Page 39 of Newly Tied

He gestured for me. “Come back over here.”

“No, you tell me what you said first.”

“What are you, five?” he baited me. “Come here.”

No way was I going to say no when I’d been dreaming of this exact thing, him all over me on purpose.

Once I was close enough, his arm went around my neck, and he pulled me against him and kissed my temple.

I couldn’t stifle a moan.

“That was a good sound,” he murmured in my ear.

“We need to hurry and get to my place,” I husked.

“Because you want to touch me?”

I had to catch my breath. “Yes.”

“Yeah, I want to touch you too, but we gotta talk about that.”

“Oh God,” I groaned.

His chuckle was filthy, and that didn’t help.

“I need to hear about your mother first.”

“What’s to tell?”

“I want to know what she said.”

“She knew already.”

I turned to him. “What’d she know?”

He shrugged. “Me. She knows me. And she could tell from how much time I spend with you, and how I can’t seem to find anyone to please me—her words not mine—that perhaps you were the reason.”

I cleared my throat. “And how does she feel about that? I mean, your mother is a very religious woman.”

“She is. But you know her—she was also the one who walked my cousin Michelle down the aisle when she married her girlfriend, Eva, because neither of her parents would do it.”

I smiled, remembering. “That was a nice weddin’.”

“Yes, it was. And Michelle was married at church, at my mother’s insistence, and Pastor Aames⁠—”

“Who is a very nice man,” I said, trying not to laugh, “and also absolutely terrified of your mother.”

“So very frightened,” he affirmed with an evil grin. “But he married them and was happy to do it, and since they were married in the church, now Michelle’s parents are coming around.”

“Oh, that’s good.” I sighed.

“It is good, but that’s my mom, right? She’s not gonna stop loving me, or stop loving you, because our feelings changed from being friends to…you know.”

“No, I don’t know,” I pressed him. “What are they?”

“I thought you wanted to know about my mother.”

“I do. What else did she say?”