The Holloways (Made for Love Book 3.5) (4 page)

Holy shit
, I think when she finally opens the door.

For a second, I’m too distracted by the sight of her to even remember that we’re late or that our family is waiting. She smiles as she takes a step toward me and my heart skips a beat. It isn’t until she takes another step in my direction that I realize—

“That’s a little short, babe.”

“We’ll only be outside for a couple minutes. I have my coat.”

I pinch my eyebrows together, my gaze traveling down her legs—legs that were wrapped around me an hour ago, squeezing me as her muscles tensed with her orgasm. My dick twitches at the memory and I shake the thought away. I’m sure as hell not worried about the temperature outside. Those legs are
mine.
I don’t want any other dicks getting hard at the sight of them. “You sure you don’t have another dress?”

“I’m sure,” she says, closing the distance between us. She presses a hand against my chest as she leans into me. Her heels make it easy for her to reach my lips and she presses a quick kiss against them before she offers me another smile. “You look very handsome,” she tells me.

The tailored, dark gray suit I’ve got on was a Christmas present from my girl. I know she was looking forward to seeing me in it, as it’s been a while since we’ve gone anywhere that called for such attire. My Logan likes to dress up, that’s for sure; now, dressing me up is something she enjoys as well. I don’t mind, especially since I know seeing me in a suit turns her on.

“Thank you, beaut—” I start to speak as I slide my arm around her back, but then I stop when my hand comes in contact with her bare skin. I spread my fingers against the warmth of her lower back, my eyes locked with hers as I feel my way up—searching for the fabric of her dress. I find
none
. “
Logan?
”

“Yes?” she murmurs, obviously fighting a grin.

“Turn around.”

She pulls her lip between her teeth before she does as I ask, revealing her completely backless dress.
No—it can’t even be called that. It’s barely a scrap of fabric covering her ass.

I shake my head, raking my fingers through my hair. “You better hope we can see fireworks from our window, babe, ‘cause we’re not going anywhere. Not anymore. Not with you in that—that—that—”

“
Dress?
” she says, looking at me from over her bare shoulder.

“Logan, that’s not a dress. I don’t know what that is, but it’s not a dress. A
towel
covers more than that!”

“Rome, it
is
a dress,” she insists, turning to face me once more. “Are you trying to tell me that you don’t like it?” She spreads her legs, popping out her hip as she presses a fist against her waist, and I’m suddenly sporting a hard-on.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” I mumble.

She relaxes her stance, a sweet smile pulling at her lips as she inches closer to me. “Good. I’m wearing it for
you.
”

I reach for her chin, shaking my head as my eyes lock with hers. “We walk into that party and every dick in the room is going to be looking at you.”

She rolls her eyes and steps away from me, turning to head toward the closet. “Baby, why can’t you just tell me I look pretty so we can go? I thought we were late.”

In two long strides, I’m at her back. She stops when I snake my arm around her waist and then relaxes against me.
My little minx.
She knew exactly how I’d feel about this dress. “You know I think you’re gorgeous,” I mutter, my lips brushing against her neck. “You look absolutely amazing—and I sure as hell won’t be the only one who notices.”

“Roman,
I’m yours
,” she whispers, arching her back, her ass pressing against my throbbing dick. “I’ve got the ring to prove it.”

I don’t even try to suppress my growl as I pull her tighter against me. “Have you seen yourself in this thing? Nobody is going to care about that ring.”

“Baby, I’ll be glued to your side all night. What more do you want? Should I get Trevor to give me a tramp stamp of your name to make it even more obvious in the future that I belong to you?”

My phone rings before I can respond and I grumble when I look at the caller ID and see Daphne calling—
again
. “Hello?” I answer, my grip still tight around my wife.

“You tell that wife of yours that if she doesn’t get her little ass out the door in five minutes, we’re leaving! I didn’t leave Caroline to spend the night waiting around in a car.”

“We’re on our way,” I announce before ending the call. “
No
,” I mutter, picking up our conversation where we left off. I press a kiss against Logan’s shoulder as I reach into the closet for her coat. “I don’t want any ink on your back. But if anyone so much as lays a hand on you—”

She spins around, immediately silencing me with a kiss. I groan, pulling her against me tighter still. “I love you so much,” she whispers against my lips.

“I love you so much, too.”

Before I know it, her tongue is in my mouth and one of her legs is hitched up around my thigh. A purely animalistic sound crawls its way out of my chest as my free hand glides over her backside, pulling her aggressively against my hard length. She moans, gripping the lapels of my jacket, and I’m sure that if I don’t stop this kiss
right now
, she’ll be completely naked in seconds.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” I grunt, forcing myself to take a step back. I lick my lips, tasting the sweetness of her lip gloss as I hold up her coat. She doesn’t say a word in reply. Instead, she winks at me, pulling at the hem of her dress before she turns around and slides her arms into the sleeves.

I grab my coat, folding it over my arm as I reach for her hand. It’s definitely too hot in here to be worried about a coat. Besides, I need a minute to calm down, and some sort of a shield is necessary if we’re to make our exit now.

“You ready?”

“Absolutely. Let’s go ring in the New Year, baby.”

Damn. Still love it when she calls me baby.

The opera house where the party resides is
beautiful
. Everything is decorated in white and gold, and there are lights and balloons strung up
everywhere
. My eyes are drawn to the gorgeous chandeliers that are scattered around the grand foyer, filled with the attendees of tonight’s celebration.

