Part 21 (1/2)

Heavy footsteps sounded on the steps above them. Blowing out his breath, Marc uncurled his grip from the man's s.h.i.+rt, shoving him away. ”You get this walk,” he warned him. ”But don't keep pus.h.i.+ng your luck.”

He didn't bother to watch as Tim disappeared, just focused on Chaili's eyes, those amazing eyes. ”I won't keep letting him mouth off like that. He'll go too far.”

”Yeah. Probably. But not here.” She leaned in, pressed her lips to his. ”Come on, didn't we have a date on the top floor?”

It was 7:38 when they got to the room.

It was 7:39 when Marc had her pressed back against the door.

It was 7:40 when he had her cuffed, the cuffs hooked over a convenient little hook fastened into the door.

It was 7:41 when he had her knees hooked over his elbows as he pushed inside her. ”I told you I'd be doing this soon,” he said, his voice a low, throaty purr in the stunning silence of the room.

It was one of the private rooms, Chaili had noticed that, but unlike any of the rooms she'd seen before.

Dazed, stunned, she stared into his eyes as he continued to burrow deeper inside her. Next to no warning. Just in the room, and...bam. Arms stretched over her head, her legs hooked over his forearms as he f.u.c.ked her...she sucked in a desperate breath and whimpered his name.

”Say it like that again,” he said, his voice calm, easy. Like he was ordering a pizza or something. ”I like it when you say my name all broken like that.”

Groaning, she bucked in his arms and tried to ride the ridge of his c.o.c.k. But he held back, watching her. Waiting.

”I want to hear you whimpering,” he whispered. He started to shaft her with slow, teasing little strokes that did nothing to a.s.suage the fire inside her. ”You're so f.u.c.king beautiful, Chaili. Let me hear it. Give it to me...”

She cried out, squeezing her eyes closed as his name fell from her lips.

”That's it...” He slid deeper. Withdrew. Pushed in. Harder this time, so that the flared head of his c.o.c.k rasped over the sensitive bundle of nerves buried in her p.u.s.s.y. ”Come on...do it again. I want to see you break for me.”

She jerked against the cuffs, clamped down around him and tried to keep him inside her.

He surged deeper. Harder. ”Break for me, baby girl,” he growled. ”Break...”

Chaili shuddered, feeling it rise inside, taking her deeper, deeper. Harder. Harder. As he moved...harder, harder...deeper, deeper.

Her heart couldn't take it. Couldn't handle it. Couldn't handle it. Like it was going to explode, shatter...and she thought maybe she was...oh, oh!

He growled, slamming inside her. ”Come for me,” he rasped, his mouth crus.h.i.+ng into hers, tongue thrusting past her lips to take her mouth the same way he took her body.

She shuddered. Quaked.

And as he drove into her once more, she climaxed.

Chaili stared at the silvery strands in the box.

”Marc...I...I can't...”

He pulled them out of the box. ”Why?” He held one of them up to her ears, smiling a little. ”They'll look good on you.”

”I...just. Well.”

”We've been going out for over two weeks. I think that means I'm allowed to buy you a present.”

”Is that in the dating handbook?”

He tugged on her hair. ”Well, for it to be official, I think I have to ask you to go steady...” He leaned and brushed her hair back. ”So, tell me something, Chaili, you wanna go steady with me?” he teased.

He might have been teasing, but it still managed to settle a lump in her throat. Swallowing around it, she looked down, staring at the box so she wouldn't give herself away. ”I think we're a little past the high school drama stuff, aren't we?”

Marc shrugged. ”h.e.l.l, out of high school, maybe. But the drama stuff, does that ever end? And I'm not entirely joking...” He laid a hand on her cheek. ”There's something real here. You know it. I feel it. We don't need to put a name to it, but I'm not planning on walking away from this.”

Something real.

h.e.l.l. She didn't need to put a name to it, because she already knew what it was.

Shaken, she focused on the earrings again. Easier that way. ”I'm just not really comfortable accepting gifts, Marc,” she said quietly.

”It's just one,” he pointed out.

Rising from the couch, she tucked the earrings inside the box. Something told her she needed to be careful here. Maybe not do anything. Yet. This was a scary conversation to have.

”Just one gift,” she blurted out. ”Yeah. But...” Her mind spun around, desperate to seize onto something.

Something real...something real. She wanted to believe that so bad. Wanted to believe they'd still be spending so much time together after the website was done. But what about when he went back to the studio? Back on tour...

The website- ”The website!” She turned around and glared at him.

A wary look entered his eyes. ”What about the website?”

”You all but handed me the easiest job in the world and you're overpaying me!” Okay, that was stretching it. It wasn't easy and she was d.a.m.n well busting her a.s.s. Maybe he was overpaying her...

”Hey, we've already agreed the d.a.m.n website I've got is a joke,” he said, his voice edgy. ”I needed the d.a.m.n thing redone, right?”

”Well, you didn't need to pay me double what it's worth,” she babbled. Okay, I'm being silly here...

”How in the h.e.l.l do I know what they're worth?” he asked. ”I named a figure and we agreed on it and it's not like it's a handout if you're doing the d.a.m.ned work!”

A handout- Fury flickered, flared to life inside her. Okay. She'd been reaching when she threw the website out there, but... ”A handout?” she said quietly.

Marc's face went rigid.

”That implies like you think I might need a handout,” she said coldly. She was broke, yeah, but d.a.m.n it, he didn't need to know that.

”I'm not giving you a d.a.m.ned handout. I needed a d.a.m.n job done and I asked the one person I knew who could do it to get it done,” he said.

”Huh. And oddly enough, you managed to toss out a figure that all but wiped out a few of my medical bills.” Narrowing her eyes, she asked, ”When did you see my medical bills, Marc?”

He didn't say anything.