Page 48 of Love Marks

“Pierre?” She blinks. Her eyebrows scrunch in that way when she’s confused, so I guess he hasn’t yet. I take in a big gulp of air and tap my fist on my chest.

“Last night, he fired Ian Thomas from The Phoenix.”

I look up again and meet her eyes, ready to continue, but she interrupts me, her face coloring in angry recognition.

“Oh.” She looks away. “I see.”

“So, you always knew it was him?” I ask. She shrugs and avoids my gaze still. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

She finally meets my gaze head on, her bright eyes shining. “Nobody believed me, anyway. Nobody ever believes women.” Her voice is unwavering, and her words are a warning of something deeper than my mistake.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, you said that last night.” She smirks humorlessly.

“I should have believed you. I wanted to.” I swallow, the desire to avoid these feelings stronger than ever. Quinn rolls her eyes and I take a step closer. “Honestly, I did. I have…trust issues. A lot of people have used me for money and status. Ex-girlfriends have gone to the press with intimate details of our lives and my own father lied to our family for years about his addiction problems.”

I take a breath and force myself to meet her intense gaze head-on.

“It’s hard for me to trust and I tend to assume the worst of people. Not that any of that is an excuse, because it’s not. I’m not trying to…I just wanted to say that I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

We are locked in some sort of staring contest that she finally breaks at the end of my speech, blinking in surprise. Her eyes flicker towards my lips and I know that look. Right? That’s a kiss me look. I let my gaze fall to her plush lips and when she licks them, I almost lose it right fucking there.

I step closer again, my hand reaching for her impulsively. My hand grazes her arm and we’re almost touching. So close.

She stumbles backwards with a gasp. I match her move, taking a full step back. When I meet her eyes again, I swear there’s still a hunger there.

“Thank you. For apologizing,” she says, and I’m hit with another pang.

You’re supposed to be apologizing, not trying to kiss her, asshole!

She squares her shoulders. “I forgive you.”

Her words curl around me and bury themselves deep in my chest, warming my whole body. She’s perfect. Why didn’t I see it before?

“Can I ask you something?” I say, the words spilling out of me. It’s like she’s opened something inside of me that threatens to unfold completely if I don’t find a way to stuff it back inside.

“Sure,” she says, a little nervous. I can tell when she’s nervous because her eyelashes flutter and she always glances to the left, biting on her lip. She’s doing it now, her head cocked to the side.

“On Friday…” I start. “Did you think that I was going to—” I break off. I can’t seem to get the words right, the foreign way they feel on my tongue even thinking about it. “Did you think that I’d hurt you?”

“No! No,” she says the words abruptly. The silence that follows is heavy and awkward.

“Okay,” I say, still confused, but wanting to move on from this conversation. “I just—I wouldn’t do that. Ever. And the thought of you thinking that I might—” I break off again, my throat closing. I’m starting to sound like I’m going through puberty. “If I made you feel unsafe at all—”

“You didn’t! I don’t!” She reassures me, her eyes wide. “Really. I promise. We’re good. Let’s not mention last night or Friday again. Okay?” She talks quickly, standing up and moving towards the door like she’s ready to bolt.

“You’re leaving?” I move to stop her without thinking. She can’t leave yet. I don’t know why but it feels like everything has changed and if she walks out that door now, I won’t be able to fix things between us.

“Yeah, I should probably go,” she says, pulling her hair up into a ponytail that reveals her long, slender neck.

Since when are necks a turn-on? Jesus.

“Wait!” I almost shout the word. Why am I acting like an insane person? I chuckle and run my hand through my hair. “I was thinking I could take you to breakfast or something. To thank you for last night.”

Quinn looks at me like I’ve grown a second head and I feel like an absolute idiot.

“You really don’t have to do that.” She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes flickering away from mine.