A feeling Cam couldn’t described filled her chest. Maybe Marco was interested in her beyond a quick lay.
But then she’d believed the same thing with Richard, and that had ended with her cousin Adella almost dying.
Marco traced a finger down her cheek and she shivered. “Camilla, tell me I didn’t just fuck up by telling you this. Tell me you can keep my secret.”
The look in his eyes was vulnerable, making him appear younger than usual—and it made her uncomfortable. She knew how to deal with his charm or his temper, but not this. She wanted to make the look go away, but she wasn’t about to lie to him. “You didn’t fuck up. But if Zalika or Jacek ever ask me about it, I won’t lie to them, Marco. They’re like family to me.”
She waited for him to pull a stunt with his water tricks, to force a promise to keep his secret, but all he did was smile and say, “Well, then, I’ll just have to make sure they never see any of my tricks, and they’ll never be the wiser.”
Chapter Twenty
Marco felt lighter. He’d always known that bearing the secret of being an Elemental Master had weighed him down, but he’d never realized how much. True, he had yet to tell Cam what his fellow EMs did secretly to help the world, but he was starting to believe he would in time. He just had to be careful, and not spook her away.
Cam gave him a puzzled look. “Just like that, you’re not going to try to make me promise to keep your secret?”
Marco resisted the urge to brush her cheek again. He’d be doing more than that soon enough. “I’m putting my trust in you, so don’t fuck me over, okay? I’ve seen what goes on inside the AMT compounds, and I have no wish to live there permanently.”
She straightened her shoulders. “I’m not sure if I should be insulted by that remark or not, considering the hell my sister went through. You’d really have to piss me off for me to want to send you there.”
He smiled. “So I shouldn’t get on your bad side?”
Cam extended one of her claws. “Definitely not.”
Marco laughed and decided he’d tell her more later. Right now, he wanted to play.
He ran his hands up the sides of her ribcage and Cam’s eyes widened. When he rested his hands on the side of her neck and caressed the sides of her jaw, her breathing was fast. “I seem to remember you saying you might let me kiss you if I told you about my powers.” He moved one of his thumbs to caress the skin just under her lower lip. “Well, what’s the verdict? Has your maybe turned into a yes?”
He could see Cam battling with herself, so he leaned over and kissed where her jaw met her neck. She sighed and he nipped her skin. “I’m not Richard or whoever else fucked you over in the past. I’ve trusted you, Camilla; won’t you at least trust me in this?”
He felt the instant she let go of her tension. When she moved her hands up his chest, he moved to face her again, and saw her vulnerable expression.
He loved that she was revealing a little more of herself to him.
She met his gaze and said, “Don’t hurt me, Marco.”
His heart tightened. He kissed the scar on her chin and said, “Not if I can help it, Camilla.” Then he kissed the one on her forehead. “There’s so much more I want to tell you.”
He pressed his lips to hers, gently at first, but then Cam leaned forward and delved her tongue into his mouth. His cock grew hard again at her taste, but more than anything, he wanted to feel her skin against his. He’d just worked his hand up under her built-in bra when something in Cam’s skirt started to vibrate.
She broke the kiss. Her expression was apologetic as she said, “I’m sorry, but I need to take this.” She pulled out a cell phone from her skirt pocket, pressed the screen, and a
nswered. “Zalika? Is that you?”
The moment Cam had felt her phone start to vibrate in her pocket, she’d wanted to ignore her duties for once even if it were only for a few hours. After distancing herself from most everyone for years, she wanted to enjoy what little time she had with Marco. She knew he’d get fed up with her eventually—most men had trouble with taking orders from her—but even if it lasted for just one night, she wanted to feel normal.
For once, she wanted to feel desired and not have to live as her reputation required.
But her team’s safety was one of the few things that took precedence over her yearnings for a normal life, so Cam took out her phone and answered it. “Zalika? Is that you?”
“She’s a bit tied up at the moment,” said a somewhat familiar male voice she couldn’t place.
Cam frowned and said, “Who is this?”
“I think you know, Mel.”
Only a handful of people knew she’d ever gone by Mel—the cover name from her years in the Fed League—and Richard Ekstrom had been one of them.
Cam stayed calm. Anger or an outburst would only make the situation worse. She kept her tone steely and said, “Richard, if you harm my team, you know I have the skills to hunt you down.”