CHAPTER 53

I wiggled my eyebrows. “No, but we’re here to celebrate that our baby brother opened a bar. Shots are in order.”

“Let’s go join the group,” Sarah said.

“Where are they?” I asked.

Colton pointed to the other end of the bar. Okay, so Maddox hadn’t made it up, because he, Nick, and Leo were on either side of Gabe, who was pouring drinks too.

“Let’s go before I change my mind,” Colton said, charging forward.

Sarah squeezed my hand again. “Are you okay?” she asked, clasping her hand around my wrist.

“Yeah, why?”

“You seemed tense earlier.”

“It was a strange moment.” Then I whispered in her ear again. “But having you here made it all better.”

“Oh stop, you don’t have to flatter me! You’ve already got me exactly where you want me.” She wiggled against me.

“Not even close.”

Her skin turned to goosebumps. I barely kept myself from finding an excuse to pull her into one of the back rooms and have my way with her. I wasn’t lying. I hadn’t put two and two together before, but I instinctively knew that having her here grounded me.

She took a step back, smiling. “I want shots,” she said, taking my hand and leading me through the crowd until we reached the other side. She’d pulled her hair up in a ponytail, but it was long enough that it reached her upper back. She was wearing heels but was still smaller than me. Her skin was soft to the touch and perfect under the neon lights.

She looked like a goddess.

My team still wasn’t here, but that was fine by me. It gave me some time with my brothers.

“I’ve heard through the grapevine that we’re doing shots. Here are yours,” Gabe said, pointing at a row of glasses. “Let’s drink.”

“To what?” Colton asked.

Jake held up his glass in Gabe’s direction. “To the bar.” Then he turned it in my direction. “And to your acquisition. To us honoring our grandparents’ legacy and building on it.”

“Hear, hear,” Sarah said. She first clinked her glass to Natalie’s and Meredith’s before all the girls clinked with us too.

“By the way, Sarah, we’re going to steal you for the rest of the evening,” Natalie said.

Meredith added, “We don’t want the guys overwhelming you.”

She laughed before downing her shot. She looked so damn amazing. The instinct to whisk her away almost overpowered me, especially after drinking my shot.

The alcohol burned my throat but left an incredible aftertaste. Even though I wasn’t driving, I should pace myself. After all, I’d have Sarah to myself in no time.

I was wrong. It was two o’clock in the morning when we arrived home. We’d both had a few more shots and then Gabe gave everyone a tour of the distillery.

I’d already visited it a few times, but I’d gone anyway. It was fun seeing everything from Sarah’s perspective. Then my team came, and I couldn’t leave.

But now, finally, it was just the two of us.

The second we went through the door, I took her up in my arms and walked upstairs with her.

“Someone’s in a hurry,” she teased.

“Damn right, I am.”

****

William POV

I Put her down in the bedroom, and she glanced over her shoulder at me, swallowing hard. I loved seeing her like this, curious, daring, and at the same time, putting herself completely at my mercy.

I walked around her, stopping in front of her and tilting her head up. I brushed my lips over her forehead, skimming them down her temple to her cheek. She sighed softly against my cheek.

I kissed the left corner of her mouth and drew my lips right to the other corner, kissing that one as well. “I want you, Sarah, so damned much.”

“I want you too,” she muttered. “I love that you’re wearing the tie I gave you.” She sounded shy.

I grinned. “I’ve got great plans for it.”

“Really? Oh?”

I took a step back, looking her up and down. The gold dress fit her curves. “I’ve been thinking about the best way to take this off you ever since I saw you tonight.”

“It does have a zipper, you know,” she said.

“It looks so fucking sexy and sinful on you.”

“Wait until you see what’s under it,” she murmured.

I turned hard instantly. “Under it,” I repeated.

“Yes,” she whispered.

I stepped closer, capturing her mouth. I needed this kiss. I’d held back at the bar, but now, here in my bedroom, I could devour her exactly the way I wanted to. It was more than that. I needed to possess her.

I lowered her zipper, sliding my fingers inside the opening as I tugged it further down. I brushed my hands over the fabric and skin. My cock twitched.

What was she wearing? I couldn’t wait to find out. I lowered the zipper altogether and tugged at the straps of her dress. She lifted her arms, and I pulled her dress over her head.

And then I turned so hard that my cock pressed painfully against my zipper. “What is this?”

She was wearing a bodice of sorts that was a crisscross of straps.

“You like it?”

“Yes. Fuck yes.”

“I bought it yesterday, thinking we were both going to enjoy it.”

“I fucking am enjoying it,” I assured her. I moved her closer to the bed. “Put your foot there,” I said, pointing at the wooden edge.

“I want your knee on the mattress,” I corrected, realizing she would be more comfortable like that. She swallowed hard, pressing her lips together before taking the position I asked her to.

I drew my hands up her inner thigh. Her skin was so damned soft. I reached between her legs. She gasped, bucking backward. I stepped close enough to be able to support her, placing a hand on her waist.

The bodice was in the way. I rubbed her over the fabric but only twice because I needed to feel her flesh. I wanted to know how turned-on she was. So, I slipped two fingers inside and brushed her bare pussy.

She gripped my shoulders with both hands.

She was so damned wet that I had trouble keeping my instincts under control. I wanted to sink inside her right now. What was it about Sarah that always made me forget myself? She had that unique power over me. I’d never given that to anyone else, but she was different. She was special.