The One For Me (Danver #8) (9 page)

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with, baby.” Mark sighed as he tightened his grip on her.

Stroking her fingers through his thick dark hair, she said earnestly, “I know you think I’m some sort of goody two-shoes, but I can be bad—I want to be. I’ve never been given the opportunity before—but I know I can do it.”

Looking pained, Mark laughed—although it came out sounding more like a wheeze. “Baby, this isn’t
some kind of baking contest. There is nothing wrong with being a good girl. Hell, that’s one of the reasons I can’t keep my hands off you. Your innocence must be like some sort of crazy bat signal to me. I’ve never spent time with a woman like you, and frankly, it’s messing with my head,” he admitted wryly.

She had no idea how to respond to his confession. He’d both pushed her away and pulled her closer with just a few words. Other than his good looks, she was attracted to him because instinctively she knew he would take her places in the bedroom that she’d only imagined in her dreams. If he asked her to leave right now and go have sex with him, she would do it without question. After all, she’d spent her adult years making first her mother and then Bill happy. She’d paid her dues, and she was damn well tired of waiting around for what she wanted. Instead of her life finally starting, it felt some days as if everything was passing her by instead. “Then stop fighting it,” she advised. “I want you, and you seem to feel the same. We’re both adults and free from any other obligations. Er—you don’t have a girlfriend or a wife, right?”

Mark tapped her chin, shaking his head. “Angel, of course not. I thought I’d covered the fact that I didn’t do the relationship thing.”

Smiling brightly, she said, “So we’re good, then. Do you have like a toy drawer with all of the supplies we’ll need or should I buy them? Do you think they sell that kind of thing at Walmart? I usually buy my KY Jelly there, but it’s in the pharmacy section.” Snapping her fingers, she added, “Amazon! That’s where I purchased
my—thing, so I can just order what we need. I have a Prime account, so I get free shipping.”

His head slumped against her neck as his body shook. “Are you all right?” she asked as she looked at him in concern.

“Baby, what ‘thing’ did you order from Amazon, and why do you need KY Jelly?” he asked in a tight voice. “Shit, if you’re talking about a vibrator, then don’t tell me. I can’t handle knowing.” Crystal looked away, not saying anything. He’d said he didn’t want to know, after all. “Fuck, that’s what you bought, wasn’t it? Do you ever use it and imagine it’s me inside of you, Angel?”

She shifted uneasily on his lap, knowing her face had to be bright red once again. She didn’t dare admit that she’d even named her battery-operated boyfriend Mark. He’d think she was some kind of weirdo for sure.

They were locked in their own little world until a loud voice jerked them apart. “Mark, can I talk to you for a minute?” She looked up to see Declan scowling down at them. Actually, a quick glance around showed most everyone shooting them curious looks. She could only hope that no one else had been close enough to hear their conversation. This day had probably taught him more about his sister-in-law than he’d ever wanted to know. Ella was going to kill her.

“Um—sure,” Mark agreed as Crystal scrambled from his lap. He got up slowly, putting his hands in his pockets. He gave her a wink before following Declan into the house. She didn’t want to answer all of the questions that she knew the other women would
have, so she stayed where she was, waiting to see if he’d come back.

She’d barely had time to start worrying when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry, Angel, but I’ve got to run. I received a call while I was talking to Declan. It’s nothing major, but I need to take care of something.” Crystal noticed Denny standing a few feet away, obviously waiting for his boss.

“Oh—okay,” she murmured, trying to hide her disappointment. For some reason, she’d had it in her head that tonight would be a turning point for them. Now it looked as if she’d be a party of one—as usual. “Drive safely,” she added, knowing it sounded lame. What she actually wanted to do was stick out her lower lip and sulk like a teenage girl with her first crush.

As she was turning away, Mark touched her shoulder before clearing his throat. “Would you—I mean, do you want to do something tomorrow night?” She could only gape at him in shock as his words hung heavily between them. Had he just asked her out? Or did he mean sex?

“Like a date?” she asked uncertainly. “If it’s the other thing that we discussed, we’ll have to make do with what you have because Amazon doesn’t deliver on Sunday. I have my Rabbit, though—so I could bring that. If you don’t have handcuffs, we could use one of your ties. I like that teal blue one that you wear sometimes.” When he continued to stare at her with his mouth now hanging open, she rushed to reassure him. “You don’t have to make a decision now. You can text me—or call me later. Or even send me a private
message on Twitter.”
Oh God, I’m rambling and making a fool out of myself. Shut up, Crystal—don’t say another word!

