All is Lost (All Series, Book 2) (38 page)

“
Marcus, you’re early. I’ve got
you down for seven. Did you mix up the time mate?” Parker asks
jokingly, pushing his blonde wavy bangs out of his blue eyes, after
checking his schedule on the calendar.

Parker is tall and thin, with what
could be described as a runner’s body. He is not bulked up, but his
upper body strength is sick. I’ve been to MMA matches and watched
him take down men twice his size, packed with muscles. Due to his
smaller frame he is agile and lithe which is what makes his skills
unmatchable in the arena. Parker’s looks would be what women
consider gorgeous. They sure as hell follow him around drooling
like he is a living Adonis. For what he charges in private lessons,
I’d say he knows his value too. From the rumors that circulate the
gym, his cocky attitude doesn’t deter all the hot babes and rich
wives from wanting more than a workout. His schedule stays
booked.

“
Yeah you’re right Parker, I’m
early. Need to hit the bag a little before our class, just come get
me when you’re ready,” I state, chancing a look at the little
redhead, but she only cut her eyes at me briefly before going back
to her phone.

“
Will do man.”

I grab my bag and head into the
locker room. I change into my shorts and flip through my play lists
on my iPod. I pick an angry workout play list hoping it will push
me through the next hour of cardio and punching bag. Just this
morning I had downloaded Cobra Starship and their song “Good Girls
Go Bad” is the first song on the line up to play when she walks
into the weight room. I watch her move around the room from one
apparatus to another expertly. Not being the only person in the
room, I don’t expect her to notice me, and she doesn’t.

After a frustrating thirty minutes
of sexy distractions, I switch to lifting weights. I attempt to
focus on my workout and not the taunting woman, wearing nearly
nothing, as she swings her hips seductively while moving around the
room, but I fail…again. Swallowing the bitter pill of lost
concentration, I drop the two-hundred-ten pound weight from my
standing position and stalk out of the equipment room, in search of
Parker. My body is so rigid from trailing her with my eyes the
entire time. I cannot feel one good effect of my
workout.

Not finding him at the front desk
I set out to the back of the gym. The offices and private classroom
where yoga, jujitsu and boxing classes are taught are located
there. I hear a deep male voice coming from one of the rooms so I
push open the door, but notice that the room is empty. Turning
around to leave, I hear the voice once again and this time I
recognize that it belongs to Parker.

“
Fuck!” Parker bellows with a long
satisfying roar to finish, “Hell yeah!”

“
Ohgod Parker. Yes!” A female
voice pants and moans low agreeably.

Dammit. I know for certain he is
banging some woman other than the little redhead he brought with
him this morning, so I shut the door eager to get the hell out of
dodge. Unfortunately, turning around, I see the redhead walking
straight toward me - toward the room. She is flushed, sweaty and
sexy as hell. Whatever Parker is doing in that room is none of my
business, but if she walks in that room she will be hurt.
Formulating a quick plan, I stretch my arm out and place my hand on
the wall effectively blocking her path.

“
Hey, I’m Marcus. I saw you when I
came in earlier.”

Ear buds blaring loud music
sticking in her ears prevent her from hearing me. She lifts her
eyes just as her chest slams into my arm. She tilts off balance
falling backward. In a swift move, I grab her around the waist
stopping her motion and gently prop her upright.

“
I’m sorry, I thought you heard
me,” I apologize, placing my hand on her shoulder. Not missing the
squinted eye zeroed in on our connection, I remove my hand like it
had been struck by a rattlesnake.

“
What the hell are you doing?” she
asks in a very thick French accent.

Pushing away from me, she runs her
hands over her loose strands of hair falling around her face and
tucking them in her ponytail holder.

“
I was saying hello. I recognized
you from earlier when I got here,” I explain, hoping like hell I
can distract her long enough for Parker the prick to get his shit
together before she walks in on him and the other woman. She stares
curiously at me as if I am currently growing a second head. Wanting
to jar her memory, I add, “We walked in together?”

“
We did? I do not remember seeing
you. I was with my boyfriend, Parker.”

