Seduced by Sin: Sean (Rugged Riders #3) (18 page)

They fucked for hours. Mind-blowing, pleasure-wrenching, raw unadulterated sex. She had come to Jamaica with an agenda to leave here a brand new woman. But damn, she hadn’t come prepared for Marcus.

T
anya arrived
about an hour early for the wedding, but she wished she hadn’t. All it caused her to do was sulk, wringing her hands in her lap trying to anticipate what people would say when they found out she and Justin weren’t together anymore. These people were some of her closest friends, and they expected her and Justin to tie the knot one day. Maybe they’d received the news of the break-up already. Maybe, just maybe, she didn’t have to explain that Justin had left her, and had skipped town for a high-paying job and a more lucrative career. And not once did he entertain the notion that she come with him. To Tanya, that meant he wanted nothing else to do with her.

Last night, she’d had the best sex of her life, but now she was back in her zone. Marcus had just been a one night fling. Why was she stupid enough to think that he could erase the hurt of being shunned and discarded?

There was a commotion at the far end of the courtyard, and she lifted her glass of chilled water just in time to see Myra and her new fiancé Gregory walking toward her.

The wedding was being held just walking distance away from the beach overlooking the majestic gleaming ocean of Ocho Rios. Ceremonies were to begin just before sunset to capture the essence of the special moment. It was a moment she wouldn’t miss for the world. Vanessa was one of her most trusted friends, and she couldn’t turn her back now because of this wretched phase in her life.

“Tanya!” Myra shrieked from behind her.

Tanya grumbled for a split second, put on a happy smile, and then turned around. “Hi.”

“It’s nice to see you again.” Myra worked with Veronica at a law firm. They’d all had lunch on several occasions since their companies were in walking distance of each other within downtown Atlanta.

They shared a hug, then Myra’s fiancé, Gregory acknowledged Tanya with a curt nod of his head and a quick smile. Gregory was twenty years older than Myra. As an uptight dentist serving north metro Atlanta, he liked to keep close tabs on Myra at all times. Kind of more like a father, than a husband or lover.

“Where’s Justin?” Myra looked around with big innocent eyes.

Tanya swallowed, and wondered if Myra already knew about her and Justin and was just feigning ignorance.

“Justin and I are no longer together.”

“Oh.” Her hand flew up to her chest. “I had no idea. What happened?”

Typical of her to be nosey and press for information.

“We just ended.” Tanya shrugged. “That’s all.”

“That’s such a bummer. He was such a great guy.” She pointed to the name cards on the table. “It looks like we’ve been seated at the same table. Guess there will be an empty seat,” she said, as Gregory pulled out her seat for her. “I’ll just put my purse down in it.” She plopped her Prada bag in the empty chair, and leaned over to whisper something in Gregory’s ear.

Tanya eyed the place card that had Justin’s name written in perfect penmanship across it wishing she could rip it to shreds. It was a painful reminder that she’d not only been dumped, but had been stood up.

“Excuse me?” A sexy voice behind Tanya sent thrills up her spine. “This seat is taken.”

Marcus? Tanya didn’t even have to turn around. His sex-laced voice stilled her and the power of his lure was still embedded in her memory.

Myra, of course, did turn around. “I thought this chair would be empty.” She moved her bag promptly, but kept her eyes fixed on Marcus looking him up and down as her fiancé fidgeted in the seat beside her.

“It won’t be any longer…if you don’t mind.” Marcus pulled the chair out from under the table, plucked Justin’s name tag up, and simply flicked it to the center where the floral arrangements were set up. It landed upside down on the decorative shells laying on the table.

He turned and looked at her with a wide grin. “Hi. I knew if I saw you again, I wouldn’t be able to resist coming near you.” His gaze trailed over her dress. “The dress looks better on you than on the hanger.” He adjusted his tie at the neck and she saw right away that it was the same exact hue as her dress. Had he gone back after she’d left the store and picked out a tie to match her blue dress?

With his good looks, all she could do was stare at him. He could have easily been the best looking man here. He was—hands down.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered forming each word slowly.

“I’m a guest at Vanessa and Leroy’s wedding. You might have told me that you were here for this wedding before disappearing like a phantom in the night.”

