Powerplay by Cher Carson Read Free Book Online Page A

this?” an irate male voice shouted.
    He held the phone away from his ear and smiled. He couldn’t blame the poor guy; he’d feel the same way if he were losing Jen to another man. “Mark Atwell.” He gave it a minute for the name to register, before he asked, “And you would be?”
    Jen stalked into the living room, looking decidedly dishevelled in last night’s clothes. Her make-up was streaked and her long blond hair was standing away from her scalp at odd angles. Her lips were chafed from his hungry kisses and the sensitive skin on her neck bore abrasions from his whiskers. Damn, she looked good enough to eat, all over again.
    “Mark Atwell, the hockey player?”
    Mark smiled and winked at Jen, who was standing with her hands on her hips, tapping her bare foot on the hardwood floor. If looks could kill, he’d be a dead man. “One and the same.”
    “Jen didn’t tell me she knew you.”
    Mark chuckled, folding his leg over his bent knee as he stretched an arm over the back of the leather sofa. “Sounds like there’s a lot she hasn’t told you, man.”
    “When did you two meet?” he demanded.
    “I don’t know, a few years ago. Why, what’s it to you?”
    He laughed. “You must have been the asshole she broke up with when she met me.”
    Mark planted his feet on the ground, leaning forward. This guy was the reason Jen left him? If that was true, this wasn’t a casual relationship, as Mark had assumed. This was serious.
    “How long have you two been together?”
    “I don’t know. We dated for a year before we got engaged, so I guess we’ve been together almost two years.”
    Mark jumped off the couch, stalking toward Jen, who backed up into the wall. “You’re engaged?” he shouted.
    “Yeah,” Kevin said. “We’re getting married in three weeks.” He laughed. “Did my beautiful bride-to-be fail to mention that you were just a way for her to get even with me?”
    Mark felt his blood pressure rise to the point where he thought his head might explode. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
    He chuckled. “Let’s just say I had a few too many at my bachelor party last weekend. I slept with some stripper and…”
    Mark flattened his palm on the wall beside Jen’s head, caging her in with his body. If she thought he was going to let her make a quick escape, she was delusional. “You fucked a stripper last weekend?” Mark couldn’t believe any man could be that stupid. He had an incredible woman like Jen, and he cheated on her with a stripper? This loser clearly didn’t deserve her.
    “It was a lapse in judgement.”
    Mark looked into Jen’s eyes, trying to read her expression. Embarrassment, shame, fear… “I can’t believe she didn’t dump your sorry ass.”
    “Believe me, she wanted to.”
    “But?”
    “I convinced her that I loved her, that we could still have a great life together.”
    “That’s bullshit. You wouldn’t have cheated on her if you love her so much, asshole.” If this guy were in Mark’s face right now, he’d knock all of his teeth out. How dare he claim to love Jen after what he’d done to her?
    “You don’t know anything about our relationship. I love her more than anything, and she loves me.”
    “Is that why she made love to me last night, all night long?”
    Jen dropped her head into her hands, looking mortified.  
    “You can call it whatever you want to, Atwell. The bottom line is you got her for one night. She’s mine for the rest of our lives.”
    The sharp barb felt like a blade to the chest, piercing his heart. “Don’t count on it.” He punched the end button, ending the call.
    “Mark, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she said quietly, reaching up to touch his face.
    He pressed her phone into her palm and stepped out of reach. “I can’t believe this,” he whispered, trying to process the fact that the woman he loved was marrying another man in a few short weeks.
    “I tried to tell you last night, but you didn’t want to