Lick (Stage Dive 1)

“Malcolm is joining you on your honeymoon?” Pam’s voice was heavy with disbelief.

David chuckled. “No, this isn’t our honeymoon. If we have a honeymoon it’ll be somewhere far away from everyone. Sure as hell, he won’t be there.”

“If?” she asked.

I really did love Pam.

“When,” he corrected, holding me tight.

“This is all real cute, but I came to make music,” Mal announced.

“Then you’re just going to have to f**king wait,” said David. “Ev and I have plans this morning.”

“We’ve been waiting two years to come up with something new.”

“Tough shit. You can wait a few more hours.” David took my hand and led me back toward the stairs. Excitement ran rife through me. He’d chosen me and it felt wonderful.

“Evvie, sorry about the mouth mauling,” Mal said, sitting himself down on the nearest box.

“You’re forgiven,” I said with a queenly wave, feeling magnanimous as we headed up the stairs.

“You going to apologize for biting me?” Mal asked.

“Nope.”

“Well, that’s not very nice,” he called out after us.

David sniggered.

“Okay, people, we need to move boxes.” I heard Pam say.

David rushed us down the hallway then closed and locked the bedroom door behind us.

“You put your clothes back on,” he said. “Get them off.”

He didn’t wait for me to do it, grabbing the hem of my shirt and lifting it up over my head and raised arms.

“I didn’t think answering the door mostly na**d was a good idea.”

“Fair enough,” he murmured, pulling me in against him and backing me up against the door. “You looked worried about something downstairs. What was it?”

“It was nothing.”

“Evelyn.” There was something about the way he said my name. It made me a quivering mess. Also the way he cornered me, pressing his body against mine. I put my hands flat on his hard chest. Not pushing him away, just needing to touch him.

“I was wondering,” I said. “After our talk this morning, when we, um, discussed signing the papers on Monday.”

“What about it?” he asked, staring straight at me. I couldn’t have looked away if I’d tried.

“Well, I wasn’t sure if you still felt the same way. About not signing them, I mean. You’d had a lot to drink.”

“I haven’t changed my mind.” His pelvis aligned with mine and his hands swept up my sides. “You changed yours?”

“No.”

“Good.” His warm hands cupped my br**sts and I lost all ability to think straight.

“You okay with this?” He gave his hands a pointed a look.

I nodded. Talking had gone with thinking, apparently.

“Then here’s the plan. Because I know how you like your plans. We’re going to stay in this room until we’re both satisfied we’re on the same page when it comes to us. Agreed?”

I nodded again. Without a doubt, the plan had my full support.

“Good.” He placed the palm of one hand between my br**sts, flat against my chest. “Your heart’s beating real fast.”

“David.”

“Hmm?”

Nope, I still had no words. So instead, I covered his hand with my own, holding it against my heart. He smiled.

“This is a dramatic re-enactment of the night we got married,” he announced, looking at me from beneath dark brows. “Hang on. We were sitting on the bed in your motel room. You were straddling me.”

“I was?”

“Yeah.” He led me to the bed and sat at the edge. “Come on.”

I climbed onto his lap, my legs wrapped around him. “Like this?”

“That’s it.” His hands gripped my waist. “You refused to go back to my suite at the Bellagio. Said I was out of touch with real life and needed to see how the little people lived.”

I groaned with embarrassment. “That doesn’t sound the least bit arrogant of me.”

His mouth curved into a small smile. “It was fun. But also, you were right.”

“Better not tell me that too often or it’ll go to my head.”

His chin rose. “Stop making jokes, baby. I’m being serious. I needed a dose of reality. Someone who’d actually say no to me occasionally and call bullshit on that scene. That’s what we do. We push each other out of our comfort zones.”

It made sense. “I think you’re right … Is it enough?”

He held his hand to my heart again and bumped the tip of his nose against mine. “Can you feel what we’re doing here? We’re building something.”

“Yes.” I could feel it, the connection between us, the overwhelming need to be with him. Nothing else mattered. There was the physical, the way he went to my head faster than anything I’d ever experienced. How wonderful he smelled all sleep-warm first thing in the morning. But I wanted more from him than just that. I wanted to hear his voice, hear him talk about everything and anything.

I felt all lit up inside. Like a potent mix of hormones was racing through me at light speed. His other hand curled around the back of my neck, bringing my mouth to his. Kissing David threw kerosene on the mix within me. He slid his tongue into my mouth to stroke against my own, before teasing over my teeth and lips. I’d never felt anything so fine. Fingers caressed my breast, doing wonderful things and making me gasp. God, the heat of his bare skin. I shuffled forward, seeking more, needing it. His hand left my breast to splay across my back, pressing me against him. He was hard. I could feel him through both layers of denim. The pressure that provided between my legs was heavenly. Amazing.

“That’s it,” he murmured as I rocked against him, seeking more.

Our kisses were fierce, hungry. His hot mouth moved over my jaw and chin, my neck. Where my neck met my chest he stopped and sucked. Everything in me drew tight.

“David—”

He pulled back and looked at me, his eyes dilated. Every bit as affected as I was. Thank God I wasn’t alone with the panting. A finger traced a slow path between my br**sts down to the waistband of my jeans.

“You know what happened next,” he said. His hand slipped beneath. “Say it, Ev.” When I hesitated he leaned forward and nipped at my neck. “Go on. Tell me.”

Biting had never appealed to me before, neither in thought nor in action. Not that there’d been much action. But the sensation of David’s teeth pressing into my skin turned me inside out. I shut my eyes tight. A bit from the bite and a lot from having to say the words he wanted.