She blushed. Numerous rounds of sex had knocked them both out. When she’d woken up in the arms of a man she only knew by name, the danger of it startled her. She’d put on her tattered and wrinkled dress as best she could and snuck out. It was a good thing her hotel was right across the street because at that hour of the morning, most taxi cabs were either out of commission or on call only. She’d bitten the bullet and walked.

“You could have told me the same thing,” she said.

“I would have, but I woke up and you were gone.”

She hoped to goodness that Myra didn’t overhear them. She would be embarrassed as hell if anyone found out that she’d had a one night stand with a stranger in another country.

“Everyone has assigned seating here,” she noted, as an attempt at changing the subject.

“I know that. Mine’s over there.” He nodded toward a table to their left. “I’m supposed to be seated with my brother.”

“Why aren’t you there then?”

“I’d rather be here.”

“How do you know that someone isn’t already sitting here?”

He gestured toward the place card he’d discarded so carelessly in the center of the table. “You mean Justin? The man you wanted to forget about?”

Heat washed over her face in embarrassment. He’d read her like a map. “How do you figure?”

“I’m no fool. You told me last night that you wanted to forget what normal was. When I saw you here today alone and the seat beside you empty, I put the puzzle pieces together. Am I close to the truth?”

“Oh my God.” She slid her hands through her hair. “This was a mistake.”

“I see no mistake in what we shared, but…” Marcus leaned over until his lips were nearly touching her ear. “Two things I can confirm here. One. This person you call Justin is not very smart if he can’t keep a woman like you. Two. When I laid eyes on you once again today for the third time, I knew that I’d do whatever it takes to keep a woman like you.”

Her heart skipped not once but twice in her chest. What he suggested was not what she had in mind. He had danger etched all over him. A man like him didn’t fall for women like her. A woman like her couldn’t deal with another heartache from any man.

“We had a deal…an understanding,” she said, trying to keep the tone low as more people started filing in. “One night.”

He slid his hand against her thighs and took her hand in his. “That was before I found out that we had so much in common. Why do you think we keep running into each other? The store…the club…the bed…and here.”

“How do you know Vanessa?”

“I don’t exactly. Leroy and I went to high school together.”

That figured. At least he wasn’t some lunatic who was following her around Ocho Rios. “Vanessa is one my closest friends. We interned together at a marketing firm in Atlanta.”

“I just moved to Atlanta less than a year ago,” he said. “By way of Virginia.”

“Oh…”

“What’s the matter? You don’t sound happy.”

“I don’t do this. I’m not like this.”

He squeezed her hand. “I know. I could tell. I still loved every minute of it though.”

That made her shed a smile, and suddenly the one night stand they had didn’t seem so scandalous. It did, but in a good way.

“Atlanta is my home. I live there. This is…really strange.”

“No, not strange.” His lips spread in a grin, and his eyes seemed to sparkle at this new revelation. “Perfect.”

Tanya didn’t know exactly what he meant by that, but before she could find out, more guests starting filing into the area, and taking their assigned seats. As the time got closer and closer to the start of the ceremony, one thing remained the same…Marcus never let go of her hand. His affection brought about a warm comforting feeling that she wasn’t used to having.

V
anessa and Leroy’s
wedding had been the most beautiful ceremony she’d ever attended. Throughout the twenty minute exchange of devotions of love and wedding vows, Tanya had been completely enthralled in the glamour of it all. It was a fairy tale come true that she might never ever experience. Right after they were pronounced husband and wife and shortly after cocktails and a light dinner was served, they were whisked away by a decked out cab to enjoy the rest of their wedding night and honeymoon on a private island off the coast of Jamaica.

I’ll text you some pictures, Vanessa had promised just before leaving, with her husband pulling her along anxious to consummate their vows.

“Earth to Tanya,” Marcus teased beside her.

He’d stayed by her side throughout the entire event. It definitely kept away inquiries about her break-up with Justin. Except for Myra, no one else publicly expressed concerns about Justin’s absence. Marcus made up the difference and then some. He commanded an attention that any man she’d ever been with couldn’t touch.

“I was just thinking.” She put her wine glass on the table, and turned her full attention to him.

“About?” The corners of his eyes crinkled and turned up as he smiled.

