“My pleasure.”
I expected him to move back. He didn’t. If anything, he got closer. The warm male scent of him, the iron-hard feel, all of it got closer and closer. I tried to bend away from him in an effort to preserve what remained of my sanity, but he just followed. Overwhelming didn’t cover it.
“Guys.” Lauren was tapping her foot. “Whatever you’re doing, stop it.”
“Ignore her. She’s just jealous of our love.” Mal’s arm came around my middle, holding me to him. The press of his hardening cock against my rear could not be mistaken. I know we were supposed to be playing the couple, but was rubbing his penis against me really necessary? Me liking it was beside the point. Don’t even go there.
“Yes, Malcolm, I’m jealous of your love. That’s it.” Lauren shook her head slowly. “Come on, let’s get moving. Nate will be waiting and he doesn’t wait well.”
“We better go,” I said.
“Yeah.” His voice was soft and dreamy, and spoke of good, hard times in bed. Then he shook his head, gave me his usual grin. “Pumpkin, stop rubbing your ass against me. We gotta go! I don’t have time to do you now. Prioritize, woman.”
Sometimes the temptation to hit him was so huge.
***
Twice the crowd had gathered at David and Ev’s condo tonight. They varied in age from young teens to elderly, from conservative to edgy. All of them primped to perfection. Every inch of David and Ev’s condo had been decorated, also. White candles of every size sat in clusters around the room. Vases filled with bright bouquets were on every available flat surface. The ring of fine crystal and the popping of champagne corks battled classic rock for supremacy. Tonight’s vibe leaned heavily toward the romantic.
There was a buzz in the air, one of expectation. It was exciting.
Mal kept a tight hold on my hand, his big, warm fingers encasing mine. I took my cues from him, staying close to his side. Whenever some sexy siren tried to approach him he basically shoved me at them with a “Meet my girlfriend, Anne.” I’d almost tripped the first few times he’d used me as a human shield, but I was getting the hang of it now. With the last one I’d just held up a hand and said “He’s with me.” She’d taken it with relatively good grace.
“I thought that one was going to hit me,” I said, watching the disappointed girl stalk off into the crowd. “Being your girlfriend is dangerous.”
“What can I say? I’m a magnificent specimen of manhood. Of course they all want me. But I do appreciate you protecting my honor.”
“I should hope so.” I smiled.
“Come and meet Jimmy. This’ll give you a thrill.” He wound his way through the crowd, drawing me along behind him. “’Scuse us. Move please. Move.”
Jimmy Ferris stood beside the mantle like a painter had positioned him there. The man was living art. Dark hair brushed back, blue eyes bright. He was a lot like his brother, David, long and lean, but smoother and harder. More intense if it was possible. Maybe meeting Ev had chilled David out. Jimmy certainly lacked the lost-in-love eyes.
The dark looks he gave the woman at his side were far less than friendly. She kept her nose high in the air and ignored him. I’m not sure I could have maintained her pose of complete indifference so well. Jimmy Ferris had a lot of presence. There’d been all sorts of rumors going around about what he’d been up to since rehab. Given the size of him, I’d say lifting weights featured heavily. Ben was a big guy in general, heading on into lumberjack territory. But Jimmy appeared to have been working at it, hard.
“Jimbo,” said Mal, making room for me beside him. “This is my girlfriend, Anne. Anne, this is Jim.”
Yep, Jimmy gave me the same chin tip as the others. It was a secret handshake. So I gave him one back. He smiled, but only just. It was a fleeting thing.
Mal leaned down in front of me, getting in my face. “Nope. No crazy eyes. Your theory is bullshit, pumpkin. They’re only for me.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Jimmy,” I said, pushing my pretend partner out of the way.
“She still doing the eyes thing?” asked Jimmy.
Rock stars gossiped. There you go.
“Lust has no expiration date, Jimbo. And hello, Lena. You look very nice.” Mal offered his free hand to the woman at Jimmy’s side. The arctic chill of her manner turned equatorial in an instant. How strange.
“Mal. How are you?” The woman gave his fingers a brief squeeze, before offering her hand to me to shake. Brown hair fell past her shoulders and funky red plastic-rimmed glasses sat on her nose. “And this must be Anne. Great to meet you. Mal’s told me so much about you.”
