It only takes a slip of focus for me to let go of the strap, and I’m sliding off the bull with a yelp. I expect a landing on the mat, but instead I hit a body.
I’d recognize the smell of this man in my sleep. We might now both be on the mat, but Dalton caught me, and I reach for him, grinning. “My hero!”
The world around me is sluggish and sweet, like liquid Jello, and I kind of want to stay on the inflatable mat for a bit longer. Until several strangers appear just beyond the bullring.
Policemen in very tight clothing.
“What the fuck?” I mumble.
Remo would have known if there were cops coming. Unless…
Aspen makes a wide gesture with his arms pointing out the three men, and I hate that I know where this is going.
“I told you, no strippers!” Damen yells.
Aspen frowns at him. “You said ‘on Saturday’. Well, it’s Sunday now!”
To make matters worse, the guys start dancing to a sultry number and the lights dim. Dalton is kneeling next to me with his mouth wide open.
“Is this really happening?” he whispers to me.
“I hope not, because this is supposed to be our night, and I rather seeyoustrip,” I slur out.
Dalton licks my ear, sending sparks to my balls. “Should we make a run for it?”
“Oh yes…”
Chapter 24
Dalton
There’ssomuchcommotionwith everyone arguing about the strippers, we slip away like two cats in the night. I know the building well, so I guide us through the crowds, down to the third floor by stairs, and the bartender there lets us take the staff exit.
Music pulses in my ears, alcohol pumps in my veins, and I’m having the time of my life. I was hoping I could become friendly with Corvus’s cousins, since they will be a part of my life now, and after the fiasco at the tailor’s, I wanted to make a better impression. I’m pretty sure I not only achieved that goal tonight, but also pulled Corvus out of his anti-social shell a little.
But I’m not about to watch fake cops thrust their crotches at my man.
I might not have seen Corvus in exactly that kind of situation, but he doesn’t like being the center of attention for the whole room. He’s somber, particular, and values actions over words. So I whisk him away, out of the reach of people who don’t understand him the way I do.
A flush blooms on his cheeks when he smiles at me in the faint glow of the lamp in the austere staircase, and I push him against the wall, knee between his thighs, both arms twisted back as I rub my nose to his.
The air between us sparks, and he leans forward in the very same moment as me.
“If you rode that bull any longer I might have needed a cold compress on my dick.” I chuckle between one kiss and another, holding him against the wall. I can’t get over how perfect he is, and I will get to marry him. Our relationship is still fresh and will need to grow, but in my mind, it’s a done deal. I know what I want.
A whistle comes from above, and when I look up, one of the servers, Daniel, grins at us from the landing above. “Heyy, I want a bit of him too.”
It’s a good-natured joke. Daniel and I were most definitelynota good fit in bed, but he still enjoys flirting with me over a year on. But Corvus doesn’t know it and rapidly twists us around, so I’m the one pressed against the wall. The fancy suits might hide a lot by providing structure, but I know how muscular he is under that crisp shirt.
“Do not evenlookat my fiancé!” he slurs, his usual dignity forgotten.
“He broke the last guy’s wrist for flirting, so I’d take that seriously.” I laugh as Daniel holds his hands up.
I don’t waste time though and pull on Corvus’s hand. I need him close in whatever way he lets me, but there’s cameras in the stairwell. I might be drunk, but not too drunk to consider my lover’s modesty.
“Where are you taking me?” he asks as I guide him past the door leading into the backrooms on the first floor, and head straight for thestaff exit. We walk onto a metal landing, and a few steps later, we’re breathing the cool air of a back street.
It’s oddly quiet. Yes, the muffled bass is bleeding through the bricks, and some small critter skitters under a trash can, but beyond that, the hum of the city is our only companion. Vapor leaves Corvus’s mouth, forming a cloud between our faces as he looks left and right, fingers buried in my clothes. The alley is crowded with shadows in all the different hues, but they’re static, softening the edges of Remo’s van and the skyway looming above the passage like a gate.
