Seduced by Sin: Sean (Rugged Riders #3) (22 page)

She shook her head and probably would have burst out laughing at her blatant lack of knowledge if it weren’t for her apparent anger at Marcus. “You sure do have a way with words, Trent. And yes he did.”

He got on the bike and helped her on the back, taking off after they both had on their helmets.

Perhaps she’d overacted back there, but what was done was now done. After all, at any time Marcus could have told her that he’d just recently exited a relationship. She had. Why couldn’t he? Why would he need to anyway? They were just sex buddies. Nothing more…

Thankfully the ride back to the motorcycle shop was short, but during the fifteen minutes or so she’d gotten the chance to cool down. There were no words exchanged as Trent escorted her to her car which still sat next to Marcus’ Hummer.

“Tanya, look at me,” Trent said, leaning against the window frame of her car. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You need me to follow you home?”

“Don’t, and it’s not necessary,” she said, slipping the gear into drive.

“Hear me out okay?” Trent inquired, catching her off guard. “I know you’re mad at my brother. I would be, but that chick showed up out of the blue ready to cause trouble as she has done in the past. I knew, she knew, everyone knows that she and Marcus are done.”

She sighed. “I’ll get over it. Marcus and I are just friends. No need to waste time with this talk.”

“Friends, my ass,” Trent said. “He talks about you a lot, Tanya. The guy is infatuated with you. And by the way, according to what he’s been telling me he thinks of you as more than just a friend.”

“That’s funny, because that’s not what we agreed on. I don’t need all this drama and it appears he has an abundance of it. I’ve got to go. It’s getting late and I for one have class in the morning and work in the afternoon.”

“”I’ve not seen Marcus this happy in a long time. He’s made mistakes—and hell, we’ve all made mistakes. Give my brother a chance, Tanya,” he said, just before pushing off of the window frame.

“Thank you for the ride, Trent.”

T
anya glanced
down at her cell phone as the LCD screen flashed notifying her that she had a text message. She placed the phone on top of the notepad on the lap desk folded down over her thighs and read the message:

No matter how embarrassed she felt or angry that Marcus hadn’t shared such important details with her, she still couldn’t deny the fact that she missed the heck out of him.

Tanya fidgeted in her seat, pretending to be engrossed in the instructor’s presentation. It was a lost cause with Marcus pursuing her by text messages now. She couldn’t bring herself to answer his calls or go anywhere near his building at lunch time with Zaira to prevent running into him. Every time they say each other, no matter where it was, they always ended up having sex.

Her attention span waned after that. During the last thirty minutes of the class, her mind wondered from the professor’s lecture to Marcus Brooks.

Why was she tempted to play with fire again?

A
s Tanya was beginning
to pull out of her parking spot at the University, her cell phone rang. She figured it was Marcus being persistent and calling her prematurely, so she answered it without checking Caller ID.

“Hi Marcus.”

“Who is Marcus?”

Tanya’s heart literally jumped out of her chest at the sound of Justin’s voice.

“Justin?” She stopped the car short of backing up out of the parking spot and put the car in park.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Justin said. “Jesus! I thought you’d changed numbers. Do you know how long I’ve been trying to reach you?”

“Has it occurred to you that I didn’t want to be reached?”

“Let me guess?” Justin chuckled nervously. “Have anything to do with Marcus?”

“That’s none of your business.” She frowned. “What do you want?”

“Well, for the past few months I’ve been calling and calling with no answer or reply. I’ve sent flowers to your apartment and your work and I receive no thank you. What do you think I want?”

Her shoulders slumped and she rested her back against the car seat. “It’s too late, Justin. Your intentions were clear. You wanted a new life and a clean fresh slate—that’s what you said.”

“I made a mistake, okay? I realized that I needed you more than I thought.”

“So are you saying that you thought you wouldn’t need me at all? That’s funny,” she said, with a hint of snark in her voice.

“Tanya, I am so serious about this. Why haven’t you taken my calls?”

