see through my tears, when Sebastian came into view. He had his gun aimed at the back of Marcus’s neck, who, to my surprise, smiled, as if amused.

“Get away from her,” Sebastian ordered in a measured tone.

Marcus laughed and slowly stepped away from me. I rushed to stand behind Sebastian, arranging my clothes back into place.