I nod, feeling a little deflated
that she couldn’t remember seeing me. Sucker punch to the ego. “I
was actually looking for your boyfriend. Have you seen
him?”

Smiling as I acknowledge her
boyfriend, she shakes her head no then proceeds to walk around me
toward the door marked “Office”.

Shit! I realize now that I hadn’t
walked into a classroom, I had opened the door to Parker’s office.
Strangely a panic rushes through me as I see her hand reach for the
door knob. With no other options left, I immediately pull her
against me. Our sweat soaked bodies crush together and without
hesitation my mouth sears on hers in a hard forced kiss. Initially,
she flinches attempting to pull away, but then she relents and
melts into our powerful embrace.

Her lips are warm and taste sweet
like peppermint mixed with sweat. She grabs hold of my neck
forcefully grinding her hips into me. A fire burns deep inside of
me moving south causing my hard dick to press roughly into her
stomach. Gaining my brain function back, I pull my mouth away from
her and step away while placing her safely against the wall then
lean against the other one.

“
What the hell?” she
whispers.

Now that I’ve surprised her and
myself, what the hell do I do next?

“
That’s the standard greeting for
a beautiful woman. It’s better than the cheek kisses in my
opinion.” Ohjesus, she will never fall for this load of
shit.

Pressing my ass against the wall,
I bend at the waist placing both hands on my knees. We stay locked
in a frozen gaze, until it’s broken by Parker’s office door being
yanked open. I flip my eyes up to catch a young blonde walking out,
adjusting her yoga pants and straightening her ponytail. She jumps
at the sight of me and the redhead blocking the hallway.

“
Oh, shit. I… um, you scared me.
Uh, Parker is busy at the moment,” She blurts out with a nervous
voice, frantically checking her clothes once more.

“
Yeah, I’m sure he is Lila.” The
redhead snaps at the blonde while her eyes are locked on me.
Realization blossoms in her features as she turns away and slowly
enters Parker’s office. Fuck, she understands that my kiss was a
distraction and I that I knew he was in there with the
blonde.

Watching her walk through the door
to his office and slam it closed, my heart hammered violently in my
chest. I remain standing in the hallway uncertain what to do for
her now. The blonde rakes her eyes over me catching me rise back up
and press off the wall to pace the hallway. She flips her just
fucked hair over her shoulder and walks away with a little extra
swing in her step.

Waiting for all hell to break
loose on the other side of the closed door I pace nervously. As if
she’ll even want to see me, a total stranger when she comes out.
There is no yelling. There’s no sound at all coming from the
office. After a few more seconds the door finally opens. She
casually moves around me without a glance my way and not saying a
single word. I want to follow after her, but caught in a lovers’
quarrel is not my idea of a good time. Plus, I’ve already done more
than I should have - when really I should have just stayed out of
it.

I poke my head into Parker’s
office to see if maybe she quietly killed his ass. But no. He sits
in his chair behind the desk, detached staring at a pile of paper
scattered on top of the workspace.

“
Hey man. Am I interrupting?” I
ask stepping inside his office.

“
Shit Marcus, I just had some
crazy shit happen, but I’ll be out there in a few to get started
with your training.” He remains seated, but finally turns his
deadened eyes toward me. Understanding his request to be alone, I
nod once and turn on my heels.

I jog out of his office with a
burning desire inside my chest fearlessly drawing me toward the
front of the gym. All of a sudden I have an overwhelming need to
find her and make sure she is okay. It hadn’t been more than a
couple of minutes since she walked past me so she couldn’t have
gotten too far. Pushing open the door, I’m assaulted by daylight
and the noisy Saturday morning traffic rushing by in the streets. I
look to the right and spot the red ponytail bouncing with purpose
down the sidewalk. I take off after her and catch up
quickly.

“
Are you alright?” I call out. She
stops abruptly and shifts toward my direction. Expecting to see her
crying, I’m surprised that she actually looks very calm.

“
Me? Oh yes I’m fine. Why wouldn’t
I be alright?” She replies, confusion filling her eyes.

