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She accepted that Jensen made her feel loved. That he wasn’t anything like Sheldon. He was giving and sweet, persistent as hell, but she loved that about him. She’d snubbed him at every turn, but he hadn’t let it stop him from going after her. And what did he want from her exactly? Nothing, except to be with her. To have a chance to prove he was worth the effort. God, her head was spinning.
Leaning down, Jensen cupped her chin in the palm of his hand and touched his mouth to hers. She savored the heady taste of him. Slowly, he licked at the plumpness of her lips, but on the inside, deep down in her gut, she wanted Jensen in a way that bordered on insanity. She wanted to devour him. To tell him to take what he wanted. He would make her scream in pleasure if she would only give him a chance. She knew it, had experienced it already. She’d so badly wanted this to be a one-off, but now she knew she’d been fooling herself.
His tongue delved into her mouth and played with hers, teasing and tempting, driving them both mad. She heard something drop to the floor, then Marquetta had her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, pushing against him in a desperate bid for more.
“You aren’t leaving.” He groaned as he lifted an inch from her mouth. “Not like this.”
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she muttered.
His blue-eyed gaze snared hers. “What wasn’t supposed to happen?”
“I know you would’ve liked this to be uncomplicated,” she explained, “but everything about me is complicated.”
He shrugged. “So it’s your impression I think I’m too much of a wimp to handle ‘complicated’?”
Her lips thinned, and her eyes darkened with a surge of anger. “You just refuse to get it through your thick head. I’m a mess. I’ve been a mess since I dropped out of college. You think you know me, but you don’t.” She tried to pull out of his arms, but he wouldn’t let her retreat.
Instead, Jensen leaned down until they were practically nose to nose and whispered, “I’m pretty fucking sure I’m falling in love with you, Marquetta Hayes.”
Oh God, she couldn’t hold up against a declaration like that. She’d never in her life been the spontaneous type, and now she knew why. “Jensen, you aren’t thinking straight.”
His entire body stiffened. “I don’t expect you to reciprocate, but don’t tell me what I feel.”
Taking a deep breath, she said, “Look, I fell in love once before, and I’m not sure I’m capable of doing it again.”
His face softened as he stared at her. “Was it so bad?”
“He was my professor,” she replied, “and he was married. That’s only part of the nightmare. So, yes, it was that bad.”
He released her hand as if burned and stepped away. Marquetta’s heart caught in her throat. His face shut down until a veritable stranger stood in front of her.
“You had an affair with a married man?” he asked as if the idea left a bad taste in his mouth. “Is this a joke?”
“Of course not,” she said, noticing a hint of ice in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. “God, Jensen, it isn’t as if I knew he was married when I agreed to go on a date with him.”
“Right.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve heard that one before.”
“Yeah, well, this time it’s true.” She willed him to listen to her. Ached for him to believe her. “I never would’ve looked at him twice if I’d known he had a wife and kids.”
A muscle in his jaw jumped. “Don’t most people make a thousand excuses when they cheat? The woman my dad slept with said pretty much the same thing as you’re telling me now. That she had no clue he was married and never would’ve given him the time of day had she known the truth. Dad had plenty of lame-ass excuses too.” He cursed. “The affair all but crushed my mom. The fights were awful. The separation wasn’t a pretty sight either. I can still remember Mom crying herself to sleep. It took them years to repair the
damage. And for what? A good fuck?”
Marquetta’s heart shattered into a million pieces as he stared at her with utter contempt. “And you think I’m cut from the same cloth, is that it? That I’m the type of woman who would willingly destroy an entire family just to get my rocks off?” With a single look, Jensen gave her his answer. “Well, that definitely settles that,” she muttered as she turned to leave, her hands shaking so much she almost couldn’t hold on to her purse.
Jensen took hold of her upper arm and pulled her up short. “I told you all about my ex-girlfriend’s attempted suicide the night I made dinner for you,” he gritted out. “Why didn’t you open up about your relationship with your professor then? If you have nothing to feel ashamed about, then why didn’t you tell me before now, Marquetta?”
Her eyes widened at the absurdity of his questions. “Are you for real?” When he only glared at her, she said, “Christ, it was our second date, Jensen. That’s not something you generally share on a second date. Not to mention the fact it was none of your freaking business. In fact, it’s still none of your business.” She threw her hands in the air as anger overrode common sense. “It happened before you and I met, for crying out loud.”
“Look, I care about you and I’m willing to concede that our past relationships are just that, in the past.”
“You’re willing to concede?” Marquetta tugged her arm free, then blurted out, “Screw you!”
This time when she headed toward the door, Jensen didn’t stop her. He didn’t make a single protest. She truly hadn’t expected that. He was a fighter to the core, and she’d thought he would fight for her. God, he hadn’t cared at all. The thought gave her a sick feeling. In that moment, a right hook would’ve been preferable to the knife twisting in her stomach.
She raced toward her car, determined to be out of his sight before she broke down entirely. Once Marquetta was safely inside, the waterworks started up all over again. She hadn’t cried so hard since the awful day she miscarried. She had no idea how long she sat in her car, bawling like a baby.
When she finally gained control of herself enough to start the engine, she thought of what he’d said. “I’m pretty fucking sure I’m falling in love with you.” When Sheldon had left her a bleeding mess, Marquetta had thought nothing could ever hurt so much. But seeing the condemnation in Jensen’s eyes just now had torn her in two.
