“But right now, I'm going to apologize for scaring you.”
I liked the sound of that.
I groaned as he eased inside me. I was wet, but we hadn't done nearly enough foreplay for him to slip in. I wasn't going to complain though. I loved the way he stretched me, filled me until it was almost too much. He moved without pause, long, unending strokes that went impossibly deep.
I wanted to close my eyes, block out everything except for the feel of his body against mine, but the intensity of his gaze had me unable to look away. I could see everything he was feeling, about me, about himself, about us. All of the shields he'd had in place, the guards against letting anyone close, they were gone. I was seeing all of him.
He lowered his body to mine as I released my legs and clung to him, needing him as close as possible. The base of his cock rubbed against my clit with just the right amount of pressure, sending new waves of ecstasy through me. I pulled his head down, teeth scraping his bottom lip before I slid my tongue into his mouth. We moved together in the sort of perfect rhythm that most people only dreamed about, and pleasure coiled tight inside me, building toward a release that exploded suddenly.
I shuddered as I came, and he swallowed my cries, hips grinding against me, dragging out my orgasm. I dug my nails into his back, felt his body jerk against mine. Two quick thrusts, and he was spilling into me. He cried out my name, the sound muffled by our kiss.
The bliss that followed was more than physical. It was knowing that, this time, we would stay here all night together. Sleep. Make love. Talk. Do whatever it was we wanted to do because we had all the time in the world to make our relationship into whatever we wanted it to be.
Chapter Twelve
Dax
Opening night for Bryne's play started in two hours, and I hadn't seen her since yesterday morning when she left the hotel. Hadn't even talked to her. I was okay with that. Well, not really, since I hated being away from her more than I wanted to admit, but I understood. She needed to focus on her performance. She'd come to New York to follow her dream, not to meet a guy. I was the unexpected thing she found, not acting, and I planned on showing her every day how grateful I was to have her in my life.
I would've had plans for us after the play no matter when opening night was, but having it on Valentine's Day meant the stakes were even higher. I'd never been in this position before. Last year, I volunteered to work at the club on Valentine's Day so one of the other security guys could take his boyfriend out. Before that, I'd stayed in on Valentine's Day. Too complicated. Either a girl would read too much into things and think we were going to be a couple, or they were far too easy to get into bed. Even if I only wanted sex, there was nothing sexy about a woman who threw herself at men.
So I had no clue what to do for Bryne to make our first Valentine's Day together special. Fortunately, my mother and Carrie were all about me making up to Bryne for all the shit I put her through. I was still in the dog house with both of them, but I was determined to show them all that I'd turned over a new leaf, and this was a good place to start.
Now, as I walked out into the living room and felt all eyes on me, I wondered if I'd been smart listening to them after all.
“You clean up well,” Carrie said. Gavin gave a grunt that I supposed was better than a threat.
“So grown up.” Mom smiled at me, and I shuffled from one foot to the other.
Carrie had gotten me a suit even though I'd insisted I didn't need one, but when she talked about how much Bryne would love to see us all dressed up like we were going to Broadway, I hadn't been able to say no. Which was why I was now wearing the most expensive clothes I'd ever possessed.
“You do realize I've been an adult for a while, right?” I smiled as I leaned down and kissed my mom's cheek. “And you look beautiful.”
“You might not want to remind me how much older you are than my niece,” Gavin growled.
Carrie rolled her eyes and smacked Gavin's arm. “You're five years older than me, asshat.”
“Still don't like it,” he grumbled.
“You know,” Bryne's mom spoke up from where she stood near the door, “I worried about Bryne growing up without her father to be overprotective of her when it came to guys, but I think you'll do just fine, Gavin.”
“I have a feeling he's going to lock up his daughters,” Carrie said ruefully. “And he'd probably have our sons help.”
“How many kids are you planning on us having?” Gavin asked. He slid his arms around his wife, his hands resting on her stomach. “Just so I have an idea of how many names we need to be picking out.”
I had to admit, seeing how Gavin was with Carrie, and knowing that he could still scare the shit out of anyone – myself included – made me more confident that I could be the man Bryne needed without losing myself in the process.
“We should get going,” Allison said. “I don't want to be late.”
Gavin had two town cars waiting, which was good since the traffic sucked. Still, we'd left early enough that we arrived at the theater fifteen minutes before the curtain was scheduled to go up. I found myself between the two moms, which made me nervous enough, but there was more to my inability to sit still than that. I knew how much Bryne had put into this play, how much it meant to her, and I didn't want anything to go wrong.
Then the lights went down, the curtain went up, and I found myself drawn into the story. Bryne was amazing, but she wasn't the only one. There was none of the stilted dialogue I'd feared, no one messing up things so that Bryne looked bad. I even had to admit that Bryne and Todd were great together. If he'd been straight, I probably wouldn't have been as comfortable with it, but since I knew his boyfriend was somewhere here too, I was able to let it go and enjoy the play. I didn't even want to punch Todd when he kissed my girl.
Mostly.