I move to stand closer as if I am
drawn to her. She glances down at my hand that slowly moves to her
face. Enchanted by a bouncy red corkscrew that popped free from its
restraint, I automatically push back the wayward lock, tucking it
gently behind her ear before I cup the side of her face. She
glances up and I am lost in deep chocolate eyes. She is
intoxicating and I feel a rush of drunkenness absorb me from her
unequivocal beauty as well as the controlled look in her eyes. She
just discovered her boyfriend cheating and yet she is unaffected by
his infidelity. It must not be the first time he has done this to
her.

“
You don’t have to pretend that
didn’t just happen. Do you want to talk about it?” My voice is soft
and low.

She drops her gaze from my eyes to
my mouth followed by her lips. The kiss is methodical; she’s using
it to tell me that she is in fact alright. There is no sadness or
pain in this kiss. I pull her into me and groan as she responds
with pushing her chest into mine. Greedily, I force her body
backwards against the brick wall of the building and wrap my arms
around her waist.

Suddenly reality nudges it pesky
way back into my brain and I realize we are standing in public
view, and she just broke up with her boyfriend, and I don’t even
know her name.

“
Yeah, you’re alright,” I confess,
smiling against her lips. I pull away, needing to look at her face.
She lifts her lids that penetrate me with desire and heat. “I hope
you don’t mind that I’m not sorry for that kiss,” I whisper,
dragging the back of my fingers across her cheek.

Breasts rising and falling, she
pants, “Come home with me.” It’s a command, one that sends a pulse
through my body that demands I comply with her order. Accepting her
offered hand, I escort us to my car. There is no guilt for either
of us as we walk past the front door of Parkers gym.

For the past year, remembering what was
between me and Elise weighed heavy on my soul after what she and
Morgan did, but I finally realize that there never really was love
between us. However, what I have with Breesan can only be labeled
as an all consuming love. She reflects my heart and is my other
half.

Seeing Sam staring at me, I shake my head and
offer a lopsided smile that provokes her sweet one. “Sorry, I think
I’m just tired. Are you ready to hit the hay?”

Laughing at my southern slang, she pokes me
with a pointed finger in the ribs eliciting a unified roar of
laughter between us when I damn near jump across the
room.

“
You are the most ticklish person
I’ve ever known,” she chokes through bouts of laughter.

“
No. I. Am. Not.” I walk back over
to my bed, collapsing like a dead weight from exhaustion. Squeezing
my eyes shut, I pray that I can push the thought of Morgan and
Breesan together and the memory of Elise out of my head.

“
I’m here when you’re ready to
talk. Goodnight baby brother.”

God, keep Breesan safe
. I silently
pray, closing my eyes to the day.

A shrill breaks the silence almost
immediately. Cringing because I forgot to silence my phone, I
glance over at Sam and release a heavy breath when she doesn’t even
stir from the obtrusive noise. Before retrieving my phone, my heart
lurches with a small wave of fear, I can’t imagine why someone
could be calling at this late hour. Noticing the name on the
display is exactly the one person I may not want to, but need to
speak with at any hour of the day, I answer without
hesitation.

“
Hello Mrs. Maxwell.”

Chapter
Twenty-Six

Breesan

Marcus has been gone for a week. We spoke once
and it was so brief that it really can’t count as a conversation.
It was more like checking in. I hate it; but what I hate more is
feeling like some pathetic girl missing her boyfriend. I mean damn,
we just started this relationship, and I now miss him.
Where the
hell has my fortitude gone
? I was so sure that I was strong.
Then Marcus Walker tangoed his way into my life and has rocked me
to my core. Ugh, it’s so unfair for me to dump everything on him,
like I did to my parents, after losing them. Marcus doesn’t
diminish my strength. In fact, being with him adds another layer of
stamina, both physically and mentally, allowing me to deal with the
fact that someone is out to get me or could be using my
relationships with my new friends to get me. Drawing from his
confidence and certainty makes me better, I can’t belittle that
fact.