Page 43 of Revealing Mark

All I could think about was his lips on mine and the slight scratch of his stubble against my skin. I sighed, wondering if I would ever get to a stage when I would be immune to him. But right now all it took was one look to make me feel more alive and his kiss stirred something dormant in me.

I lay there for another half hour before I got back up to creep into his room to check on him. He was lying on his stomach.He had discarded his shirt. He was breathing deeply and I left to go make something to drink.

After I made some herbal tea from the stash I had left behind, I wandered around his apartment. I wasn’t exactly snooping, it was more just taking a look around. I hesitated outside the door to his study. Mark wasn’t going to wake up any time soon and I could go inside without fearing he would discover me. I was so tempted, my hand rested on the handle.

I wanted to look so badly. Maybe there was something that would give me a deeper view into why he was the way he was. But I couldn’t do it. Snooping through his private space wasn’t something I was comfortable with, so I headed back into the living room.

After I sipped my tea, I put the mug down and lay down on the sofa. I would lie here just for a little while and then I would go back to my room.

But my eyelids grew heavy and I allowed myself to drift off to sleep.

It was the smell of coffee that roused me from my deep sleep. I yawned as I sat up and stretched my arms above my head. My muscles were aching.

“You’re finally awake.”

I wasn’t alone. Mark was seated in the chair off to the side. I felt more self-conscious that he’d been watching. He looked like he’d had a shower and change of clothes. He was drinking what looked like coffee. Then I noticed my rainbow mug with steaming coffee. I must have forgotten it, which was nothing new. I misplaced things on a daily basis.

“Thanks.” I rubbed my neck, trying to rid myself of the tight muscles. The sofa definitely hadn’t been the best place to fallasleep. The guest bedroom would have been a better choice. I picked up my mug.

There was an uncomfortable silence, and I contemplated how I could break it.

“How’s the head?” I asked without looking directly at him, but I could still see him out of the corner of my eye. He didn’t look hungover.

The few times I had overdone it, I remembered feeling like death warmed up the next morning. He looked fine. It was unfair.

“I’ll survive.”

Was that it? I didn’t get an explanation for anything?

I took a sip and it burned my tongue. Damn coffee. It didn’t help that I was still so tired. I probably felt worse than he did and I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol.

When he didn’t say anything else, I put my coffee down and turned to him.

“What happened?” I asked earnestly, trying to understand his actions.

He swallowed while he held my gaze. When he moved to look down at his coffee, I knew he wasn’t going to reveal anything.

“Don’t you think I deserve some sort of explanation?” I held myself firm, determined to get something from him.

“I didn’t ask you to come over.”

My mouth gaped open.

“No, you didn’t. Your best friend was so concerned, he called and asked me to come over to check on you,” I reminded him, unable to stop my voice from rising. I was tired and angry. “The next time you want to drink yourself to death, at least answer the phone. It would have saved me a trip here to spend the night worrying about you.”

I rose and began looking for my purse so I could leave, but I couldn’t remember where I’d put it.

“Tracy,” Mark said, but I ignored him and continued to look around. I just wanted my purse so I could leave before I said more I couldn’t take back.

“Don’t ‘Tracy’ me,” I snapped. I put my hand to my forehead, feeling flustered, angry and way too tired to do anything except curl up somewhere and sleep.

“Stop.” His voice came from behind me.

His fingers touched my hand. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes.

“I’m tired.” I let out a shaky breath, my mind too jumbled to think.

“Why don’t you have a shower and get some sleep. We’ll talk when you’ve had some rest.”