Page 79 of Have To Be Mine

“This is too good. I want to live inside you. So fucking good.”

Every word was punctuated with a thrust.

And then I was spiraling up, up, and up before I fell over the cliff. The second time it hit me harder than the first. I pressed my face into his shoulder to muffle the sounds I was making, which were straight out of a nature documentary. His back bowed, the veins in his neck and biceps bulged as his hips jerked and bucked.

And then he collapsed like someone had switched him off. His body twitched and little grunts and groans escaped his lips.

“Holy fuck,” he breathed into my ear.

My arms wrapped around him. I could feel his heartbeat gradually slowing against my chest. I didn’t want to think yet. So I didn’t. I just stayed there, warm and wrecked and let the silence be enough. He took care of the condom and then slid back into bed beside me, cradling me in his arms. I felt his body relax and he passed out.

I smiled and shifted just enough to lean my head against his chest. And then I allowed myself to fall asleep too.

25

DASH

Iwoke up to my phone buzzing and bouncing around on the nightstand. The damn thing was ringing at what had to be an ungodly hour.

I fumbled for it in the dark, careful not to jostle Krista. She was curled up on her side, one hand tucked under her cheek, completely out. The sheet had slipped down to her waist, and even in the dim light filtering through the porthole, she was gorgeous. I was suddenly hungry. I wanted my mouth on her tits again.

I squinted at the glaring light on my screen. Mom. That couldn’t be good.

I slid out of bed as quietly as I could, pulled on the robe, and closed the door behind me. I jogged up the stairs to the deck before I finally answered the phone. “Hey, Mom. What’s going on?”

“Dash! Sweetheart, I’m so glad I caught you.” She sounded bright and energized, like she’d just had three espressos.

I squinted at my phone. Three in the morning. Jesus Christ. Where in the fuck did she think I would be? Never mind. I didn’t want to know the answer to that.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I’m finalizing the guest list for Santorini and I need to know how many seats you can get me. Front row, obviously. More of my friends want to come now that word’s gotten out about the show. Everyone’s so excited!”

I rubbed my hand over my face. “Mom, how many are we talking?”

“I think to be safe, I should get at least ten more. Can you do that?”

“Yeah, I can make that work.”

“You’re a darling. And I have the best news—Callum’s coming too!”

I stopped pacing. “Callum?”

“Yes! Isn’t that wonderful? He wants to see how you all do runway shows. He’s been working with the launch of the wedding line, but he’s looking to familiarize himself with everything else we do. His sister and Mandy mostly cover the creative side of things, but he’s eager to see how the business itself works from all angles. I thought it would be perfect for him to observe.”

Callum was one of the Blackwell cousins from LA. His father, my uncle Max, ran a movie studio out there, but Callum and his sister, Cleo, had teamed up with Mandy, Briggs’s wife, to start a line of wedding products. “Well, he won’t get much out of this from a business perspective, but it’s a good chance for him to see how chaotic some of these events can be behind the scenes.”

“Exactly,” she said. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart. You’re going to show him how it’s done. He’s so impressed with everything you’ve accomplished.”

“That’s great, Mom,” I managed.

“Make sure we’re all seated together, will you? Front row, center if possible. I want to see everything.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“You’re such a good boy. I should let you go. Have a lovely evening!”

“Mom, it’s three in the morning here.”