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I sit back in my own chair, leaving my arm around her seat. Nobody around us is paying any attention. Except Raleigh, who’s stealing every glance he can without staring outright. The blush on his cheeks is brighter; whether it’s the alcohol, or something else that’s got him going, I can’t tell.
Callahan is still, her back ramrod straight, not moving, barely even breathing. She stays for so long I begin to think I’ve misstepped.
“Callie—”
“Would you really?” she asks in a rush. I lean forward to study her face. Her eyes are bright, unfocused. She’s obviously lost in her own thoughts. Picturing what I said, maybe.
Which means I’m picturing it now, too.
“Would I turn you over my knee, peel down those panties and light your ass up for misbehaving?” I ask, leaning close again. “You better believe I would.”
Callahan’s hand grips my knee under the table.
“West,” she says.
“Look at Raleigh,” I say. Callie lifts her gaze, focuses in on him. He’s watching us watch him. “I bet he’d love that, watching you take your punishment. I bet we could make him come like that.”
Callahan’s grip tightens. Christ, we’ve got to get out of here before I do something we all regret.
The party is winding down, a few guests already having bid their goodnights. Not keen to oversleep and miss the wedding in the morning, I’d guess. Now’s as good a time as any to make an exit. Still, it’s not a good idea for Callie and me to leave together. Not without a good reason.
“How attached are you to that dress?” I ask Callie. Her eyes go wide.
“What?”
“Never mind,” I say. “I’ll buy you another one, I swear.”
I nudge the wineglass and it tips over onto the table, sending sticky champagne all over the front of that gorgeous gold dress. Callie cries out and pushes back from the table. I collect a handful of napkins and hand them to her, apologizing and flagging down one of the catering staff for help cleaning up. Raleigh catches my eye and raises a brow. I look up sharply at the ceiling, hoping he gets the message, relieved to see him nodding a moment later as he stands up and kisses his mother on the cheek.
“Clumsy jerk,” mutters Callahan, mopping at the front of her dress and glaring at me. Finn notices the commotion and makes his way back over to us.
“Callie spilled her wine,” I explain. Callahan splutters behind me, but I keep talking, taking her by the elbow. “I’ll walk her back up to her room.”
“You don’t mind?” says Finn. “I would, but I promised to help with cleanup tonight.”
“No problem,” I say, telling him as much truth as I can. “I’m on my way up to bed anyway.”
“Thanks, man,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder like he always does. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.” He gives Callie a kiss on the cheek and some shit for being clumsy, and heads back to the dance floor.
“Couldn’t we just leave?” mutters Callie once we’ve made our way to the stairs. There’s nobody in sight, but with so many other people likely to leave the party soon, I’m not taking any chances on getting caught this time.
“Got us out of there, didn’t it?” I say. I hear her muttering to herself all the way up to my floor.
Raleigh is standing at the end of the hall near my room, trying his best to look nonchalant and failing. It’s charming as hell.
“What happened?” he asks, seeing Callie’s soaked dress.
“Jackass here decided it was time to go,” she says, scowling at me as I work the key into the lock.
I don’t object, my entire existence focused on getting that goddamned door open before somebody sees us out here.
The instant I’ve got them inside with the door locked behind us, the room goes silent.
The encyclopedic list of all the ways I wanted them today is gone from my mind. All I can think about is getting my hands on them—one of them, both of them, together or separate.
They haven’t moved since I shut the door. One step gets me right in Callie’s face, her back against the wall. Raleigh starts to shift away, to give us space. I catch him by the throat, squeezing lightly, just enough to keep him in arm’s reach.
“Stay there.” I can feel him swallow as I look him in the eyes. “Do you remember what we talked about earlier, Raleigh?”