“I don’t like playing games, Justin. You know this,” she said.

“I’m not playing, alright. I made a mistake and I’m fessing up to it,” he replied. “I sent a FedEx package to your door last week. Did you receive it?”

“I did.” She shrugged. “But I didn’t open it. I meant to send it back. I don’t have time for Dear Jane letters after the fact.”

“It’s not a Dear Jane letter,” he said. “They were plane tickets.”

“Tickets for what?”

“I want you to come see me in New York. And…possibly stay.”

Tanya gasped, her fingers suddenly slipping on the phone. “You…what?”

“My move to New York will be permanent, but I want you back in my life.”

“No.” She shook her head. This couldn’t be happened. It had been almost a year and now he entertains the notion of her joining him in New York. “It’s too late, Justin. I’ve moved on. I’m sorry that I hadn’t picked up the phone earlier and called you, but I thought it would be better if we just didn’t talk at all. You really disappointed me.”

“I know, but don’t say it’s too late. It’s not.” He actually sounded hurt by her admission.

“I’m afraid it is. The truth is that I’ve moved on,” she said. “You started your clean, fresh slate, and so did I.”

“Marcus? Is that his name?”

Tanya swallowed. “I’m sorry, Justin. I wish you well with your new job.” She disconnected the call.

“
T
his is too surreal
,” Zaira said on the other end of the line. “He waits over six months to send you a plane ticket? Foolery, I say.”

“I couldn’t believe it.”

Tanya had called her best friend as soon as she got home. She folded her legs under her on the bed and took another swig of wine.

“I’ll be returning those tickets to the post office unopened tomorrow,” she said.

“Good for you. I can’t imagine what changed his mind,” Zaira replied. “Wait…does he know about you and Marcus?”

“No…” Tanya thought back to her blip when she answered the phone. “Not really.” She sighed. “And Marcus and I aren’t really on speaking terms either.”

“Girl…what the hell? What’s up with you and these men? What happened?”

“One question at a time. Look, I got a glimpse of what kind of drama I might have to deal with if Marcus and I moved forward with our relationship.”

“Well, do you want excitement and sometimes a bit of drama or the drab life? I mean, really, you said you were ready to move on with your life.”

“Let me finish…one of his old girlfriends showed up at that BBQ he invited me to and caused a scene in front of everyone. That sounds like a load of drama to me.”

“No way! But really, you know who Marcus is…the kind of women he attracts…how could you not know that he comes with drama?”

“Whatever.” Tanya was getting quite aggravated with Zaira. “Whose side are you on? I didn’t know who he was before we…”

“Before you fucked him in Ocho Rios. Go ahead and say it.” Zaira sighed on the other end. “Oh, the mess…you need to call Marcus back, I’m sure it was all a misunderstanding.”

“I’m not. I’ve told him I wasn’t ready for that life. I meant what I said.”

“You are so stubborn,” she huffed. “It’s no wonder Marcus has had an attitude all week. I mean was it that bad…did home girl show up and try to throw down with you?”

“No. From her reactions though I would say that she still has the hots for Marcus and—”

“Who wouldn’t? Dude is fuckin’ hot as hell. He hasn’t gone back with her, has he?”

“He went on this spiel about how he only wanted me. I just didn’t want to hear it. I was beyond shocked about her showing up to even process it. His brother took me home.”

“Which brother?”

“Trent. The one that came to the wedding with him.”

“Oh.” There was a moment of silence. “Did you go home with Trent or something?”

“No.”

“Fuck him?”

“No! Absolutely not!” Tanya smacked her palm to her forehead. “I’m surrounded by people who think everything is about sex.”

“That’s so not true.”

“How do you know Trent anyway?”

“From around the way,” Zaira replied. “And we’re talking about you. Marcus is a good guy from what I know about him. I think you should really drop the independent woman attitude, get your shit together, and go collect your man.”

Knowing that her friend spoke the truth, Tanya collapsed on the bed and looked up at the drab white ceiling of her drab normal apartment. “Maybe I just need some time to get my shit together, Zaira.”

