Resignation (8 page)

“God,” he growled, coming hard enough to see stars.

He peered down at her face, smiling at the dazed look in her
eyes.

You’re mine, and I don’t give a damn who knows it.

* * * * *

Darina woke with a chill and reached her hand out to find
emptiness beside her. She immediately turned to see Sol gone and the morning
sunlight spilling between the blinds. Her head dropped back onto the pillow and
she sighed, surprised to feel Sol’s absence so deeply. Her stomach fluttered in
nervousness and her heart rate sped up. Confusion filled her as she tried to
truthfully examine her feelings for him.

Why can’t I seem to be truthful with myself?

She closed her eyes and imagined his touch, his kisses, his
scent, the sound of his voice. All of those warmed her inside and out and she
was suddenly starved for him. Had she ever fallen for a guy so quickly?

No. Not even Marc made me crave him like this after so
short a time.

She tried to remember what it felt like to be touched by
Marc but couldn’t. Her thoughts, and apparently her heart, were now filled with
Sol. She smiled.

“That look isn’t for me, is it?”

Startled, she sat up quickly and yanked the sheet to her
chin.

“Marc! What the hell are you doing here? How did you even
get in?”

His gaze roamed over her body, head to toe, and he took his
time answering as he leaned back against the closed bedroom door.

“Remember how I lost the key you gave me a few months back?
I found it last week in my gym bag. Just thought I should return it to you.”

She slipped out of bed, careful to wrap the sheet around her
body completely. She raised her chin and let her anger show on her face as she
took a step toward him.

“Good. Give it to me.”

A look she’d never seen crossed Marc’s face and turned into
what she could only think of as an evil smile.

“Be careful what you ask for, sweetheart. You just might get
it.”

Oh shit.

She dropped her hand and took a step back, feeling the
nightstand press against her lower back. She nonchalantly reached a hand back
and found her cell phone, pressing the button programmed to call Sol.

“That’s not funny, Marc. I want you to give me my key then
turn around and leave.”

He uncrossed his arms and straightened to his full height,
towering over her even at a distance. She fought the panic building inside. The
Marc she knew would never physically hurt her.

But that Marc never would’ve cheated on me either.

“Just thought I’d drop in to check on you, sweetheart. I
knew you’d be all alone on what should’ve been the beginning of our wedding
weekend, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

His face didn’t match his words or the concerned tone of his
voice. He almost looked angry, and she tried to imagine the image she presented
to him in the harsh morning light. Her rumpled bed stood as a testament to the
night she’d spent with her lover, as well as the love bites still stinging her
skin. She didn’t know how much was obvious or what he might make of it, but
Marc seemed to be staring at her too intently for a man who no longer wanted
her.

“I’m fine. I need to get dressed to go out. Just give me the
key and go so I can get on with my day.”

“Where are you going?”

“It’s none of your damn business where I’m going. You need
to leave—”

“So you can be with him? Where is your precious security
guard this morning, Darina? He sure as hell isn’t at work. I made certain of
that over an hour ago.”

Everything in Darina froze and her panic turned to anger.

You son of a bitch.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

He chuckled and took the few remaining steps toward her,
crowding her against the nightstand.

“It seems we no longer have a need for two daytime guards.
You know how it is, sweetheart, with the way the economy is right now layoffs
are a fact of life.”

“You bastard,” she whispered, as she pressed the speaker
button on her phone.

“I might be a bastard, but at least I’m a man worthy of you.
What the hell were you thinking, fucking security? I really thought you were
better than that.”

“Oh I don’t know, Marc. Seems I’ll fuck just about anything
seeing as I fucked you for two years.”

“Bitch,” he hissed between clenched teeth as he grabbed her
upper arms violently.

“Let go! You’re hurting me!”

“You think this is pain? What do you think I felt when I saw
you touch him, huh?”

“It shouldn’t matter, you bastard. You’re with Heather now,
not me.”

