He stared up at her for a moment, taking in her just fucked look she still wore, and felt himself smile. “Did you think I’d be some jerk? That I’d kick you out or something?”

She shrugged, biting at her bottom lip. “I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. I’ve never done this before.”

“Don’t do it again,” he found himself saying straightaway. He didn’t know why he said it, either. The girl could do whatever the hell she wanted to, but fuck, he knew she was worth so much more than just a one night screw.

She looked at him strangely, and he cleared his throat and quickly added, “You know, there are crazy people out there around here. You don’t know the kind of person you’d end up in bed with.”

“I guess I got lucky.” Her mouth spread out into a wide smile as she said this and he felt that smile burn into him. His chest stirred at her raw beauty. He stood up and tried to shake away his intense attraction to her. She wanted him for one night, and he strangely felt used for once, and it wasn’t all that great of a feeling.

Avoiding her eye, he snagged the keys off the table and said, “Let’s take your beautiful little ass home.”

*

Kate wouldn’t turn her face away during the forty minute ride to her apartment building. Those green eyes were piercing, and he loved the burn he felt when she stared at him.

“I’m this building right here,” she told him, pointing out her place.

He stopped the car in front of a tall modern apartment building. He watched her slowly gather her purse and tighten the straps of her heels on her feet. It looked like she was stalling by the amount of time she took, and he saw the familiar nerves running through her system before she finally opened her purse and removed a slip of paper and pen.

Amused, he watched her scribble what he knew would be her number.

“I know that you probably get this a lot,” she said quietly, avoiding his eye and suddenly itching to get out of there, “but… you know, I had a great night and all, and… if you ever wanted to call, or anything, or…” she paused and her cheeks reddened as she held out the slip of paper.

He took the paper from her hand. “Sure thing.”

She shot him a quick smile. “Okay, well, good night, or…good morning, actually, and I’ll see you soon, or talk to you soon, or that’s up to you –”

“You’ll hear from me,” he told her. “I promise.”

She stopped and stared at him, that hopeful look cutting through his insides like a sharp blade. He’d never been given that look before. He’d been given phone numbers in the past, but it was in passing and without much care. Kate had done it as though she was itching for more of him. Maybe it wasn’t just a one night stand then. Maybe she was seriously interested. And fuck, he was interested too. He liked that look too much. Liked the warm feeling it gave his empty insides.

Without thinking, he leaned over and took her face gently into his hand and pressed his mouth against her lips. Immediately her hand moved up his chest and around his neck. She kissed him back with an intensity he didn’t expect, deepening it as she opened her mouth to him. She moaned softly as he flicked his tongue against hers, and god, he’d fuck her again, right here and now, if he could.

He pulled back instead, and his blood was on fire and his eyes were wide. Fuck, he loved the taste of her. She stared back at him, her lust apparent.

“Now get inside,” he told her, fighting to steady his voice.

She nodded and pulled away.

He watched her open the door and step out of the car. She was a little wobbly and he smiled at the obvious effect he had on her. He kept staring until her slender tall body disappeared into the apartment building, stopping once to look back at him, that look of enchantment still adorning her face.

Marcus had to collect his thoughts when she was out of view. His heart was beating hard in his chest. He liked the girl. Had liked her the first time he’d been discreetly selling product at her campus. He’d seen her rushing from one building to the next with her textbooks pressed against her chest, and he’d smiled even then at her flushed beauty. You just knew she was a fucking sweet girl, and he’d been right. She was.

He’d never talked to a girl for so long before. She wanted to be cuddled, wanted to be touched and shown care, as if she’d been deprived of it like he had all his life. But he knew she hadn’t. A girl like her would have been given the proper care and love she deserved, while kids like he had been once were neglected and made to fend for themselves.

The entire evening had been amazing and that actually depressed him on his way home. He lived in another world, would never have the means to give a woman of her league the kind of lifestyle her daddy obviously did. And while he’d fucked girls that came from the same places she did, they weren’t nearly as genuine or as sweet as her. They simply got what they wanted and moved on, their hunger for a thrill with a rougher man on the other side of the tracks satiated.

He stared up in awe at the apartment high rises as he drove. There was a lot of money around here. More than he could ever dream of making. He would never be able to live here, even if he saved ‘til he was seventy. He was a loser, a goddamn nobody with zero means and a million fucking problems. He was destined to fade into obscurity, back on his side of the tracks, and any day he’d get caught for his crimes and those cuffs would wrap around his wrists where they belonged and take him away. He almost hoped for that to happen just so he wouldn’t have to try so hard to survive in this world any longer.

He’d fade away in Kate’s thoughts in a few days when she reflected back on his nasty couch in his nasty apartment. She’d realize she could have more than that, and he’d be a forgotten memory, maybe touched upon with shame throughout the years. He nodded to himself at the thought, figuring she’d probably end up with some lawyer her father would approve of. She’d become a career woman in a powerful relationship, then she’d buy a house and pop out a couple kids and never wonder of him again.

Marcus continued looking out the window, taking in the change of scenery as he went. From skylines and thriving businesses to shitty storefronts and crumbling houses. This was his reality, harsh and cold, empty and incomplete. Normally it didn’t bother him. He’d knock back the alcohol and the coke to numb his surroundings. But he was fucking sober as a nun right now, and shit felt horrible. Reality felt like a punch to the face. Sure, he could get laid easily, but he couldn’t keep a girl if his life depended on it.