“Don’t play games with a good man, Tanya.”

A
s Marcus’ gaze
dropped once again to the box sitting opened atop the desk in his home office, he ground his teeth in anger once again. In one hand, he held the TV remote control and his other hand was balled into a fist. His blood continued to boil despite the fact that the TV screen had gone black.

He swallowed down his anger, still not believing what he’d just seen on the screen. The woman that he thought was innocent and would never use him as others have done in the past wasn’t that innocent after all.

“Isn’t it ironic?” he mumbled, as he tossed the remote control on the desk next to the boxes.

The package had arrived shortly before lunch by private carrier. The shock came only after he realized what it was and whom it had come from. The return address had been from a New York residence. He’d thought nothing of it before opening it up since he had several business partners and acquaintances in New York City. The contents had turned out to be the eye-opener of the century.

He picked up the note that had been included with the DVD contained in the large package. “THANKS FOR KEEPING HER OCCUPIED WHILE I WAS AWAY.” The message was printed, not handwritten. Nothing else was included besides packing peanuts.

“Bastard.” He crumbled the paper in his fist and tossed it in the waste basket.

Marcus leaned over his desk and picked up the picture frame containing a picture of him and Tanya in Ocho Rios inside a photo booth. He looked happy, and even more importantly he wasn’t faking it. The beautiful woman in the picture made him happy. Her smile could light up any room she entered and the way she carried and respected herself spoke volumes about the kind of person he knew she was inside.

His heart tightened at the fact that her heart might still belong to another, even after all they’d shared since meeting in Jamaica.

Marcus’ mind had been made up a long time ago. He knew what he wanted and what he had to do to keep it.

He settled back in the chair, picked up his cell phone, and made a call.

The doorbell rang, interrupting Tanya from her job search online. She rarely got visitors out of the norm, so she figured it could only be one of two people. Marcus or Zaira. She uncurled her legs from under her, put her laptop on an end table, and got up to answer the door.

Her intuition was right. It was Marcus. Standing there like a fine example of a sex god ready to conquer.

Two days had passed since she’d last spoken with and nearly a week had passed since she’d last seen him. Why her heart skipped a beat now with him there in her doorway, she didn’t know. She didn’t know why her body revealed so much vulnerability. What his presence did confirm, was that she missed him. A lot.

Marcus leaned against her doorframe when she didn’t invite him inside. “I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”

“Not bad that you’re here, but bad because of what I was doing. Graduation is only months away and I’ve been doing some major job searching,” she replied. “I’ve had a migraine all morning from it.”

There was some slight hesitation in his demeanor, one that she hadn’t observed before. And today, he looked at her with almost a question on his face. “Would you like to go for a ride? To clear your mind a bit.”

Tanya bit her bottom lip, hesitating, but a positive reply was right on the tip of her tongue. She wanted this man, even if it cost her her sanity and led her into the risk zone. Like any other Sunday afternoon, he was dressed casually in form-fitting jeans, black T-shirt, and loosely tied Timberland boots. His motorcycle keys hung from the belt loop.

He must have sensed her hesitation, because he stepped closer to her, waited a few seconds for her resistance, and then embraced her. His strong muscular arms felt heavenly wrapped around her. Her body relaxed, her knees weakened, and she fell deeper into his embrace. His familiar fragrance renewed her, and she suddenly wished that she’d never been so stubborn to deny what she most obviously wanted.

“What took you so long to come?” she asked before she could stop herself.

“I wanted to give you space, time to think. I came here to ask you the same thing.”

She sighed against his chest. “I’m afraid of committing again. And I’m afraid that if I don’t commit, I’ll get another repeat of what happened at the BBQ.”

“I understand.” He kissed the top of her head. “Let’s ride. Get some fresh air. We can talk about this.”

She nodded. “Let me get my keys.”

