Reesa shot out of bed as her alarm rang, trying to remember falling asleep. She reached for her phone beside the bed, but it wasn’t there. Where was the infernal racket coming from?

Something shifted beside her, and it all came flooding back. The game, the date. Her nakedness.

And a very naked Marcus Winters in bed beside her.

She shifted, turning to find him smiling up at her with his arm cocked behind his head. “Good morning,” he said in a raspy voice full of sleep.

Something else heavy caught her attention, lower on his body and thrusting against the thin blanket that barely covered him from the hips down. Blushing hard, she focused on his face and tousled hair. “Morning,” she mumbled. She grabbed for the sheet to wrap it around her but thought better of it, realizing she’d be exposing him entirely.

Even more mortified, she looked away and muttered, “Could you close your eyes for a second?”

He chuckled. “Come on, Reesa. I’ve already seen everything.” She felt him move, and an arm curled around her waist, teasing at the tender skin just under her breasts. She tried to ignore the way her pussy clenched and responded to the mild touch. “And I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Clearing her throat, she gently pushed him away. How could she rectify this situation without everything getting awkward? She couldn’t deal with awkward today. She had to get ready for work. “Marc, last night—“

“Was worthy of a repeat performance,” he finished for her, sitting up and brushing her hair aside to kiss her shoulder. “You were incredible, and I don’t just mean the sex.”

At that, she rounded on him, not caring if she was dressed or not. “Knock it off, Marc. You don’t have to turn on the charm in the wee hours of the morning or try to convince me this meant anything. I know guys like you. This was your conquest. I was a challenge because I didn’t fall at your feet, and now, you’ve won, so you’ll go about your merry way. And that’s fine because I’m an adult who made my own decision last night. Just don’t make me regret it by pandering to what you assume are my needs as a woman.”

"So, rather than letting me tell you what I want or how I feel, you're just going to make assumptions?" Marc fired back at her. It was the first time he'd actually looked angry since she'd met him, and it made her hesitate. He threw the cover aside and stood, crossing his arms over his chest. Reesa trained her gaze on his face, not wanting the incredible sight of the rest of him to break her will. The truth was, if he advanced on her right now, she knew she'd fall into bed with him again. That would just end badly.

“Listen to me, Reesa. I have kept my word with you from the start. I’ve been a gentleman. I’ve let you make the moves, let you decide where we go, what we do, how close we get. And I’ve hoped that, through all of that, you’d see that I respected you. That you weren’t just some chick I decided to pick up and bone one night. Because that’s not how I think of you, at all.”

Now, she crossed her arms, ready to go toe to toe with him. “Really, Marc? Then what is it you want from me? Why are you here?” Even as she asked, Jordan’s words ran through her head. He’s never brought anyone to a game. He doesn’t do anything casually.

“Dammit, Reesa! You’re a smart woman. Can’t you see I really like you? I like you more than I’ve ever cared about any woman, especially one I’ve known for five minutes. Why can’t you accept that?” She didn’t respond, not sure what to believe and definitely having no idea what to say. Marc took a step forward and placed his hands on her cheeks, forcing her to meet his gaze. She saw so much emotion there, but nothing that told her he wanted to run out on her, to cast her aside. “I. Really. Like. You.” He punctuated each word.

Reesa started to shake her head, but he held her still. “No, don’t even try to tell me you don’t like me. Don’t tell me you don’t care. You’re not the kind of woman who can separate emotion from sex, not entirely. You wouldn’t have invited me to your private space, wouldn’t have asked me into your bed, if you didn’t at least like me.”

“I do like you,” she spat, defiantly.

A victorious smile spread across his face, and for a second, she considered slapping it off. “Thank you! Now, if you can like me, someone you’re so determined to hate, why is it such a stretch to think that I really like you? I’m not the heathen you think I am, Reesa. You know, I’ve never spent time with a woman that I wanted to share anything with. Not my past, not my career, not my friends. That’s saying a lot.”

She felt her anger draining and hated that it left only fear and questions in its wake. “You can have any woman you want, Marc. Why would you waste your time with me?”

He looked exasperated, and rather than answer her, he kissed her, hard. Reesa resisted for a moment but then relaxed and opened to him, unable to hold back, especially after tasting the full force of his passion once. His exuberance faded a bit, replaced by tenderness and yearning, and when he pulled away, Reesa realized she clung to his arms. “What was that for?” she asked breathlessly.

“Do you really need to ask why I want to spend time with you?” He rolled his eyes. “You strike me as a very confident woman, and that kind of question belongs to meek and scared women. Don’t ask me that again, okay?” He chucked her under the chin and winked. “Now, I’m guessing you’re going to be late for work if we don’t get you out of here. What can I do to help you get ready?”

She gaped at Marc, trying to compute his words into something she could readily comprehend. Had he really just told her he wanted to keep seeing her and that he would help her get ready for work? The last time someone had been around in the mornings, she’d had to tiptoe around, hoping she didn’t disturb his sleep. This man…

Well, he'd only spent one night with her, but still, he was up and bright-eyed, offering to do what he could to make up for the time they'd spent arguing. "I know," he said before she could answer. "I'll make you breakfast. Will that help?"

Laughing incredulously, she shrugged. “Sure, though I usually just grab a cereal bar on the way out the door.” He kissed her on the forehead, grabbing his jeans and pulling them on sans the underwear and then heading out to the kitchen. Shrugging again to herself, she padded toward the shower, in a bit of a daze. Wait until she told Kylie about this. And she was definitely going to share most of the details with her best friend this time. She’d never seen Kylie truly turn green with envy, but now, she thought the girl might actually turn a putrid shade of envy.