Big Dick Energy - Cindi Madsen Page 0,51

I’d gotten to know her—and because I paid such close attention—I’d seen glimpses of her anxiety, a beat here and there where she questioned herself.

Empathy had panged when she’d talked about the pressure from her mom. While our parents cared about vastly different things, their looming disappointment was excruciatingly similar.

But evidently, just like me, music washed away those insecurities brought on by incessant criticism.

By the time we reached the chorus for the last time, we were singing more to each other than the crowd. My center of gravity tethered to her, the pull so strong it rattled my bones, and I suddenly felt as unsteady as the lyrics had me claiming to be.

If she were a siren and I were the sailor at sea, it’d be worth it to crash to bits on the rocks, just to be near her during those last minutes.

Our audience applauded, a couple of them whooping and hollering. I ran my fingertips down her forearm, laced our fingers together, and then lifted our joined hands in the air.

We bowed and rushed backstage, which was really more of a roomy supply closet. As soon as we were through the doorway, I yanked Penelope to me so I could get my hands on her and finish that kiss.

But my damn guitar got in the way. I shoved it around so hard that a couple of random rolls of paper towels fell to the ground. A problem for later.

Nothing was more urgent than getting as much of my body on hers as I could. “Fuck that was hot,” I said, pressing her back to the wall.

Penelope ran her hands over my shoulders and murmured, “It was really fucking hot.” Then the most gorgeous smile I’d ever seen spread across her face. “Look at us. Agreeing all over the place.”

My mouth crashed into hers, my hands groping her ass and notching her against me.

At the feel of my erection between her thighs, a whimper escaped, and I went from hard to rock hard in an instant. I pushed into her, and she rolled her hips, and oh God, the friction.

We gave ourselves over to the passion threatening to consume us whole, letting our mouths, tongues, and bodies do all the talking. While we tended to get into a lot of verbal sparring matches, our bodies assented and acquiesced, in full accord with one another.

I moved my lips to her neck to suck on the silky softness there. My other hand drifted up the front of her shirt. “Are you telling me that this entire time, all I had to do to get you to stop contradicting me was to play my guitar?”

“Well, I didn’t know you’d be so good at fingering,” she jabbed back, and I palmed her breast over her lacy bra, finding her hardened nipple and tweaking it to give her a hands-on demonstration.

A cry escaped, and she slammed her mouth to mine. To muffle her voice or to take over, I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t rightly care. She stroked her tongue over mine, laying waste to about every thought I’d ever had.

“I’m about to take you here and now,” I said, “but I’m afraid we’ll be interrupted shortly, and I know how you feel about being interrupted.”

“So not a fan.” She drove her fingers through my hair. She was rougher than earlier at the table, tugging at the ends and driving me wild with desire. At this rate, whether or not we were discovered, it’d be hard to hide the evidence of what we’d been doing.

Not that I cared, but I didn’t want Penelope to have any regrets about tonight. “I’m afraid there’s only one solution.” I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her a few feet in the air. With Izzie at a sleepover, I figured tonight would be the perfect time for me to have one as well. “Come home with me.”

20

Penny

The second Archer slid his key into the door of his condo, barking erupted from the other side.

The ball of fluff that came at our legs the instant we walked in the door was so not what I was expecting. Come to think of it, the sounds had been on the high-pitched, yipee side. The brown and gray dog was having a better hair day than I was, its high ponytail adorned with a giant bow.

I did a double take at the rest of the room. Pink couch, wicker light fixtures, a brightly colored Moroccan rug, and…was that a buddha shrine?

“Just