Page 88 of Due Diligence

“Take it,” I heard myself saying. “Anything you want.”

Seconds later, he came with a grunt, pumping through his climax. Even with a condom between us, I could feel the heat of his spend. Gradually, his strokes slowed.

We were kneeling on the bed, catching our breath together when I realized just how close we were. Our bodies were pressed together, sticky with sweat where our skin met. Marcus’s big hands were flat against my body, one hand still cupping my mound and the other wrapped protectively over my breast.

He layered a string of soft kisses on my shoulder before he pulled out of me. And just when I expected him to leave me to throw away the condom, he spun me around.

We were facing each other now. His hand came up and pushed my hair away from my forehead. That was usually my move—the one I did to him.

“Thank you,” he said, before he pressed his forehead against mine.

“For what?” I asked as I moved my hands up to his shoulders.

Marcus didn’t answer. He brought his hand to the back of my head and cradled it gently while he placed a soft kiss on my lips.

I didn’t understand how I knew it, but I could tell—he was thanking me for the way I looked at him, for the way I was awed by him. “You’re welcome,” I whispered.

Chapter 22: Marcus

She spent the night. When I woke up at five to feed Sammy and Frank, Cass was still fast asleep in my bed. Her blond hair spilled over the pillow, haloing her face in the faint light from the pre-sunrise sky peeking in through my window. I half expected her to be gone when Frank and I got back from our walk, but to my relief she was still there, resting soundly with the covers pulled up to her chin. Once the pets were taken care of, I crawled back into bed with her. Sleep found me immediately.

A few hours later, I awoke on Cass’s side of the bed. Warmth cradled between us. We were sharing her pillow and my arm was draped over her, while my hand was dangerously close to her breast.

Fuck it.

I shifted to palm her bare breast, massaging it gently to coax her nipple into a peak. I could feel it firm up against my fingertips. I scooted up until I was right behind her, my cock pressed against her ass. Her breathing changed and she beganto stir. She brought her hand up and rested it on top of mine, letting me massage her breast for a few more seconds.

Dreamily, Cass rolled over to face me on the pillow. She stared at me for a few seconds before she reached over and pushed my hair off my face.

“Morning.” I left it at that, even though I really wanted to thank her profusely for the best night of my life.

“Morning.”

“I don’t know if we discussed this,” I said, “but I don’t intend on paying you for the hours when you were asleep.”

“You’re such a piece of sh—”

Before she could finish that sentence, I kissed her.

Cass broke away from the kiss and she rolled over to the nightstand. When she returned to me, she was holding the check I wrote to her last night. She dangled it over my face, letting it tickle my nose. Then she leaned back on the pillow and she ripped the check in half, cleanly down the middle. She dropped the two pieces onto my bare chest.

“So, you’re working pro-bono now?” I quipped. “God, there’s a pun in there somewhere, but I just can’t quite get there.”

Ignoring me, Cass leaned over and kissed me. The kiss felt weighty, like it was laced up with more than I could comprehend, but I wasn’t complaining. “I loved last night.”

“Me too.” I shifted, pushing myself up so I was seated with my back against the headboard. I pulled Cass over, coaxing her to snuggle against my side. I was convinced our bodies were engineered for this—to hold each other. “You really have no inhibitions.”

“What do you mean?”

I rubbed her gorgeous hair, twirling a lock around my finger. “You’re game for everything. It’s so fucking fun.”

She smiled as she reached over and rested her hand on my abdomen. Her fingertips danced there. “I’m glad you think so. You deserve to have a little fun.”

Her response was exactly what I wanted to hear, but it wasn’t enough. Fun was fun. Whatever. And sure, I wanted to have fun. But more than that, I wanted her. I wanted to wake up next to her like this every day and to know we would do it again that night.

“Cass.”

“Marcus.”

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