He rubbed his temple, saying, “Angel, I’m talking about dinner. Isn’t that what normal people do when they go out together? Possibly a movie as well.” Behind them, Denny coughed loudly, although Crystal suspected it was actually to keep from laughing. She and Mark probably sounded pathetic. Both of them uncertain and fumbling around with something so simple. “Although I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by the other stuff you mentioned.” His eyes widened for a moment before he took a deep breath. “I’m trying to do this right, Angel, so stop distracting me. May I pick you up at seven tomorrow night?”

Unable to contain her grin, she said primly, “Yes, please.” At the same time, she fought the urge to run around and do some cartwheels. She had a freaking date with Mark DeSanto. Stuff like this didn’t happen to girls like her. But it was happening—ahhh!

He leaned down to brush a kiss onto her cheek before moving his lips to her ear. “No need for the tie, Angel—I have handcuffs.” With that statement, he gave her a quick salute and followed Denny out.

Since every head at the barbecue was still turned to her, she playfully held up her fingers in a V for “victory.” “That’s right, I’ve got a date tomorrow night!” After a few seconds of silence that felt more like minutes, the applause started and she took a bow.

Who knew that all it took was the promise of dinner with a sexy man and two glasses of wine for Crystal
Webber to turn into a wild woman? Dear Lord, had the answer to her happiness been that simple all along?

•   •   •

Denny smirked as they walked into Mark’s house an hour later with Chinese takeout. “‘At last, your love has come along. Your tying-up days are overrr . . .’”

“Shut up, asshole,” Mark snapped as he listened to his assistant butcher a classic love song.

“Oh, come on, man, I was just getting to the part about not turning any more asses red. That was my best verse. I worked on this for the entire trip.” He pouted.

“I knew I should have gone through the fucking McDonald’s drive-thru,” Mark grumbled.

“Well, if you hadn’t lied and made us leave before the actual food was served at Declan’s, we wouldn’t be in need of food. Why’d you bother to tuck tail and run after making out in the closet, talking dirty, and then asking her out? Heck, it was all smooth sailing and you panicked.” Looking suddenly serious, Denny asked, “What made you do that, by the way? The date, that is. . . .”

Mark dropped on a barstool and lowered his head onto his folded arms. “I don’t know. I caved to pressure. Declan was warning me off, like I was going to defile her or something.”

Denny raised his brows and Mark flipped him off. “Yeah, so maybe he had a small point. But for once, I was trying to be a good guy—and she wouldn’t let me.
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she was taking a BDSM training class.”

“Maybe she bought some self-help books,” Denny interjected. “You know,
Spankings for Dummies
or
Bondage 101 for Beginners
.”

Mark rubbed his eyes before chuckling. “I wouldn’t doubt it at all,” he admitted. “There’s something about her, though. She makes me want shit I’ve never desired before, and it’s scary as hell.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Denny said. “You’ve been different with her from the beginning. If she were one of your usual women, then we wouldn’t even be having this discussion because you’d have already slept with her and she’d be long gone. The fact that you haven’t, even though you obviously want her, should tell you something.”

“That I’m losing it?” Mark asked ruefully. “Or maybe I’m just getting too old for the crap I’ve always favored.”

“Yeah, a bad case of arthritis and you’re out of business,” Denny snickered. “Imagine having to rub on the joint cream before you crack the whip. Talk about ruining the moment. And don’t even get me started on the smell. You remember how the grandparents’ house smelled like a mixture of mothballs and mint toothpaste?”

“This is beyond depressing.” Mark groaned. “It’s Saturday night and I’m sitting here discussing old age with my cousin. Let’s hurry up and eat so I can be asleep by nine. That’s what old bastards do, right?”

“You’re really pathetic,” Denny said sarcastically. “Might I point out that your dry spell can be measured
in weeks? Plus, you have a date with a beautiful woman tomorrow night. All men should have your kind of problems.”

Mark nodded, grabbing a container of shrimp lo mein. “I am pretty amazing, aren’t I?”

Denny snorted. “Thank God. The conversation was beginning to sound like a category on
Jeopardy!
called ‘Things That Losers Say.’ I’m glad you’re back to your humble self again.”

