My dad groans. "We get it, Kerrigan. They're newlyweds. They're...active."
Kerrigan grins at me and sips her drink.
We say good night and step away, and I'm just about to walk through the bar and into the hotel lobby when my dad says my name. I pivot, and Dom walks to the elevator bank to wait for me.
"Yeah, Dad?"
He shifts uncomfortably, an uncharacteristic move. "I want to say thank you for how you protected your mother tonight. She's not bar-fight material." He chuckles to himself. "Not like you."
"I'm not sure if that was a compliment, but I think I'll take it as one."
"It was a compliment, Cecily. You're tough. You always have been."
You make it difficult to love you.
I hate it, but it's all I hear.
Even now, as he tries to compliment me, I only hear the most damaging sentence he's ever spoken to me.
"Thanks, Dad." I step away. "Good night."
CHAPTER 41
Dominic
Cecily steps upbeside me at the elevator. I've been thinking of her all night, the way she teased me in our hotel room and then left, jean skirt hugging the curve of her backside.
I hit the button for the elevator and curl my pinky around hers. She looks at me, the expression in her eyes reflecting exactly how I feel. Hungry.
I have to keep my hands in my pockets to stop myself from pressing her up against the wall, right here in the lobby within eyeshot of her family.
The elevator dings, the doors sliding open. "After you," I say, and Cecily steps on.
I push the button for our floor, and Cecily says in the sultriest voice I have ever heard, "I hope you have wicked plans for me."
I reach for her wrist, brush my thumb along the sensitive skin on the inside. "I plan to be so good to you that when you think about me tomorrow, you'll blush."
A tiny moan escapes that perfect mouth.
That's when I decide I don't want to wait. I want her, I need her, immediately. The door is closed, and the lift rises. I give itthree seconds before I hit the emergency button. Cecily and I catch ourselves as the car comes to an abrupt stop.
"What—" Her question cuts off when I drop to my knees, pushing her against the mirrored elevator wall. Leaning in, I nibble at her mid-thigh, wrapping a hand around the other thigh.
"Dom," she says, breathless, as she realizes my plan.
"Just want to be certain you understand my definition of wicked."
"I think I do," she replies, running her hands through my hair.
"You teased me." I nip at her skin, nosing the hem of her skirt. "And now I'll be teasing you."
"Mmm," is all she can say.
I work my way higher up her thighs, swiping my tongue over the soft skin. Her skirt is too tight, a hindrance. "Pull up your skirt, Menace, I have work to do."
Cecily's nails brush my forehead as she hoists the fabric up to her hip bones. And there she is, covered in baby blue lace.
My finger dips under the fabric, running along the edge. "This fucking thong is what started this."