“Heather is nothing but a means to an end, Darina. It’s you
I want. You’re what I’ve always wanted. You just couldn’t wait for me to make
it to the top and come back for you, could you? You just had to start fucking
around with someone else.”

He shook her, causing the phone to fall from her hand and
hit the ground. She prayed Sol had answered and could hear the trouble she was
in. This was a side to Marc she’d never seen, never suspected existed. She had
no idea how to get out of this on her own. The sheet she held in a death grip
by one fist began to loosen, and she used her other hand to push against Marc’s
chest.

“You’re hurting me. Marc, let go!”

His grip tightened, bruising her flesh, and she opened her
mouth to scream. Just as she took a deep breath, he suddenly lifted her and
tossed her onto the bed. The air was knocked out of her and she fought to
breathe.

“All I wanted was to be successful, Darina, to show you I
could make it to the top. Girls like Heather never stick around for long
anyway. She would’ve gotten sick of me eventually, but I wanted to be her
father’s right-hand man before that happened.”

Darina scooted to the other side of the bed, as far away
from Marc as she could get. He approached the bed slowly, unbuckling his belt
on the way. Finally able to draw in enough air, she gasped as she began to
shake her head.

“You’re insane. How could you think I would ever take you
back after you cheated on me?”

He removed his belt and pulled his shirt from his pants. He
stopped at the side of the bed and toed off his shoes, still watching her.

“You love me, Darina. We had two good years together. I know
you hate to be alone. If I came back to you with an apology on my lips, I knew
you’d take me back.”

She shook her head more adamantly as she gripped the sheet
tighter.

Oh God, he’s insane.

“No. Never, you asshole! I would never trust you again and
nothing you could say would change that.”

His face showed his anger before he yanked his shirt off and
dropped it on the floor.

“Perhaps not, so what do you say I fuck you one last time
then?”

She opened her mouth to scream as Marc placed a knee on the
bed. Before he could move toward her a hand fell on his shoulder, pulling him
violently away. He fell back against a wall as Sol placed himself between Marc
and the bed.

“You.”

The venom in Marc’s voice made her shiver, but the tension
in Sol’s stance calmed her fear. She wanted to burst into tears of relief, but
fought to remain silent until this was over.

“What the hell are you doing here, Marc? You aren’t welcome
here anymore,” Sol replied quietly.

Marc’s out-of-place laugh sounded bitter and angry. She
wanted to cry at the strange sound coming from the man she thought she knew so
well.

“That isn’t for you to say, security guard. Oh wait, you’re
not even that anymore are you?”

“Oh, I don’t know. There’s always a job waiting for men who
are hard-working and…honest.”

Marc chuckled and tightened his hands into fists.

“I don’t know what you think you heard, security man, but
what’s going on between me and Darina is none of your business.”

“There’s nothing between us—”

“Shut up, Darina. You don’t know what you’re saying. As soon
as I get this garbage out of here we’ll straighten things out between us,
sweetheart. I promise.”

“You sure are good at making promises aren’t you, Marc? Just
really bad at keeping them.”

All eyes turned to the new voice in the room, just as
Heather walked through the door.

Sol’s anger receded slightly as Marc seemed to realize what
was happening. Heather had heard everything, just as she’d heard everything
from Sol’s phone while they stood in her office. He’d been trying to get his
job back when Darina’s call came through. Heather had been more than willing to
listen in when he told her what was happening on the other end.

“Heather, honey, what are you doing here?” Marc asked in a
shaky voice.

The look she gave him should have made him burst into flame.
He simply paled and took a step back, looking down at himself as if suddenly
realizing the picture he presented. Sol was furious, but his main concern was
for Darina. He glanced behind him to find her still on the bed, watching Marc
warily.

“You need to leave,” he said to Marc.