I love a good light fixture. I seriously cannot help myself.

I hear Roman’s soft chuckle as he presses a kiss against my temple and wraps his arm around my waist. “Come on. Let’s check our coats.”

“Oh, my god,” Daphne gasps, catching my attention. She looks up at Trevor with a worried expression on her face and my brow furrows in concern. “I forgot to tell Grace that Care can’t sleep without her stuffed wolf. Wait—I packed it, right?
Shit.
”

Trevor grins at his wife before he pulls her into his arms and presses a delicate kiss against her forehead. “
I
packed the wolf, Wings. Stop worrying. I’m sure Grace has already managed to put Little Worm to sleep. She and Axel are probably knocked out. You heard them playing when you called a few hours ago.”

“But what if—”

“Trev is right, Skank,” I tell her, speaking loudly, so that I can be heard over the music. “Grace will call you if she needs you.”

She looks at me and then back to her husband. “You have your phone, right? And mine?”

“Yes,” he assures her, sweeping her hair over her shoulders. She’s been growing out her dark brown waves since she got pregnant with Caroline. Now halfway down her back, her locks are almost as long as they were when we first met. “She’ll be okay. We’ll call again in an hour.”

“Okay,” she murmurs with a nod.

I smile at Roman and he smirks at me. Tonight is a big step for our girl, leaving her little one in someone else’s care through the night. I’m actually surprised that she’s not freaking out even more. I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be like that when it’s our turn to have a baby.

I bet I’ll be worse,
I think with a chuckle.

“Oh.
My
,” Beth gasps as Roman takes my coat. We all look at her in question and then everyone follows the direction of her gaze. Suddenly, all eyes are on me. “Well—that is certainly an interesting choice.”

I know by the look on her face that she didn’t mean that as a compliment, but I refuse to let her get to me. My mother-in-law has always been wary of me, in spite of the fact that I’m so obviously, completely, and hopelessly in love with her son. I know how she felt when Roman and I were first dating and she found out we didn’t share the same faith, but that’s all changed now. I worship the same God she does. My choice in wardrobe doesn’t negate my love for Jesus.
In fact,
I would even go so far as to say that my dress is my way of
thanking
Him for giving me this body.

Granted, I work my ass off to keep it in shape, but still—it’s by His grace that I’m able to do so.

I take a deep breath and fight my irritation. Her judgmental stare is certainly not
new
. She’s free to think whatever she wants. It’s not her approval I seek, but that of my husband. Considering the hard-on he made sure I felt before we left our hotel room, I’m going to go ahead and say that tonight,
I totally win.

“
Damn!
” Trevor laughs. “I’m surprised Rome let you out in that thing.”

Roman places a possessive hand on the small of my back, crushing me against his side. I seal my lips together and fight my grin. “Don’t start, Trevor,” he practically growls through clenched teeth.

A single giggle escapes and his eyes flicker to mine. My amusement evaporates as I suck in a sharp breath. It’s in
this
moment that I begin to question whether or not it was a good idea to leave the room without any panties on. He’s making me wet just by
looking
at me.

“You look sexy as hell, LG. Rock that dress,” Daphne insists. She smacks her hand against my ass as she passes in front of her mother, leading the way to coat check. I don’t even try and hide my amusement when I bring my eyes up to meet Beth’s. She doesn’t say a word as she turns to follow her daughter.

“You look lovely tonight, Logan,” says Neal with a friendly wink. “Better keep your eye on her,” he tells Roman.

I smile at my father-in-law. He and I were practically insta-friends. He’s a much needed buffer between his wife and me, and I appreciate him immensely.

“You see what I mean?” Roman asks, gripping my hip, pulling my attention back to him. “We’ve been here two seconds and already someone has grabbed your ass.”

I throw my head back and laugh before I kiss his cheek. “You’re ridiculous and I love you.”

He tries to hide his smile, but it lights up his pretty, dark eyes. “Yeah. Well, you’re crazy beautiful,” he says, brushing his lips against mine. “And you drive me insane. I’m definitely going to need a drink.”

I take a sip of my scotch, my eyes perusing the crowd as I stand beside the bar. I feel the music, the beat vibrating through my chest in time with the bodies that bump and grind on the dance floor. It’s just after ten p.m. and the place is packed. I’m sure Benjamin is thrilled. The proceeds collected at this gala will be donated to a charity that means a great deal to him. He sits on the board of more than one, but his attachment to fine arts outweighs them all. Funding music education is his way of giving back to the community that gave him a voice when he felt like he didn’t have one.

He’s come a long way, my brother, and I’m not too proud to admit that I admire him—especially on nights like this one.

“Judah,
dance
with me!” Mariah whines.

God. I fucking hate the sound of her voice when she begs.

For a moment, I wonder why I decided to invite her tonight. Then I remember that thing she does with her tongue when I fuck her mouth with my cock. My dick is quick to remind me which head I was using when I extended the invitation.
I’ll have to let her go after tonight. Twice is quite enough.

“No,” I mutter, bringing my glass back to my lips.

In my periphery, I can see her fold her arms across her chest in annoyance. I genuinely don’t give a shit whether she’s upset at me or not. I got her into the gala, she’s drinking on my dime, and before the night is through, I’ll fuck her until she can’t remember her own name. She’ll get over my refusal to join the sweaty masses on that dance floor.