Page 130 of Awakened by Sin

She gaped. “What? How is that possible?”

“I was born and raised in Las Vegas. I started working at fifteen. I have everything I need here. Traveling was never an option.”

“You need to take a vacation ASAP,” she said and then gasped. “You’ve never seen the ocean?”

“No.”

“How can you live without seeing the ocean? It’s only a three-hour drive to the beach!”

“I’ll go one day.”

“You should go right now!”

He laughed. “One day, I will. I don’t think now’s a good time.”

“Is Gavin back at work full-time?”

“Not yet. I’ve got it handled, though.”

“Of course, you do.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

“No. I know you can handle it. You graduated at the top of your class and have a business degree.”

“Checking up on me?”

“Yes,” she admitted without shame. “I wanted to make sure.”

“Wanted to make sure I was qualified to stand in for Vinny?”

That sounded ludicrous since Marcus had done more to advance the company than Gavin or Vinny had in the past five years.

“It’s not about Vinny. I wanted to know why Gavin picked you.” She paused deliberately. “And I still want to know.”

“He picked me because of my background.”

“Because you grew up in the housing projects?”

He nodded. “I knew Emmanuel Pyre as a crime lord before I ever knew he owned casinos. I know the players in the underworld since I grew up among them.” Marcus shrugged. “I knew the only way out was an education. I got a scholarship at UNLV and was picked for an internship. I worked in low level management for a couple of years before Gavin approached me for this position. He saw my background as an asset rather than a liability. He gave me an opportunity no one would have trusted me with. I would never betray him. I owe him for everything I have.”

“It may have taken longer, but you would have made it without his help,” she said.

His eyes gleamed. “You think so?” He picked her up and placed her on the counter. He nuzzled her chest. “I can see your nipples through my shirt.”

“Want me to change into something else?”

“No,” he said lazily as he sucked her nipple through his shirt. “This is great.” He ran his hands up her thighs. “I can’t believe you would have given yourself to that boy in the club bathroom. You choose the most mediocre men who could never give you what you need.”

She gripped his hair to pull his mouth off her nipple. “It was just sex. It didn’t matter.”

“It matters. You can’t find anyone compatible if they’re not on your level to begin with, and we both know one-night stands are shit.”

“What?”

Despite her grip in his hair, he leaned forward to press a kiss to her nipple which begged to be sucked.

“Hookups take care of the itch, but it doesn’t tide you over very long, so you keep having shitty sex with people you don’t give a fuck about, and it becomes an endless cycle of crap.”

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