Captivating You (How to Marry a Billionaire #2)

Episode 76

EPISODE 76

THANKS FOR THE ADVICE

Sienna

I’m packed for a few days. I left my bag outside my suite for a staff member to bring down, and I end up back in the kitchen of the mansion drinking some fresh orange juice. Its bright and sunny sweetness cascades over my tastebuds. I’m going to miss this—the incredible food and drink here. Fresh-squeezed orange juice every morning along with breakfast made to order. No fewer than five staff members have asked me if I want something to eat, but I’ve said no each time.

All I want is this sunshine in a glass for now.

That...and to stop waffling about what to do once I get home. One minute I’m sure my mind is made up, and the next... Yeah, pour syrup on me.

Heather’s words echo in my mind.

Go with your heart. Even if you get hurt again and again and again, your heart will always lead you where you need to be.

I finish my juice when a familiar voice jolts me out of my thoughts.

“Good morning,” Marc says.

I look up into his beautiful baby blues. “Hey.”

“I just brought your bag down.” He pauses. “Going someplace?”

I nod. “Home. I’m leaving.”

Marc’s eyebrows dart up, and he glances around the kitchen. Finding it empty but for the two of us, he turns back to me. “Is this because...”

Because of him? Is he serious?

Marc was not my finest moment. I used him for orgasms and then kicked him out. I look him over—his gorgeous muscled body, his dark hair, his dark-blue eyes. In the light of day, he’s even hotter. Now that I’ve decided to leave, I don’t want him worrying about his job.

“I have a family emergency,” I tell him. “Evangeline arranged for me to get home quickly. There’s been an accident.”

He furrows his brow and steps closer to where I’m still sitting at the table. “I’m sorry. Are you coming back?”

Before I even think about it, I shake my head. “I think my time here is over.”

Marc’s lips turn downward. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”

He was probably hoping to have another good time. But then I look more closely. He seems sincere.

“I would have...” he continues, but then shakes his head. “I’m just sorry to see you leave.” He walks across the kitchen to the giant walk-in pantry.

On a lark, I follow him. He’s rummaging through paper napkins.

I draw in a deep breath. “Have you...”

Then I stop. What am I thinking? I’m about to ask a total stranger for advice. Then again, he’s not a total stranger. He’s seen me naked. He’s had his tongue between my legs.

“Have you ever cheated on someone?” I blurt out.

He turns from the shelf and meets my gaze. “It’s not something I’m proud of, but yes, I have. I went through the classic phase in my early twenties. I’m ashamed now. I was with a great girl—the kind of woman I couldn’t wait to take home to meet the parents, you know? And I screwed her over for a couple one-nighters.” He shakes his head. “Screwed myself over too.”

“Wait, wait, wait...” I tilt my head at him. “Your early twenties? That wasn’t long ago, was it?”

He chuckles. “I’m twenty-five. I was twenty-two at the time, so it’s pretty recent, but I learned my lesson. I don’t make commitments I can’t keep. In fact, I’m not sure I’ll ever commit. The one person I committed to will never speak to me again, and so far, I haven’t found anyone who can hold a candle to her.”

I lift an eyebrow. I could be standing here talking to Leroy, though Leroy was a lot older than twenty-two and should have known better.

“What would you do now?” I ask him. “What if that woman—the one you shouldn’t have let go—forgave you? Wanted you back? Could you be faithful to her the second time around?”

Marc rubs his granite jaw and doesn’t reply right away. “It’s like you said. I’m still young. If I could put her on a shelf for a few years and sow my wild oats, I would.”

I scoff. “So you’re still not ready to commit, even to the person who, by your own admission, was great and the kind of woman you could picture taking home to your family.”

He twists his lips. “I suppose I’m not.”

Interesting. But Leroy is ten years older than Marc. He had a woman he’d taken home to his parents. A woman his parents adored like a daughter. And still he screwed it up.

“What if you were ready to commit?” I ask. “What if you learned from that mistake and were ready to settle down, maybe have a family? Could you commit to her?”

“To Tamera?” He closes his eyes a moment. “Yeah, I think I could. I mean, I did. I just kept thinking with my dick instead of my brain.”

“So you really loved her,” I say.

“I did. As much as I was capable of love at that time in my life.” He reaches toward me and cups my cheek. “I don’t know what you’re trying to figure out here, but I think you probably already know the answer. What does your gut tell you?”

My gut? Heather said to follow my heart. Marc talks about my gut.

Then there’s my head—my analytical lawyer brain.

That part says run from Leroy and never look back.

I look down. My lashes are wet with a few hot tears.

I don’t answer Marc.

I don’t answer because I still don’t know what I will ultimately do about Leroy.

But I am going home. I’m going home for Lavonne.

Lavonne, who was my second mother for four years, who loved me as much as she loved Leroy and his brothers. She always said I was the daughter she never had. I need to see her in her darkest hour. I need to say goodbye.

And if she asks me to give Leroy another chance?

I’ll deal with it then.

I don’t have to decide now.

Then I know what Marc meant when he said “gut.”

It’s not the same as my heart.

In my heart, I will always love Leroy. I want to give him another chance because he’s still so much a part of me.

But my gut? The gut that takes what’s in my brain and my heart and puts it in the crudest terms?

In my gut I know I’ll never trust him again. Every time he forgets to call or comes home late. Every time he travels for business.

He shattered my heart and my trust...so much so that I traveled halfway across the world to find love again.

I care for him, and I care for his mother. I can be there, present, for both of them.

But I deserve better than what Leroy did to me.

Someone else’s words edge into my mind, though. Brett’s from early this morning on the beach.

Your heart isn’t your own to give right now. You and I both know it. You owe it yourself to see him, talk to him. Maybe you can work it out, and maybe you can’t, but you have to try. It’s too late for me. But it doesn’t have to be too late for you.

I feel like I’m being pulled in so many directions. And it dawns on me that I’m just not sure.

Except about one thing.

I won’t compromise my high standards for Leroy or anyone else. If he wants my trust again, he’ll have to earn it.

I look up and meet Marc’s gaze. Marc, who tried to be honest with me just now and give some decent advice. Marc, who deserved better than my “love him and leave him” attitude last night.

I absently reach for his zipper.

He places his hand over mine. “Whoa.”

I turn and close the pantry door. “I’m leaving. You won’t get into any trouble.” I drop to my knees and unzip his pants. His bulge is apparent. He’s ready. “How fast can you come?”

His reply is a groan as I pull out his hard cock. I trail my tongue over his cock head, sucking off a salty drop of pre-come. I lick my lips and look up at him.

His blue eyes are on fire.

I smile and then work his cock with my hand and my mouth, taking him all the way to his base. I finger his balls, play with them, as I slide my lips back and forth along his erection.

“Fuck,” he growls.

I’m aware of the hour, that the staff will be preparing lunch soon, so I was serious when I asked him how quickly he could come.

Turns out quite quickly, as already I’m feeling his balls scrunch and the contractions begin at the base of his cock.

I suck him harder, harder, harder, and when he releases inside my mouth, I take it. I swallow, letting it coat my throat.

I’ll never forget Marc.

I’ll never forget Alex. Or Brett. Or even the hot bartender Zion.

I’ll never forget Emily and Ariel and Heather.

But it’s time to go.

I rise and help Marc tuck everything back into place. Then I smile. “Thank you, Marc, for all the...advice.”

I leave the pantry.