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“Or something?” he parrots with a little grin.
“I don’t know how this marriage shit works, okay? But how would you feel if I just ghosted you for a week straight?”
His smile falls, and the darkness that haunts his gaze rises to the surface. If this situation were reversed, he’d probably rip the city apart to find me and drag me home. Double standards are bullshit.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, so have a little respect for the sanctity of our vows, dude.”
“I didn’t realize you took them so seriously,dude.” He closes the distance between us. The ravenous look on his face has my stomach fluttering. There’s something about a powerful man being so openly hungry and full of lust that’s undeniably alluring. Knowing that I’m the reason his eyelids lower slightly fills me with confidence, and part of me wants to see the look in his eyes if I were to ride him.
Okay, ya thirsty bitch, settle down.
As he looms over me, I tip my head back to maintain eye contact, cursing the height difference. He catches my chin with a firm grasp, the pads of his fingers pressinginto my skin hard enough to keep me in place but never hard enough to hurt.
He places his other hand on one of my hips. “Two things.”
I narrow my eyes. “Is this a lecture?”
He nods. “Pay attention because there will be a pop quiz.”
“I hated my college professors who gave pop quizzes.”
“I’ve noticed your disregard for authority,” he murmurs, brushing his thumb along my bottom lip. The caress tingles along my spine. “As I was saying, two things for you to remember. Call me dude again, and I’ll spank that ass. You can call me Mace, husband, or sir.”
He’s joking, right?
“What about asshole?” I cut in with a devious smirk.
“Punishable by orgasm,” he murmurs.
My breath catches. “I’m confused by your grading system,sir.”
His gaze darkens, the fingers on my hip flexing. “You’ll learn.”
“What’s the second thing?”
Drifting the hand from my chin to the back of my neck, he adjusts his hold on me. His intention shimmers clear in his eyes. He gives me a chance to stop him as he slowly closes in. My tongue dashes out to wet my lips, and he’s suddenly there, capturing my mouth. Plush lips tease over mine. I’m so touch starved that Ieagerlywillingly let Mace kiss me. When his tongue traces the seam of my mouth, I open for him and he slips in like a thief in the night, stealing my breath and the thoughts in my head.
He draws our bodies together and slots one of his legs between mine, letting me feel every hard inch of him. He’sso strong. I remember how he took Crue down, but fear is the furthest thing from my mind.
Mace’s kiss is like the beginnings of a fire, slowly kindling, getting hotter with each passing second, and with every demanding sweep of his tongue, I burn. I should hate the way he manhandles me. The way he pins me in place and takes what he wants. The absolute control he has over me. But he’s never rough, and if I told him to stop, I know he would.
In a matter of seconds, his cock hardens and the thick length presses into my stomach. My core clenches.
I tug his bottom lip between my teeth and gently bite down, fighting for some footing, and he groans, breaking away with a heavy pant.
“So mean,” he whispers.
Catching my breath, I pull back and search his face, memorizing the undeniable desire to possess and fuck. “We’re going to be late for dinner.”
He kneads my neck. “We can reschedule,” he says, voice rough and raspy.
“How would your mom feel about that?”
Something flashes across his face, and he exhales, stepping back and straightening. The loss of his warmth is harsh. My skin pebbles at the sudden cold. Regret lines his face as he takes me in once again. My lips are swollen from his kiss, my cheeks are warm, but that only has a smug grin appearing. “You’re fucking beautiful.”
The intensity of his gaze is too much. I look away. The kissing and lust are one thing, but the praise and compliments do funny things to my insides. No one has ever spoken to me like this.
His fingers lace around my neck. My eyes jump tomeet his, my heart thudding in my chest and sending a flurry of adrenaline through my system.