The First and Only One.
Amelia's good mood did not last long. As soon as she got closer to the place where she left Marcus, a wave of irritation wiped the smile from her face.
Two stranger girls fluttered around the man like moths around fire, chirped something in a chant and laughed seductively that the men nearby were staring enviously at Marcus.
One of the girls, with especially voluptuous breasts, stood inadmissibly close, and Amelia could see in her eyes the desire with which she was looking at Taubert, although the man did not pretend that he cared about it.
Coming closer, Amelia heard that they were talking in German. And although she did not know this language, she understood from the general context that Marcus was explaining something to them.
The girls were wearing short shorts and tight tops, they stood out from the general crowd of festival guests, and Amelia thought that they were tourists.
She put the ice cream cones in one hand, walked silently to the chatting company and slipped the other hand under Marcus's elbow.
"Honey, I bought what you asked for," Amelia sang affectionately and, not paying attention to the man, smiled at the two harpies who were drilling a whole on her with displeased looks.
Marcus turned his head towards the girl and froze with a surprised expression on his face, a second later his lips twitched with a slight grin, he began to examine Amelia's shaggy ponytail, tied with a ribbon, but said nothing.
"Guten tag. Ich habe Amelia. Ich bin... hmm... eine wife. Do you speak English?"
"Um, hello," the girls retreated a step, the former playfulness was replaced by a mask of discontent. The one that had previously stood closer to Marcus, looked over Amelia with an appraising look, to which the latter grunted to herself and pressed closer to the man.
"Amelia, please meet Gretta and Angela. They came from Berlin, hitchhiking around Europe," explained Marcus in a calm voice, "They asked me for directions, as the local guys did not understand them."
"Oh, what a pity. Well, yes, it happens when you come to a foreign country," Amelia nodded understandingly and added, "Next time ask some old ladies, maybe they will understand you better. Well, have a nice trip. We have to go," the girl pulled Marcus's hand and dragged him away from the walking crowd.
"It was a little rude, young lady," the man replied as they reached a large, spreading oak tree and stood in its shadow.
"Seriously? Well, I did not notice that you said goodbye to them either. Does it really matter to you?"
"It doesn't," agreed Marcus, leaned back against the tree and snatched the ice cream cone from the girl, "Mmm, that's yummy! Thanks."
"So pushy and hussy! They almost put out their breasts to give men some show! You'd think every man should buy it," Amelia puffed.
Marcus glanced sideways at the girl, he had no idea how nice it is when someone is so openly jealous of a person. He had no goal to make Amelia jealous, he had completely forgotten what those two random tourists looked like. All his attention was focused on one stubborn girl who provoked the man in every possible way. And he must admit that every time Amelia got better and better at it. All that remained was to hold out until the evening and not break off until she got on her plane.
"You make it sound like you have experience with hooking men," he commented without a second thought.
Amelia paused and looked at Marcus. Hell, one glance of hers was enough to tell who was going to loose in this game.
"Why do I need experience when I have you? You will be my first and only one, and you will teach me everything the way you like."
The man did not notice how the ice cream in his hand melted and flowed in a thin stream over his fingers. He could not take his eyes off the girl, who was looking at him with wide eyes without a shadow of embarrassment. Did she even understand what she had just said?
Amelia looked from the man's face to his hand, and while he momentarily lost touch with reality, she bent down and licked his fingers, her tongue slowly moving up the waffle cone, her lips closed at the top of the dessert. She straightened, licked them, and looked back at Marcus.
Damn it. It looks like she, after all, went too far. You wanna tame the fire, get ready to burn, Amelia, the girl swallowed nervously.
The man's eyes were completely black; the aura was so overwhelming that Amelia wanted to cringe into a tiny ball. "What are you doing?" he whispered, his voice was low and hoarse, like the restrained roar of a wild beast preparing for its final leap to cling to its prey with its fangs.
Marcus pulled her towards him and eagerly dug into the girl's lips. Like a sip of water for a desert traveler, like a salutary breath for a drowning man in the water cycle, he wanted to swallow her completely. There was no tenderness or affection in this kiss, it was filled with thirst, passion and animal lust. It punished and subjugated her, caused the desire to surrender and burn out in these emotions without a trace.
Amelia twitched and tried to pull herself away, her head began to spin from the lack of oxygen, but this action further inflamed the man. Marcus growled in displeasure and bit her lower lip, his tongue was thrusting into her mouth, demanding complete submission. He turned and pressed the girl with his body against the tree trunk. Amelia opened her eyes for a moment, her cheeks flushed with fire, for the first time she felt an aroused male body in such closeness.
The world around her swirled before her eyes, new sensations poured into the girl like a tsunami, and she no longer knew who they belonged to - her or to him. All she wanted at the moment was to melt in the arms of the man, to become one with him, like yin and yang, so that it was not clear where she ends and where he begins.
Amelia relaxed and completely surrendered to the power of Marcus, his movements gradually became calmer, his fingers released her shoulders and moved to the girl's waist. He stepped back, breaking their kiss.
"Sorry."
"For what?" Amelia asked in a faltering voice, trying to calm down and staring at the man's lips in such seductive closeness. Marcus leaned his forehead against hers, his intermittent breathing caressing the girl's face, demanding more. But he didn't move.
"For everything."
Amelia's palms went cold as Marcus spoke the last words with such calmness that they sounded like goodbye.
"Our walk is over, Amelia," he let go of her waist, as if by force, fighting with himself, and took a step back, "I'll call Simon, he will pick you up. I'll ask him to book an earlier flight so you don't have to wait extra three hours. When you land, dial his number. If you need any help, you can ask him. I'll be busy with business, but Simon is a reliable guy and will help you with everything."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Amelia stared into Marcus's face, but his gaze was directed to the side, avoiding her.
"Because...," he pressed his lips together tightly and inhaled heavily. God, why is everything so complicated? What future and the end of the world should he worry about if his world is already bursting at the seams? Or maybe he didn't exist at all, and his whole life was just an illusion, a mockery of fate, and the real Marcus Taubert died a long time ago, in one of the dungeons of a soulless gray castle? Died on a cold metal table because now his body felt just as cold and lifeless?
He turned to Amelia without a single emotion on his face, "Because what happened doesn't change anything. We cannot be together. Excuse my weakness. It won't happen again," he said and walked away.