Insecure (Love Triumphs 1)

“Dude. This is our first legitimate joint decision someone is going to pay us to make.”

He laughed and gave Dillon a shove. “We don’t know that.”

“‘You guys will need to give notice at your day jobs’.” Dillon did a passable imitation of Jay. “I know, we need it officially and in writing and all that crap, but man, you just kissed me and I have a hard-on for a beer, you can’t leave me like this.”

Mace made a move as if to kiss Dillon again. He was smiling so hard it hurt his face.

Dillon cuffed his head. “Go get her and let’s get trashed, because as your joint CEO, I say tomorrow we quit.”

31: Throb

Mace blasted through the front door with all the force of cyclone, Dillon whisked along in his wake. Both of them brimful of buzz. No words, just Mace’s arms so tight around her Jacinta felt her bones creak, and his lips so demanding, so missed, her pulse danced in all of the parts of her body he commanded with his briefest touch.

“Don’t mind me. You got any beer?”

Mace broke the kiss. He cast a look over his shoulder to Dillon. “No idea.” He grabbed her hand and dragged her though to the bedroom, Dillon calling, “Got any food? I’m starving,” after them.

He was on her like he was fire and she was the aerial water bomb to put him out. She got the words, “Pasta,” and, “Fridge,” out between kisses and then gave up and let Mace devour her, being his celebration.

He got her shirt open, with a button casualty, his lips to the throb in her throat. And it was easy, so spectacularly easy to go with him in the moment. And it was wondrous too that in his excitement he’d forgotten to be hesitant and careful. He’d won, he’d won, and now it was her job to see they both did.

He traced her lips with his tongue. “Didn’t remember a single fucking word.” His hands were shaking and his eyes were bright, bright stars.

She laughed. “Should’ve made you practice while I did devious things to you.”

“You do devious things to me just breathing.” He pressed her hand to his arousal and they both exhaled roughly.

She stroked him lightly. “What happened?”

He stopped her hand with a groan. His lips skipped, kissed down her sternum, where he put his teeth to the edge of her bra. “I had a one night stand with this girl and she’s everything to me.”

Her head dropped back into his other hand. Winning so agreed with him. “Tell me.”

He held her close. “Jay said we should quit our day jobs.” He didn’t smile. The excitement was in his body, but he knew the gravity of it too.

She held a breath. Her own eyes felt huge in her face.

It began.

She kissed him, using her lips, her hands to show him her happiness, to pledge her support. On the edge of taking it too far, he broke away, breathing hard. “Your lunch?”

“Was bought for me and the restaurant was nice.” That was the best she could say about it and it didn’t belong alongside this experience.

“Forget about it. I’m taking you dancing.”

He might’ve spoken code. They’d slow danced around the loft, but that was the extent of it. He laughed. “Maybe put something on that does up.” She looked down at her undone state and he cupped her breast. “Or not.”

They kissed and touched and tortured each other till Dillon’s complaints from the kitchen made it too hard to kiss through their smiles.

They went to a club. One of those places where the sound writhed like a live thing that wrapped itself around you and entered your bloodstream. It made her pulse supersonic. It beat on her breastbone and interfered with her heart rate, made her shoulders sway, her hips shift, her knees soften. Or Mace did.

Dillon picked up about five minutes after they arrived and Mace wanted to dance.

The lighting was a gold wash that bathed the dance floor in shimmers and left dark spaces at the edge as cover for seriously X-rated mischief. But it was a virtual mosh pit, people packed in, with almost no room to dance, yet the place heaved with motion. She hadn’t been in a club like this for years. She hadn’t danced for years and it had never occurred to her that Mace could. He was light on his feet and had a masculine grace about him, but she was slightly appalled he wanted to go out in that. And more than a little excited.

He no longer thought she might break, or he might hurt her. He was dangerous, careless, like he’d been that very first night. Unpredictable and unafraid, and she wanted that.

And so did he.