Chapter 53: Dark Love

A long silence settled between them before Marco finally added, "And that’s not even the worst part."

James raised an eyebrow. "What is?"

Marco chuckled quietly and briefly looked toward Fabio, who was still caught up in the conversation with the other man. His expression changed as he watched him, becoming almost thoughtful.

"It’s the fact that I don’t want it to stop."

Another wave of silence settled between them, and this time James was the one to break it.

"I think... what you feel... is indeed love," he began, making Marco look at him. "But it’s the kind of dark love people don’t usually talk about. There is soft love, where you want someone to be happy and free, and then there is dark love. From what you’ve explained, yours started with desire, turned into need, grew into something addictive, and now it’s becoming possessive."

James shook his head slightly as he looked at Marco. "That isn’t just attraction anymore."

The two men gazed at each other, both of them carrying the same strange mixture of concern and realization.

Marco finally whispered, "Well, whatever I feel for him has gone beyond what I understand love to mean. I’m so fucked up, man."

James nodded without hesitation. "One hundred percent fucked up. You know why?"

Marco looked at him and shook his head.

"Because, as you are experiencing, it doesn’t stop. That’s the problem with this kind of love. It doesn’t stay where it starts. It consumes you. Your phase is only beginning, and if you keep feeding it, soon it’ll become impossible for you to stay away from him."

Marco groaned before downing another glass of whiskey. "I should run."

James gave him a knowing look. "And where exactly are you planning to run?"

"Anywhere."

"No matter where you run, you’ll find yourself crawling back to him."

Marco stared at his glass for a moment before sighing. "What should I do then?"

James patted his shoulder and waited until Marco looked at him. "I think Fabio might be in the same situation as you."

Marco narrowed his eyes and glanced toward Fabio before looking back at James. "Really?"

James nodded. "Think about it. Don’t you think it was too much of a coincidence that you two ran into each other in a random club among all the clubs in Palermo? I think he had you tracked down."

Marco went quiet for a moment as he considered it. "I did suspect he used his connections to find me. But... is that enough to prove anything?"

James shrugged. "It might not be much, but it’s something. It shows he had you on his mind just as much as you had him on yours. How about you test..."

James stopped talking when the very person they had been discussing finally came over and took a seat beside Marco.

"Hey," Fabio said casually, instantly reaching for the half-filled whiskey bottle and pouring himself some.

Marco swallowed as his eyes shifted toward him. He watched deeply as Fabio took a sip of the drink and let out a low groan at the burn. Fabio licked his lips before turning his head toward Marco, only to find him still staring.

Marco did not avert his gaze. He did not raise an eyebrow questioningly or give him one of his usual teasing remarks. He simply kept looking at Fabio as though staring at him long enough might somehow provide answers to all the questions currently running through his mind.

James cleared his throat and stood up. "Which way is the washroom?"

"Upstairs, on your left. The door at the end of the hallway," Fabio answered without taking his eyes off Marco.

"Thanks," James uttered as he excused himself, though not before casting an amused glance in Marco’s direction.

Once James was gone, Fabio leaned against the cushions and shifted sideways so that his entire body faced Marco. He crossed one leg over the other and studied him with an amused expression.

"What is it?" Fabio asked. "Am I that irresistible that you can’t take your eyes off me?"

Marco finally smiled, but he still didn’t look away. "Maybe," he muttered before glancing toward the drink in Fabio’s hand. "I thought we agreed no drinking for you tonight."

"I said I’ll stay put, not that I won’t drink," Fabio retorted before finishing the remaining whiskey.

He reached for the bottle to pour himself another round, but Marco caught his hand before he could. He took the glass away from Fabio and placed it farther across the table.

"Not anymore."

Fabio knitted his brows in frustration, and that only made Marco’s smirk grow wider. His eyes glinted with amusement as he watched Fabio stare at the glass as though Marco had personally betrayed him.

"I just had half a glass," Fabio said through gritted teeth.

"And that’s more than enough."

Fabio glared at him before shifting his body and sitting upright, leaning his back fully against the sofa. "I’m forbidden from having sex, and now even drinking. What am I living for?" he sighed, closing his eyes dramatically.

Marco stared at Fabio’s face longer than any normal person probably should have. There was something different about the way he looked at him now. It was no longer merely the usual attraction or amusement. It was as though Marco were memorizing every curve of Fabio’s face, every small expression, every detail that he had somehow come to recognize without even trying.

After a while, Marco finally spoke. "You can have me tonight."

Fabio’s eyes shot open immediately, and he scrutinized Marco with sudden suspicion. "You aren’t planning to edge me again, are you?"

Marco shook his head. "No," he whispered. "I’ll even let you be on top."

That was enough to make Fabio turn his entire body toward him. His earlier frustration disappeared beneath obvious interest, though suspicion still lingered in his eyes.

"It sounds too perfect to be good. I don’t trust you," Fabio said, but the desperate need in his expression was impossible to hide.

Marco held both his own hands out toward him. "You can tie me up."

Fabio’s eyes dropped to the offered wrists before returning to Marco’s face. Despite the annoying grin still sitting on Marco’s lips, his eyes were clear, and there seemed to be no hidden motive behind the offer.

Fabio did not waste another second. He grabbed Marco’s wrist and pulled him to his feet, immediately heading toward the stairs. Even when the other guys called out to him and tried to convince him to join the game, Fabio ignored them and hurried toward the top floor of the three-storey villa, where there was only one room.

As soon as they entered, Fabio shut the door behind them before grabbing both of Marco’s hands. He quickly tied Marco’s wrists together with his own belt, leaving Marco standing there with that same infuriating smile on his face.

Fabio stepped closer to the couch and before taking a seat, he glanced at Marco with unmistakable anticipation.

"Now, shall we begin?"