Bronson mouths over her shoulder. "You were."
Clay gives me a thumbs up and a wink.
I smile. "Thank you. I'm glad you liked it."
"You're coming tomorrow, right?" She holds my shouldersout in front of her. "You know you're invited. I've placed you next to your sister."
"Thank you. I'd love to."
"Aurora," someone calls.
She glances over to them and nods. "Sorry to rush off, Cassidy. Today is all about me."
Max laughs once. "As opposed to every other day?"
Clay clears his throat to disguise a chuckle and Aurora slices him up with her eyes. Bronson and Xander make whipping sounds as I swallow a giggle.
She smirks at Max. "Just this once, I'm going to find your snide remarks amusing."
Aurora disappears and several middle-aged men approach me to thank me for the performance. They shake my hand and kiss my cheeks, enveloping me in the smell of smoke and alcohol. Max hands me some champagne before positioning himself behind me with a stance rather business-like and stiff.
I'm on my third glass of champagne when the boys begin to argue over who won at paintball yesterday. I swivel on the stool to look around the club. Many people seem to have retired for the evening. I notice Jimmy Storm's and Luca Butcher's table is empty, the two having relocated to a booth with several other men. They are consumed in a private conversation as they drink liquor from short glasses and grit cigars between their teeth. Their wives are still greeting other guests, giving them light hugs so as not to crease their dresses and kissing cheek to cheek so as not to smear their lipstick. They nurse red wine in large glasses as they natter on with polite smiles.
Max's lips touch my ear, making me shiver in the best kind of way. "We'll be back. Stay with Xan."
I want to grab him and feel his mouth on mine. We havebeen so close all night and yet so far away it's excruciating. I watch closely as Max, Bronson, and Clay approach Jimmy and Luca's group. They converse and it's all very formal. The whole table suddenly shifts their gazes to me, so I dart my eyes to Xander, but he's leaning across the bar, trying to get the staff's attention. Willing myself not to look back at them, I pull out my phone and pretend to read from the display. I peek up just as Clay sits down beside his dad, and Bronson and Max wander slowly back towards us.
Max grins at me. "Alright, Little One, let's make a move."
Bronson sits back down with Xander and addresses the bartender. "Excuse me, lovely, do you mind getting us another round?"
Standing up, I follow Max outside. He straddles his bike and I swing my leg over. Navigating our way through the sea of bikes and scooters, we ride back towards the villa. The streets are lit up with neon signs and a kind of glowing, ambient fog. This time when I press my cheek to his warm back and squeeze him with my thighs and arms, I'm not pretending. And maybe it's not forever, but for right now, heismy someone.
As soon as we get off the bike, he lifts me up and I cup his jaw. We kiss passionately, moaning into each other's mouths. His hands massage up and down my back as he walks us through the villa and to the wicker lounge beside the pool. He sits down with me wrapped around him and I kneel, straddling his thighs.
We pet and fondle each other. His lips and tongue move around my face and neck as if he wants to taste me, so I lift my chin up to let him explore. I moan. He moves to my shoulder and chest, then bites my breast through the fabric of my dress. The sudden opening of the door cuts through my whimpers of pleasure.
With my nipple tightly pinched between his teeth, Max grumbles. "Fuck."
Stacey walks outside, stilling when she sees us. "Oh. My bad."
I giggle and cover Max's scowling face with my palm. "All good. Come sit with us. Where's Flick?"
"She's in bed," she says, sitting on the single chair.
Max pulls my hand from his face, his expression tight. "Stacey. We're in the middle of something!"
Stacey turns. "Okay. I'll leav?—"
"No, don't go," I plead. "Are you twookay?"
She smiles tightly. "We will be. It's okay. Honeymoon period's over, but we?—"
As I slide off Max's lap, he groans and drops his head back onto the rest. "For fuck's sake. Boner's gone anyway."
I try not to giggle at him again. "Would you mind getting me a nightcap then?"
His brows draw together, and he's either going to scold me, throw me onto his mattress, or kill me. He chews back a comment and talks through a tight jaw. "What would you like, Your Highness?"
