“Can you explain why I’m being moved into the basement?” I ask Marcum. Topper has been at my door all day. Babs finally agreed to distract him long enough for me to slip out, and I’ve been waiting in Marcum’s room ever since. Which means I’ve been sitting in his room for over two hours. I thought about looking for him anywhere else. I knew that if I did that, I’d be sent back to my room and guarded even heavier.

“How’d you get out of your room? I had Topper guarding you,” Marcum growls, slamming his door.

“That’s another thing I’m not happy about. Why am I being guarded all of a sudden?”

“When you find your voice, you don’t hesitate to use it, do you, Dragonfly?” he asks, rubbing the side of his neck.

“I’ve been saving it up. So? Are you going to tell me?”

“We’re all being moved into the basement, not just you,” he says finally, taking his club cut off and putting it on a table.

“Oh. Is this about the conversation with Hound this morning?”

“You’re going to explain how you know them,” he says, not confirming my suspicions, but not denying them either.

“You’re going to eventually answer me too,” I respond, and he smiles a little. I don’t know why him smiling should make me happy, but it does.

He pulls his shirt off, and it must be said that Marcum is completely sexy. He is covered in ink, most of it dark and black, but it looks good on him. There’s this tree on his chest. It’s inked over his heart and that one tattoo always grabs my attention. The roots are dipped in red ink and it looks like it is growing out of his heart. On the tree are branches everywhere and each one has leaves. Harley and Desi’s names are on one branch and the names of all of his children are there, right down to Max. There’s a new tree intertwining with it and the leaves are green and Tess’s name is there, along with his grandkids. It’s beautiful and it says so much about the man. And what it says is in direct contrast to everything I’ve ever heard or known about him. Hell, it’s in contrast to everything I know about any man.

Marcum is a protector, a soldier who takes it on himself to protect his family. I’ve never known anyone like that. That could be why I’m attracted to him, I don’t know. I know that after seeing him with his kids, I found him much more attractive. He’s like this gigantic puzzle and every time I manage to work another piece in… I fall a little more under his spell.

“What are you thinking when you look at me like that, Dragonfly?” he asks, his voice hoarse as he stands at the foot of the bed where I am.

“That you are beautiful,” I tell him honestly. And I begin falling back on the bed as he stretches his body over me.

“You might need your eyes checked, honey,” he whispers just as my head lands against the soft mattress of his bed. His hands come to hold each side of my face, gently. His fingers brush against the skin as his dark eyes look down at me. He’s rough… all over and there’s nothing soft about him. But he can be soft with his children and that’s beautiful. He can really be soft with me at times and when he is… I get lost in him.

“You’re beautiful to me,” I tell him, quietly.

“My Toi, always so sweet. Open your mouth for me, honey,” he whispers, as his lips touch mine. I give him my mouth, my tongue wrapping around his as he kisses me. It’s a different kiss from any we’ve shared. It’s slower, just as intense, and it’s sweet.

I wrap my arms around him, loving the feel of his warm skin. Never have I been attracted to a man like I am with Marcum. It’s physical, but it feels like more than that too—which should scare me, but I can’t stop it. When it’s over he kisses my eyelids, and then my forehead, before sliding off the bed. I came here to talk to him, but disappointment fills me as he gets up. I definitely wanted to continue that kiss. He’s been making me come continuously and it’s always good… Yet it never goes further than that.

When I found out from Topper that the men were moving me into the basement, I thought Marcum was done with me. After all, he moved me to be close to his children. I’m in his private wing of the club. Moving me would mean he wants me away from his family—away from him. That’s the real reason I’m in his room now. I felt panicked at the thought that Marcum was done with me.

With a sigh, I sit up and look at him. Surprise fills me when he starts undoing his pants. I bite my lip, waiting for the moment he frees his cock. He’s obviously hard—I think Marcum stays hard.

“Undress for me, Toi,” he orders, his voice laced with so much need my body shivers in response.

I swallow down my nerves and stand on legs that feel like rubber. I don’t remember doing it, though I know I did—but in moments I’m standing in front of Marcum completely naked, with my breath coming so harshly that my heart is slamming against my chest.

“You’re overdressed,” I tell him, my hands twisting nervously at my stomach as I fight the urge to cover myself up.

“Lay on the bed, Dragonfly.” I swallow but I sit down on the bed, and then slide up it, lying down, but keeping Marcum in my sight at all times. “I’ve been trying to hold myself back with you, Toi. I didn’t want to scare you off and I wanted to give you time to heal up, but honey… I need you,” he says with a frank type of honesty that I’ve been craving from him. I was starting to worry he didn’t want me, so it’s good to hear that he’s been purposely trying to hold back.

“I want you too, Marcum. I need you,” I tell him. A million things are running through my brain and I want to tell him each of them, but it all boils down to the same thing. I really do need him.

He kicks off his shoes and pushes his pants down. Through it all, I don’t think he takes his eyes off of me. Then, he literally crawls over top of me, the look in his eyes so intense I lose my breath.

“You need me, Toi?” His deep voice rumbles as he drags his hands up my sides.

“I do… I was… afraid,” I confess.

“Why were you afraid?” he asks as one of his hands goes immediately between my legs. “Fuck… you’re always so wet for me, Dragonfly. So fucking hot, wet and ready for me.”

He’s right. I am wet for him, I should be ashamed, but I’m not. No one has had this effect on me, absolutely no one but Marcum.

“I was afraid you were… done with me,” I whisper, just as he gently moves his fingers over my aching clit.

“Christ, woman, you really don’t listen. I told you last time what I wanted with you. I’ve tried to show you that you’re special to me,” he mumbles against my skin as he kisses along the side of my neck and then moves down, leaving a trail of kisses all the way to my breast. Then, he sucks my nipple, pressing it hard into his mouth—to the point that it’s almost painful. He somehow twists the nipple in his mouth, his teeth raking against the sensitive nub, at the same moment his fingers pinch my clit. My body thrusts up against him, a soft cry leaving me. “What more can I do to show you what you mean to me, Toi? What can I say that will finally get through to you?” he growls as his mouth bites softly into my skin, making a path down my stomach.

I grab him by his hair. I know where this is going and, as much as I love it when he uses his mouth on me, that’s not what I want this time. I want to confess to him that I’m afraid his interest in me is solely based on the fact that I saved his life. I don’t want him out of a sense of duty, but I don’t know how to tell him that. Plus, telling him that right now will only make him stop. That’s something I absolutely don’t want.

I pull on his hair to stop him from moving down.

“No,” I tell him when he raises his head and his gaze locks with mine.

“Toi?”

“I don’t want your mouth this time, Marcum. I want you.”

“Dragonfly—”

“I want to feel you inside of me. If you really mean it, Marcum. If you’re going to keep me, then really make me yours,” I tell him, using what courage I have to get that plea out.