They polished off their meal along with a couple of beers each while joking around. He’d never admit it to the other man, but it was one of his better Saturday nights on record. He’d been restless for a while, and when having sex with a variety of women came in second to a night with your cousin, it was definitely time for a change. He was in no way talking about settling down and buying a fucking minivan, but the possibility of trying a relationship with one woman was almost intriguing. He’d never known that before, so how could he judge whether or not it was right for him? And he couldn’t think of anyone better to fill that position than Crystal Webber. He’d already established that he wanted her around—hell, he was making an ass out of himself for her and the world at large to witness.

Tomorrow night, he would show her he could do sweet. He’d be a gentleman and attempt not to sleep with her on the first date. She would have to stop saying shit about being tied up for him to succeed, though. He’d been so hard when Declan had the come-to-Jesus talk with him, he’d been forced to keep his hands jammed in his pockets to hide the evidence. The
random kinky stuff that tumbled from those plump lips drove him nuts. And the Rabbit she mentioned? He was almost certain that she wasn’t referring to a pet bunny.

His Angel was going to test all of his newfound resolve, and no amount of jerking off before the date was going to help if she didn’t lay off the sex-toy talk.

Crystal had checked her watch again before she returned to pacing the floor of her living room. Mia was late—which wasn’t unusual. Normally, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but her friend was lending her a dress for her date with Mark, and she didn’t want to find out at the last moment that it didn’t fit.

She almost jumped out of her skin when a knock sounded at the door. In the middle of her mad dash, she stubbed her toe on the carpet and ended up hopping the rest of the way.
Damn, what else today?

Mia stood there, holding up a gorgeous black dress—that looked a little on the short side. “Sorry I’m late,” the other woman tossed out as she walked in. “I couldn’t find my keys. I finally checked the car and I’d left them in the ignition.” Wrinkling her nose, she added, “I’d never hear the end of that if Seth found out.” Looking Crystal up and down, she grimaced. “Um—yeah, you look . . . low-maintenance.”

Crystal started laughing at her friend’s subtle put-down. “I was waiting for you to get here with the dress. I didn’t want to mess my hair up while I was dressing.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Mia sighed. “This isn’t your
finished look. I was a bit worried there for a moment. Have you showered and shaved—everything?”

Turning away before Mia could see her blush, she mumbled, “Yes, I’m all groomed.” She didn’t want to admit it, but she’d done something that she’d never dared before. She’d gone completely bare—downstairs. In the midst of her usual trim session, she’d had the crazy urge for something different. She’d mentioned trying it to her ex-husband one time, and he’d almost passed out. Then he’d gone into great detail on why it was wrong that she’d even considered it. That was Bill, though. Anytime she’d ever wanted to try anything new in the bedroom, he’d made her feel like some kind of cheap slut. Eventually, she’d just stopped trying or caring. That had been the beginning of the end of their marriage. She couldn’t imagine Mark ever belittling her for something like that. He made her want to be adventurous and step outside of her comfort zone. And unbelievably, tonight she had a chance to do just that with him. An official date—just the two of them. A shot for her at fulfilling one of her many fantasies involving him.

Mia handed her the dress then pulled some type of brochure from her purse. Giving Crystal a wicked grin, she waved it in the air. “Guess what I wanted to tell you? My friend Becca is now a representative for Naughty Nights, and I’m hosting a party for her!”

“Naughty Nights?” Crystal asked, wondering if this was some kind of sex club. Was it wrong that the idea wasn’t as scary as it should be?

“You’ve never heard of it?” Mia asked, while she thumbed through what Crystal could now see was a
booklet. “It’s the newest thing. You get a bunch of your girlfriends together, have a few glasses of wine, and buy sex toys. I’ve been to one of the parties before. It’s actually a lot of fun. And I brought you one of the catalogs. You can do a little window-shopping before the party next week.”

“Bu-but everyone would know that I bought a vibrator,” Crystal whispered. Sure, she’d mentioned her Rabbit to Mark, but that was different. She planned to have sex with him. But to pick out stuff like that in front of a bunch of strangers—or even worse, friends—was something she couldn’t imagine.

“Who the hell cares?” Mia waved her worries away. “Honey, everyone there will be doing the same thing. Becca will even bring some with her so that you can test the look, feel, and most important—the size. I mean, nothing’s more disappointing than thinking you’re buying a big hot one online only to find out that it looks like some pecker reject when it arrives. Yeah, realistic, my ass. If you can’t get your fantasy cock in rubber, then where can you?”

Crystal sagged back onto her sofa, dropping her head in her hands. “You’re nuts,” she managed to choke out between embarrassed laughter. “What does Seth think about you trying to buy your dream penis online?”

