Page 78 of Mark

“Doesn’t matter anyway. Mark doesn’t know how to have a girlfriend,” Liam declares. “This conversation is pointless.”

“I do know how to have a girlfriend,” I argue.

He does that annoying pat on my arm again. “It’s okay. Not everyone is boyfriend material,” he states. “You haven’t exactly shown her you could want more.”

“Are we talking about Freya?” Lily asks, joining us with Jaxon and Rose. She looks loads better this evening and more chipper.

“Yes,” Hayden answers.

“She’s downstairs waiting for the bingo to start. The others told us to come up and get you,” she replies.

I get up and point to the group. “I’m going to go speak with her. I’m boyfriend material, dammit.”

I don’t wait around for them to reply. I head downstairs, bypassing passengers as they are coming up. It takes a coupleof minutes for me to reach the Bella Donna room. I spot Freya straight away. She’s pretty hard to miss in her bright pink crop top. She’s sitting between her parents at a round table, her sister and Danny opposite. She’s glancing down at the book in her hand as I make my way over.

Her parents open their mouths to greet me, but I pull back Freya’s chair, earning a gasp. “You’re coming with me.”

Her lips twist. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”I pull her arm, before ducking so I can place her over my shoulder. “Put me down, you idiot.”

“Nope.”

“Freya, darling,” her mum calls. “We need you for trivia.”

I swing around to face her family, who are openly gaping at my behaviour. “Freya will be joining our team for trivia night.”

She smacks my back. “No, I won’t.”

“You two seem like you’ll do fine,” I comment, addressing her parents. I turn to Danny, my eyebrows bunching down. “You seem like you might be able to contribute.” Esther is next, and she is none too pleased about my presence. I guess her baptism really didn’t help her find God. “I suppose you could get their drinks, since you don’t seem like the sort to participate. Don’t feel bad about losing. Us Carters are competitive.”

“You’ll need this,” her father replies, handing me Freya’s handbag.

I tip my chin down as I take it before heading over to the corner. “Mark, put me down right now.”

I do, gripping her hips before she can escape. “You snuck out this morning.”

Her lips part. “I…I…”

“I’m not a toy. I don’t deserve to be used,” I tell her, cupping her jaw.

“I wasn’t… I was…”

“You were running,” I answer for her.

Her eyes harden, and her jaw clenches. “Don’t pretend like you wouldn’t have done the same.”

I sniff. “I was saving myself for marriage. You used me, then left me to wake up alone.”

“Puh-lease,” she snorts. “Don’t try and act like the innocent one in all of this.”

“Oh, I’m not. I remember your taste as you came against my mouth. I remember how tight you clenched around my cock. And I can still hear the mewling sounds you made right before you came.”

Her breath hitches as a blush rises up her neck and cheeks. “Shush! Someone could hear you,” she whispers.

I lean down, brushing my lips against hers. “Like they heard you screaming my name last night,” I rasp.

“I didn’t scream your name,” she grits out.

“You sure about that?” I question. “I want you, and I know you want me too. I just never pegged you as the type of girl to play mind games.”

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