Page 3 of All That Glitters

“So you still think I’m useless?” I question.

“I don’t hate you, Empire. I never have. You just don’t make my job any easier, and to me, that equates to uselessness. You’re an actress who’s never worked in front of the camera, and every small part I’ve thrown your way you’ve either turned down outright, or made excuses not to accept.”

Thus, the argument earlier.

Do I blame him for being upset? No. He went from manager to caretaker with one accident, and although I appreciate Marcus handling the estate and the money, he hasn’t gone out of his way to be accommodating to me.

I got it.

He started his career with my parents, built everything around them, and lost it all when they died. I liked to think he was as heartbroken over their deaths as me, but he never showed it, not even once.

When I asked, briefly, he told me he didn’t claw his way up to the top from the shitty side of town to be questioned by a princess with a silver spoon in her mouth. He doesn’t seem to get how much I’ve changed.

I’m not the extroverted girl who clung to her mother’s glittering ball gowns.

Every day is a struggle.

“We’ll talk about it more in the morning, okay?” He shifts casually, as though to let go of me, and I loop my arm around his neck to keep him in place.

“Don’t leave me.”

“This—” he begins.

“Please, Marcus. Stay.”

My words are softer than a whisper and more heartbroken than any tears. I’ll kick myself for this later. I know I will. The thought barely forms before I crane my chin high and kiss him on the lips.

A chaste gesture, small. Barely a peck on the lips, but his warmth seeps into me immediately. The stubble dappling his chin and the strong lines of his jaw brush against my skin, and I shiver. Taking a risk, I keep the kiss going, lingering longer than I dare and waiting for something to break.

Only a few seconds of contact, but more than a friendly peck. We both understand, through sleep and fear, how loaded this kiss is, how much potential waits to be explored.

More importantly, I feel his reaction to me. Those muscles all go granite hard at the same time. He pulls back, barely visible, and his hand squeezes my arm.

“Empire.”

It’s only my name and the two of us as he lifts his fingers to push my head down on his shoulder. One small kiss, barely anything, and my body rages for an entirely different reason. My chest heaves, and my nipples harden into peaks beneath my tank top.

The nightmares are entirely gone now, replaced with dreams equally as dangerous to my mental health.

“I’ll never let anything happen to you,” Marcus finishes once there’s enough space between us. “I’ll keep you safe, even from me. But I’m not going to stay.”

He sets me aside gently, peeling himself off the bed and walking rigidly to the door, his boxers tighter than they’d been when he burst inside the room.

As I curl on my side and stare after him, I think that, even though he didn’t stay, we both know he wanted to.

If only it meant something. Wanting is one thing, but action… Action is everything.

TWO

Do not think about the way she kissed me, or how hard my cock got when she did.

The mantra is repeated through the next few hours, ever since I drew the line between raging horndog and dutiful guardian. Sleep is out of the cards at this point. Coffee is going to be my lifeblood for the morning—for the rest of the goddamn day and every hour until I’m allowed to drop into my bed and lock the door behind me.

I’d hurried out of her bedroom last night as fast as my legs would carry me, and the second I’d gotten back to my room, despite the hour, I’d jerked myself off, working my cock until the ache lessened. At least she hadn’t seen my erection.

I’d kept my back to her.

Do not think about the way she kissed me, or how hard my cock got when she did.

---