7 Degrees of Alpha (a collection of seven new BWWM, Alpha Male Romances) (36 page)

“My man will be on it ASAP.”

The call was disconnected without another word.

Chapter 8

It had been over two weeks since the scene in Sydney’s office, and after what happened, Marco knew that things had changed between he and Sydney. He could see the fear in her eyes as that asshole Murray tried to manhandle her. Marco lost it, and to say he would have gladly snapped that little snake’s neck with his bare hands and not thought anything of it was putting it lightly. Marco didn’t really do feelings all that well, but in that moment, he knew that what he felt for Sydney Hamilton was way more than lust. He knew what lust felt like. He not only wanted to ravish this woman, but he also wanted to protect this woman with all of his being.

Marco and Sydney had been spending more and more time together since that day.  They weren’t just working on the case, but they found themselves just talking about mundane things for hours on end. He couldn’t get enough of this petite, mocha beauty with her wide, brown eyes, sparkling smile, and infectious laugh. He found himself saying and doing silly things just to see her smile and to hear her laugh. He never in his life wanted someone as much as he wanted Sydney.

              The more time he spent with her, the more he would imagine how he would make her his, how he would kiss her slow and sure until she surrendered to him, giving into his every whim and desire. He just couldn’t get enough of her, and at first, he would make up excuses to go by her office, or the center where she volunteered, just to see her, until one day he didn’t seem to need an excuse. She had come to expect him being around, and if he hadn’t stopped by or texted her, she was sure to call him to check on him.

Marco reached for his cell as it began to light up with a photo of Sydney’s gorgeous smiling face.

“Hey you…how’s your day going?”  Sydney asked as soon as Marco picked up.

He loved that she was so attentive and made him feel like he was the most important person in the world.  “Hey, Bella, my day is great now that I’m hearing your sweet voice.”  Marco flirted.  “How’s your day going?” 

Sydney smiled shyly at his affectionate greeting.  “My day is okay…better now.”

“Just okay?  What’s going on that your day is only okay?”  Marco asked curiously, his protective nature to make everything for her better starting to kick in.

“Oh, you know…the life of a lawyer,” Sydney didn’t want to talk about her stressful day.  She just longed to hear Marco’s deep soothing voice to make everything better.

“Well, I know just the thing that would really help you out…One of my famous massages.  I’ll come by, pick you up, take you to dinner, and rub all your stress away.”  Marco smiled devilishly.  He wanted her to get used to his touch because it was only a matter of time before they were more than friends.  Marco loved to touch her in any way that he could, a brush of her cheek or a “friendly” massage.  He just couldn’t help himself.

“A massage sounds heavenly!”  Sydney replied excitedly.  “I can’t wait…you sure know how to spoil a girl.”

“You have no idea how much I can spoil you.”  Marco’s voice got even deeper, his craving for Sydney growing with their banter.

Marco knew that his want for her was something he no longer wanted to control, so he was determined to make her his.

. ***

Sydney loved all of the time that she and Marco were spending together. She loved being around him; his personality and humor were unlike anyone she had ever been around. He was so masculine and to look at him, you would assume he was an extremely serious, uptight man, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He would make silly jokes, and do silly things and have Sydney’s stomach hurting from the laughter. Marco would just show up sometimes to just check on her and see how things were going. In the beginning they would talk mostly about the case, but as time went on, they began to talk about everything. Sydney found herself telling Marco things that she didn’t tell anyone. But she just felt so comfortable with him, like she had known him for years instead of weeks. But it wasn’t just her mind that felt she knew him; it was her body as well. Sydney would heat up as soon as she got one good look at Marco. Being around him every day was a test of her self-control that she was slowly losing; with the little brushes of her hair away from her face, slight caresses of her cheek, and the random massages.

Those damn massages had her on edge; the way his big hands soothed the knots out of her tense back and shoulders and how he would slowly rub and caress her was slowly driving her insane.

Sydney thought she would explode if he touched her in any intimate way.  She would imagine how his hands would feel stroking her breast or lightly fondling her sensitive nipples.  She could visualize how his deep voice would sound whispering in her ear, giving her body chills and making her core weep with need. 

She had been celibate for the last year and a half. It was by choice because she felt like sex sometimes clouded her judgment in a relationship. But since she dated Bradford for seven months without having sex and it still took her about six of those months to see what a jerk he really was, she was starting to think that maybe having sex with Marco wasn’t a bad idea. Besides, the connection they had was more than just physical. They also connected during the conversations they had and how he seemed to always find a way to take care of her when she needed it.  He was a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on, and he was always there to make her smile when she had a stressful day.

“Hey, mister,” Sydney said, answering Marco’s call on the second ring. “Are you coming by my office today?”

