Clutching my left hip with one hand, he strokes his other palm up my spine to my hair, gripping it tightly, and I wince at the pain. That sensation is quickly replaced when his cock pushes inside of me, and a burning sensation begins in my ass.

Biting my lip, I try to pull away.

He coaxes me softly. “Shh, Gemma. Concentrate on that juicy pussy of yours. Fight through the pain, and believe me, your body will explode from the pleasure.”

Taking a deep breath, I try to get use to the burn as he moves again, and I feel him slide farther into my back passage, stretching me even wider. When he pulls my hair hard, the delicious bite of pain surrounding me couples with the throbbing ache between my thighs.

Finally, after what seems like hours, I feel his hips against my ass, and I know he is firmly lodged deep inside of me. I’m so full of his cock that I can barely breathe without feeling him throb inside my body. Holding me steady, he waits motionless behind me, letting me grow accustomed to his girth.

My empty core clenches, trying to grasp onto something, anything, to ease the ache. When it clenches a second time, I groan and push back on him. He sucks in a deep breath before he leans down to reach under me, brushing a finger across my hard clit.

Screaming out his name, I feel the room start to spin as he bites my neck.

“It’s so fucking hot inside of you that I might have to just stay here.”

Moaning, delirious with my own pleasure, I know that I’m selling my soul to him at this very moment. I know I have passed the line from light to dark, but as I push back on him, feeling him rub my clit again, I find that I like it.

“How does it feel, Gemma?” he asks. He shifts his hips, gently thrusting his cock. “How does it feel, knowing my cock is inside your tight little ass? Do you know how it feels to me?”

I shake my head as he moves back, holding on to my hips.

“It makes me lose myself, Gemma. It makes me feel like I’ve crawled inside of you, and now, I have all of you. You’re mine.”

He pulls out of me and drives back inside roughly.

“Fuck!” I scream.

He starts to pound into me, fucking my ass relentlessly, as his fingers punish my hips. I know that I’ll have bruises tomorrow, but at this stage, I don’t care. I’m pushing back against him, loving the sinful feel of his cock every time he plunges deeper into my dark, hot hole.

“Yes, Gemma. Fuck me. Fuck me hard and make me forget.”

As I mindlessly obey, I know he’s not the only one forgetting. I’ve lost my mind. As his hand snakes around me, his fingers penetrate my pussy, and I’m crazed with lust. I bite my bottom lip to prevent an agonized scream, but I find I can’t hold it in.

“Now!” I demand hoarsely. “Now. Fuck, Phillipe! Now!”

Moving his hand, he pinches my clit hard and plows his cock into me. That’s when I feel it. His hot, sticky come shoots up inside of me, plunging into the deep, dark places clouding my very soul.

Phillipe is right. He now possesses me.

Chapter  Twenty-Two ~ Marked

Phillipe wakes up an hour or so later to the melodic tune of Air running through his mind. In the darkness, he closes his eyes and feels her there. It’s almost as though he can smell her if he concentrates hard enough. Just close your eyes and think of her, he tells himself, but it isn’t as easy this time.

No, this time, a blonde with big guileless eyes, a perfect mouth, and a delicious ass keeps crashing into his thoughts. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tries to deny any kind of feelings he has for Gemma. There’s no room left in my heart for her. Is there?

Yes. I’m gone.

Phillipe’s eyes snap open, thinking he heard her. He swears he sees her when he calls her name. “Chantel?”

Hearing a shuffling sound over by the door, his eyes narrow as they try to adjust in the darkness afforded to him by the heavy drapes he pulled closed. There, on the floor by the locked door, is the figure of a woman.

She’s naked with her hair falling down over her shoulders. She has her arms wrapped around her raised legs that are crossed at the ankles as she holds her knees close to her chest.

She looks frightened. Chantel looks scared.

Pushing the covers aside, Phillipe moves his legs over the edge and gets out of the bed. Mindless of his nudity, he makes his way toward her.

Holding out his hand, he coos to her, “It’s okay, Beauty. I’m here.”

He hears a quick intake of air as goose bumps break out across his exposed flesh. His heart starts to pound as he moves closer to the motionless figure on the ground. She has her face turned up to him, and as he approaches, she doesn’t move. Air continues to float around him. It’s her favorite.

