“View’s better up here,” he says. A smile creeps to my lips. He knows I’m here and he doesn’t care. As much as I’d prefer to not plummet to my death via a slippery rock, I walk to him and move to step up beside him, but I’m stopped by his offered hand. I can’t resist his touch, so I take it and let myself enjoy the warmth of his skin wrapped around mine. It’s so little compared to what I want, but it’s a start.
“Thought about it a lot, what it’d be like for Ma to meet Michael,” he says. I’m on the rock now beside him, but he doesn’t let go of my hand while he shares this with me. I don’t know what it means to Ian, but it means the world to me. “Club fought about it. A lot. Talked it over. We couldn’t decide how to handle it.” He blows out a breath and gives my hand a squeeze like he needs the strength to get through this. “And this is how it goes down.”
I don’t know enough to know why he’d rather be out here than inside with his family, but it’s clear that he needs this time, so I don’t ask. I just stand here and try to give him whatever comfort I can.
“Say something,” he pleads. “You’re always talking except when I need you to.”
“I’ve missed you,” I blurt out. It’s the first thing I think of. “Your texts are pissing me off. If you want to boss me around, you’re going to have to do it face-to-face.”
He straightens his arm and brings it closer to his side. Instead of staying in place, I take the opportunity to move closer to him and rest my head on his upper arm. He doesn’t say anything, so I go on. It doesn’t matter how stupid I sound. It only matters that I help him work through whatever’s going on in his head, even if it means more uncomfortable honesty.
“I don’t like how you keep disappearing on me. You’re not doing that anymore. You’re also going to start ordering your coffee how you like it so you’ll actually freaking drink it.”
“My coffee?” he says quietly. He turns so that we’re not side by side anymore. I miss his touch for a moment before he’s facing me, his hand cupping my jaw. Not like before when he would wait for me to instigate touching. No, his warm hand just cups my cheek, and it feels right. It feels perfect.
“You always get black coffee, but you don’t drink it unless it’s sweet and creamy.”
He smirks and lowers his face. He’s so close that our noses brush against each other. I suck in a deep, excited breath and hope beyond hope that this is really happening. He doesn’t respond to my coffee comment. Instead, he purposefully brushes his nose against mine. My stomach flutters in response.
“Are you giving me rules?” His breath is hot and chocolatey in smell. I bet he tastes delicious. I love chocolate and I love him.
Well, I think I might love him, but my relationship with chocolate is solid.
“Yeah, I guess I am,” I say. His thumb rubs circles into my cheek, and his other hand cups the other side of my face. He runs his nose up from my jaw to my temple and breathes me in deep. My breath catches and my eyes flutter closed. Holy shit, this feels amazing.
“Tell me who I belong to, Melinda.” His lips ghost over the corner of my mouth, and my heart is beating so fast in response that I’m worried I might pass out.
“You belong to me,” I whisper and turn my mouth toward his. Our lips touch, but just lightly. He applies more pressure, and so do I. I get so lost in the feeling that the next thing I know, we’re hanging on to each other for dear life and panting as our lips slide over one another. He’s relentless and demanding as he holds me in place, right where he wants me. I try to move my head the other way, but he won’t be budged, so I submit to him.
And it feels incredible.
And powerful.
And perfect.
Chapter 16
It’s day five of working at the clubhouse to try and keep it clean. I never did find out what that fight was about, but I don’t care anymore. I’ve been a little preoccupied by a certain man who’s been at my kitchen table every morning since the day we kissed. He greets me with a kiss on my forehead and says goodbye with one on my lips. I definitely prefer the latter to the former, but I don’t complain. The one time I tried to go for a kiss on the lips when he greeted me, he whispered something naughty in my ear that I’m just not ready for.
Don’t be greedy. Greedy girls get a spankin’, and I don’t even know your limits yet.
And the night after he said that was the second time I’ve used that sex toy. It wasn’t as scary as the first time, but I still panicked when I inserted it. Progress is progress, though, so I guess I can’t beat myself up too much about it.
I drag the soapy rag over the bar top and scrub at the sticky spots that refuse to get clean. Keeping this place even remotely clean is ridiculously hard. I’ve worked alongside Chel twice now, and she’s even cooler than I thought she was the first time I met her. Every day it’s a new damn mess in this place. I asked for this job, so I don’t say anything about how messy these guys are.
“You’re not coming, Ma. You’ll be distracted,” Ian says as he enters the room.