Fuck. This is off. Nothing wrong with wanting to tie up a beautiful woman, but this need to get back in control of shit—
I'm fucking happy for Ethan and Violet.
This is fucking great news.
I find the champagne flutes in the kitchen cabinet. There are only four, but there are enough glasses to make do.
"I thought you didn't drink," Lacey says.
"Since when do you not drink?" Joel asks.
"Since your last tour." Bella hip checks him. "Don't you remember complaining about, um… you noticed his change in mood without any drinking."
Joel laughs. "I don't remember shit with the way those phone calls always ended."
She blushes. "He does this to torture me."
Joel winks. "You're only going to turn Mal on, talking about torture."
Bella looks to Lacey and mouths sorry.
Lacey doesn't say anything but she does nestle into my body. She spent a few minutes of the ride here gushing over how romantic Ethan's proposal was, but she quickly changed the topic to the music videos, then to the song playing on the radio—actually about heroin addiction, not love—then she launched into a long tangent on songs about heroin addiction.
She has enough passion to talk about music, about lyrics for days.
I lean in to whisper in her ear, "I want to tie you up tonight."
She trips over her foot. Her cheeks flush. The little hairs on her neck stand up as she tilts her head back towards me.
"You want that too, baby?" I whisper.
"Yes." Her voice is restrained. She's trying to hide her arousal.
"I want to lick champagne off your tits," I say.
She nods.
"I want you to suck it off my cock."
She clears her throat. She looks to Bella and Joel in an attempt to maintain innocence. "I, uh… that works for my schedule."
Bella and Joel share a knowing look.
He pops his bottle of champagne and laughs as the cork hits the ceiling. "Fuck, this thing is accurate."
"Thankfully not." Bella takes the bottle and fills half a dozen glasses.
We each take two.
Lacey waits until Bella and Joel are back in the living room. She looks up at me. "You okay?"
I nod. How the fuck can she tell I'm full of shit? I wear a great poker face.
"It's been a long day, huh?" Her fingers curl around the two glasses in her hands. She searches my expression. From the way her lips press together and her eyes light up with epiphany, she must have found something. "But I'm still up for our post-party plans."
Good.
"Of course, they're really making me want to ditch this party." She takes a step towards the main room. "But I know you want to stay. I can tell you love your siblings more than anything."