“Chantel?” he whispers again.

This time, there’s slight movement. She’s coming back to me. I haven’t lost her.

The woman before him shifts. She rises to her knees as he sinks to his.

She takes his hand in hers before she replies, “Gemma.”

* * *

Holding my breath, I kneel there before the man I just gave myself to completely. He is lost. He’s in some kind of hallucination where he can’t even see me. He is seeing, feeling, and remembering her. As I hold his hand in mine, I realize that he is shaking.

“Gemma?” he questions.

Squeezing his fingers tightly, I rise up on my knees, so I am now face to face with him. Placing my free palm to his cheek, he closes his eyes as he leans his face into my hand.

“Yes, it’s Gemma,” I softly reveal.

There’s silence all around us, except for our breathing.

“I thought…” His voice sounds miles away even though he is kneeling right before me. “I thought she was here. I heard her,” he confesses.

I swallow slowly. I try to decide if what I’m about to admit is better for him or just something that will make me feel less crazy. “She was.”

Haunted green eyes move to mine. The darkness still surrounds us, but he is close enough that I can make out the sadness and dejection in his eyes.

“That’s why I woke up,” I whisper. I run my fingers up through his hair. “She was here only minutes ago.”

Scooting forward on my knees, I release his hand and bring my hands up to cup his face in both my palms now.

“Give her to me, Phillipe,” I entreat softly.

His weary eyes search my features. He raises his hand to my chest where he places it over my heart. The warmth that radiates from him seems to seep through my skin, touching my soul.

“Will you look after her?”

Tears start to fill my eyes as I nod slowly. “Give her to me, and I will take care of her.”

He swallows deeply, his Adam’s apple moving, as he closes his eyes and removes his palm. “Where’s the journal?”

My breath catches as I look around the room. I spot it on the floor where he dropped it earlier. Moving away from him, I reach out to pick it up. As I touch the leather cover, I feel a shock hit my fingers. Deep down inside, as crazy as it seems, I know it is her. I know she’s just as frightened as the both of us. Refusing to be sidelined, I grab the journal and turn around, only to find he’s moved back to the bed.

He’s sitting on the edge of it. He’s naked, save for the sheet he has now pulled over to cover himself. I make my way over to him through the shadows. When I am standing before him, I stop as he looks up at me with eyes full of sorrow.

He admits, “I would have done anything to swap places with her. I begged him, you know.”

Gritting my teeth, I try not to let my tears get the better of me. My fingers tighten on the journal as he reaches out to take it from me.

“On the day she left, I made deal after deal with him to take me instead.”

I release the journal as I keep my eyes on his.

“He didn’t listen.”

* * *

Marked ~

“How could you have left me tonight, Phillipe?” I yelled as we made our way into the studio.

“Excuse me? I think if anyone left anyone, it would be you when you left me to have an all-night cozy chat with the ambassador.”

Fuming, I turned away from him. He is being so unreasonable. “He told me things.”

“I know what he told you, Chantel!” he boomed.

I felt it rattle my very bones. Phillipe was furious. I had never seen him this way.

Tonight had gone completely wrong. We had arrived at the gala, went inside, and then we had been separated. People had wanted to speak to him. That was understandable. I had disappeared into a corner, a place where I felt the most comfortable, but I hadn’t remained alone for long. No, not five minutes after I had retreated to my own space, I had felt someone behind me.

Spinning back to where I knew Phillipe was, I asked him pointedly, “And what am I supposed to believe? You just left me standing there tonight! You didn’t introduce me to anyone—”

“You didn’t want me to! Jesus, Chantel, make up your fucking mind!”

“Was she there?” I asked him softly, feeling my jealousy clawing at me like a vicious animal.

“Who?”

“Don’t treat me like a fucking idiot!”

“No. No, she wasn’t even there.”

Swallowing back my irrational tears, tears of anger and unwarranted jealousy, I spun away from him. “Just go away. Leave me alone.”

I heard movement, and then his hands were on my shoulders, spinning me back to him. I knew he was up in my face because I could feel his breath, warm and intoxicating, as it floated over my lips.