“Okay, but really, Mekena, you’ve got this.”

“Doesn’t feel like I do.”

“But you do,” she said simply, and then the line went dead.

Laying her hands in her lap, Mekena held her phone loosely in her grip as she thought over what Libby said. She did need closure. As much as she knew it was going to hurt to know why he did it, why he slept with her sister, she had to know. Was it because she wouldn’t have sex with him? Was it because she was annoying? Too smart? Not pretty enough? What was it? It was killing her, and she knew that was dumb. Boys were stupid, they made stupid decisions, but she’d really thought Markus was different. If she ever planned on moving on, she had to know why he did it, and then maybe, she could get closure. Maybe then she could let him go and not feel like she still wanted him.

Because she couldn’t want him.

He cheated, and she wouldn’t be that girl. The one who ran back to the guy who broke her. Because of that, she knew she couldn’t stay in the cabin. She had to go; there was no other option.

But when she looked over to see Mr. Right sitting up and his eyes in slits as he watched her, she was a bit taken aback by the psychotic look in her cat’s eyes. Eyeing him, she felt her brows rise as she asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

He didn’t answer, but she knew he heard her. Call her crazy, but she was convinced the damn cat was part human. He was so damn smart.

“I can’t stay here, I gotta go. And you’re gonna have to go to Mom’s.”

His eyes narrowed more as he raised his paw up, his nails coming out as he slowly licked them, his eyes never leaving hers.

She was pretty sure he was threatening her life.

“It would be good for you since I can’t say no to you.”

Dropping his paw, he lifted the other, cleaning the second set of nails as his eyes stayed on hers. She didn’t want to admit to being scared of her cat, but she was. Due to that, she knew she wasn’t going to take him to her mom’s.

Which also meant she was staying in the cabin.

With Markus.

But only because she was scared of her cat and the fact that he could claw out her eyes—not because she wanted to talk to Markus.

Or at least, that was what she was telling herself.

Rolling over, Markus stretched his arms above his head as he winced a bit. His face was still aching from the umbrella Mekena had decided to bash his face in with. For being so small, that girl packed one hell of a punch. If he hadn’t been the victim of her assault, he would have been proud of her. Though, even being the victim, he was proud because he was masochistic as hell.

He just couldn’t help it.

With Mekena, there would always be a soft spot. He wasn’t sure what it was about her, but she had him wrapped tightly around her finger. He loved the sweet tip of her chin, the furrow of her brow, and it was disgusting how turned on he got last night as she screamed at him. The betrayal and hurt rolled off her in waves, big ones which crashed into him with the force of a tsunami. Yet he stood there, unable to move, weathering the storm that was Mekena.

He deserved it.

But man, he wished there was a way to fix it. It was obvious that she was mad, upset, and hated him. He was unsure if she would allow him the time to apologize truly for what happened. He wasn’t sure if he should tell her the truth. He didn’t want to bad-mouth her sister since she was Mekena’s family. But at the same time, why should he take all the blame? He didn’t want it. He only wanted Mekena.

Still wanted Mekena.

How stupid could he be? She wouldn’t have him even if he admitted the truth. She was going to hate him for the rest of his life, and in a way, he couldn’t blame her. Once the trust was gone, the relationship was gone. He knew that, saw it firsthand when Mark Sinclair cheated on Autumn. Markus had promised never to do that to anyone ever, but fate was a cruel bitch sometimes. At least, to Markus, it was.

Sighing with his whole body, he kicked off the blankets and started to get ready to meet Jayden at his car so they could drive into the city for practice. He had deliberately set his alarm earlier so he could make a huge breakfast since he knew practice wasn’t going to be easy. Going into the kitchen, he noticed that the car from last night was still in the driveway. Pausing, he looked to the back bedroom door to see that it was closed.

She had stayed.

That was something.

He wasn’t sure why it rattled him, but it also pleased him. Maybe he’d get the chance to talk to her with no one around, just them. He considered going to the door to check, but then he noticed that it was cracked and he didn’t want her to see him spying in on her. He was pretty sure that wouldn’t help the situation they were in. Plus, could he walk away? He wanted her. God, he wanted her. So much more than he did before. He had always found her sexy. She was a minx, with those naughty dark glasses and those dangerous curves. After seeing her last night, so classy and gorgeous, he was having a difficult time hiding the hard-on that was begging for her.

He wondered if she was still a virgin. Or if she had lost her virginity since the last time he had been blessed enough to touch her. He would never forget the moment she told him she was a virgin. The way her eyes glassed over or how her face burned with embarrassment. It was so cute, so beautiful, and after all this time, it still left him breathless.

“I don’t know how to say this ’cause it’s dumb.”

Running his hand up her ribs, he nodded as his nose moved along hers. He was rock hard, and he was ready. He wanted her. She was holding back—which was fine, he’d wait—but he was shaking with want. They had been dating for a while, and he was ready to make it official, but he felt like she was kind of holding back. Because of that, he was waiting for her to give him the go-ahead. Kissing her top lip, he whispered, “What?”

“I’m a virgin.”

Talk about being hit with a bucket of cold water. With his brows together, he looked down at her, his hand frozen in place. “Excuse me?”

Her face was dark red. “I know, it’s silly, but I haven’t done it.”

“Ever?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head, her eyes immediately filling with tears.

“Whoa, it’s fine,” he said quickly, sitting up and pulling her into his arms. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“I know, it’s just… I feel dumb ’cause I should have done it by now.”