Page 14 of Awakened by Sin

“Marcus.” She would say whatever he wanted as long as he didn’t stop. “Harder.”

He obeyed and began to hammer her into the wall. She felt battered and dirty and loved it. She looked over his shoulder at a full-length mirror. Her inner muscles milked him. He grunted, dug his fingers into her flesh, and fucked her even faster.

Carmen examined their reflection. Her heels bounced with each thrust, and the image of her legs splayed wide for him was titillating. He buried his face against her neck, and she wrapped her arms around him and held on for dear life. Her gaze moved over his flexing ass, her nails clawing his back, and then her face. Tears streamed down her face. She released a handful of his suit to touch her cheek, not convinced the mirror was telling the truth. Her fingers came away wet.

She watched her face crumple in the mirror with dazed confusion. Grief flooded her, shutting down her senses one by one. Her limbs became heavy, and all that wonderful lust, excitement, and anticipation dried up in a nanosecond. The conscience she drowned in alcohol coughed up vodka and began to scream at her that this wasn’t right—that she was still in love and cheating on Vinny’s memory. She buried her face against Marcus’s shoulder and hung on tight, willing his presence to banish the pain.

He stopped. “Carmen?”

She was trembling like a leaf in a storm. She clutched him desperately when he tried to draw back. “P-please.”

“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

He was trying to draw away, and that was the last thing she wanted. A muffled sob escaped, and he went rigid. Despite her clutching limbs, he firmly extracted himself from her. She felt velvet beneath her butt as he settled her on a chaise in front of the vanity.

“Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head and tried to wipe away the tears. “I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

She wrapped her arms around herself as she began to rock. Her heart was being savaged by guilt and more pain than she could stand.

“I need alcohol,” she said as her breath hitched. Oh, God. This couldn’t be happening.

“I think you’ve had enough.”

She reached out and clutched the lapels of his suit. “If you get me alcohol, we can finish. I can do this. I need to do this.”

“You need to go home. Did you come with anyone?”

His detached tone told her he was done. The moment had passed. She bowed her head and clamped her thighs together. “Alice.”

He moved away from her. She heard the rasp of clothing, the clink of his belt, and then a zipper. She bowed her head as mortification consumed her. Oh, God, she was an epic failure on so many levels.

“Alice, Carmen’s in the VIP bathroom. Can you take her home? She’s drunk and not feeling well. Yes. I’ll meet you at the entrance.”

There was a stark silence after he hung up. She cringed, waiting for the hail of insults or disparaging comments. She deserved them. She lured one man in here with the sole purpose of getting laid, only to have Marcus take his place and then cry all over him during what would have been spectacular sex. How pathetic was she? Her husband had been gone for two years and her first attempt to exorcise him ended in tears. She wished she could go back to feeling nothing. Shame wasn’t better than grief.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked.

Carmen shook her head.

“I’m sorry.”

His polite apology made her flinch. This was her fault, not his. Even as she opened her mouth to reciprocate, she heard the soft snick of the door closing behind him. She buried her face in her hands as she drowned in humiliation and self-loathing.

“Carmen?”

The smell of fresh flowers reached her a second before Alice did. Desperate for human contact and a safe place, she wrapped her arms around her friend.

“Are you all right?” Alice asked as she rubbed her back.

Carmen nodded since she wasn’t capable of speech at the moment.

“Can you walk?”

She nodded again.

“Good. Marcus says there’s a back exit.”

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