Marco chuckled. “Yea, little lady. You want to grab an early dinner? I know you’re heading to the center later.”

“Of course, I do. That sounds great! I actually haven’t eaten a real meal all day,” Sydney responded cheerfully.

Marco frowned into the phone. “Syd, you really need to stop skipping meals, but I will take care of you.”

Sydney smiled.  Marco had a way about him; he always made Sydney feel like she was well taken care of.

“Well, I can’t wait to see you,” Sydney replied coquettishly.

“You already know that I can’t wait to see you.” Marco replied, his voice growing husky.

Sydney sensed the change in the conversation, and before her panties were ruined, she decided that she should probably change the subject.

“So, when are you coming, or do you want me to meet you?”

“I’m already here, sweetheart. Come downstairs when you’re ready and we’ll grab a bite to eat. Then I will drop you off at the center, and pick you up.”

“Okay, but what about my car? Are you just going to play chauffeur to me all day?” Sydney questioned.

“Sweetheart, it’s not like you have a million places to go. I have a light day today, and we have a lot to discuss…. about your case, so it’s better if we’re in one car. If you need to go anywhere just call me, and I will be there.”

Sydney met Marco downstairs in the parking garage. He had a big grin on his handsome face, and she knew he was up to something. But with that mischievous glint in his eye and that welcoming hug as she got into the car, Sydney could care less about what he was up to.

Sydney also noticed that his terms of endearment were coming her way often.  They were still getting to know each other, but their flirting definitely soared to new heights. Sydney felt special when he called her sweetheart, honey, and her favorite, Bella Donna. She loved when he spoke Italian to her; it made Sydney’s heart nearly pound out of her chest.

“So,
sweetheart,
where are we off too this lovely evening?” Sydney asked, smiling mischievously.

Marco smirked at her. “I thought I would feed you some authentic Italian,” he replied, raising his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

“Mmm, Italian; my favorite,” Sydney responded flirtatiously.

Marco winked. “Glad I can oblige.”

Ten minutes later, they pulled up to an extremely nice condo in an exclusive building in the middle of downtown not far from Marco’s office.

“I thought you were feeding me authentic Italian? May I ask where we are? I don’t see an Italian restaurant,” Sydney pouted as she turned to look at Marco.

He had that suspicious grin on his face again as he responded, “I decided that it’s time for me to show you my cooking skills. This is my place. I hope you don’t mind.” Marco looked at Sydney with a blinding white smile.

Sydney couldn’t help the blush that came over her face. This man that she was so into, that made her feel so at ease, was going to cook for her! She couldn’t contain herself. No other man had done such a thing for her before, and knowing Marco’s family background of owning a restaurant, she was honored that he would share this with her.

As they exited the car, Marco grabbed Sydney’s hand and held it. They looked at each other and smiled, both of them knew that after that night, things would never be the same.

***

A man sat watching Marco and Sydney as they entered Marco’s downtown condo. He was seated in a dark colored four-door sedan. He looked like any other average Joe who was going about his night running humdrum errands. But he wasn’t an average Joe; he was a professional who was very good at his job. In fact, he was so good that the one man that could do his job almost as good as he could had no clue that he was being watched. However, it wasn’t Marco Bellomi that the man was following; it was Sydney Hamilton. Yet, Bellomi was so distracted that he hadn’t even noticed the pair of eyes that were constantly on the two of them.

He understood why Bellomi was distracted; Sydney Hamilton was a beautiful woman with a lot going for her. Hell, if he was Bellomi, he might have been distracted too.

If only Sydney had kept her nose out of other people’s affairs, he wouldn’t be there.

The man shook his head. He really hoped that Sydney would mind her own business, and that she would stay away from the Moore’s, because he would really hate to have to make her disappear; it would be such a waste. The man shook his head again. He was beginning to develop a conscious, which wasn’t a good thing in his line of work. He would have to be even more focused for this job because Bellomi was one of the best.

Marco and Sydney walked hand-in-hand to the large elevator. The sexual tension radiating from the two of them was palpable. The connection they shared was so strong that it was almost scary.

Marco leaned down and tucked a loose strand of Sydney’s hair that had escaped from her ponytail, behind her ear. Goosebumps broke out on Sydney’s skin just from the slightest contact of Marco’s large hand. Their eyes locked onto each other, and in that moment, Sydney knew that Marco was going to kiss her, and she couldn’t wait! The anticipation of his beautiful soft lips pressed up against her plump, juicy lips was causing a stir in Sydney’s core .