“He has?” I shook her hand, returning her smile.
“At band practice today, you were all he could talk about,” she said.
“She’s the love of my life,” sighed Mal, throwing an arm around my shoulders.
“See? You’re the love of his life.” Lena gave me a charmed smile. Apparently it was only Jimmy she detested.
“This week,” said Jimmy.
With a small sigh, Lena half turned her head toward him. That was all it took.
Jimmy gave me a strained smile. “Sorry. That was a shitty thing to say.”
“Pumpkin, Lena is what we in the industry call ‘a babysitter’,” said Mal. “If you’re an unmitigated fucking asshole who doesn’t know how to behave, you get a gorgeous girl like Lena to follow you around, making sure you’re not a PR disaster for the record company.”
“I said I was sorry.” Jimmy stared out across the room, doing the same crinkly forehead thing his brother did. It kind of reminded me of James Dean.
“Hey.” Ben appeared on my free side, staring down at me from his lofty height. There was more chin tipping. All of the band members wore matching black suits, but Jimmy had lost the vest and added a thin black tie. Ben wore the tie but had ditched the vest and jacket and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up his strong arms. Both limbs were liberally inked. Tattoos and suits made for a damn good combination.
The quality of the eye candy tonight was off the scale. Mal still had them all beat, of course.
“Pumpkin, guess what?”
“What?”
Before I knew what was happening I’d been dipped back over his arm. The entire room had turned upside down. Fuck, was the front of my dress gaping? I slapped my hand down over my collarbone, just in case.
“Shit, Mal! Up.”
He immediately righted me. Blood rushed about inside my head and the room spun. Beside us, Ben and Lena laughed. I think Jimmy was busy doing his bored-stare thing. It was hard to see with my head still spinning. I’m pretty sure people were watching. If I heard an upside-down girl shouting obscenities, I’d probably take a look.
“No one saw anything,” Mal said, reading my mind. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Fine.”
His thumbs rubbed circles into my hip bones through the fabric of my dress. He held his face close to mine. “Sorry, pumpkin. I didn’t think.”
“It’s okay.”
He squinted down at me. “Is it really okay or are you just saying it’s okay and you’re going to bust my balls about it later?”
I thought about it for a moment to be sure. “No. But don’t do it again or I’ll hurt you.”
“Got it. No more throwing you around.”
“Thank you.”
“I won’t embarrass you again, Anne. Promise.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“See,” he said, his smile huge. “Our communication skills as a couple are fucking excellent. We’re working out great!”
“Yeah, we are,” I said, my heart elated. It was strange, we’d only known each other a few days but I trusted him. I liked him and I was really grateful to spend this time with him. After the disaster with Skye, I needed Malcolm Ericson in my life right now. Hell, after the last seven years I needed him. He brought out the sun.
“Yeah,” he whispered.
And then he kissed me and ruined everything.
It wasn’t a soft kiss. No passing brush of the lips or token peck of affection would do for Mal. Hell no, of course not. It was an amnesia-inducing drug of a kiss. No memory of another remained. Chemical bliss. I’d obviously never been really and truly kissed before because this … he covered my mouth with his and owned me. His tongue slipped over my teeth and his hands slid into my hair. In response, I grabbed two fistfuls of his vest. It might have started out being in surprise or anger. But it turned into a safety measure fast. My knees went weak.
The man kissed me stupid.
His tongue rubbed at mine, encouraging me to play. It might not have been the smart thing to do, but I couldn’t hold back. I moaned into his mouth and kissed him hard. Every bit as hard as he was kissing me. My thighs tensed and my toes curled. Every hair on my body stood on end. His hold on me tightened, as if he couldn’t let go. I, on the other hand, was basically clawing my way through his three-piece suit. The need to get closer was huge. Nothing else mattered.
All around us applause broke out, which was fair enough. A kiss this awesome deserved a standing ovation. Fireworks wouldn’t be overkill. The string quartet seemed a little odd, however. Surely a crazed drum solo would be more in keeping, something primal to match the demented beat of my heart.
“Guys,” Ben hissed, nudging us with an elbow. “Knock it off. Guys!”
I tore away from Mal, trying desperately to catch my breath. He was panting too, his green eyes dilated. Stunned was probably a good word. Sordid wasn’t too far behind. After all, we were mauling each other’s mouths in public.
