The waitress’s eyes went back to Marco, full of heat, before she walked away, her hips swaying with sexual promise.
Marco’s eyes followed.
The humiliation of his obvious rejection of her was too much and she pushed against Marco’s arms, wanting to get away from him. The only men who ever seemed to be interested in her were the ones who wanted to use her. She thought she’d learned her lesson with her ex, but apparently not.
Marco’s grip remained firm as he whispered, “We’ll leave, but wait until we get outside before you start acting out.”
His words were cool and even, nothing like his usual lighthearted tone. If she didn’t know better, she’d say he was angry.
Like he had any reason to be angry with her. She had done everything he’d asked of her since entering this place. “Then hurry up, because your touch disgusts me.”
Marco clenched his jaw, but he kept quiet as he pushed her up off his lap and drew her against his side. He gave her one last look she couldn’t read before putting on what she was fast learning was his fake smile. Unable to do the same, Cam tucked her head against his side to hide her expression, which turned out to be a mistake. Despite how he’d hurt her, and how Marco had used her like the others, his scent was warm and oddly comforting, reminding her of how he’d tasted when he’d kissed her.
Am I fucked up or what? He’d just rejected her in plain sight of everyone here, yet she was still attracted to him. Why couldn’t a dependable, strong man like Jaxton or Darius be here with her and smell as good?
As they made their way to the door, Cam decided to fall back on what had worked best for her over the last four years—she was going to focus solely on her missions and eschew men completely.
Cam’s words about his touch had stung, and only years of practice had allowed Marco to act the part of Felipe Herrera as he and Cam made their way to the door. He even managed to give Ynez another deliberately heated look before passing by the bouncer and stepping out into the open air.
Cam, thankfully, played along until he turned them down a side street, where she stiffened and tugged to get away. But he kept a grip on her shoulders. “Not yet,” he hissed.
Her claws bit into the skin of his ribcage, but he ignored them. She could threaten him all she liked, but he wasn’t letting her run off until she understood the truth of his actions back in La Noche.
Cam increased the pressure of her claws and said, “There is nothing to justify you touching me. I was your prop inside, but there is no one here to impress.” She pressed a little harder. “You’re also violating the rules of DEFEND, to never force an innocent to do your will. Maybe working with DEFEND isn’t important to you, but it’s sure as hell important to me. Maybe us working together isn’t such a good idea after all.”
He’d had enough of Cam’s disdain, and he wasn’t going to take her abuse any longer. Gritting his teeth, Marco tugged her inside an abandoned house and lowered his face to hers. “You’re quick to judge, Camilla, but it is you who aren’t holding up your promise.” She opened her mouth, but he placed a hand over it. “No, it’s my turn now.”
He let his restraint go, showing her the anger he’d been trying so hard to contain. If this was the only way for her to take him seriously, then so be it.
He kept his voice low as he said, “If DEFEND is so important to you, then you’d stop with all your fucking evasion tactics and simply tell me who that man was and how you’re connected. Part of my mission is to aid you in looking for Talents, which I will do, but that isn’t all.” He leaned even closer, his nose a hairbreadth from touching hers. “Every second I spend tracking you down and passing one of your fucking silly little tests, innocent Feiru and their families are being murdered by a group who would make even you pause before crossing them.”
He forced Cam to take a step back and he cornered her against the wall. “I do what’s necessary to make my missions a success, and flirting with someone is the least of it.” He narrowed his eyes. “So stop fucking judging me, because you have no idea what I’m capable of when it comes to stopping the murderers of children, especially when one of the bastards killed my cousin.”
Cam’s eyes widened at his last statement, and he decided she’d had enough. He removed his hand, but didn’t step away. Due to Cam’s latent abilities, she was fast, but he would be able to stop her at this distance with his own powers.
She held his gaze, her expression unreadable. When she finally replied, he could barely hear her. “Why didn’t you just tell me all of this before? I could’ve helped you.”
He growled. She still hadn’t answered his fucking question about the man on the street. He put a hand against the wall on either side of her head and leaned forward. “When was I supposed to tell you, Camilla? When you kneed me in the balls? Or how about when you nearly slit my throat? I understand pain. Hell, I understand the need for secrets. But you’ve done nothing but cut me down since we met, and I don’t know if you’re aware of it, sweetheart, but trust runs both ways.”
Chapter Fourteen
Cam sucked in a breath. Marco’s words were true, but this situation wasn’t entirely her fault.
She raised her chin to get a better look at his eyes. “Trust? What do you think just happened in that bar? If I didn’t trust you at all, then no matter if it would’ve blown your cover ID or not, I never would’ve let you put your tongue in my mouth.” She poked him in the chest. “You may let anything with tits kiss you, but it’s not that way for the rest of us.”
Before she could blink, Marco had grabbed her hands and pinned them to the wall beside her head. She tugged, but his grip didn’t budge. “Let’s get one thing straight right now, Camilla. Despite whatever the rumors may say, I don’t kiss just anyone.” He leaned closer and she was surrounded by his intoxicating maleness. “And as I remember it, you were kissing me back.”
Cam’s heartbeat pounded in her ears. “What does it matter? Two seconds later, you were making sex-eyes at the waitress.”
His breath tickled her cheek. “What if she hadn’t interrupted? Then what would you have done?”
Her anger had faded to something much hotter. Suddenly, Marco’s proximity, and the way he’d kissed her, was all that she could think about. No. She wouldn’t let anyone hurt her again. “Nothing, because I’m not about to be anyone’s whim.”
Anger flashed across his face. “Anyone who thinks of you like that isn’t worth having. Was it that blond man? What is he to you?”
She jumped at the distraction, anything to put distance between herself and Marco. It wasn’t just that his nearness was unsettling, but his fierceness was doing something to her that she didn’t want to think about. “First, let me go.”
His nearly black eyes pierced hers, but she didn’t avert her gaze. She could take any macho bullshit he threw her way.