Lyon on a Leash (30 page)

Marcus’ brow rose. Something had Brinks twisted in knots and desperate. Desperate enough to talk to a man who’d just punched him in the stomach. They weren’t friends or associates, but the man had done him a favor.

“I…I met someone.”

Unsurprised, Marcus waited for him to finish.

Brinks glared at him. “You don’t seem surprised.”

Marcus shrugged. “I’m not. What do you want from me? I owe you for taking care of security, but I’m not going to stand out here much longer.”

“Just talk. I need somebody to talk to, plus I already asked. How do you lock down a woman that fast?”

When Marcus realized the man was serious, he chuckled. “I treat her like the queen she is every minute of the day. There’s little I wouldn’t do for her. My life’s goal is to make sure she has everything she needs to have a happy, productive day.”

“You’re her puppet?” Brinks all but sneered.

Marcus shrugged, not liking the name, but he understood Brinks had no idea what being in a committed relationship meant. “Maybe. Titles mean little to me. It’s the results that concern me.” He leaned back with a smirk. “Didn’t you just say she stopped talking to other guys, left work on time, seemed happy, relaxed? You said I locked her down fast.” He shrugged, enjoying Brinks’ reddening face. “Like I said, I’m all about the results. Whatever it takes, that’s what I do.”

“What makes you sure she’s not using you? Or that she’ll walk off and leave you heartbroken?” Brinks asked in a petulant tone.

Since Marcus had experienced both scenarios at various times in his life, he spoke from a place of certainty. “Living involves risks. Relationships require trust. But trust is a funny thing. If you break it, it’s hard to fix. So I try never to do anything that’ll damage her faith in me or our relationship. I don’t give a damn what anybody on the outside says about me, either. It’s what she says and thinks that matters.”

“How can you trust her?” Brinks sounded genuinely puzzled.

“She earned it a while back,” Marcus said. Vera wasn’t a wishy-washy person; her word was solid. He understood her rules. Following them brought her pleasure. He was able to rely on her , knew what to expect from her, and that was comforting.

“I messed up,” Brinks said, bringing Marcus back to their conversation. “I love Susan.” He gave Marcus a quick once-over. “My wife,” he added, as though he needed to be clear.

Marcus glanced at his watch and nodded. Brinks would get a few more minutes and then he’d send the man on his way.

“We have an open marriage; she has a few lovers,” Brinks said. He waved his hand as though his comment wasn’t a big deal. Based on Marcus’ experience in the elevator that day in Vera’s office, he didn’t think the man’s in-laws were aware of that arrangement.

“But the downside is when I meet someone who interests me, either I want more or my new lover wants more.” Brinks raked his hand over his scalp. “If I could get her to just be into me more, without wanting all the emotional stuff…maybe we could make this work.”

“Make what work?” Marcus asked, surprised that Brinks struggled to say he wanted the woman to love him without his making an emotional commitment to the woman.

“I want her to care for me like Vera cares for you.”

Marcus released a bark of laughter. “You want what I have but aren’t willing to do what I’ve done to achieve that level of commitment.”

Brinks stuffed his hands in his pants pockets and looked out over the parking lot, his jaws clamped tight. Marcus hadn’t expected an answer. But for a sharp attorney, the man was dumb when it came to women.

“The Bible commands a man to love his wife,” Marcus said to the silent man in front of him.

“I don’t want a sermon.”

“But He commands the woman to respect her husband,” Marcus continued, ignoring the outburst. “That tells you something about how different we are. A woman is wired, for the most part, to love her man. It’s weird, in a way. Even if she despises some of the things he does, she’ll try and find something about him to cling to, something to love.”

Brinks looked at him with a thoughtful expression.

“Men tend to need a little more from women. We want their love, but we crave their respect, admiration. It takes us back to the days when a man beat his chest in pride every time he dragged home a fresh kill to feed or provide for his woman.”

