Page 81 of Due Diligence

“You’re filthy rich, annoyingly handsome, semi-famous, and so competent I get hot just thinking about it. We both know you don’t have a low-key love life.”

“I do,” he insisted.

“Come on. There’s no way you’re that good with your hands and mouth without a little practice.”

“The compliment has been noted.” He smiled softly in that bashful way of his. It reminded me that he had almost no ego to him. “But I’m just thorough. I do my research.”

I shook my head so hard it nearly made the room spin. “You’re trying to tell me you don’t regularly hook up with tons of women?”

“Why is that so hard to believe, Cass?”

“Because you’re…you’re a freaking unicorn among men, Marcus.”

He lifted an eyebrow and canted his head. I could see his mind turning, wondering where I got that idea. “I don’t ask out many women.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m shy,” he stated.

It took me a moment to realize he was serious. I let out a near-delirious laugh. “You arenotshy.”

“How would you know?”

“Because nobody who is actually shy would say the kinds of things you’ve said to me while you fucked me.”

“I’m a nerd in the streets and a freak in the sheets.”

Why the hell did something so embarrassing sound so sweet to me? I pretended not to be enchanted and ignored his smile. “Never say any of that again,” I advised.

Marcus took a drink. “Look, if you want the real, honest truth, I’ll give it to you. I know how much you love learning secrets.”

“I do.”

“Cass, you make me so nervous that my palms sweat when I’m around you.” His eyes landed on me, letting me know he truly meant it.

“Stop it,” I interjected.

“I’m serious,” he assured me. “My heart starts beating faster and I can never think of the right things to say. I lie awake at night, replaying conversations we had and wishing I had said something funnier or smarter or sexier, but I never get it right. I felt like this about you when I was eighteen years old, back when I was just this shy kid from Vermont. I still feel that way about you. Sometimes, I can’t believe you’re even interested in knowing me, let alone sleeping with me, because you’re just…” he trailed off.

This time, I didn’t say a word. My pulse had never moved faster and desire had never felt more potent in me. My body was pulsating and we weren’t even touching.

“Well one, I think you’re noticeably hotter than I am. And two, you’re justeverythingI want in a woman.”

“Me?”

He nodded. “You.”

“Why me?”

“Because you and I get each other,” he said, and he stated it so matter-of-factly that his words made me wonder why I couldn’t comprehend it. “That wasn’t always the case, but it is today. Not a lot of people get me.”

I was quiet. I looked away from Marcus and focused on the view of the cityscape through his living room windows. All the while, I could feel his eyes pinned on my profile, watching me. I wished I could forget his words. I wished I had never heard just how much he wanted me—and I knew it didn’t make sense. Whenever I was with him, I was desperate for him to want me. For it to be true…it felt like I had cursed him.

“Look,” he said as he got up. He walked over and took a seat next to me on the sofa. I faced him again, wishing I could just get it over with and kiss him and be with him. “I realize we don’t have much time left to talk. You’re angry with me, and you look so fucking good that I probably only have about five more minutes before all my willpower wears out and I outright beg you to sit on my face.”

I was hard to rile, but Marcus’s words immediately made me flush. I inhaled sharply and forced myself to look away from him. Still, I could feel the heat from his body, tantalizing me purely through proximity.

“Cass, why don’t you want to be with me? Tell me honestly. You’ve given me every excuse in the book, but I don’t believe you.”

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