Page 68 of Mace
“You’re letting me dance?” I can see I’ve surprised her, even if she has got the wrong end of the stick.
“Fuckno. I meant it when I said you would not be on that stage ever.”
Her confusion morphs into dismay that makes my stomach twists. “Are you… are you firing me?”Shit. That is not what I intended for her to take from this at all.
She has no idea the lengths I will go to in order to keep her somewhere close by. “No. Fuck no. We need a manager, and the club doesn’t have time to go through interviews and teaching someone the ropes. You already know how the bar works. You know all the staff, and they like you.”
She stares at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “Me? You want me to manage Temptation?”
Her surprise irritates me. She is more capable than she knows. “It’ll be different hours, probably a little longer than you’re used to, and we’ll have to hire someone else to work the bar unless you think one of the other girls would be willing to take up your shifts. But the money is double what you earn now.”
I expect her to be happy, but she doesn’t look at me as she stares at a patch on the floor to the side of her. “Thank you for the opportunity, but I’m going to pass.”
What the fuck?“Why?”
She lifts her gaze to mine, and I see a flash of something in her eyes. Hurt. “Am I getting this job simply because you don’t want me showing my boobs to strangers, or because we kissed? I’m not qualified to be a manager, Mace. I’ve never worked in any position that required me to manage anything. And I don’t need your pity. I can make my own way in the world. I’ve been doing it for a long enough.”
That was not my intention, but I can see why she might feel slighted. Before she can open the door, I round the desk, eating up the space between us, and press my fingertips to the top of it, just above her head, forcing it closed.
“I fucked up,” I admit, and she turns to face me. I hate seeing that crushed look on her face. “You have to understand, Maylie, I come from a world where we help each other out when we need it. I wouldn’t think twice about offering anyone associated with my club a helping hand. I realise that’s probably not the norm in your circles, but you mean something to me, and you need help. And more than that, I think you would make a fucking great manager. Your personality is infectious. Everybody here loves you and respects you. If I bring in someone new, that ain’t gonna be the way. I don’t have time or the patience to deal with the staff fighting with a manager. So, yeah, some of this might’ve been a little bit fuckin’ selfish on my part, but not entirely for the reason you’re thinking.”
Her shoulders loosen. “You think I’d be good at this?”
“Sweetheart, I think you’d be good at anything you put your mind to.”
The smile she gives me softens every flaming piece of anger she was holding onto. “Really?”
“Really.”
I wrap my hand around the back of her neck, needing to touch her, to assure myself that she and I are on the same page again. Then, without waiting for an invitation, I dip my head and kiss her.
I kiss her like she is the air I need in my lungs. And her fingers thread around my back, holding me in place.
Fuck. Yes.
I probably should take things slow, but my hand slides between our bodies, and I press my fingers against her core. She gasps against my mouth, and I deepen the kiss, sliding my tongue against hers as I devour her mouth.
Her breaths come quicker, each pant making my cock hard as iron behind my zip. “Mace…”
Her voice is husky, rasped, but her lips lock to mine as I keep stroking her. I need to touch her, to feel her wetness on my fingers, so I pull back, earning a frustrated growl from her before I find the waistband of her shorts. Sliding my fingers between her warm skin and the material, I find her slit.
She’s wet, and that sends a wave of elation through me. She is definitely affected by me, and I fucking love it. Sliding through her wetness, I find her clit, rolling my fingers over that sensitive bundle of nerves until she’s digging her nails into my biceps hard enough to leave marks.
She presses her body against me, her tits flush against my chest as my fingers slide into her tight channel. And it is tight. I don’t know if she’s nervous and clenching, but her pussy strangles my digits.
I pump my fingers back and forth, stretching her with each movement.
“We can’t do this,” she says, still groping my arms as I thrust inside her.
“Babe, we’re already doing it.”
“Someone might come in,” she moans, still clinging to me, her eyes squeezed shut as her climax starts to build.
“If anyone tries to come in, I’ll fucking kill them,” I tell her as my lips drop to her neck. I’m not joking, but she laughs between her groans as if she thinks I am.
Maylie’s climax hits her suddenly, her eyes squeezing shut as she lets out the most beautiful sound I’ve ever fucking heard. She sags into my arms as if she can barely hold herself up, and I keep her on her feet as her chest heaves.
I pull my fingers out of her shorts, watching her face as I lift them to my mouth, desperate to taste her. Her eyes widen.