Crystal had to give Declan credit for not being easily shocked, because he simply blinked a couple of times before shutting the door without saying a word. She heard him yell down the hallway, “The broom’s not in the closet. I’ll get the one from the garage.” Apparently, Ella was determined to check for herself because a second later, because Declan, in a voice heavy with amusement, said, “Trust me, Ellie—there’s nothing in that closet that you need to see right now.”
As their voices faded away, Crystal slumped against Mark. “Oh, my God,” she moaned in horror. “My brother-in-law just saw my boobs. Maybe even worse.”
“He left pretty quickly, so I doubt he saw much,” Mark murmured reassuringly.
Maybe she should be utterly embarrassed by what had just happened, but Crystal was surprised to feel a giggle escape, followed quickly by another. Before she knew it, she was slumped back against Mark’s broad chest, shaking with laughter. “This is totally my luck,” she managed to wheeze out. “I mean, I finally throw caution to the wind and decide to go for it, and I bare my tits to Declan!” She heard Mark chuckle in her ear before he nipped it with his teeth. “Ouch!” she yelped, sticking her elbow in his stomach to defend against his love bites.
“Careful, Angel,” he warned. “I have something wedged up against my ass that I suspect is the broom Declan was hunting. If you force me back another step, I’m probably going to become intimately acquainted with it.”
“Oops, sorry,” she replied, trying to stifle a snicker.
“We’d better get presentable and out of here before someone else comes along,” Mark said as he began pulling first her bra and then her dress back up. “I have no idea where the light switch is in here, so we’ll have to check to make sure everything’s as it should be when we step out.”
“Mark . . . I want to go home with you tonight,” Crystal found herself saying as she stared at his outline in the dark. Wait—had she really just asked to have sex with him? Well, yes, she had. Heck, who was she kidding, she’d do it right now, even knowing that Declan was probably watching the door by this point.
“Angel,” Mark said, sounding both surprised and uncertain. “When and if you’re ever in my home again, it won’t be for another sleepover and it won’t be to make love. We’ll fuck—because that’s what I do. And you don’t strike me as a woman who goes for that type of entertainment.”
“That’s exactly what I want,” Crystal found herself replying. “I’ve never had that before. Actually, I’ve never made love either, if I’m being honest.”
“Wait—what? You’ve been married, Angel. How could you possibly be a virgin?”
“Um, what are you talking about?” she asked. “I didn’t say I was a virgin.”
She heard him sigh in the darkness before he said, “Honey, if you haven’t made love and you haven’t fucked—then what have you done? That about covers it, I believe. Shit, surely you didn’t just do oral while you were married, did you?”
Crystal’s mouth fell open at his statement. “No!” she sputtered. “Bill didn’t do stuff . . . you know . . . down there. What I meant was that my ex-husband wasn’t very good at sex. At least, I don’t think he was. He was my first and only, so I have nothing to compare him to. But I don’t think what we did could be classified as either lovemaking or the other thing. From the things that my friends say, though, there’s a lot more than I’ve experienced, and I want it—with you.” Oh crap, I didn’t mean for that to come out sounding so desperate.
His voice sounded strained when he finally said, “Angel, I can’t be your white knight, and, baby, you deserve to have one. I’m not capable of giving you what you’re looking for.”
Crystal felt his arm move around her, and she knew he was looking for the door handle. She had just seconds to get his attention before the moment was lost, so she gave it her best shot. “Mark, I want to know what it feels like to be fucked—just the way you’d do it. I don’t want rose petals and champagne. I want dirty, sweat-soaked sheets. I want aches in places I’ve never imagined, and I want to take a man in my mouth for the first time ever.” Stiffening her spine, she added, “If you aren’t interested, then I’ll find someone who is.”
The last word had barely left her mouth when the door was wrenched open once again. She blinked against the light to find Mark’s driver, Denny, standing there grinning. “Let me be the first to toss my name in the mix. Because if my cousin is crazy enough to turn you down, then I’m happy to be your backup plan.”