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“You’re busy, Dr. Kingston. I saw you working there.” My hand flew to an errant strand of my hair, tucking it behind my ear. Marcus’s attention and being this close to him—touching him—wreaked havoc on my nerves. “It’s okay, I’ll call my parents and leave.”
“It’s Marcus. And no.”
“Really, you don’t have to do this.” I didn’t put up a struggle, regardless of what I said.
“No, I don’t have to do this. You’re family, Leigh. I want to do this.”
Family. Yup. Stupid, delusional brain seeing things where they’d never existed.
That was what I thought back then, anyway.
“Come, sit.” Marcus drew out one of the chairs around the dining table.
He pressed on my shoulder, signaling me to sit. Obediently, I did.
“Good girl.”
Marcus turned to put the teapot on the stove. I, on the other hand, had my ears burning.
He’d called me a good girl and I was ready to kneel at his feet.
I had to pull myself together. Even if he’d never reciprocate my…love?...I refused to let him think I was as pathetic as I felt.
“Anything interesting in the head-shrinking world?”
Oh my God, what was wrong with me? I was supposed to sound smart and sassy. My silly question didn’t scream smart or sassy. It had idiot written all over it. In bold fucking letters.
While the water heated, Marcus spun to me. A rare smile curved on his lips. He was either somber or smirking at our nonsense. His sincere smiles, though, those he’d save for Rylan. Hardly for me.
“Head-shrinking?”
My embarrassment returned in full force. Then it morphed into mortification. I had to swallow so I wouldn’t vomit on his kitchen floor. “Uh…”
“That’s what you think I do?” His voice changed.
Throwing up must have fucked with my head because I could swear Marcus was flirting.
Nah. Impossible.
Regardless, this not-flirting calmed my jittery nerves. With a genuine smile and a few words, Marcus managed to put me at ease. He made me curious.
“What is it that you do exactly, then?” I leaned my elbows on the table, perching my head on my palms. “Besides hypnotizing your patients?”
His eyes were equally intrigued and amused. Any darkness or semblance of…something else…had vanished. “My job interests you?”
Everything about him interested me. As long as it involved him, I wanted it. Including the sounds he made when he came. Which, I’d already listened to. Without his consent.
My cheeks blazed hot at the vivid imagery. Thankfully, Marcus busied himself with the cupboards, missing the fire climbing my neck.
“It does.” I was proud of how confident I came off. How mature.
“All right. I’ll tell you.”
The water boiled. Marcus poured it into the cup he’d prepared while I was blushing. He walked over to me, placed the steaming cup on the table, then pulled out a chair for himself and sat cross-legged.
This was it. We were going to have a grown-up conversation. He might not kiss me, but not being treated like a kid for a day wasn’t all that bad.
In fact, it was great.