Marc looked as if he might argue until Heather abruptly
walked out the door. Then he immediately grabbed his shirt, shoes and belt and
followed her. Sol walked out of the room to make certain they left and found
Heather holding the front door open with Marc already walking through it. She
looked at Sol and he noted the pain in her eyes. For a heartbeat he pitied her,
but then he remembered that same pain in Darina’s eyes at Heather’s hand and
felt a grim satisfaction.

Karma is a bitch.

“You’ll be expected back at work next week, Sol. Enjoy your
vacation.”

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Heather followed
Marc out the door, closing it quietly behind her.

He took a deep breath and ran his hands over his face,
trying to calm his nerves before facing Darina. He locked the door and slowly
walked back toward the bedroom. He couldn’t imagine what was going through her
head right now, but the last thing he wanted was to scare her further.

I should’ve fucking hit him.

“Sol?”

He cringed at the wary, pain-filled voice coming from the
bedroom, more whimper than anything. Her uncertainty had him rushing back to
her side.

“I’m here. I’m here.”

He reached for her and she flung herself into his arms,
nearly making him stagger as she gripped him tightly. He held her shaking body
and sat on the bed, positioning her in his lap like a child as he cradled her
to his chest. She was sobbing violently and it angered him all over again.

I should’ve fucking hit him repeatedly.

“Oh, kitten, don’t cry. I swear I’ll never let him near you
again.”

“I’m s-sorry. I didn’t know he had a key. I swear I didn’t
let him in, I swear—”

“Oh, baby, you think I blame you?” He pulled back just far
enough to look into her tear-filled eyes as he lifted her chin with one hand.
“I heard everything that son of a bitch said to you. I know exactly what
happened and I swear I’m having your locks changed first thing in the morning.”

Her laugh turned into a sob and he pulled her back to his
chest. He let her cry away her fear as he rubbed slow circles on her back with
one hand, gripping her tightly with the other.

I’m never letting you go.

A few minutes later she’d calmed down enough to speak and
relayed the whole story. From the moment she woke, to the moment Sol walked in,
she repeated every second of her harrowing experience. He hated to make her
relive it, but she seemed to need to, gripping his shirt in her small fists as
she repeated the words Marc had said to her.

“Is it true? Did he really get you fired?” she asked, biting
her lower lip in concern.

He ran a hand through her hair before wiping the last of her
tears from her eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.

“Yes. When I arrived I was told to gather my belongings. But
just before she left, Heather told me I still have a job.”

She let out a sigh and leaned into him.

“I’d never forgive myself for getting you fired.”

He laughed humorlessly. “It wasn’t you at all. It was all
Marc. Luckily that dumbass is in too much trouble now to have time for either
of us.”

“I hope.”

He kissed the top of her head and breathed her scent deep
into his lungs. Relief filled him at arriving in time for Marc to do no more
than scare her. Sol was pissed the asshole had even gotten into her loft.

“He didn’t hand over your key did he?”

Her startled expression answered for her.

“No, he didn’t. Oh my god, I just wasn’t even thinking about
it there at the end.”

He hated the look of fear in her eyes. No way in hell would
he let Marc hurt her.

“Pack a bag. You’re staying at my place for a few days until
we can get the locks changed and find out what’s going on with him back at work.”

She looked surprised by the offer and perhaps a little
uncertain. He tried not to worry. He would protect her no matter who tried to
stop him…even Darina herself.

“Um, okay. Are you sure you don’t mind? I mean, I can get a
hotel room or something. I don’t want to intrude.”

He gave her the look that comment deserved before his eyes
were drawn to the tempting lip she held clamped between her teeth.

“I’ll be spending the entire weekend with you either way.
It’s your call on which bed we sleep in.”

A faint smile finally lit her face and chased away the chill
he’d felt since answering the phone to hear Marc’s voice.

“Okay, if you insist.”

“I most certainly do. I can come back tonight and change the
locks, or do it first thing in the morning. Whatever you decide, I just want to
make you happy.”

She sighed before leaning into his chest again.

“You do, Sol. You really do. This could’ve been one of the
worst days of my life, but with you it’s going to be so much better.”