The applause was loud and genuine, people all around me on their feet as quickly as I was. The entire cast was beaming, and the smile on Bryne's face made me warm from head to toe. Then I saw her eyes scanning the front row, and I leaned forward to get her attention. When she saw me, her face lit up even more, and I had to remind myself that it wouldn't be good for her career if I ran up on the stage to kiss her.
I paced around the others while we waited, but we weren't the only ones. Another dozen or so people were also standing around in the lobby. Other friends and family, I assumed. I didn't really pay much attention though. I only wanted to see her.
Then she was there, walking right into my arms.
“You were amazing,” I murmured against the top of her head. “Absolutely amazing, sweetheart.”
She tilted her head back, and I brushed a kiss across her lips before releasing her so she could go to the others. I wanted to get her out of her clothes and into bed, but I needed her to be happy more, so I stood back and watched her, waited to see what she wanted to do next.
* * *
Next turned out to be going for drinks with the cast and whoever else wanted to go with them. The others begged off, so Bryne and I took a car with Todd and his boyfriend, Hiram. To my surprise, by the time we reached our destination, I realized that I actually liked the two men for more than just their place in Bryne's life. As we were walking inside, I took a moment to take Todd aside and thank him for being there for the woman we both adored.
After that, I stuck pretty much in the background, keeping close to Bryne, but resisting the temptation to keep her all to myself. Only when the other guy in the cast kept watching her did I make a point of giving her a deep, thorough kiss. I'd worked too hard for her to not let people know that she was mine.
She stared up at me when I finally broke the kiss, eyes wide, lips parted. The desire on her face sent a jolt straight through me.
“I got us a room.” I put my mouth next to her ear. “Whenever you're ready, just say the word. No rush.”
She nodded, glanced over her shoulder, then smiled. “Hey, guys, we're heading out!” A couple people turned to wave as she turned
back to me. “Let's go.”
“Are you sure? We can stay longer if you–”
She pressed her body against mine, hands fisting in my shirt. “I want to go. Now.”
That was good enough for me.
Less than an hour later, we went through the Club Privé employee entrance and up the stairs. I told Carrie that I wanted to take Bryne somewhere, but didn't have the money to do it. Since I already owed her for the suit, she'd given me the keycard to get into the private room at the club. It was a VIP room, only for special members, so I'd never been inside, but I knew it'd be outfitted with everything I wanted to make tonight memorable.
“Okay, I'm confused,” Bryne said as we made our way down the hall. “What are we doing here?”
The club was packed underneath us, but the music was faint, so I didn't have to shout. “I said I got us a room. I didn't say where.”
Surprise registered on her face, but she let me lead her down the hall to the room.
“Why here?” Bryne asked as I closed the door behind us. The last of the sounds from downstairs disappeared.
“Couple reasons,” I said as I shrugged out of my suit jacket. “But one of them is that I wanted to try something...new.”
She toed off her shoes as she looked up at me. “New to you or new to me?”
“New to us,” I said. I sucked in a nervous breath. “I want to tie you up.”
For a moment, I thought she might freak out, but then I watched her eyes darken, and her tongue ran along her bottom lip. The moment she pulled her shirt over her head, I knew she was game.
The bed had leather restraints with the sort of soft interior that meant they could be worn without the kind of chafing that came with other restraints. The amount of trust she placed in me as she allowed me to wrap the cuffs around her wrists and ankles made me love her even more. After everything that happened, she allowed me to spread her arms and legs out, expose every inch of her, keep her from moving.
“Do you still want to use sky as your safe word?” I asked as I undressed.
Bryne nodded, watching as I climbed onto the massive bed, settling myself between her legs. I ran my hands up her thighs, my thumbs brushing against her lips.
“You're fucking gorgeous, you know that?” I kissed the inside of her leg, smiling as she shivered. “I love seeing you like this, all pink and wet.”
I looked up her body, allowing myself to appreciate the way her breasts moved as her breathing got heavier. I planned on having some fun with those later, but first, I wanted to see how many times I could make her come with my mouth.
“You scream as much as you want,” I said.
I'd never been tied up before, but I'd done it to enough women to know that it drove them crazy when they couldn't squirm or grab. I couldn't wait to see how Bryne reacted.
It took about five seconds of my tongue teasing over her pussy for her to start trying to move, but I'd secured her tight enough that she couldn't really do much. The first time I pushed my tongue inside her, she swore. Then I started on her clit, and she really started to struggle.
“Dax-Dax-Dax-Dax,” she repeated my name over and over, muscles straining as she fought against the restraints.
“You know you want to come, baby.” I kissed her mound, then lightly bit her hipbone. “Let go. Just let go and let me take care of you.”
I circled her clit with my tongue, then moved down to lick around and inside her entrance. I felt her come as she tensed, her thighs quivering, and she cried out. I didn't stop or even give her time to process the orgasm. Instead, I kept my mouth on her until one climax rolled into another, and she was screaming, head thrashing back and forth.
My own hips were moving, trying to get some relief for my aching cock, but I knew the only relief to really be had was inside her. It was the only release I wanted. I lost count of how many times she came when I finally couldn't take it any longer. I moved up and over her, driving inside while she was still coming.
