Chapter 4 – Thirty Is Coming

 

Noah’s POV

If someone had told me that the next time I’d see Marcus Blackwood would be in a dark underground club at midnight, I would’ve laughed in their face.

And yet there I was.

The place was loud, packed, and dripping with the kind of reckless energy people came looking for when they wanted to forget who they were for a few hours.

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The red lights pulsed across the room. Music very loud through the floor like a second heartbeat. Bodies moved together on the dance floor, sweat and perfume mixing in the thick air.

********

Ethan had dragged me here.

“Bro, you need a life outside your penthouse and boardroom,” he’d said earlier while practically shoving a jacket into my hands.

So now here I was, leaning against the bar in my black Gucci sweatpants and a dark hoodie, watching strangers kissing,grinding against each other like the world might end tomorrow.

Ethan disappeared onto the dance floor five minutes later.

Typical of my Buddy Ethan.

I took a slow sip of wine, letting the music drown out the noise in my head.

For a moment, it worked.

Until i heard a familiar voice from behind.

Didn’t expect to see you somewhere like this Mr Vale.

My spine stiffened instantly.

No f**king way,slowly I turned.

Marcus Blackwood stood beside me like he’d been there the whole night.

His looking very handsome with his armless shirt and dark pants.

That same calm, dangerous expression like the chaos of the club didn’t touch him at all.

My pulse kicked up.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

Marcus shrugged lightly.

“Enjoying the city.”

“Right,” I responded back.

Of all the clubs in New York, and of all nights , He just had to end up here.

The universe was definitely laughing at me.

Marcus leaned against the bar beside me, close enough that his shoulder almost brushed mine.

“You come here often?” he asked.

I snorted.

“Do I look like someone who comes here often?”

His gaze slid slowly down my body.

“No,” Marcus said quietly.

I took another sip of wine, trying to ignore the way his presence messed with my focus.

“Then why are you here?” he asked.

A friend of mine practically dragged me here.

Marcus hummed softly.

Before I could respond, someone bumped into him from behind.

Marcus’ arm jerked slightly.

The glass in his hand tipped.

And red wine splashed right across my sweatpants.

Cold liquid soaked the fabric instantly.

I looked down.

Then back up at him.

Marcus blinked. Ouch my mistake.

Really?Your mistake?

The stain spread across the front of my pants.

Great.

“Seriously?” I groaned.

Marcus raised his hands slightly.

“Accident.”

“Yeah, sure.”

I grabbed a napkin from the bar but it was useless.

The stain wasn’t going anywhere.

“Perfect,” I muttered. “Just what I needed at this moment, and Ethan was no where in sight.

Marcus watched me calmly.

Then said quietly,

“Bathroom’s down the hall.”

I gave him a look.

I slid off the barstool and headed toward the hallway in the back of the club.

Music faded slightly as I pushed through the door into the restroom.

It was quieter in here, I just wanted to disappear from the club, Marcus just has a way of making me horny.

I walked to the sink and turned on the faucet, grabbing paper towels and trying to dab the stain out.

“Fantastic,” I muttered under my breath.

My reflection stared back at me.

Frustrated, Annoyed,and  very horny.

And still thinking about Marcus.

Dang it, why was that man everywhere lately?

Then the restroom door opened behind me.

I didn’t need to look to know who it was.

Footsteps approached slowly.

 

I kept my eyes on the mirror.

“You following me now?” I asked.

The door clicked shut.

Then— i heard the door clicked.

My hands paused under the water.

I turned slightly.

Marcus stood between me and the exit.

Watching me like something in his brain had finally snapped.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

Instead he stepped forward.

“Marcus?”

He stopped a foot away.

Close enough that I could feel his breath.

His jaw was tense.

Like he was fighting something inside his own head.

“Tell me something,” he said quietly.

 

“What?”

 

His eyes locked onto mine.

 

“Don’t feel what I’m feeling.”

 

I blinked.

 

“What?”

 

“Tell me,” he repeated, voice rougher now. “You don’t feel this.”

 

My heart started beating faster.

 

“What exactly do you think I’m feeling?”

 

Marcus swore under his breath.

Like that wasn’t the answer he wanted.

Then he muttered something I barely caught.

“This is for the mission.”

“What mission?”

Before I could react, Marcus grabbed my wrist, and yanked me against the sink

My back hit the sink with a soft thud.

Water still running behind me, thr music from the club was much louder now.

My breath caught.

Marcus pinned both my wrists against the counter easily.

The strength in his grip was unreal.

 

“Marcus—” what if...

 

“Stop talking.”

 

His voice was low but commanding

The way he held me.

The way his body hovered so close.

Every dark thought I’d been having about him suddenly felt way too real.

Marcus leaned in closer.

His breath brushed my neck.

“You’re a problem,” he murmured.

I swallowed really hard.

“Funny,” I said quietly. “I was thinking the same thing about you.”

His grip tightened slightly.

 

Then suddenly—

His lips brushed the side of my neck.

A quiet moan against my own will

Marcus froze instantly.

Like he hadn’t expected that.

But the damage was already done.

The air between us shifted.

Completely.

My head tilted back slightly against the mirror without me thinking about it.

Marcus’ breathing got heavier.

“Marcus…” I murmured.

His lips brushed my neck again.

Like he was testing something.

“What the hell are you doing to me?” he whispered.

I laughed breathlessly.

“You started this.”

Marcus pulled back slightly.

Our faces inches apart now,His eyes dark.

Conflicted, hungry.

“Tell me to stop,” he said quietly.

I didn’t, i couldn’t.

Instead I whispered the one question that had been burning in my brain since the night in the parking garage.

“Who the hell are you, Marcus?”

His expression changed instantly.

The tension snapped.

And just like that—

He let go.

Leaving me standing there breathless against the sink.

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