Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
T rue. Mallory closed her eyes. This was so not private. “Yes, but we’re keeping them on.” She put her arms around his neck.
“Do we have to?” Dylan parted her legs, pulling her closer. She rode above his erection. The position was dangerous and enthralling.
Mallory put her lips to his ear. “We have to keep our clothes on. But we could go a little further, if you’re interested.”
“I’m interested.”
She traced her fingers over the cotton concealing his ripped abs and even lower, appreciating his physique. “I enjoy touching you.”
“Good.” He groaned and rewarded her by tugging her knees wider and arching his hips up, allowing his erection to press against her through their clothes.
Heat pulsed through her. “Oh.” Mallory squirmed and rubbed against him, knowing she was pushing their limits, but unable to resist.
Dylan slipped his fingers beneath the lace edge of her panties, allowing his thumb to trace her. Mallory stilled and made a hushed “ Ooh ” of appreciation.
He echoed the sound.
Her bra felt restrictive, and she wanted privacy and a bed. They should stop. She’d tell him that in a moment. She cupped his erection.
Dylan gasped and dropped his forehead to her shoulder. He rolled his thumb up to her clit and circled the bundle of nerves. The promise of exquisite sensation held her there, then she moved, gliding up and down against his clothed erection, loving the tingling produced by the friction.
Dylan lightly squeezed her thighs, her hips, her breasts. His expression enraptured, he returned to her clit at last, making her go faster, controlling her motions. “Come for me.”
And she did, tumbling apart as he surged against her, rolling with the sensation, until the last wave eased.
Dylan cuddled her to his chest. “There. Stay just like that for me. Wait out the storm in my arms. While I catch my breath, tell me more about your day. Was it glorious?”
“Yes.” Glowing, glistening, after a few heartfelt breaths, she did, capping it off with a thorough description of her orgasm that had him taking her hand and leading her quickly downstairs.
Back at his apartment, she lay on her side, her back to his chest. The warmth of his hand, rough and callused, ran from the back of her knees and up her thigh, over and over. Mallory shifted, widening her legs.
“You stayed away for a week and then made me wait back at the design studio.” Dylan moved her knee up and forward, exposing her to him. He lightly traced her opening, dragging her wetness from her core, over her bundle of nerves and back.
“Did I?” Dazed with sensation, Mallory made a move to turn around.
“Stay there, please.” Dylan grasped her wrists with his free hand and pinned them over her head on the mattress.
He traced his finger back to her opening, dipped in just the tip, and traced back up her body. He lightly pinched her nipples, leaving the moisture on her breasts, before he moved back down to tap against her clit with enough pressure to send pulses of pleasure through her, but not enough to satisfy.
Mallory shifted again, her brain too fuzzy to lure him with words or demands, but her body was needy enough to try. “Dylan. Please .”
“Please, what?”
What did he mean? This exquisite torture was on purpose.
Mallory swallowed and tried again. “Dylan.”
“Hmm?” Dylan murmured in a vibrating hum against her neck. He pinched her nipple at the same time.
Her hips jerked again. But in this position, she could only graze against his hardness, feel the heat of his erection, but not control the movement or drive him into her.
He traced his fingertips from her neck down to her knees and back up, all the while tracing kisses along her neck to her shoulder and down her spine.
“You’re teasing me.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes.” The word came out breathy.
Mindless with sensation, lips throbbing, when he cupped her jaw to turn her face for a kiss, Mallory caught his thumb between her lips and sucked it in a pulsing rhythm, asking without words for him to give her more, to tease him a little in kind.
Dylan groaned, and meeting her gaze, he withdrew his thumb and kissed her.
He lowered back to her bundle of nerves and stroked the wetness over her and down into her core. Then he replaced his thumb with his index finger and entered her.
The sensation was daring and sexy and still not enough.
But in this position, she couldn’t reach. She made a keening plea.
“Waiting is difficult, hmm? Is this what you want?” Dylan moved his erection to her opening.
Mallory blew out a breath and tried to form the words to make him come into her. “ Please .”
That one word was enough. “Yes.” Dylan inched forward slowly, pulled back, then forward. He rocked against her hips and then plunged inside, fully joining them until there was no breath, just sensation, and an explosion of wonder.
Mallory was working at the living room desk in Dylan’s apartment when a text came through. She didn’t want to stop typing but grabbed her phone and checked the screen anyway.
