Page 137 of Awakened by Sin

“You are a good guy.”

He tucked his face into her neck. “You smell good.”

“Eucalyptus,” she mumbled sleepily.

He settled her on the bed. She closed her eyes and floated. She heard him flip on the bathroom light. She turned her head and watched as he disappeared inside. He wouldn’t mind the seashell chandelier she put up, would he? Maybe the mermaid was a bit much, but a tub like that deserved an ocean theme. Marcus reappeared and then went into the closet. She came up on her elbows and waited for the explosion. He had a tiny section of the closet since he didn’t have much clothes here. Her assistants unpacked her new wardrobe, and she was thinking of having a carpenter come in to see if he could do something to create more room.

“What are you looking for?” she called.

Marcus came out of the closet. “You did all of this in one day?” he asked as he began to strip.

“I had help. I told you I would move in,” she grouched and turned on her side. “If you don’t like it, you can sell the house to me. By the end of this week, you won’t even recognize this place. I can’t believe you’ve had this house for two years and never—”

Marcus flipped her on her back and crouched over her. He cupped one side of her face before he kissed her deep. He rested his body over hers and tilted his head to the side as he made love to her mouth with his tongue stroking hers. She ran her hand through his hair. His muffled groan made her nipples tighten. His hand caressed her cheek, slid over her neck, and then rested on her breast. He massaged gently, which made her nails dig into his shoulders. He detached his mouth from hers and kissed the curve of her jaw and then her neck.

“Never,” he muttered.

“Never what?” she asked distractedly as he sucked on her pulse.

“Never settled anywhere in my life.”

She shifted restlessly beneath him. “What are you talking about?”

“Never unpacked.” He licked her pulse and then kissed it before he moved lower. “Never bought furniture. Never decorated anywhere I lived.”

She clutched his hair as he sucked on her breast. “Why?”

“Never stayed anywhere long enough.”

“What about when you when you lived with your parents?”

“I never had parents.”

Her eyes opened. “What? What do you mean you didn’t have parents?”

“Went into the system at six. Never stayed anywhere long.”

“You were a foster kid?”

“Yes.”

She shook her head. “That’s not possible.”

“Why isn’t it possible?” he asked as he pressed gentle kisses over her face.

She was having a hard time concentrating when he was drowning her in affection he claimed to never have experienced, judging from his background. “Because you’re Marcus Fletcher.” He knew how to dress, how to talk. He was intelligent and business savvy and didn’t have a mean bone in his body.What the fuck?The man she knew had no correlation to the story of his childhood he was painting.

“Someone gave me that name. I didn’t have one before that.” He raised his head and looked down at her. “The house looks great.”

“Marcus,” she began and didn’t know what else to say.

“Bought this house to start my new life, to make it my first home, but I didn’t know how.” He kissed her still lips. “You did more in one day than I’ve done in years. Thank you.”

She swallowed hard. “You can have it all.”

“What?”

“Don’t sell it to me. Keep it … and all the stuff.”

---