T
hey rode
for about an hour up and down the Atlanta freeway and within the city limits and suburban areas. He alternated speeds between neck-breaking to monotonously slow. Consequently, she could compare her emotions over the last few weeks to the ever changing pace of the ride.

Finally, Marcus pulled into a cul-de-sac of townhouses. She’d only been to his home a few times during their first few dates, but she recognized it right before he pulled up into the driveway.

“I hope you don’t mind. It’s a little closer…and I have something to tell you,” Marcus said, as they slid off the bike and he collected the helmets.

“As long as you’ve got something to eat inside, I don’t mind at all,” she teased, walking up the sidewalk with him.

“I can put some steaks on the grill,” he replied, grinning.

Marcus’ home was the epitome of a bachelor pad with simple furnishings and toned down muted colors. He’d explained earlier that it was actually a rental provided by Svelte until he was able to settle down and buy his own place.

He threw his keys on an end stand in the foyer and pressed his fingers to the center of her back. “Make yourself at home.” He kissed her against the temple. “I’m going to take the steaks out and grab us something to drink.”

“Sure.” Tanya took a seat on his leather couch and grabbed a magazine off the coffee table. Once she recalled that they were to have a talk about the relationship, her nervousness set in again.

“Oh, and before I forget…” Marcus came back around the corner and handed her a key chain with two keys on it. “Keep these with you.”

“What for?” She accepted the keys, but looked up at him in confusion.

“A set of keys to get into my house. Just in case you need a change of scenery or if you just want to come visit.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I do…” he said. “You are the only woman in my life and I want to see more of you each and every day.”

“Marcus, I…” Tanya blushed, breaking the eye contact.

“Let me go get those steaks ready and some drinks. We have something to talk about.”

She swallowed, pushed the keys down into her jeans pocket, and settled back on the couch. The images in the sports magazine she flipped through did nothing to cool her anticipation.

“
T
anya
, I want you to know that I’m in this for the long run.” Marcus set down his beer and turned to face her completely. “The moment I met you back in Ocho Rios, I knew I wanted you and despite how fast we became intimate, it was never about sex for me.”

Tanya took a sip of the daiquiri. “I guess you know I have reservations already. I’ve only been in one serious relationship prior to you and before that the men all wanted one thing.”

“You and I share something in common. Maybe more in common, than normal. Becca and I had been off and on for the past three years before we officially broke up. I couldn’t quite pinpoint why it was that I could never commit to her, and then I realized what type of woman she was.” He shook his head. “It took me almost three years to figure out that she was money hungry and enjoyed having more than a few men in her back pocket.”

“What does that mean?”

“In the beginning, our relationship was non monogamous. Open. Which meant we agreed on seeing other people.”

“How can a relationship like that work?” Tanya asked.

“It didn’t. Not in the long run. I came to realize that what we had wasn’t a relationship at all. I think Becca got a bit of a rush or confidence booster that she was my main lover and I was hers, like we agreed. I was tired of it, tired of playing around, but Becca convinced me to give her a chance and we promised to stop dating others. Faithfulness is not something Becca was very good at. I don’t think it would have hurt so badly if she hadn’t been sleeping with one of the members of Rugged.”

“Oh.” Tanya frowned. “You must have had feelings for Becca, then?”

It took him a while to answer. “There’s affection, lust, and then there’s true love. I’ve grown to learn the difference.”

“Sorry that happened, but I’m glad you’re being truthful with me.”

“I can’t control what other people do, but do know that after what happened I made certain she knew that we were through. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my past when it comes to women, Tanya. I’ve had many, many failed relationships. I played the field because I could and because that’s what I wanted. In the end, there’s no fun in the outcome of it. Broken hearts. Hurt feelings. These things come up to haunt you in future relationships as it has done here with us. You will not be one I fail at keeping. My life is purposeful now with you in it. I can wake up in the morning and know that when I’m with you, everything will be as it should be. I don’t want that feeling to end ever again. When you refused to see me, I experienced what that felt like.”

