Looping her arms around my neck, she swayed to the music, nearly toppling off my lap when she leaned a little too far.
Gripping her more firmly, I growled in her ear, “Are you drunk, Princess?”
Her resulting giggle gave me the answer, even as she protested, “No! Of course not!”
Squeezing her thigh, I countered, “So that wasn’t you I saw doing gelatin shots?”
Blue eyes wide, she shook her head. “Must have been someone else. Wasn’t me.”
I knew she was lying but let it slide as she wiggled her ass, resulting in a rush of blood to my groin. Holding her steady, I warned, “Careful, Princess.”
In a show of blatant disobedience, she struggled to grind her ass down further. “Are you going to punish me, Sir?”
Oh, fuck.
I couldn’t stop myself from groaning. We hadn’t slipped back into our dynamic since the night of her last punishment. God, how I missed dominating her, but I held back, giving her what she asked for when she begged for it to be just us. It looked like I wasn’t the only one longing to regain our sexual roles.
Grabbing her by the back of the neck, I pulled her lips to mine in a punishing kiss, showing her exactly who was boss. Breaking away when we were both desperate for air, I put my mouth directly next to her ear. “You’re walking a fine line, sweetheart. I have no problem throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you out of here while everyone watches.”
Holding her so close, I felt the way her body trembled at my words, and satisfaction coursed through my veins.
Lucy breathed out, “Promise?”
“Don’t tempt me,” I growled.
She opened her mouth to retort, most likely to push me over the edge, when an old boy band song came over the speakers, and her eyes lit up. Jumping off my lap, she swayed on her feet, and I reached out a hand to steady her as she screamed, “I love this song! Where are my girls!?”
If she weren’t so damn cute when tipsy as hell, I’d have rolled my eyes at her taste in music, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her as she pushed through the mass of bodies on the dance floor to locate her friends. Just when I thought that was it, she pulled them toward the DJ’s booth, and he handed them microphones.
The four of them danced, singing their hearts and doing the iconic hand signals that went along with the song out as the crowd watched. Lucy was so free in this moment, allowing her personality to shine through, and I wanted that for her every day. Not just when she was dangerously close to fall-down drunk. That was my job now, to see to her happiness and ease the burden she felt with the weight of the world—and her family—on her shoulders.
Smiling, I realized that seeing her happy made me happy, and I wanted to devote my life to making sure she could live as freely as she felt right now.
There was simply no denying it any longer. I was falling for the fashion princess.
Chapter 25
Lucy
I had been inrare form last night, as evidenced by the pounding in my head as I tried to force my eyes open. How much had I had to drink? Rolling over, not ready to face the day, I collided with a solid mass in my bed. My head was fuzzy, so I used my hands to explore what I’d bumped into as my eyes remained closed.
“Oof. Watch those hands, Princess.”
Oh, shit.
Preston was in my bed. Inviting him to spend the night with me wasn’t completely out of the ordinary, but I could only imagine how sloppy I’d been if I couldn’t even remember it. That’s when I realized what he meant by watching my hands as I felt his erection growing beneath my palm.
That was enough to wake me, and I sat up, my eyes opening suddenly, which I instantly regretted. Throwing both hands over them to shield them from the light, I groaned. “Sorry.”
I felt him drop a kiss on my bare hipbone, uttering, “Nothing to be sorry about.”
Glancing down, I noticed that I was indeed naked. Grimacing at the idea of begging him to fuck me while I was practically black-out drunk, I braced myself enough to ask, “Did we . . .”
Rolling over so his hand rested just below my navel, he chuckled. “No, I’m not in the habit of taking advantage of girls who can’t walk to their own beds without assistance. Not that you didn’t ask ever so nicely. However, you did get quite belligerent when I turned you down.”
Of course I did.
“Sorry. I don’t remember much of what happened after my stint at karaoke.”