She squeezed her legs together tightly, trying to stave off the slow thrumming in her core. Her pulse rate sped up, and her heart was beating so loud in her own ears that she just knew that Marco could hear it beating too. She felt like a teenage girl when she was around him. It was as if this was the first man that she was attracted to, the first man to show her some attention. She thought that it was silly to feel like this because she was a twenty-eight-year-old woman who had had plenty of boyfriends, but none ever made her heart race and her panties wet with a simple touch. Hell, Marco didn’t even have to touch her; one look from his mysterious hazel eyes and she was a goner. Sydney was very much aware that this was not a usual feeling. She and Marco hadn’t even shared more than a friendly hug, some handholding, and a small peck here and there. She wasn’t even sure that what they were doing was even dating. It wasn’t anything emotional; he was being paid by her to do a job. And although their time spent together lately seemed more than work related, they were still just doing a job.

Sydney knew that her rule of dating and getting to know one another before sex was completely out of the window if Marco kissed her. At this point, she was hoping that if he did kiss her, they could make it to his condo before she ripped his clothes off and jumped him in the elevator. 

Sydney giggled at the thought.

“Something funny?” Marco asked, his eyebrow raised with a bewildered expression marring his handsome face.

“Ummm, no. Sorry,” Sydney responded shyly, looking away from his smoldering hazel eyes.

“Well, you just giggled, so it had to be something. You know I like to laugh, Syd, so why not share,” Marco replied, standing straight up and looking at her with a knowing smile.

Sydney blushed a little. “It was nothing.”

Marco’s smiled widened. “Nothing huh?”   Marco moved closer to her and he slowly rubbed the back of his hand down her cheek.

Sydney’s mocha complexion was completely red now with the intimate touch.  She looked up at him and their gazes locked.  Sydney licked her suddenly dry lips, and Marco groaned at the action

Marco’s eyes went directly to Sydney sweet pouty mouth.  He took his finger and traced her bottom lip.

Sydney licked her lips again.  This time licking Marco’s finger in the process.

His groan vibrated in his chest, and his eyes dilated with his growing desire.  Marco leaned down to capture her lips in a long awaited kiss.  Sydney raised up on her toes to meet Marco’s succulent lips when the elevator chimed, letting them know that they made it to their destination.

“Saved by the bell…for now,” Marco said, leading Sydney out of the elevator and to his spacious condo.

Sydney breathed out a nervous sigh. She didn’t know what had come over her. Marco had hypnotized her with his mesmerizing hazel gaze. She was about to not only tell him what she was thinking, but what she wanted him to do about what she was thinking. Sydney knew that her attraction to Marco was intense, but she now knew that it was also dangerous.

***

Marco knew he had Sydney right where he wanted her. Her pupils were dilated, and her eyes were filled with lust. She was breathing harder and goosebumps covered her smooth, chocolate skin. He wanted to kiss her so bad in the elevator. Her plump, luscious lips were calling to him, especially with the soft pink lip gloss she had on that day. He wanted to kiss her so there wasn’t a trace of the lip gloss left. He wanted her lips to be swollen from his kiss. He wanted
her
.

Marco opened the door and let Sydney go inside before him. He stepped in and hit the lights. Sydney’s eyes grew wide as she took in the floor-to-ceiling windows that covered the opposite side of the condo. The skyline was magnificent from his top floor apartment. You could see all of downtown Dallas. The KPMG Tower and the new Omni were all lit up with their bright LED light displays.

“Welcome to my home. Come on in and have a seat while I get dinner started. You want a drink?” Marco asked Sydney while leading her to a spacious kitchen with an island with barstool seating.

Sydney nodded her head. “Yeah, sure. Your apartment is great, Marco! I absolutely love this view…” Sydney replied in awe.

“Thanks. I’ve always said there’s nothing like a good view,” Marco stated, looking directly at Sydney.

She turned around and noticed that he was staring. She started to blush and looked away.

Marco smiled. He loved the fierce woman that she was, but he also loved that she was still shy at times.

Marco gave Sydney a glass of wine as he prepared a simple meal of spaghetti Bolognese with homemade sauce, garlic bread, and a side salad.

Sydney sipped her wine as she watched Marco cook. He knew that she was watching his every move because he was watching hers.

“Wine okay?” Marco asked.

“It’s nice. Thanks. So, did you cook in your parent’s restaurant?” Sydney questioned.

Marco chuckled. “No, Bella Donna, my mama would never allow us boys in her kitchen at the restaurant unless we were cleaning it. She taught us to cook at home, though, saying a man needed to know how to feed himself until he found a suitable wife.”

Sydney giggled. “Your mama sounds a lot like mine.” Sydney then mocked her mother in a high-pitched southern voice. “‘Sydney Michelle, you need to learn to cook so that you can make a good wife.’”

They both laughed and settled in on polite conversation as Marco served their meal. After they finished eating their meal and cleaning up, the once light mood turned awkward.