“Not only am I an emotional wreck, I’ve got baggage too,” she admitted.

He arched a brow. “Care to tell me all about it?”

“Has Zaira told you who Justin is—was I mean?”

“Why don’t you tell me? I hate gossip and hearsay.”

She exhaled, but continued to make eye contact with Marcus. “My ex, Justin, used to work for Svelte in the accounting department. I can’t believe you haven’t found that out yet. This is why I had issues with you and me continuing a relationship after Ocho Rios.”

His brows came together. “Why would you let someone you no longer want in your life dictate your future?”

She shrugged. “I thought maybe it would be an embarrassment if you found out that the woman you were dating had also been with a past employee.”

“Sometimes things happen for a reason. We met in Ocho Rios because of the wedding, but I do think that sooner or later, we would have met. This Justin is not the only thing we have in common,” he replied. “I’ve told you this many times, but I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks of me. I’ve gone through that phase earlier in life.” He took her hand. “Why should I care if they didn’t give birth to me, aren’t paying my bills, aren’t fucking me, and aren’t taking care of me?”

“Okay…”

“I know exactly what I want. You.” Marcus kissed the back of her hand. “You’re the type of woman that you have for a lifetime. Can you commit to me? Can you commit to us?”

“You have everything you need versus trying to obtain what you want. You’re already successful, and you’re different, but it will take some time for me give full trust again.”

“I’ll be patient, Tanya.”

A long sensuous kiss confirmed their declarations, and Tanya was sure now that she’d found a man who understood her.

When they pulled apart, Marcus gestured to a package sitting the coffee table. “Now that we have that out of the way, the contents of this box posed no bearing on the decision we made here today because before it ever arrived on my doorstep, I’d already fallen for you. Likewise, what’s in the box never changed my feelings for you.”

Tanya said, glancing at the box, nervously. “What do you mean?”

“Your ex plays dirty, Tanya.”

She looked at him in confusion, and shook her head.

“He still wants you, doesn’t he?” Marcus asked.

“I don’t know. He’s been calling, but just the other day I had to tell him that I’ve moved on. He was…a little shocked. What’s in the box?”

“That makes sense.”

“What makes sense? What are you saying?”

“Did you make a sex tape with Justin?”

Her mouth literally dropped to the floor. “What!”

“That bastard sent me a video tape of you two in bed together.”

“Oh, my God.” Her heart beat thunderously in her chest. “We…we…earlier, we…”

Marcus dropped his face in his palm.

Tanya had no idea that Justin kept a copy of the short recording of them having sex. She didn’t even know he had made a permanent copy of it. “Do you think I cheated on you? This happened when Justin and I first started dating.”

“I know you didn’t cheat on me. You had shorter hair in the video.” He grabbed both of her hands. “Listen to me. I watched it because I had no idea what it was.”

Tanya’s face grew heated. “I’m so embarrassed.
That idiot.
Why did he do this?”

“I think maybe the point of him doing this was to ruin what we have. From what you’ve told me, he regrets breaking up with you. Do you still have feelings for him?”

“No.” She shook her head. “It’s over between he and I, but this sounds exactly like something Justin would do. He doesn’t like being crossed.”

“Well, he’s messing with the right one, because neither do I,” Marcus said, a frank expression on his face.

“Don’t get involved. Let’s just leave it be and I’m sure he’ll leave it alone.” But how stupid could she have been when she agreed to making a video of them being intimate? “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“No need for apologies. At least I understood what you meant the moment you said that you had baggage.”

“My ex went a little further than yours, don’t you think?”

“Either way, we’re in this together, and just know that everything will be dealt with. Don’t worry. I know some important people in important places.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’ve ties to several business acquaintances in New York, high and low. Including the new company he works for. Let’s just say that his boss should be receiving a report on his desk any day now about Justin’s less-than-stellar performance records and how he fibbed to secure his position at Svelte. He was lucky to have been given a second chance by Mr. Wright. It’s no wonder he bailed after he got another job offer.”