Marco’s first kisses were always the same, the robotic practiced light brushing of lips, allowing him to taste and feel a woman, letting her feel him.

But definitely not this time.

He was as persecuted with lust and desire as if he’d become a schoolboy once again and offered his first chance to snog a girl. It was as if he was lost in his very own self-created wonderment. He levitated on the very brink of, eruption, inflammation and complete fucking pleasurable oblivion.

Too hungry for sense, too desperate for reason, he kissed Vanessa as if it were the last thing he’d ever do and his life depended on it. As if either she or he would disappear from the face of this earth this very minute. If she’d shown the slightest resistance, he thought he might have cried once again, but he knew she felt the same when her felt her arms timidly snaking around his waist pulling him closer. Their tongues invaded each other’s mouths, exploring together, storming, discovering. His mind whirled with the intoxicating redolence of her, the relish of her flat against his chest, the feel of her breasts pressing into him, making Marco growl deep in his throat like some sort of a processed animal. It fucking scared him, but he couldn’t help it. More importantly, he didn’t even care that this would lead to his downfall.

“Marco? What are you doing?” he heard a faint voice amidst his blissful oblivion.

The sudden stiffening of this siren in his arms was something he didn’t want to bring into notice. When Vanessa brought her hands to his chest to push him away, their lips slid apart, their eyes were wide and they gasped simultaneously.

Unbelievable.

Un-fucking-believable.

“Fuck, fuck. Are you okay?” Marco whispered hoarsely.

“Never kiss me again. This was a mistake. A big mistake.” Tears were pooling into her eyes as they settled on something or someone behind him.

He turned around to see the cause of advancing footsteps and caught sight of the blonde woman he’d been with not even fifteen minutes ago. He felt like pulling out his hair.

“Mistake? Bloody hell if it was!” He was in imminent danger of breaking something there in the middle of the sidewalk. His painful erection pressing against his pants were hurting, screaming to be let out of the confines of the trap and had started their telltale tingle. Shit, from a kiss?

Women didn’t know how lucky they were. Shit like this didn’t show in their case. But men? Not only did it show, it hurt like a bitch. Marco almost cursed himself, “You felt it! I know you did because I bloody hell as well did and I’m not denying it!”

“Marco? Vanessa? What’s going on here? Why were you guys kissing?”The blonde bimbo’s venomous voice coming from behind him was seriously starting to piss him off.

He completely ignored her brought forward his hand to hold Vanessa’s. She stood stiff in front of him, watching, as if accessing him.

“Vanessa!” the bimbo screeched and Marco spun around and roared,

“Fuck off, will you before I fire your ass?”

Her eyes widened momentarily as she cowered at his livid tone and stumbled away to the car that was parked across the street.

Marco turned to face Vanessa now that there was peace. They stood for several moments not doing anything other than staring at each other while they dragged their breathing back under control.

This was unfamiliar.

What he felt for Vanessa was unfamiliar.

“What are you thinking?” he asked. Had he ever asked a woman that? Not something he needed to do because he always knew what they were thinking. The always wanted something out of the meaningless flings he had. It wasn’t even as if he ever lead those women on.

It was common knowledge that he would never hold onto the rope with a woman if he didn’t intend to tie down a knot with her.

But not with Vanessa.

He couldn’t do that to her.

He wouldn’t do that to her.

“How unbelievably selfish you are,” she whispered.

Marco pulled back and gave her a stunned look, his insides growing glacial with every minute that was passing by. “What?”

“I’m thinking about how unbelievably and utterly selfish you are.”

His heart swelled with pain as she repeated herself once more. He had heard her the first time the words had rumbled out of her mouth without even a little hesitation. Maybe he just wanted to play himself into thinking he had misheard her. And hearing the same thing once again caused him just as much pain. From where was all of this misery even emerging?

“You sound extremely sure for someone who’s just thinking about it,” he asked with a frost creeping into his tone. The wind had picked up. It was lapping against his face and her hair, which seemed an extraordinary shade of golden brown under the streetlight.

“It shouldn’t be a surprise for an opportunist like you. Kissing you was the biggest mistake I’d ever made. No, the second biggest actually. The biggest mistake was getting married in my teen years.”

Her words were like a blow in the gut. Was he really that repulsive? He didn’t even want to ponder about her marriage. It did weird things in his chest. He wanted to smash something when he thought about her belonging to another guy. He had felt her desire. He had felt her want. He knew that, no matter how much she inconvenienced herself by denying it. Nevertheless it still pained him to know this beautiful, passionate, headstrong woman standing before him thought him an, opportunist.

“It sure didn’t seem like a mistake when you were gripping onto me for dear life.”

His successful attempt at his signature smirk was not lost on her. She flushed an exquisite shade of crimson. It made her eyes flare with anger and brimming disappointment.

Why would she be disappointed?