Jenny had texted. Remember how I helped at your signing ?
Uh-oh. I do.
Want to help me work the booth at Tempo Rain’s fan meet? Well, it’s more of a mini concert, really. It’ll be fun.”
Aww. Would love to.
Jenny handed Mallory a folded pile of Tempo Rain t-shirts to stack in the slots at the back of the merchandise sales booth. Jenny added jackets on top until the stack covered Mallory from her arms to her eyes.
Mallory shot her a glance above the top jacket, and Jenny giggled.
Jenny had been right. This was fun. Loud, chaotic, and busy, but a good time.
Mallory went to the back and refilled the fast-emptying slots. Her next book signing could have shelving behind her with t-shirts for the fans. She’d need a good print shop and a pared-down version of her book cover to make a decent graphic.
The band’s logo on the front of the shirts was an image of the band’s initials, T. R., separated by a lightning bolt with rain slashing over the letters.
What would work for her?
Mallory stacked the black t-shirts with their sizes while the five staff members working the meet-up took orders from the crowd.
Sunny was on the end, working one of the stadium’s registers.
Mallory had been happy when her book signing drew a thousand people. This venue held 20,000 people. “This is such a large turnout for a fan meet.”
“It sold out in forty-five seconds,” Jenny said proudly.
“Impressive.”
Sunny waved at her from the register. “Four medium, please.”
Mallory ran them over to her then went back to Jenny, who’d unsealed another stack of boxes. “Did you design the logo?”
“Nah, but I did do the anime drawings of the guys that they turned into figurines.”
The figurines posed on the shelf holding instruments. “Cute.” The boxed ones were selling as quickly as the t-shirts. “Hope you get a cut.”
“I do.” Jenny nodded. “Logo’s another matter. Plus, I know Dylan would choose whatever I drew. He’s biased, and that’s not fair. Unless I come up with an amazing idea, I wouldn’t put it forward.” Jenny flashed a grin. “Don’t get me wrong, I give them my honest opinion. Their tours have had some wild designs over the years.”
“Part of the fun, right?” Mallory waved her hands to indicate the variety of fan merchandise.
“Logos are harder than they look.”
“If I wanted to make t-shirts for my fan meets and book signings, like for giveaways, would you help me with the logo? I’d pay, of course.”
Jenny pumped her fist by her side. “Heck, yeah. But only if I get a shirt.”
“You’ll get the first one.” Mallory piled more shirts into her arms. “There are so many cute souvenirs here.”
“An important part of the group’s profits.” Oliver joined them. He assessed the status of all the shelves but didn’t help unload them. “Thanks for helping out, Jenny. Corporate loves free labor.”
Jenny waggled her finger. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch, Oliver. Dylan will be paying my hefty tuition fee in the spring.”
Oliver chuckled. “How about you, Mallory?” He eyed the stack she was carrying. “No need to get roped into this madness. Want to go up to the corporate box and get away from this noise?”
Jenny waved him off. “Nope. She’s going to scream from the cheap seats with me and get the full concert experience.”
Mallory nodded in agreement.
Not an hour later, that’s where she was, up in a top row of seats with the fans, seated between Jenny and Sunny.
Wearing tour t-shirts, they popped batteries into their light sticks. Mallory flipped the switch, changing the colors, feeling a camaraderie with the crowd. Her fans needed light sticks.
Not sure what they’d do with them, as the glow wouldn’t be enough to read by, but still. They needed them. What design would work? Fire? A dragon hoard? A lit book in a globe? She wanted all of the above.
A drone flew overhead, getting shots of the crowd, buzzing the anticipation up to another level.
Her own fan meets usually involved a chapter reading and autographs. She’d up her game with merchandise and a dragon-shaped drone at minimum. “I need a dragon-shaped drone.”
Jenny followed the path of the drone with her gaze. “Cool.”
“I’ll organize a costume for a regular one.” Sunny joined their enthusiasm. “You’re going to have the best author events in town.”
“In the land.” Jenny made a cheering pose from the book with a dragon salute. “In this realm, and the nearest four over.”
Mallory saluted her back.
The venue lights went dark in the classic show’s about to start way. And even though everyone had to expect it, the change heightened their senses.
The hair rose on Mallory’s arms, and she changed her light stick over to a silver glow.
More light sticks powered up, dotting the darkness with fan love.
Tempo Rain was about to perform.