His mouth hangs open as he stares at me with uncertainty. Then, with a deep breath and a glimmer of hope in his eyes, he nods.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Declan
“Why don’t we move this party somewhere more intimate?” Pierce says after about an hour of watching everyone drink and loosen up.
I notice the way Colin tenses, and it takes everything in me not to drag him away from all of this. But he wants me to prove that I respect his desires. That I listen to him. Trust him.
Love him.
And I will.
When we reach the parlor, Pierce reclines on the chaise and pats his lap for Colin to sit. The energy in here is suddenly different. The way people are touching each other, no longer dancing but still moving and grinding. The size of the party has diminished noticeably to only a few.
It has me feeling tense at first, so I drop into the seat opposite the couple. Then I lean forward, propping my elbows on my knees as I wait.
I’m ready to get my hands on him. I’m ready to feel his body, his mouth, his weight on my lap. And I’m saying it all with my eyes.
Pierce is glaring at me as he grabs Colin by the back of theneck and hauls him to his mouth for a bruising kiss. Based on Colin’s body language, I can tell he’s tense. I don’t know if it’s because the kiss is unwanted or because he knows I’m watching. Either way, I hate it. But I know that’s exactly why Pierce is doing it.
When the kiss is done, Pierce nudges Colin and points my way. Slowly, Colin lowers to the floor and crawls toward me.
Goose bumps prick my skin as he stares up at me, and I have to remind myself that this is us. The sameusfrom Ireland the first time he asked me to call him mine. The sameusfrom Los Angeles when we acknowledged how much we both liked this. The sameusin Italy when I walked in to find him waiting on his knees.
Colin and I were made for this—made for each other.
When he reaches me, stopping at my feet, I close my fists around the hair at the nape of his neck and bring my face close to his with a wicked grin.
“There’s my dirty boy,” I mumble against his ear, and I feel him smile. “It’s about fucking time.”
Tugging his head back, I force his face upward toward me and softly whisper, “Are you okay?”
His eyes soften, and he swallows before nodding.
“You should never enter into these things without going over the boundaries and limits. Your Dom should know better.”
I glare at Pierce for a brief moment before turning my focus back to Colin.
“He’s not my Dom right now,” Colin says. “You are.”
Those words send a coursing heat through my bloodstream and straight down to my cock. We’ve never really used the language, not like this. Maybe we were afraid or unsure. But to hear him call me that for the first time feels so right. Better thanloverorfriend.
I am his Dom, and I will always take care of him.
“You’re goddamn right I am. I always was,” I say with a growl. “Now give me your word again. You want this?”
“Yes, sir,” he replies with a slight smirk.
“And you know the safe word color system?”
“Redforstop.Yellowforslow down,” he says obediently.
“Good boy,” I reply. “Now get up here. I need to feel you on my lap.”
Colin climbs onto my legs, straddling my hips, and it’s the first time I feel like I can breathe. I let out a sigh of relief, closing my eyes as I press my face to his chest. His fingers slide down my scalp, and his heart beats quickly against my cheek.
My hands climb up his back and down to his ass, remembering the shape of his body and every single vertebra of his spine.
