Page 25 of Marked

“Perhaps I do.” The simple honesty in his voice made me shiver. “Would that be such a bad thing?”

“I… that’s not… you can’t just say things like that!” I finally managed to tug my hand free, immediately missing his warmth. “Normal people don’t say things like that!”

“I never claimed to be normal.” His smile showed teeth that seemed just a bit too sharp. “Neither did Caleb, I imagine.”

The reminder of my dinner plans made me groan. “Oh God. Caleb. How is this my life? Twenty-two years of being completely uninterested in anyone, and suddenly I’m in the middle of some kind of Stone brother sandwich.”

Marcus’ eyes flashed at that, something possessive and hungry crossing his face. “Interesting choice of words.”

“No! Not interesting! Nothing about this is interesting!” I stood up again, and this time he let me. “This is insane. I’m insane. This whole town is insane. I need to go.”

“Kai.” There was that tone again, the one that made my knees weak.

“Don’t.” I backed away from the table. “Don’t do the voice thing. I’m leaving. Thank you for lunch. It was wonderful and weird and I’m going to go have my existential crisis somewhere else now.”

He rose in one fluid motion, all controlled power and predatory grace. “Let me drive you.”

“Absolutely not. I can walk. Walking is good. Walking helps with crisis management.”

“It’s starting to rain.” He nodded toward the windows where, sure enough, fat drops were beginning to fall.

“It’s literally a five-minute walk to my car,” I pointed out, though my protest sounded weak even to my own ears. “I’m not going to melt.”

“Let me walk you, then.” His tone made it clear this wasn’t actually a request.

“I can walk by myself,” I said, but my feet weren’t moving toward the door. “I’ve been doing it successfully for twenty-two years.”

“Kai,” he said, one last time, soft but implacable. “Let me accompany you.”

I should say no. I should definitely say no. But my scar was tingling, and my heart was racing, and my body was already nodding before my brain could stop it.

“Fine,” I muttered. “But no more… intensity. I’ve hit my quota of meaningful looks and cryptic statements for the day.”

His smile was pure sin. “I make no promises.”

What had I gotten myself into?

The rain drummed steadily on the covered walkway as we left the café, the old-fashioned awning stretching between storefronts providing shelter. Water cascaded off the edge like a curtain, creating a strangely intimate bubble around us as we walked.

Marcus matched his stride to mine, and that was the problem, wasn’t it? Everything about this felt natural. Right. Like we’d walked this path together a hundred times before. His presence beside me was both overwhelming and comforting, and my scar hummed contentedly despite my brain screaming danger signals.

“You’re quiet,” he observed, close enough that his arm brushed mine occasionally. Each touch sent sparks through my body.

“Just processing my Stone brother situation,” I muttered. “Also trying to figure out why this feels so—”

My phone rang, cutting off whatever dangerous confession was about to slip out. Unknown local number. My heart jumped—the real estate agent?

“I should take this,” I said, stepping slightly away from Marcus. “You don’t have to wait—”

But Marcus just raised an eyebrow and didn’t budge. Right. Of course not.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Chen?” Linda’s voice was apologetic with an undercurrent of anxiety. “I’m so sorry to call so soon, but I’ve been reviewing your property documents and… well, there’s a complication.”

My stomach dropped. “What kind of complication?”

“There appears to be some sort of clause attached to the property. I’m not entirely qualified to interpret the legal language, but from what I can tell, there are… restrictions on selling.”

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