Page 92 of Marked By Moonlight

Marius’s lips played over my bare shoulder. “So close your eyes, Sleeping Beauty.”

I smiled and did as I was told, listening to his steady breaths and the tap of rain over the sidewalk. For once, my mind left me in peace, allowing me to enjoy the moment instead of worrying about the future.

The next time I woke, a garbage truck was rumbling down the street, and not long after, the church bell struck three quarters of an hour. I glanced at the clock, shocked to discover we’d managed to sleep until seven forty-five. All too soon, my mind brought me back to my natural state — namely, stressing. Marius was sound asleep, so I reached quietly for my phone and started scrolling. And scrolling…

“Let me guess,” Marius grumbled sleepily sometime later. “You’re researching the buyers. Again.”

“Maybe I’m comparison shopping drywall prices,” I bluffed.

He shook his head. “You bite your lip when you comparison shop. But you frown when you think about anything related to Gordon.”

I frowned. Did I?

He gestured toward my phone. “Anything new?”

“Well, I figured out what Gordon wanted to discuss with Roux before we left Paris.”

“What?”

“Making sure Jensen got pushed to the top of Anastasia’s list.”

Marius yawned. Clearly, that wasn’t news to him. “It figures. The more a buyer is willing to pay, the higher Gordon’s commission.”

“How much is he charging?”

Another shrug. “No idea. What’s standard?”

“Well, Sotheby’s takes fifteen percent for anything valued over eight million.”

Marius snorted. “Knowing Gordon, he’ll charge more.”

“Unless he loses the deal entirely,” I hinted.

Marius’s brow creased. “And how might that happen?”

I reached for my phone and shuffled around, lying on my back beside him. “Here’s a recent interview with Jensen.” I started to read. “Nils Øren Jensen: the tech visionary’s keys to success.” I skimmed over the text to reach the relevant section. “Number six: cut out the middleman. ‘Whenever possible,’ Jensen says, ‘I cut the middleman. It’s called streamlining.’”

Marius didn’t look impressed until I clicked back to my search results that listed article upon article quoting the same strategy:cut the middleman.

“Would Jensen be bold enough to go behind Gordon’s back?” I wondered aloud.

“Not sure if that’s bold or reckless,” Marius muttered.

“Well, he might try it.”

Marius thought it over, then shrugged. “Gordon’s problem, not ours.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but I snuggled back up with Marius.

That inexplicable heat that started in my neck quickly maneuvered us into a sensual clinch, and nature took its course — doggy-style this time. And blimey.A couple of happier, hornier hounds were not to be found anywhere in the kingdom. We lay in bliss afterward, then took a shower — and headed straight back to bed, where Marius laid me out like a feast, went down on me, and…well, feasted.

A good thing the walls of this basement apartment were thick, because the sounds I produced made me blush afterward. But all I could think was,Heaven, heaven, heaven.

I, of course, felt obliged to reciprocate, and soon, it was Marius’s turn to moan and grip the sheets in ecstasy.

And, whew. We’d had great sex before, but this was a whole new level. The entire time, I felt radiant. Beautiful, even, and bonded to him in a way I’d never imagined possible.

Not that I was complaining. But I did worry that the huge, happy bubble I was floating around in was about to burst — and burst big.