“So you said you wanted to talk about the case?” Sydney spoke, breaking the awkward silence in the room.

“Yeah, I spoke to the ex of Moore’s. He is definitely a real piece of work. Cindy Collins is the ex; she said that she was told to ‘go away quietly’ after Moore nearly beat her into unconsciousness.” Marco relayed the woman’s words with disgust. “She was paid a visit by some man that she’d never seen before and told if she ever said a word, not only would she be silenced for good, but her family as well.”

“Wow, that’s some crazy stuff. Why is she coming forward now? This had to be at least ten years ago, right?” Sydney responded wide eyed.

“Well, when I found her... and by the way, finding her was a tough enough job, considering almost all of Moore’s exes have NDA agreements.”

“Wait. What? Why did his exes need to sign non-disclosure agreements?” Sydney interrupted, her brown eyes growing wider with every question.

“Right. Same thing I said. Moore is into some real bad shit, Syd. He’s had exes disappear, never to be heard from again. I don’t know exactly what went down in their relationships, but as soon as it was over, his exes were gone; vanished into thin air,” Marco replied, his face growing more serious with every piece of information he relayed. “I believe the only reason Cindy didn’t vanish was because she just wasn’t ‘some chick.’ She’s high society, old money; there would’ve been too many questions if she just up and disappeared.”

“Well, why is she so willing to help us? I mean, if he threatened her and her old money family, then why now? What’s changed?”

“Back then, it was the threat against her family that she worried about. She didn’t care what happened to her. She’s the only one left now. Her mom and brother died in a car accident a few years ago, and her father just passed of cancer about a year ago.”

“But what if they find out that she told us this information and get to her before we can use this in Megan’s case?” Sydney asked, getting frustrated.

“She let me record her, and she also made a statement to a detective friend of mine on the force. I found out that metropolitan police have an open case against Moore. It’s real hush hush, mind you, but I’m good at what I do,” Marco stated smugly.

“Dang…. That’s a lot. But it will definitely help with Megan’s case, especially since he’s abused her too,” Sydney said quietly.

Marco’s thick, dark eyebrow raised in question. “She told you he abused her and you didn’t say anything?”

“Attorney client privilege. She didn’t want me to say anything. I couldn’t, Marco,” Sydney pleaded with her big, brown eyes.

“I understand,” Marco stated gruffly.

Marco did understand, but it still pissed him off. It could have saved him a lot of time and effort if he had known about the abuse. He could’ve known what to look for, but he couldn’t blame Sydney for being a good lawyer.

***

After they caught up on the case, and finished clearing the rest of the plates from the table and kitchen, Marco invited Sydney to sit and relax in his family room before he took her to the center.

She sat down on his overstuffed leather couch, and he sat right beside her. Their knees touched when he shifted to look into her eyes. Her breath caught at the intensity she saw in his hazel orbs.

“Syd, I know you feel this thing between us. I’m a professional and you’re a professional.  I’m a man that is up front about what he wants, and I do what I need to do to have what I want... and I want you,” Marco said with a lustful look in his eyes.

“What about the case? Won’t this thing between us interfere with it?” Sydney shyly responded to Marco’s bold statement.

“Like I said, we are both professionals, and we could see where things takes us after the case is done, but I can’t wait any longer to make you mine, Bella Donna. I am a man with many attributes, but patience has never been one of them. I’ve been working closely with you for over a month now, and my self-restraint is nonexistent at this point. If you don’t want this, I need to know now.”

“
Yes
,” Sydney said breathless. “I want this…I want you-”

Sydney didn’t get the rest of her statement completely out of her mouth before Marco was on her. He laid Sydney down on her back and kissed her with a fierceness that she had never known. The kiss wasn’t gentle or sweet. No, this kiss showed Sydney that Marco was a man that was hungry for a woman. His tongue entered her mouth, tangling with hers. Neither of them giving up control, Sydney whimpered at the sensation of his probing tongue in her mouth and his strong hands roaming over her heated body. Marco moaned into Sydney’s mouth at the sound of her whimper. She could feel the length of his manhood growing larger against her core as he ground into her.

Then he stopped suddenly.

“Wha…What’s wrong?” Sydney inquired panting with her growing lust. “Why did you stop?”

“Sorry, Bella Donna, but I won’t take you for the first time on my couch like a horny teenage boy.” Marco’s face was flushed, his olive skin had taken on a red tint, and the heat radiating from his muscular physique was almost enough to burn Sydney.

Sydney took a deep breath. “You’re right. We shouldn’t do this here.”

Marco rose up and moved away from Sydney, allowing her to rise up off the couch as well. She then stood, straightening her clothes. “So… where is your bedroom?” Sydney asked boldly.