He chuckled and pulled out all the way even as she clenched with all her might, making him grunt with effort.
“My poor dick,” he groaned. “You’re vicious.” He collapsed on the floor on his back.
“Seriously? You just used the hell out of me!” she replied, climbing on top of him and straddling him.
“And you liked the whole thing,” he said. He closed his eyes, and she watched a grin spread across his face.
“Happy?” she whispered.
“Very.”
“So am I,” she replied.
“I hope you feel that way after tomorrow,” Mark said. He cracked open one eye and looked at her.
“Oh, man. I forgot,” Cadence said. The anxiety was immediate. She felt it throb behind her breastbone.
“Those ladies are fun,” Mark said. “You’ll be okay. But a warning: They will ask you a ton of personal questions and not feel badly about it.”
Cadence nodded.
“And they’ll tease you mercilessly,” he went on.
Cadence’s eyes went wide.
Mark opened the other eye. “And I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
“I’m terrified,” Cadence cried, and Mark laughed. “Feel sorry for me!”
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to meet these chicks. I don’t feel sorry for you at all,” he said.
“You’re mean.”
“I’m recuperating,” Mark countered. “Because in twenty minutes or so, I’m fucking you all over again.”
“Oooo, pulling out the “f” word. You must mean business,” Cadence said playfully. She ran her hands over his chest.
He trapped her hands in his. “Oh, I do.” His stare was piercing, reminding her of the time he knelt beside her desk, studying her face as his hand cupped her cheek. She had trapped his hand, made him stop gliding the wet wipe along her jawline because it tickled. If he’d decided to kiss her then, she would have let him. She remembered thinking that perhaps he would, as bold as that would’ve been, but his stare offered the possibility, and she was ready to accept it.
“I should have known you were trouble,” she teased.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“That day you cleaned my hands and face. I should have known right then what kind of trouble you were.”
He chuckled. “Well, try not to share that information with the girls tomorrow.”
“I fear those are exactly the kind of details they’ll try to get out of me,” Cadence said.
“Oh, they will. That’s why I’m warning you,” Mark replied.
“Do you think they’ll like me?” she asked softly.
His heart ached at those words. He could kill her parents for what they’d done to her—broken her heart, turned it fragile and uncertain and desperate for acceptance. He wished his acceptance could be enough, but he wasn’t sure anyone’s could at this point. Still, he was certain of one thing: Those ladies would love her.
“They’ll kidnap you,” Mark said. “I’ll have to negotiate to bring you home.”
She giggled. “What do you think their conditions will be?”
Mark sighed pleasantly. “Oh, they’ll probably force me to go back to church.”
Cadence laughed. “Am I worth it?”
He looked into her eyes. “So worth it.”
She leaned forward and kissed his lips. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled her over.
“No way,” she said.
“Yes.”
“I will die.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Mark!”
“Cadence.”
“Please don’t!” she squealed, laughing. She swatted at his hands running the length of her body, trying to spread her legs apart.
“I’ll be so quick, you won’t even know what happened,” he said.
She grinned at him and shook her head in defeat.
“I can’t help it,” he said. “I just have to have you all the time.”
She nodded.
“I really will be gentle this time. I promise.”
“I know you will,” she whispered.
He made love to her again on the living room floor, and when it was over, they fell asleep side by side where they stayed all night and into the morning.
***
Cadence thought she would throw up all over Mrs. Connelly’s front stoop. Her anxiety reached new heights, and she stood shaking, staring at the front door. She couldn’t believe she was here for Sunday afternoon tea with Mark’s mother and her gang.
“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t,” she said even as her fist knocked on the door. “Why did you do that?” she hissed at her hand, then felt like a total weirdo.
She smoothed her skirt and waited.
And waited.
She rang the bell.
And waited.
And . . .
“There you are!” she heard to her left. She looked over at Mrs. Connelly. “We’re in the back, dear. I should have told you over the phone. It’s crispy fall weather, and we’re taking advantage of it!”
Cadence smiled and joined Mrs. Connelly in the back yard.
There they were—all four of them. Chattering, gossiping, chuckling, cackling. They were sitting at a cozy table under a large oak tree Mrs. Connelly had decorated with green, orange, yellow, and red paper lamps. They reminded her of Avery. Oh, how she wished Avery were with her now! She’d know how to handle these broads.
Cadence drew in her breath and approached them.