When I look up at him with startled eyes, he kisses the tip of my nose.
“I’m pretty fond of his kids. If you think I’m going to let anyone, even him, do anything to hurt them, I need to work harder to prove myself.”
My heart melts right there on the dance floor.
I’m in love with Dillon Henry. Hopelessly, helplessly, endlessly in love. I can’t even pinpoint a time when it happened. Somehow over the last three years, it just came to be my truth.
He pulls my body flush to his and guides us to a slow song I recognize. “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt. Dillon sings softly with his chin resting on the top of my head. My ear is pressed to his chest, and his heartbeat engulfs me in the love he shares so freely.
To do:
Talk to Kai.
Help him understand Dillon’s role in our family.
Tell the other kids.
Finally, finally, tell Dillon that I’m in love with him.
The song ends, but Dillon doesn’t release me. We sway together song after song until I’m a vibrating ball of wants and needs. Being so close to him without fear is short-circuiting my self-control.
I’m on a new mission. I can’t tell him I love him until I have all my ducks in a row. But maybe I can show him?
Pulling away, I search for Miller. I hold up a finger when Dillon leans in to ask a question. “I’ll be right back.”
I cross the room like my ass is on fire. “Miller? Can you keep an eye on Eddy for like ten minutes? I have something I—ah—want to show Dillon.”
Miller covers his ears with both hands, but his grin is as wide as the Grand Canyon. “I don’t need details, Pen. I’ve got Eddy. You do you.” He glances over my head and chuckles. “Or maybe him.” He nods his head toward Dillon, and an honest-to-God smile makes my cheeks hurt.
I smack Miller in the gut, then turn back to Dillon freaking Henry. Taking his hand, I lead him toward the restrooms. When I was younger, there was a closet back here that never did lock. Hopefully, the Reids haven’t fixed it.
The loud sounds of the happy bar are muted when we enter the darkened hallway that smells faintly of stale beer and the bleach they use to clean it up.
“Where are we going?” Dillon asks with humor lacing the words.
I scan our surroundings like a bank robber on a heist until we come to the door I’m searching for. I test the handle and sigh with relief when it swings open.
Dillon is still holding my hand, so I tug him inside. As soon as the door closes, I spin and lean into him with so much enthusiasm, he hits the door with a dull thud.
“What are you doing?” His grin is evil. He knows exactly what I’m doing and is more than into it. His dick pulses against the zipper of his jeans, and I look up at him with wide eyes.
“I want to show you something,” I say. He lowers his mouth to my neck and kisses a line along the sensitive skin there. Tilting my head to the right, I angle myself to give him better access. “I have some things I need to cross off my list before I can do what I want to do,” I say in a rush. “But I wanted to show you. Show you how I feel.”
His smile curls against my neck, and he bites down gently. “How are you going to do that?”
I lift shaking hands to his belt, then glance at him through my lashes. I pause, waiting to see if he’ll stop me. I’ve never initiated an encounter like this.
Am I doing it right?
Before the doubt can creep in, he’s cupping my face. “I don’t want you kneeling on a dirty floor to prove how you feel about me. You are my queen, Penny. That means when you kneel for me, it will be on satin pillows, not a cold cement floor.”
His words lance my heart but encourage my hands to move at a frenzied pace.
“Penny,” Dillon whispers when I lower his zipper. “Not here, baby.” Then he groans, and it spurs me on.
I reach into his boxer briefs and release his cock that’s already peeking through the top.
“Goddamn it, Penny,” he hisses through clenched teeth. “Are you sure? This is what you want? Don’t do this for me. If you’re going to suck my dick right now, it’s because it’s something you want. Do you want my cock?” he asks before pushing my hands away and grabbing himself.