Chapter 395 - 280: Lingering
The moment Marcus Monroe entered, Paige Summers stood up.
She looked at him, unable to stop herself from walking over.
Marcus, in turn, stared intently at her without blinking. Surprise flashed in his eyes, quickly replaced by a joy that filled his entire chest.
’It’s her!’
’This is her scent!’
His heart pounded violently, but thankfully, he remembered the people watching nearby.
Without taking his eyes off her, he said, "I need to speak with her alone."
Seeing the way the two were acting, the squad leader knew there was a story here. He tactfully gave his subordinate a look, and the two of them quietly excused themselves.
The sound of the door closing was like a trigger. Marcus strode forward and pulled Paige Summers into his arms. Only then did he finally, truly feel her unique scent surrounding him.
"You’re okay. I knew you were okay..."
He murmured, kissing her face, her eyes, all over, like a fish that had been thirsting for ages and was finally back in the water. He covered her lips with his, eagerly savoring their sweetness. They only reluctantly pulled apart when they were both nearly out of breath.
Paige Summers looked at his reddened eyes, and tears immediately welled up in her own.
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry!"
’I’m sorry for making you worry...’
Marcus’s lips curled into a smirk. After a moment, he said in a suggestive, wicked tone, "Is a simple ’sorry’ going to be enough?"
Paige Summers froze for a second, then immediately smiled through her tears.
’This pervert!’
Seeing this, Marcus finally let out a satisfied sigh of relief.
’I don’t like her tears. Not even if they’re for me!’
But on second thought, he felt a bit indignant. He turned, sat down in a chair, and pulled her smoothly onto his lap. The series of movements made him even more aware of how small and light her body had become.
He frowned. "How did you end up like this?" ’This face looks underage no matter how you look at it. How am I supposed to lay a hand on her in bed?!’
Paige Summers glanced around. "Are you sure you want to talk about it here?"
Marcus was speechless. "..."
’The shock was too great; I forgot where we were.’ This really wasn’t the right place to talk. He stopped speaking, swept her up into his arms, and walked out.
Paige Summers struggled in his arms inside the room to no avail, so once they were outside, she had no choice but to endure it. She didn’t want to put on a "show" in front of others. Still, being conservative by nature, her ears couldn’t help but turn bright red at being seen like this.
Marcus didn’t miss the change in her pale ears. He grinned, then called out to the squad leader outside, "I’m taking her with me! We’ll talk about the details later!" Then, still carrying her, he quickly got into a vehicle and sped away like the wind.
The men left behind looked at each other. "What in the world is going on?!" one of them couldn’t help but ask.
They, of course, had no way of knowing what had happened. But on the road, Paige Summers told Marcus everything from beginning to end.
Of course, she omitted some details, only glossing over the suffering she endured as a test subject.
But this was Marcus; how could he not guess the truth?
Moreover, he had seen the aftermath of the explosion at that laboratory building with his own eyes. One could only imagine the pain Paige Summers must have been in to be driven to such a "frenzy"!
The faint taste of blood soon filled his mouth from clenching his jaw so tightly.
He remained silent, not saying a word until they reached his residence. Then, he slammed on the brakes and struck the steering wheel hard with his right palm.
CRACK! The steering wheel shattered into several pieces and fell onto the car floor.
Paige Summers pursed her lips, a little troubled. ’I already simplified the story as much as I could...’
Marcus’s inability to hide his rage was a rare sight, and it left her stunned for a moment. In that brief instant, he had already gotten out of the car, swept her up again, and carried her inside his residence.
Norgate had been completely rebuilt. The original ruins had been cleared away, and new houses were constructed in their place.
Marcus’s home was not far from the original Citadel. It was a rather unique courtyard residence, a reward from the Central Government for assisting in the attack on Norgate. Speaking of which, half of it should have belonged to Paige Summers.
Of course, the Citadel was no longer called the Citadel; it was now known as the "Norgate Consulate Hall."
Inside the house, Marcus sat on the sofa, still holding Paige Summers tightly on his lap. But when he buried his head in her chest, his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Paige Summers sighed softly and stroked his hair. "It’s okay now. It’s all in the past..."
"I never should have let you go alone."
Paige Summers shook her head. "If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. I shouldn’t have ventured into the tunnels by myself."
"They got off easy!"
Paige Summers gave a helpless smile. "If they hadn’t died, I probably wouldn’t have been able to come find you."
"It was that Xu who hid what happened to you. Otherwise..."
"If he hadn’t, many people would probably know about the changes to my body." At this, Paige Summers suddenly reached out, firmly tilted his face up to meet hers, and looked him in the eye. "Enough! Let’s not talk about this anymore. No matter what, I came back alive, didn’t I?"
She knew he was furious, but what was done was done. Talking about it further was pointless and would only cause more grief. Why bother?
After a long moment, Marcus finally let out a low sigh and held her even tighter. "Mm."
Seeing him relax, Paige Summers smiled too.
As she traced his brows and eyes with her thumb, she felt an unprecedented tenderness welling up in her heart.
’This... this is my man!’
He wasn’t as composed as he used to be, but he was so much more alive now.
The way he looked when he was angry, helpless, willful, or even roguish—it all tugged at her heartstrings!
’Perhaps it’s because these feelings are so much stronger than before that I subconsciously resisted them, looking for any reason to escape. This state of feeling happy when he’s happy and sad when he’s sad is foreign to me. It’s an unknown, and that brings a natural fear.’
’I’m afraid of being tied down, so I instinctively push it away.’
’But then again, isn’t this man just as insecure because of me?’
’I was wrong before.’
’When two people are together, trust is important, but it’s far from the only thing. Sharing responsibilities and pressures, sharing happiness and joy, becoming inextricably linked—how could that not require immense courage?’
’It has nothing to do with a person’s Combat Power.’
’It only has to do with the heart.’
’I think I finally have that courage now...’
She gazed at him and slowly offered her lips.
The night was one of deep, lingering passion.
Marcus had clearly overestimated his own self-control. The idea of not being able to touch a face like hers? It was all just empty talk!
After Paige Summers took that first step, he immediately took control of everything that followed.
He took her again and again, tirelessly.
It was as if only by repeatedly, physically reaffirming her presence could he truly believe that she had returned to him, safe and sound.
Only when he too was utterly exhausted did he lock the long-since drowsy girl in his arms and fall into a contented sleep.