“Shut up! Just. Shut. Up! Three months, you’ve been tailing me, sending me mixed messages. One minute you want to befriend me, the other minute you want to bed me. You won’t take no for an answer but you would shove your tongue down every female’s throat! Your level of arrogance and over-confidence isn’t lost on me either. For the first time, for the first time today you acted like a normal human being, and for the first time I actually regretted turning you down. But what happened? I go after you to see what’s wrong and there you are, lost in your own bubble with my best friend,” she paused to take a breath, her eyes were sharp, the heaviness, pregnant in the air around them. And continued, “If it’s so hard to keep it in your pants, you should run a brothel instead of a firm. And get one thing straight in your head, asshole, just because you have money, it doesn’t mean I’d make the same mistake with you again. People with normal lives tend to have a lot more meaningful problems to take care of other than yapping spoiled play-boy billionaire brats.”     

Vanessa was out of breath when she brought her speech to an end. The chills were creeping up her arm in the breezy weather and she brought forth the palm of her hand to rub it discreetly on her other arm.

The quiet stretched between them like as elongating as a rubber band. Desire, anger, disappointment, incredulity rolled off of in waves like a tangible ball, just growing by the time. None of them vocalized something or anything –for that matter- coherent enough.

Like fire breaking apart the thick layer of rock hard ice, Marco felt the need to erase the desolation that was evident in the tenor of the growing dark. Even though all he desired to do at the very moment was to sweep Vanessa off her feet and make a wild dash to the car, consequences be damned; he knew he couldn’t do so.

It would only worsen matters. Thinking of her bosom being supported by his arm was making him feel a tad bit too twitchy in his southern region. Instead, he pulled his smirk on and said,

“Wow, that was long. You notice me a lot for a woman who hates me as much as you do.”

A disbelieving look crossed Vanessa’s face and her nostrils flared. If possible, Marco thought she looked even sexier.

Like a lioness about to pounce. The woman before him hated just as passionately as she kissed.

The assessment made Marco swallow hard.

…

“Wow, that was long. You notice me a lot for a woman who hates me as much as you do.”

If only he knew how much. But his level of indifference was triggering off the sparks of irascibility she felt where he was concerned. And right now? Right now she could very well strangle him.

“You are an incorrigibly pompous pig.” Vanessa muttered under her breath, not bothering to even grace him with a look.

A pair of strong muscled arms wrapped around her waist, startling her out of her woolgathering. She squeaked in surprise as Marco pushed her against the gravelly-bricked wall and settled with standing in between her slightly parted legs. He brought his face closer to hers until he was just a mere breath away. He could feel her breathing fastening and the heat emanating from her tall, curvy frame.

He whispered softly, lowering his face into the crook of her neck, “You bring the worst out in me you little lioness.” And with that he pressed a tiny, lingering kiss on the base of her neck.

Vanessa’s head almost lolled back as his hair tickled her chin and her neck, his warm breath in the chilly weather acting as a catalyst for her eyes to dilute.

She didn’t know where she got her voice from. The point at which this was going on, even the imaginings of forming a consilient speech seemed like a laughing matter.

“Then maybe we aren’t meant for each other.”

Marco would have growled in disagreement, if he weren’t so enticed with the smell of chocolate wafting off her neck and hair, dulling his senses. The pain and the strain were growing in his pants just by being so close to her.

What had she done to him?

“Oh really?” he questioned her. And without waiting for her answer, dipped his head into her neck again, placing soft, feathery kisses one by one, leaving a trail of caresses in their wake. His arms lodged at her back, tightened even more so pulling her flush against him. Every contour of her body fitting his perfectly.

He continued savoring her smooth creamy skin, placing gentle, lingering kisses on her collarbone, the base of her neck and her, now exposed shoulder.

“Yes.”

Not being able to control it anymore, he snarled in her neck and bit down on the crook of her neck, assaulting her by sucking onto her skin. He heard her moan in pleasure, as her fingers curled in his hair pressing his face into her, where he kept with his sensual ministrations, lapping his tongue lightly onto her, now very sensitive skin.

He placed one more soft kiss on the little red glowing mark on her neck, before pulling his head away to look at her properly. Her face was nearly his undoing. Her eyes were glazed and her lips were parted. He realized her fingers were still curled up in his hair.

She was beautiful.

He leaned in again and placed another lingering kiss on the side of her mouth, making her clamp, her mouth shut. And the haze of cushty stupefaction to deter a little, when sanity returned in her eyes.

“I think, lioness, that maybe, maybe we’re perfect for each other.”

A/N

Dedicated to Sleepyvagabond for her really pretty cover! :) x

This chapter was SO fun to write! :D What do you think guyyyysss!? :D

By the way, if anyone wants a dedication, please pm me! :D Thanks! :3 And guys? Dont forget to vote/comment/share/addtolibrary if you liked it! :) x