I stood there staring at him, shaking. Holy shit. What the hell had just happened?
“That was fun!” He grinned, looking at me like he’d just discovered a new game. One that he really, really liked.
No.
Fuck no.
My heart was trying to burst out of my chest,
Aliens
style. I couldn’t blame it for wanting to run for cover. This was insane. I had to keep this shit locked down. What if he’d been able to tell what it did to me? He’d call off our arrangement in a heartbeat.
Time for some damage control.
“It was nice.” I gave him a pat on the cheek.
His arrogant grin slipped.
People all around us continued clapping. They were also all facing the other way, though many gave us sideways glances. I turned and went up on tippy toes, to see what was going on. In the open front doorway stood Ev in a simple ivory gown. I saw the whites of her big surprised eyes from across the room. Beside her stood David in a suit similar to what the rest of the guys wore. Slowly, he got down on one knee. I was too far away to hear what he said, the room too noisy. But then Ev was nodding and crying and mouthing the word “yes.”
“Davie wanted to do a surprise second ceremony,” Mal said, joining in with the clapping. “She doesn’t remember last time—it was a quickie drunken Vegas wedding–so he’s doing it over for her.”
“Th-that’s sweet.” I licked my lips, ignoring the lingering taste of him. So good.
His arm slipped around my waist and it was all I could do to keep still, to not try and move away. Some breathing room would be great. Just until I got my body back under control.
“I think everyone saw us, yeah?” he said.
“Mm.” Without a doubt, we’d established ourselves as a couple. We’d probably managed to momentarily upstage the bride and groom. Excellent. They’d be inviting us back here for sure.
A man dressed in a bling-covered Elvis jumpsuit burst out of the hallway, sporting a big black wig and all. He began to sing “Love me Tender” as played by the string quartet. Everyone laughed and smiled. Ev started laughing and crying. They repeated their vows and even my eyes misted up after I got myself back under control. It was so wildly romantic. Jimmy moved quietly through the crowd and slipped his brother a ring. The gentle smile on his face surprised me just a little.
Ever so damn slowly my heart rate returned to something nearing normal. I glanced over my shoulder at Mal. At first I couldn’t work out what he was looking at. His attention was fixed on an older couple on the other side of the room, Ev or David’s parents, perhaps? He looked unhappy. The distance was back in his eyes, the line between his brows. Then he caught me watching. He frowned and returned his gaze to the front.
“Can you believe Davie got her another ring after three months?” Mal whispered in my ear. “He is so fucking wrapped around her finger. It’s ridiculous.”
“They’re in love. I think it’s sweet.”
“At the rate he’s giving her diamonds, she’s going to have a tiara by Christmas.”
It was one thing for me to be caustic within the sanctity of my own skull. But I hated hearing Mal be so against the idea of love or coupledom or whatever it was that had set him off.
“What?” he asked, seeing my down face.
“I can’t decide if you sound jealous, bitter, or what.”
“I was making a joke,” he said, eyes wounded. “Tiaras are funny. Everyone knows that.”
“Right.”
Mal just blinked. His mouth, those gorgeous wicked lips of his, did not move.
Another round of applause thundered through the room as the remarkably swift service wound up. Though they were already married, no point dragging it out. Or maybe it only seemed fast to me. They kissed and flashbulbs lit the room. People crowded in to congratulate them.
Happy, happy times. What a joyous occasion.
“Back in a minute,” I said, squeezing out of Mal’s embrace. I needed air, space, shit like that. I needed to get my head on straight. My overreaction to his kiss had unnerved me big-time. Things were cooler and calmer out on the balcony. I knew having Mal cozy up to me at events would be weird. I’d expected feelings, sensations. Nerves, awkwardness, even mild titillation I could understand, but blow my mind, swamp me with lust, and make the world disappear? Not so much. He’d been right, there was every chance Fatal Attraction loomed large around the corner.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, coming up behind me.
“Nothing. Everything’s fine.”
“Bullshit.”
“If I say its fine, its fine,” I gritted out.
“You’re acting weird.” He walked toward me, hypnotic eyes messing with my mind. “That was an awesome kiss,” he said.
“It was okay,” I lied, giving him a serene smile.
“It was okay?” One of his brows arched skyward. “That’s it?”