Mia licked her lips. “We like our toys, but trust me, none of them measure up to what he’s got going on. My man is hung, and I’ve got the bowed legs to prove it.”

“Oh, my God!” Crystal collapsed into a fit of giggles. “He’d die if he knew the things you said about him.”

“Why?” Mia smirked. “Do you think any man would actually care if his woman told her friends that he had a big one? Hell, he’d probably be thrilled. Oh—and I can tell that Mark does as well. Have you noticed that outline going down his leg? He’s packing—seriously.”

“You looked at his crotch?” Crystal gaped at her in disbelief.

“Well, duh. You had him so worked up last night that it practically had its own zip code when he left. I wasn’t staring the whole time, but Suzy and I were near the doorway as he was walking out and it was kind of hard to miss.”

“It did . . . feel that way,” Crystal admitted. “Not that I’ve had much experience in gauging a man’s size.”

“Well, you’re going to tell me all about it tomorrow.” Mia grinned before taking Crystal’s hand and pulling her to her feet. “Now let’s go pull you together for DeStudo. When I get finished with you, he’ll be bringing that monster out of his pants to play.”

•   •   •

Mark stood uncertainly on Crystal’s doorstep, feeling like he was on the verge of a panic attack, which was completely unlike him. What was wrong with him? He was never nervous where women were concerned. He’d been standing here damn near five minutes and had straightened his clothing a dozen times. Why was meaningless sex easier than a simple date? Sure, there wasn’t a lot of conversation when you were fucking—so actually talking to his date would be different. Plus, there was the whole goal of not sleeping with her tonight. He wasn’t sure what he’d been thinking when
he made that resolution. It just sounded stupid now. He wanted her and she felt the same. Why deprive either of them?

He was in the middle of talking to himself like an idiot when the door suddenly swung open and there she was. His Angel in a short black dress that made her look sinfully good. Rather like a fallen Angel.

“I—um, thought I heard something out here, and since you were a few minutes late, I decided to check.” Shit, he’d stood out here so long stressing like a pussy that he’d lost track of time.

Shaking off his insecurities, he took a step forward and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “You look amazing, Angel.”
Heaven help me, she smells good enough to eat.

“Thank you,” she replied softly. “You look really good.”

Did she just look at my cock when she said that?
Clearing his throat, he asked, “Are you ready to go?”

“All set.” She smiled shyly, stepping out and locking her apartment door. He reached down to thread his fingers through hers as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Weird, something else he didn’t normally do. He’d put a hand in the small of a woman’s back, but holding hands felt too intimate. It was something you’d do on a vanilla kind of date, though, wasn’t it?

Denny had offered—begged—to drive them tonight, but Mark had politely refused. On their first date, he didn’t need the other man laughing at him as he tried to do the whole normal thing with Angel. “So, how was your day today?” he asked as he opened the passenger door of the Porsche for her.

“It was good.” She laughed softly. “I was really nervous, though.”

Surprised, he kept hold of her hand as he asked, “Was it because of me?”

Instead of shying away, she looked him in the eye and simply said, “Yes.” He found that he liked that answer a lot since he’d been feeling the same way. Heck, he’d changed his clothes three times, which was beyond absurd. He wasn’t sure regular dating was something that he needed to pursue if it was going to turn him into some kind of bumbling fool. Somehow smacking a woman’s ass was simple and straightforward, but calling it a date made it complex and complicated.

Unable to resist, he pulled her close, lowering his mouth to hers. A low moan sounded from her throat as he licked into her mouth. The sound was enough to have him instantly hard. When her tongue darted out to touch his, he was on the verge of pulling her back to her apartment and ordering a damn pizza for dinner after he’d sated his hunger that burned for her. The scary part was that he knew deep down that once would be only the beginning. His Angel was fast becoming an addiction that had thrown his life in disarray.

They were pulled from the moment when a car passed by, honking the horn repeatedly. “Well, crap,” she snapped crossly as she glared at the retreating vehicle. Apparently, she didn’t like the interruption any more than he did.

He tapped her chin, smiling at her disgruntled
expression. “Don’t worry, baby. We’ll pick that up again later if you’re a good girl.”

She blushed, which he found adorable. Most of the women who came to his bed weren’t capable of that kind of innocent embarrassment anymore. Innocence was a heady thing, and hers captivated him. “I thought you liked your women bad.”