He thought of Vera’s reaction. If he beat his chest for her, she’d probably laugh like she laughed at his singing. But he knew she’d loved that he’d done that just for her. “When a woman thinks highly of her man, she lets the world know that she trusts his judgment and his abilities to weather every storm of life with her. That shit right there…it does something to you, to your gut. It makes you strong and weak at the same time.”

“At the same time?” Brinks asked.

Marcus nodded. “Yeah. She needs me to love her as she is, nothing added. The more I love her, the more her needs are met, she trusts me. The more she trusts me, the more she honors me by placing me first. When she places me first, I can’t help but love her more. I’m strengthened by her love and weakened by the fact that she’s the only one who does that for me.”

Brinks nodded. “I don’t think I’ve ever been there.”

“Not cheating on your wife, you haven’t.”

Brinks reddened. “I’ve never cheated on her. I told you we have an open marriage. She has lovers on the side. She’s with one of them now.”

Marcus wondered if Brinks was really okay with his wife and another man. Marcus couldn’t share his woman and she refused to share him. They’d signed that decree right up front. “Whatever works for you, man.”

Brinks tapped his lips. “I like this woman. She’s smart, classy, beautiful. But I can’t give her all of me like that. It’d tear my marriage apart.”

“True. What else can I tell you, except I’m glad you backed off Vera? That shit got old fast. You should’ve seen your face at the banquet. It was red.”

Brinks smiled. “I was upset, but not of you and Vera. The new woman in my life was there that night and I couldn’t be with her like I wanted. I sat at your table to pick a fight so I could leave Susan and spend some time with…with my new lady friend. She and I went outside and talked for a while. I wished I could treat her the way you did Vera. But my in-laws would have a fit.”

Marcus frowned. “So all this time you’ve been making an ass of yourself to keep your in-laws from knowing you and Susan swing? They don’t know you guys have lovers?”

Brinks shrugged. “She’s their daughter. She was kinky when we met and that hasn’t changed. But in the South, appearances must be kept. Vera was a safe bet, but if I didn’t act like I wanted her, Susan might have guessed there was someone else I cared about more. For the most part, we keep our lovers private. But when I spend
too
much time away, my wife gets jealous.” He paused.

“The night of the accident, I’d told Susan Vera and I would be working late. I left early to see my girlfriend. If I had been at the office, maybe I could’ve given Vera a ride home, or something. Susan asked a few questions and I downplayed the accident so she wouldn’t find out I wasn’t at the office. I wanted to tell Vera just in case Susan asked her any questions.”

Marcus stared at the man and shook his head. This was something he and Vera hadn’t thought of, and he couldn’t wait to tell her. “I’ll tell her. Best of luck to you, but I don’t see how this will end with you getting what you want. I never locked Vera down. She decided that what she had at home was better than what she could find anywhere else. A woman, or a man, for that matter, makes those decisions based on their options. If you want a woman to be yours, and only yours, first you have to find out if that’s a choice for her. Some people, no matter how good you may be to them, won’t settle down with you, because—as you know—it’s not an option.”

“I get that. But Vera told me even if I wasn’t married she wouldn’t give me a shot. What about that?”

Marcus laughed, thinking that was classic Vera. “Some people just aren’t going to be into you, no matter what. You’ve got to deal with that and move on.”

“So, if I was available, on an emotional and legal level, and the woman was attracted to me, then I’d have to give her whatever she needed to lock up her affections?” He eyed Marcus with a skeptical expression.

Tired of the conversation, Marcus shrugged. “It goes both ways. Would you fall for a woman who didn’t meet your needs?”

Brinks stared at him.

“And on that note, I’ve got to end this conversation.” He moved to the back of his car, watching Brinks from the corner of his eye. The man remained ramrod stiff, looking off in the opposite direction. Realizing he might not receive the privacy he wanted, he popped open his trunk.

“I can’t leave my wife.” Brinks’ voice drifted in the air.

“Then don’t,” Marcus said as he picked up Vera’s purse.

“I don’t want to give up my lover, either.”