“About how happy I am they finally tied the knot. Vanessa had no idea what Leroy had planned for their honeymoon. It’s pretty hard to catch her by surprise, so he pulled that off fairly well.”

“Do you like surprises, Tanya?”

“Sometimes.” She shrugged. “As long as they come with good intentions.”

“For sure.” He leaned in to kiss her briefly on the lips.

“You’re umm….” She cleared her throat. His blatant affection in public had her feeling exceptionally warm between her thighs.

“I can’t keep my hands off you.”

“Why is that?”

He kissed her again, pausing on her lips for longer than the last. “Because you’re beautiful, sexy, and the sound of your voice has me thinking about naughty things.”

“People can see us…”

“I could care less,” he said. “Surely they understand how a man shows his appreciation of a woman. It might be my weakness, but I show appreciation when warranted.”

“What do you mean?”

Their fingers linked together until they were holding hands.

“When I want something, I want it deeply. I don’t stop short or settle for less.”

“But you’ve had me already.”

“You’re the type of woman that you have for a lifetime. I knew the moment I set eyes on you. I wanted to know you, inside and out. I couldn’t resist when you proposed our one night of adventure, even though I was thinking of asking you out on a formal date.”

“You barely know me,” she challenged.

“I know you intimately, Tanya. I have another request.”

“Yes?”

“When we return, I’d like to see you again. I need more than two nights.”

“Who said you would get two nights?”

He looked at her in challenged with that devilish look of his. “We can enjoy the rest of Jamaica until it’s time for you to return. Dinner, dancing…and just getting to know each other. Some conversation by the shore, and then whatever else it leads to. What about that?”

She bit her bottom lip, pretending to think, knowing full well what the answer was.

A shadow fell over them just before she opened her mouth to speak. She looked up to see a striking man with a deep bronze tan and a head full of dark curly brown hair.

The guy nodded at Marcus, a grin twitching his lips, and then he offered her his hand. “Hi, I’m Trent.”

Looking from Trent to Marcus and then back again, she exchanged handshakes. “Tanya.”

“Nice to meet you,” Trent greeted her, and then addressed Marcus next, “I see now why I’ve been discarded.”

“Tanya, this is my brother. I was supposed to be seated next to him today.”

She looked from one to other in confusion. Sure they were both fine as all get out, but except for that, they were like night and day. Marcus flawless pecan complexion contrasted with Trent’s dark olive skin tone. “You two look nothing alike.”

“
Brothers by bond
,” Trent replied. “Not blood related.”

Marcus had said something similar when they met at the night club last night.

“Oh. That’s right. I remember Marcus telling me about his brothers last night” she said.
Three by blood. Two by bond.

“You coming or what?” Trent asked, then added teasingly, “Or are you having too much fun caking?”

“Shut it,” Marcus told Trent between clenched teeth. “I’m staying behind. See you back in Atlanta?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you at the shop next weekend, bro. Nice to meet you…Tanya.” Trent gave her another sly smile before turning around to leave.

Tanya tried not to look at his retreating backside like the rest of the women still at the reception. Marcus and Trent certainly weren’t brothers by blood, but the one thing they had in common was that they attracted women, single and married, like a magnet.

With the main purpose for her trip out of the way—the wedding—she turned her attention back to Marcus.

Before she voiced her question, he answered it. “Trent and I met twelve years ago. We were young at the time and months from graduation when we both officially joined the same biker club. A brotherhood, of sorts.”

“Biker club?”

He nodded.

Tanya could only imagine what that meant. She’d seen how on weekends various biker gangs would race up and down Atlanta interstates and freeways with not a care in the world. They were fast, ruthless, and had a reputation for stirring up trouble. “Is that why most of your body is covered in tattoos? As your affiliation to your biker club?” A blush fanned across her face and neck as it dawned on her once more that she knew him in the most intimate of ways, as well.

Marcus chuckled. “It is.”

Tanya glanced over him, slowly, as though she were meeting him for the first time. From her observation today during the light dinner, a dance, and casual conversations as they mingled with other guests, he demonstrated that he had the manners of a gentleman. But back at the night club and during their one night fling, she realized that he had a second side. She’d spent hours in bed with a playboy. At least now she knew what to expect from him.