Marcus by Anna Hackett Page A

tight,
muscled butt. And the way his T-shirt stretched over his chest,
leaving those heavy biceps on display. Strong arms that lifted her
so easily, and were so sturdy as they held her in place for his
thrusts—
    “So, you and Marcus, huh?”
    Noah’s voice intruded, startling her out of
her fantasy. She turned. “Yes.”
    “Would never have pegged it.”
    She smiled. “He’s the most amazing man I’ve
ever known.”
    Noah studied her face, then shook his head.
“No one else ever had a chance, did they?”
    She saw something in his eyes. Oh,
God. “Noah…I never realized—”
    He shrugged. “I like you, Elle. You’re smart
and sweet. I took too long to make a move.” He shot her a wry
smile. “I’m not that great with the whole emotions thing. And
tossing you over my shoulder isn’t really my style.”
    “I consider you a friend, Noah.”
    “I know. Me, too.” He touched her hand.
“Friends. I’m happy for you. Marcus might be rough around the
edges, but the guy’s a goddamn hero.”
    Marcus returned and set a plate down in
front of Elle. She eyed the mound of food incredulously. Marcus
might be able to pack that away but there was no chance she’d be
able to.
    He sat in the chair beside her and picked up
his fork. He glanced at Noah. “Any progress on the crystal?”
    “Not much. I had to rework the cradle I’d
devised to interface the crystal to our computers. It’s fascinating
technology. I still haven’t worked out how the raptors have
manipulated the crystalline structure of the…” Noah trailed off. “I
just geeked on you, didn’t I?”
    “Uh-huh.” Marcus took a bite of his
substitute eggs.
    “Right. Well, I finished modifying the
cradle I’m using to link the crystals into our systems. Before I
came down here to find you guys, I plugged the crystal in and
pulled off some data.” He grinned. “English and raptor.”
    Elle smiled at Marcus. He smiled back.
    They ate for a while and she listened to
Claudia and Shaw sniping at each other. Elle was reminded of how
close the squad was. They were like their own little family
unit.
    “You know, I could use your help, Elle,”
Noah said, interrupting her musings. “You’re better at raptor than
me.”
    “Sure. I can’t eat any more anyway.” She
nudged her plate away. “You want to start now?”
    Noah nodded. He grabbed their plates and
headed to the wash-up area.
    Elle stood and suddenly felt nervous. Marcus
hadn’t showed any overt affection in public. He probably wouldn’t
want her to make a scene. Should she touch him, though?
    “Um, I’ll see you later.” She hated feeling
uncertain around him.
    Marcus suddenly grabbed her, yanked her into
his lap, and kissed her.
    All thoughts of etiquette flew out of her
head. She cupped his rough cheeks and kissed him back.
    The catcalls and whistles faded away. There
was just Marcus and the delicious taste and feel of him.
    When he set her back on her feet, she felt a
bit dazed.
    “Later,” he said. “I’ll be in the gym,
sparring with Cruz, if you need me.”
    She blinked, trying to get her brain to
function normally. “Right. Okay.”
    He smiled at her and because she couldn’t
help herself, she traced his jaw. “Bye.” She tossed a wave at the
rest of Hell Squad who, she noticed, were all grinning like
idiots.

Chapter Eleven
    Elle had been staring at the screen so long
she’d given herself a headache. So many of the glowing raptor
symbols mocked her, refusing to give up their meanings. She slammed
a palm against her desk. She kept seeing the same symbols in
different combinations that made no sense.
    She rubbed at her temple and shifted in her
seat. She felt some unfamiliar aches in a few intimate places. That
made her smile and her thoughts turned instantly to Marcus. Even
though he’d kept her very busy most of the night, she’d also had
the best sleep she’d had since the aliens attacked. Held tight in
his arms, she felt safe, protected.
    Looking back at the screen,