Shit, had she really just said that?
Lighten up, she’s just joking around. Everything isn’t a sexual innuendo.
He directed most of his pep talk toward his wayward cock as he crossed the front of the car and settled into the seat beside Crystal. Her sweet scent filled the small space around him, and he had his next epiphany. He should have let Denny drive. She was so close now, and there was no way to put distance between them.
Don’t stare at her tits and don’t put your hand between her legs. Dear God, just look away from her. Pretend she’s Denny.
His good intentions lasted until he pulled out of her parking lot. Then somehow, his hand ended up on her bare knee. It was all her fault. Her damn dress was way too short. How was he supposed to resist touching so much exposed skin?

When she started laughing, he realized that he’d voiced his question aloud.
Real smooth, man.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, feeling like some kind of socially awkward reject. When she put her hand on his, moving it up higher, his heart rate accelerated into the danger zone.
Great, I’m going to have a stroke from a little contact with her bare leg.

“I wanted to wear a dress that would make you want me,” she confessed shyly.

Inhaling a jerky breath, he said hoarsely, “Angel, I
couldn’t give a fuck what you wear. I’d want you if you were wearing granny panties and a burlap sack. Trust me: it’s the woman, not the clothes, that attracts me.”

Her grip tightened on his hand as she asked a question that had him weaving all over the road. “Can we . . . just skip dinner and go to your place?”

“Angel,” he groaned as he righted the car. At this rate, he’d be pulled over for DUI without ever touching a drop of alcohol. “Let me just go ahead and tell you that we’re not having sex tonight. Now that it’s out there, we don’t have to stress about it all evening.”
What in the hell did I just say? It’s as if Angel and I have switched bodies. I’m the virginal girl and she’s the horny guy.

She crossed her arms and gave what sounded like a huff of irritation. “But why not? I mean, you know I’m receptive, right?”

Mark wanted to beat his head against the steering wheel. This wasn’t going at all as he’d planned. She was testing his resolve, and he wasn’t even sure why he wanted to resist in the first place. Now it was almost like some sort of contest that he was determined to win—or at least survive. “Baby, can you just please let me be the better man for once? I’m trying so hard not to treat you like I have other women, and you’re making it hard—like really hard.” When she opened her mouth to say what was probably something else that would blow his mind, he quickly added, “Let’s wait until we’re at the restaurant to finish this conversation, okay? I’d like to avoid wrapping the car around a pole tonight if that’s okay with you.”

He switched on the stereo to a soft-rock station and
tried to relax as the music filled the car. Maybe this was the grown-up version of a time-out, because that was exactly what he needed right now. A moment to regroup and start thinking about stuff like his parents, grandparents, and anyone else who would be a complete turnoff. Because focusing on Angel was out of the question right now or he’d do something crazy like park behind a deserted building and take her on the hood of his car. His mind raced with the least sexy images he could come up with:
Denny, the little old lady at Starbucks, bad sushi, Angel throwing up on his shoes . . .

•   •   •

I must have said something wrong,
Crystal thought glumly as Mark sprinted from the driver’s seat as soon as they reached the restaurant. Mia had advised that she should simply be honest with him about what she wanted, and she figured asking to go to his house made her feelings pretty clear. Only something about it had freaked him out. He’d almost run off the road, but even more alarming was the fact that he was chanting something under his breath repeatedly. She thought she caught Denny’s name and something about his mother. Was he on some type of medication? If not, maybe he needed to look into that, because he was acting kind of crazy.

She saw a valet approaching her door, before Mark waved him away. She reached for the handle just as he flung it open. The result was her almost tumbling from the low-slung seat and onto the pavement. Luckily, he managed to catch her before that happened. Dear God, so far, they were almost a disaster together. She was awkward enough on her own; she certainly
didn’t need any help in that area from a man who normally seemed so smooth and polished. He mumbled an apology before helping her to stand.

“Oh wow, I’ve always wanted to come here.” She beamed at him once she noticed they’d arrived at a seafood restaurant located on one of the quieter piers in Myrtle Beach. He smiled in reply before putting a hand on the small of her back and leading her toward the door.

“Mr. DeSanto,” the hostess gushed. “How wonderful to see you again, and you’ve brought company this evening. I have a quiet table in the corner that would be perfect.”

Both the hostess and Crystal gawked at Mark when he said loudly, “No! Er—I mean, how about that one right there?” he asked, pointing toward a small table in the middle of the room with absolutely no privacy.