“All mine!” he growls and then groans.
Amazingly, considering we have only just climaxed, it doesn’t take either of us long to come again.
As we finish, he sets me on my feet, puts this large hand around my throat, and lowers his mouth to my ear. “I don’t want to have to tell you again. This body is mine.”
“We will see.” I swiftly duck and remove myself from his grip around my throat, elbowing him in the stomach as do. “Now get out of my shower. I need to wash again.”
With a grunt, he leaves as I lather myself in shower gel.
When I return to my bedroom, I don’t expect to see Marco in my bed and under the covers, scrolling through his phone.
“What the hell are doing?” I spit in disbelief.
“I’m staying here tonight,” he says without looking up from his phone.
“Oh no, you’re not. I sleep alone,” I retort, storming over to my dresser. I put on a vest top and pants. When he doesn’t reply, I find my phone and leave the room.
“Where are you going?” he bellows after me.
“I’m sleeping in the spare room.” I quickly shut the door of my guestroom and flick the lock.
He tries the handle. “Open this door now,” he instructs.
“No, Marco. You are not the boss of me.”
“Correction. I am the boss. Now open this fucking door!” He bangs his fist against it.
Ignoring him, I get in to bed and open the CCTV on the sanctuary to check on the animals.
A loud bang echoes through the house as Marco knocks the door from its hinges. Without saying a word, he scoops me up and carries me back into my bedroom, then places me on my bed. I huff, folding my arms. Realising I’m not going to win this argument, I pull the covers over me, turning away from him. He gets in beside me and turns out the light.
“Sleep, little lady. You get grumpy when you’re tired.”
I’m so annoyed, I can’t sleep. Marco doesn’t have that problem. I know this, as I can hear him snoring. I decide to get up and physically go to check on my animals.
It’s the early hours of the morning, so the sanctuary is pretty quiet. I carefully disarm the alarm and let myself in, trying not to disturb the night staff. There are generally one or two of the staff that stay overnight just to make sure the animals are okay. I go into the lounge first, where there are a few cats and dogs nestled cosily on the sofas. A couple lift their heads to see who has entered before they return to their slumber. I pop my head into the bedroom because I can’t help myself. Sophie, one of the staff, looks up from her snooze, noticing me enter. I give her a little wave to let her know everything is fine. It’s not unusual that I would come here in the middle of the night. The room is filled with cute little dog snores. In the dim glow of the night lights, I see the puppies snuggling up to their mum. I close the door and leave them to sleep and go into the kitchen, where I find Mabel, one of our eldest staff members. She’s sat bottle feeding one of our latest rescues, a kitten who was found alone in a shed, very malnourished and full of fleas.
“How’s she doing? I ask, making her jump.
“Oh Mia, you gave me fright.” She chuckles, standing up to come towards me. “She’s doing just great. All the fleas have gone, and she has put on weight. Here, have a look at her.” Mabel hands me the tiny grey kitten.
“Aww, she’s gorgeous. You’ve done a great job with her. Thank you, Mabel. Another few weeks and she will be ready for her forever home.” The kitten wriggles in my arms, obviously trying to get back to Mabel, so I hand her back.
“I’ve been thinking about that, Mia, and wondered whether it would be okay if I kept her. I’d make a donation to the sanctuary, obviously—”
I cut her off. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Mabel. She loves you already. No donation necessary, and any vet bills, you charge to me, okay?”
Mabel’s face lights up. “Thank you, Mia, so much.”
Pottering about the kitchen, I make us a cup of coffee, making small talk with Mabel, until I see her demeanour change.
“What’s wrong, Mabel?”
She is looking towards the window, squinting. It’s dark outside, but we have lights around the premises. “I think I just saw someone climb over the fence.”
Remembering I have disarmed the alarms, I go straight to my safe and get out my gun. “Stay here. I’ll go and check it out.”
After quietly opening the side door, I sneak out, keeping my back to the wall and my gun in front of me I make my way around the building. It’s deadly silent apart from the odd bat flying overhead. The gardens are clear, and so are the outhouses. When I get to the front, I sense a presence. As I hold my gun in front of me, ready to fire, my arm is grabbed and twisted around my back, my gun is taken from my hand, my back is held against their body, and I’m pushed through the front door.