“Okay.” Marcus shrugged. He tried to snap the leather bag shut, and noticed her birth-control pills. She’d missed taking them for the past two-plus weeks. Based on the heat in her eyes earlier, that was something else they needed to discuss with the doctor.

“Thanks, Marcus. I appreciate your time and I heard everything you said. Make sure you give my apologies to Vera.”

Marcus craned his head around the trunk in time to see Brinks leave. “No problem, I’ll tell her.” He grabbed her briefcase and closed the trunk. His keys fell. Vera’s purse started to follow and as he tried to catch it, the briefcase hit the ground. A few papers, her sunglasses, and a black, rectangular box lay on the ground. He picked up her things and replaced them all in her case but studied the embossed box a moment longer. The name was one he’d seen online recently. Though temptation to open it ran through him, he stuffed the box back where it had come from. He could always say it fell out of the bag. Reaching inside the briefcase, he pulled it out again. This time he weighed it in the palm of his hand, and then shook it. There was a small clink but not much else. He traced the three letters gently, reverently.

Warmth rose up his chest as he digested what he believed, hoped was in the box. She’d sent him for her bag, for this box. When had she bought it? Obviously, before the accident. His heart swelled with unmitigated joy. With purposeful strides, he headed back to her room.

When he reached her floor, Marguerite and James hovered near her room. For a moment or two, fear ratcheted through him. He glanced at them and strode to Vera’s door.

“Marcus,” Marguerite called out to him.

He stopped and looked back at her.

She exhaled. “They wouldn’t allow us to go in without you, or without you saying it was okay.” He could see it hurt her to admit this to him. “Come on.” He turned and walked inside.

“Hey,” Vera said as he walked in the room.

“Hey yourself,” he replied, moving to her right side and brushing a kiss against her lips. He placed her bags near her. Her gaze locked with his and he read her hunger. He wondered if he could maneuver things a bit to bring her some relief.

She must have read his thoughts. “I’ll ask Julie when she comes in later.” She winked at him.

He smiled, loving that the playful side of her personality had returned. “Sounds like a plan.”

Vera turned to Marguerite, who sat stiffly in the chair on the other side of the bed and frowned. “Are you okay?”

Marguerite’s gaze flicked over to Marcus and then rested on Vera again. “I’ll feel much better once you forgive me for my behavior earlier. I was wrong to stretch the truth but it came from a good place in my heart.” She slapped her chest. “I love you as my own child and knowing my behavior caused you to have an attack wounds me deeply.”

Vera stared at the woman who was more than a friend: she was family. The woman always apologized after she meddled but that didn’t stop her from doing it again. Meddling in the lives of those she loved was in her mentor’s DNA. Yes, she’d overstepped some lines, but since she’d done the same to Drina, her biological child, on many occasions, Vera couldn’t be too angry. “Is this apology like the one you gave me and Drina when you told the guys who came to your house to take us out to dinner that summer that we had left and would meet them at the restaurant?”

Marguerite reddened. “Those assholes just wanted to get in your pants. They didn’t even have the decency to verify if what I said was true. You girls were mad, but I saved you a bunch of trouble down the road,” she huffed with a dignified nod.

Vera glanced at Marcus. His raised brow and puckered lips made her smile. She could only imagine the arguments he and Marguerite must have had while she was unconscious. “Of course, Marguerite. You will save us from ourselves no matter what we think or want to do.” She shook her head, loving the woman because it did come from a good place. “But you crossed a line this time.” Vera lifted her hand and Marcus took it in his. His solid warmth and strength radiated through her. He was her rock.

“I did and I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t tell you about collaring Marcus because we planned to do it at home and leave for a trip, or honeymoon, later. We chose to make it a small, private event with just the two of us. I knew if I told you, you’d want to make it more formal.”

Marguerite’s mouth opened and then snapped shut. “Yeah, I would’ve.” Her eyes gleamed as she continued. “It’s a major event that should be shared with family and friends. It doesn’t have to be large; it can still be small, intimate.” Her voice took on a pleading quality.