She screamed again, but the sound cut off as my mouth came down on hers. I bit at her lips, twisted my tongue around hers, my hips slamming into her. I could hear her whimpering, but she didn't ask me to stop, didn't say her safe word, so I was going to trust her to know what she could take.
And I wanted her to take it all. Wanted to mark her, make her feel me for days. Because I would feel her. I always felt her. Even when we were apart, my body remembered what it was like to be inside her, that tight heat gripping me. What she tasted like when she came on my tongue. The sounds she made. The scent of her. Everything about her.
She came again, her entire body shaking beneath me, and I followed with a groan, emptying myself inside her. While I could never know for sure what the future held, I knew I wanted mine to be with her. I said she was mine, but she owned me, body and soul.
Chapter Thirteen
Bryne
I smiled at the doorman as he opened the door for me and tried not to look like I was running to the elevator. I couldn't help it though. It was only May and the year just kept getting better.
All of the deals Dena made resulted in a huge number of convictions for the DA's office and Dax had kept his nose clean. No charges had been filed against me for shooting Cleo, and she'd been put away for life without the possibility of parole. Kidnapping someone like my mom wasn't really something a defense attorney could spin like they'd tried to do with Booker's murder.
Annabeth's lawsuit had gotten settled at the end of March, giving her enough money that she could not only pay off her medical bills, but she didn’t need to worry about getting a job for a long time, if ever. I got the feeling that Annabeth was both smart enough and frugal enough that she could probably live the rest of her life off of what Carrie had gotten her.
That also meant that Dax could get a place of his own. The thing was, after having spent the end of February and most of March trying to find the perfect place for me, I knew that Dax wouldn't be able to afford much beyond a tiny little one-bedroom unless he got a roommate, and considering that privacy was one of the things we both wanted, he didn't want that.
I, however, could afford something much nicer. Dax never asked exactly how much money I had, and I hadn't told him yet, but I'd made it clear that he wasn't allowed to pay for everything. I wanted a full partnership, including financially. So, when he told me the good news about his mom's settlement, I pushed aside my doubts and asked his thoughts about us moving in together.
To my surprise, he not only agreed, but told me that he'd been trying to figure out how to ask me to move in with him without me thinking things were going too fast, or that he just wanted me to pay for it. So we started looking together, and once he accepted the fact that I preferred to buy something with the future in mind instead of going with something small for now, working out the finances was easier than I expected.
We moved in three weeks ago, and I could still barely believe that I was living with my boyfriend, let alone the fact that we had a four bedroom, five bathroom apartment in Battery Park City. Three times as big as the apartment my family had when my dad was alive, it was only a little smaller than Gavin and Carrie's place. It felt like something out of a dream, having a place like this to decorate and furnish, a place to share.
Dax had moved to working full-time at Club Privé, but he wasn't only working security and at the bar now. Since he'd proven himself to Gavin and Carrie, Gavin was teaching Dax some of the business side of things. It'd taken Dax a little while to admit that he was interested in owning his own business, but once he had, my uncle had stepped in to help. Once he was sure that's what he wanted to do, he planned on taking classes to get his MBA. He hadn't decided if he wanted to start an auto shop, or if he was going to take up Gavin on his offer to be a partner in expanding the club, but he had a focus, a goal.
I had a feeling my mother might've made a suggestion to branch out to DC in the hopes that I might move back, but I knew she wouldn't be angry when I told her I didn't plan on leaving New York, es
pecially not after today. If anything, I wanted to convince her to move here. With Nana and Papa gone, we didn't have any family in DC, and she and Gavin had been getting along well. There were still times when things were awkward between them, but I didn't doubt for a minute that their relationship would only continue to grow.
I'd come to New York, hoping to find a half-uncle who might want to see me a couple times. Instead, I'd found an aunt and uncle who wanted me to be godmother to my soon-to-be-born cousin, a best friend, an artistic community where I was welcome, and the love of my life.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped inside the apartment was that something smelled incredible. The second thing was that Dax was wearing my favorite outfit of his. A pair of worn jeans that hung low on his hips and a tight black t-shirt. He looked good in pretty much everything, but there was something about the simplicity of the clothes that made everything else about him stand out.
“There's a bath waiting for you.” He came forward to brush a kiss across my lips. “Should still be hot, and I already put in your favorite bubble bath.”
I stared at him. “How'd you know?”
“Know what?” He looked confused.
“That I'd want to celebrate.”
His eyebrows went up. “I didn't. I just wanted to take advantage of a rare day off and spoil you a bit.” He wrapped his arms around my waist. “What are we celebrating?”
I ran my fingers through his hair as I looped my arms around his neck. “You know how everyone was disappointed that ceiling issues at the theater closed us down the weekend before our last show?”
“Because you were worried people wouldn't realize you still had a week left to perform,” he said.
I nodded. “Well, we don't have to worry about that.” I grinned. “They extended the run another two months, with an option to give it a year contract in July!”