Page 103 of Due Diligence

“You never have to ask,” I replied before I pulled her into a hug. The familiar smell of her perfume hit me, making me wish I had the nerve to ask her what scent she wore. But it occurred to me she was smart enough to guess I wouldpossiblyconsider buying a small bottle of it so I could smell it all the time, which even Iknew was borderline creepy—but she just smelled so damn good.

“Why are you hugging me?” she muttered into my chest after a moment.

“Did something happen?” I questioned. My mind raced with the possibilities as I waited for her to respond. “Something happened, didn’t it. That’s why you’re here with me and not with him.” I broke our embrace so I could look at her, which made Cass roll her eyes. So flippant. So damn flippant. And still so right for me.

“Marcus—”

“Did he hurt you?” I demanded, still scanning her. I brought my hands to her shoulders and held her at an arm’s length, appraising her. Beyond her inconceivable beauty, there was nothing remarkable about her at that moment. “Did he try something with you? Because let me be clear, Cass: If he hurt you, I’ll fuck him up beyond repair. If not physically, I will ruinthat man’s credit score and identity to the point where he won’t even be able to rent a pair of bowling shoes in this country.”

“He didn’t do anything,” she insisted as she loosened from my hold and took a step forward so she could touch me. She put her hands on the sides of my neck and began to rub her thumbs along the corners of my jaw. I leaned into her touch, wondering why we didn’t spend more time just touching each other like this. Her eyes met mine and stayed fixed, keeping us locked together in a lingering gaze.

“Then what are you doing here?” The words came out slow and uncertain. I cleared my throat gently, wondering if I should ask her again.

But before I could speak, she lifted one perfect eyebrow and said, “I was with him, and I realized I didn’t want to be. I wanted to be with you.”

Her expression was serious, slightly amused if anything—but clearly genuine. She still didn’t remove her gaze from mine. And I let that gaze linger for a few more seconds, seconds that felt suddenly precious to me.

“Really?” I furrowed my brow just a tick. “I thought—”

“Does that surprise you?” she asked, her voice soft. She took another step closer, bringing her body against mine. Like they had minds of their own, my hands went straight to her waist. Her skin was warm through the fabric of the tight tank top she wore. When she breathed, I could feel her body tense.

I nodded. “A little.”

Cass stood on her toes, bringing her face close to mine. “One of these days, you’re going to get it into your head that you’re so fucking sexy I can’t even think when I’m around you,” she whispered. She rose a little higher, just enough to plant a fleeting kiss on my lips. “You’re the only person I want to be with.”

“Me?” I confirmed, wishing I could just expel all the disbelief from my tone. But years in the cutthroat world of tech andfinance had left me jaded. I knew better than to trust something that sounded too good to be true—and this was far and away the best thing I had ever heard. “You mean it. You’re not just saying it because your night with Trevor was a bust—like I knew it would be.”

“You, Marcus,” she replied—no sass, no sarcasm. Her face was serious, almost determined. Her hands flexed on my skin, reminding me she was real—that she was here in the flesh, asking for me. “Not casually. Not platonically. Actually. I want to be with you and only you. And if you take another minute to try to process that, I might go out of my mind with need. So could you just—”

“Thank god,” I said before I took her mouth.

The kiss seared and sent waves of relief and anticipation through me. It wasn’t frantic like it usually was. For once, we had all the time in the world—no fear of one of us getting cold feet or letting doubt get in the way. I breathed her in, drawing her as close to me as I could. She fit well in my arms. I’d always felt that way, since the first time I held her like this at Shelf Atlas. There was a wave of frequency that pulsated along our bodies, and only along our bodies. It was an unseen recognition that something in each of us aligned in the other. It was probably there a decade ago; there was a reason why I felt an inexplicable impulse to talk to her, only her, on my last night at school. There was a reason why she lashed out at the thought of me leaving her. We didn’t understand it then; we were kids. But it made sense now—it made all the sense in the world. We were part and parcel. Intrinsic. Necessary.

We parted just long enough for me to lead her over to my living room. We lingered in front of the white shearling couches, the ones that cost me a fortune—luxurious for no reason. When I bought them, it had been nonchalant. I didn’t think twice aboutthem. Now, I was grateful to have them. I wanted to lay her on them and to revere her body.

My hands slid along her curves, lowering to hold her ass. I pinned her against me and the implication was clear: I wasn’t going to let go of her again.

She motioned for me to sit first, before she climbed into my lap, facing me. The sight was breathtaking and exciting, yet carnal all at once. Within seconds, she had shed her shirt and her bra, leaving herself topless in a pair of jeans—all while I looked on in total and complete admiration. Her dark eyes locked onto mine and something about the way her gaze flickered reminded me that what existed between us was longer than the twenty-six days that had passed since she walked into my office. No, we were ten years into this—three thousand, six hundred something days. All those days had led up to this night.

I wondered if she recognized that. I wondered if she had ever considered if that encounter changed her, like it changed me. She was the reason why I developed a shrewdness that had paid off in dividends—literally and figuratively. She was the reason I didn’t have a trail of women in my wake. She was the reason for all of it.

Cass dipped low and kissed my neck while her hands pushed their way under my t-shirt. Her motions were steady and deliberate. Her intentions were clear—she wanted me showing just as much skin as she was. I was more than happy to oblige her.

Once we were both shirtless, I explored her—still feeling the same wonderment I did the first time I touched this immaculate body. My fingers pinched and kneaded nipples. My palms grazed soft skin that prickled with goosebumps when I slowed my pace. She smiled through our kisses, letting out nearly inaudible moans of approval whenever I came across a spot that she loved.

“Tell me I fuck you better than he did,” I ordered, breathing hard as I undid the button on her jeans. I needed to hear her say it.

“You’re so much better.” She closed her eyes and her head tilted back as she grinned with pleasure, feeling my fingertips dip into her jeans to cup her mound. I wanted to see her lost in me, and she was well on her way. “And not just him, buteveryone.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded, eyes still closed as she soaked in my touch. “So much better.”

“I love hearing you say that,” I murmured. My free hand traveled around her back and rested on the line of her spine, tracing the indent. “I want to wake up to you saying that every morning, Cass.”

Cass blinked her brown eyes open and leveled them with mine. “Yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

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