Cam put her hands behind her on the bench and leaned back, her hair hanging behind her. Right now, she didn’t look like a former coerced assassin—just a young woman sitting on a park bench, talking with a friend.
When she rubbed her face against her shoulder to brush her hair out of the way, he started to wonder if this was how she’d been before her life had turned upside down during her childhood. Part of him hoped it was because she felt relaxed enough around him to let down her guard; but more than likely she was just emotionally exhausted from what had happened with Maria Vega.
A corner of her mouth ticked up. “You’re starting to convince me that your reputation is unwarranted.”
He smiled. “I’d say the same about you.” Marco leaned in toward Cam, her scent surrounding him. “And I’m also starting to doubt something else you said earlier.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”
He leaned in a little more until only a few inches separated his face from hers. “That my touch disgusts you.”
Cam’s cheeks flushed. “I—” she looked away for a second and then back. “I was mad at your rejection of me. It hurt.”
Marco blinked. He hadn’t expected her honesty. He’d been right to worry about what Cam would think of him, and knowing she’d been hurt by his actions stung a little.
But he quickly pushed the feeling aside—he’d only been doing his job—and traced a finger down her cheek, her skin softer than he remembered. “So does that mean you had wanted to keep kissing me back at that club?”
Cam’s breathing was fast against his cheek, but she didn’t try to push him away or tell him to stop. He took that as a yes, and he leaned in until his lips were a hairbreadth from hers. “I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He mo
ved to her ear as he cupped her cheek. “I silently cursed that waitress’s interruption. And do you know why?”
She let out a breathless, “Why?”
Marco moved to her lips again. The look in her eyes went straight to his cock, and all he could think about was tasting her again.
He pushed his luck further, and nuzzled her cheek. When she placed her hand on his chest and ran her finger against his skin where his shirt met his neck, he took that as the encouragement he needed to say, “Because all I wanted to do was this.”
And he kissed her.
Chapter Nineteen
The more Cam saw of Marco in work-mode, the more she started to like him. He was not only intelligent and a more dedicated soldier than she’d originally thought, but he also possessed some powerful elemental magic. She had no doubt he’d created the sudden rain, even if he had yet to admit it.
So when he’d started asking her about Harry Watkins, she’d found herself telling him the truth. By the time she’d told him how his rejection had stung and he’d started tracing a finger down her cheek, she’d wondered if his interest in her was genuine.
However, before she could make up her mind, Marco had whispered in her ear and then kissed her.
His lips touched hers, and the awareness she’d been battling all day came back in full force, sending heat through her body.
Cam decided to stop fighting this pull she felt; the sooner she got it out of her system, the sooner she could focus on other things.
Marco traced the seam of her lips, and Cam decided to accept his tongue. His first stroke only made her hotter, and she wanted to touch him. She shifted her body so she could thread her fingers through his hair as she met him stroke for stroke.
Marco growled as her claws scratched his scalp. Then he gripped her waist and moved her to his lap. She let out a squeak of shock as he bunched her skirt up to mid-thigh, but Marco only took the kiss deeper as he pulled her close enough that she could feel his erection between her legs. He grabbed her ass and rocked her forward. Cam groaned. The combination of her sensitive nipples brushing against his chest as his cock pressed against the thin fabric of her underwear was almost too much.
And yet, she wanted more.
She tugged his head to the side, giving her better access to his mouth. Any hesitation she’d had earlier vanished, and she nibbled and sucked his lower lip. She couldn’t get enough of his taste, his heat, his scent. He pulled her tighter up against him, and she loved how his hard body reminded her that she was more than a soldier. She was also a woman.
Cam ran her other hand up his shirt and scraped up his back with her claws, marking him. For now, Marco was hers, and she wasn’t about to let him forget it.
As she gripped his shoulder, he rocked her against him again. Hard. Cam cried out, but not wanting to let him control everything, she started moving on her own.
Marco broke the kiss for a second to hiss at the friction before he pressed his lips against her neck. A second later, he started nibbling at the sensitive juncture where her neck met her shoulder.
When he bit hard and then soothed the sting with his tongue, she shivered, wanting him to do it again.
Instead, he pulled away and she instantly felt the loss of his heat. But then he ran his hands down her sides and up to cup her breasts. He started to thrum her nipples with his thumb, using his nail to tease her, and she let out a cry.