Page 42 of Never Less

The relieved sound he lets out fills one of the cracks in my fractured heart. It’s not just that I feel wanted again, but that I feel wanted by him. By the man who treats me like I’m important and like I’m someone deserving of love and care.

Marcus picks me up and twirls me around, and I grab onto him and let out a laugh. My heart is soaring, and for the first time in god knows how long, I feel more happy than hurt. When he sets me down, his lips meet mine the second I’ve regained my balance. His hands cradle the back of my head, keeping me close and kissing me like he needs me to stay alive.

I don’t realize he’s backing me up until my ass hits something hard. I yelp in surprise and grab onto his arms, but when I turn to look behind me, he grabs my face and kisses me again.

“You…” He kisses my cheeks, then my forehead, and then the tip of my nose. “You have no idea what you do to me, little star.”

The dining room table, I realize when he pulls back enough that I can gain my bearings. He backed me up through the entire kitchen.

I gasp when he lowers his head and kisses my neck. His hands thread through my hair, tugging the ends downward until I’m looking up at the ceiling. He groans against my skin, sucking lightly, and it sends a shudder through me.

“Liliana.” Marcus’s voice is strained, and when I run my hands down his arms, his muscles are tense.

“Fuck lunch,” I whisper, bringing one of my hands down to toy with the button of his shorts. “I need you, Marcus.”

His eyes fall shut, and his lips feather over mine. “I don’t want to go faster than you’re ready for.”

“I’m ready.” I cup his cheek. “As long as you want this.”

His laugh sounds almost tortured. “I’ve been ready for longer than I care to admit.”

“Then fuck me, Marcus. I don’t want to wait.”

When he pulls back, it’s only a few inches. “You’re sure?”

“Yes,” I whisper. “Yes, Marcus.”

I may have been sobbing in his arms earlier, but I’m thinking straight now. Sure, what Nate said on the phone earlier stung, but as I already said, I’m used to it. At this point, I’m more pissed at the fact that he thinks it’s okay to treat me like this than I am hurt.

Now that I’ve made my mind up, all I want to do is focus on Marcus. I’ve wasted enough time on Nate.

Marcus lifts me so I’m sitting on the table. “On one condition. And this is nonnegotiable, you hear me?”

“What?”

“If you decide you want to stop, you tell me. I don’t care if I’m in the middle of a fucking orgasm. You say stop, and I’ll back off. Immediately. Got it?”

My heart squeezes. There’s still a part of me that thinks this man is too good for me, and this is just adding to the proof. But I nod anyway, willing myself to believe what he said—that I deserve all this.

“Say it out loud, Liliana,” he says, his voice low.

“I’ll tell you to stop if I need you to.”

Seemingly satisfied, he kisses the tip of my nose. “Good girl.”

Oh god.

When Marcus’s fingers curl around the hem of my tank top, I lift my arms so he can get it off more easily. He takes his time, his knuckles brushing up against my skin in a way that gives me goosebumps. The look in his eyes goes from serious to heated as he reaches around me and undoes my bra.

I toss it to the ground the second I can get it off me. Marcus stands back and takes me in, and I watch his Adams apple bob up and down as he swallows hard. When he finally cups my breasts in his hands, sparks shoot underneath my skin from every point of contact with him.

“These,” he murmurs. “When you came down here the other night wearing that little bikini, all I could think about was how perfectly these would fit in my hands.”

When he squeezes lightly and brushes his thumbs over my hard nipples, I whimper. I want him to do it again, and I want his shirt off, too. So when his hands reach for my shorts, I lift his shirt up.

“You first,” I tell him.

With a knowing smirk, he rips his shirt over his head. I run my hands down his chest while he wastes no time undoing the button and zipper of my shorts.

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