Page 129 of Prized Possession

As my heart pounds out of my chest, he claims my mouth with his, and everything else in the world fades away, leaving just me and Marcus, in our own little bubble of bliss.

After our first date, things between Marcus and I had definitely shifted. It was almost like he’d finally accepted that what he felt was more than just sex, even though neither of us had labelled it.

I knew what I felt… I was in love with Marcus Morelli.

Hell, I’d been infatuated with him for most of my life, and Teenage Chloe would have definitely called it love, even back then, but as I got older, I realised you can’t love someone until you truly know them.

Living with Marcus means I’ve gotten to know him at a much faster rate than if we’d dated normally.

I know he can be grumpy in the morning if I talk to him before his coffee, or if he’s not had much sleep. He moans about eating my baked goods, claiming he has to work-out more afterwards, but I’ve noticed several go missing overnight.

He secretly likes watching chick-flicks, though he’ll deny that if anyone asks. Jacob and Miles are his only two friends, and he doesn’t want more. He’d defend them with his life, and though they would do the same in return, he’d never wantthem to.

But the Marcus I’ve fallen in love with the most is the one I see when we climb into bed together after a long day. When we’re both too exhausted to get lost in each other's bodies, so instead, he just pulls me close. He rests my head on his chest, while linking our legs together, throwing his arm over my stomach to hold me against him.

While I’m falling asleep, he strokes the hair out of my eyes, before running his fingers through my long dark strands, pressing a soft kiss to my temple. He tells me how beautiful I am, and how lucky he is to have me in his arms.

I listen to the sound of his heart racing, wondering if it’s beating at the same rate as mine, because I feel like we’re connected. As he wishes me sweet dreams, he makes promises to me for the future.

He talks about my dream business, about stopping my marriage to Scott, and making sure I stay here with him.

Each night, I fall asleep as he tells me about the future, and whilst it relaxes and calms me, giving me so much to hope for, there’s also a bit of sadness there that I have to hide from him.

No matter how many promises he makes to me in the darkness when we’re alone, faced with the harsh light of day, nothing is guaranteed.

To choose me would mean he’d have to burn a lot of bridges, and anger a lot of people. I want to believe he’ll do it, so I can live a better life than the one my parents forced on me, but sometimes, hope hurts more than anything else.

Naturally, I haven’t told Marcus about any of my fears, as he’d think I don’t believe he’ll keep his promises, and it’s not that.

I guess, what it boils down to is…when the time comes, I don’t believe he’ll choose me. More than that, I’m not sure he should. I don’t think I’m worth him starting a war over, but that self-doubt is something I have to live with.

I can bury it deep until our clock stops ticking and the decision has to be made. Until then, I plan to live in the moment, savouring every second I get to have with him, so if it does all end, at least I’ll have the memories.

It’s the Saturday evening of my fifth week here, and Marcus and I are having a Chinese take-out, since he’s had a long day at work, and I’ve been in class all day.

We are joking and laughing with each other, sharing stories from our day when the front door bursts open and Miles stomps in.

He flops down onto one of the extra dining chairs and reaches over to grab a spring roll from one of the food containers in the middle of the table, groaning as he stuffs it into his mouth.

“I don’t recall inviting you for dinner,” Marcus states sarcastically, but Miles just ignores him, grabbing a prawn cracker next.

“Do you want me to get you a plate? There’s plenty of food,” I ask, earning me a glare from Marcus.

“Don’t encourage him!”

I chuckle, rolling my eyes as Miles continues to stuff his face. Once he’s swallowed what he has in his mouth, he turns to me.

“No thanks, I’m not staying. I just came in to tell you I’m sick of fielding calls and messages from your crazy family.”

My brows furrow as I glance between both men. Noticing that Marcus looks a little sheepish, I fix my gaze on him.

“What?”

“Look, I didn’t want you to have to deal with any of them, so I had all of their calls and texts diverted to another phone. Miles has been monitoring it and replying on your behalf where necessary,” Marcus replies.

My mouth flops open, and I don’t know whether to be angry with him or kiss him.

“As grateful as I am that you got them off my back, you should have told me.”

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