“He scares me too,” Chloe mumbled.

I stifled a giggle.

Indy bit her lip and turned to Lee. “Can we chat, um…

privately?”

Lee’s face went soft, his arm went around her shoulders and they disappeared into the books.

So did Hank and Roxie, Eddie and Jet.

Al y looked at everyone else. “So, I’m an idiot. This isn’t news,” she announced.

“Wel ! Thus ends another white people fight,” Shirleen declared.

“You!” Tex boomed and he was pointing at Lana. “And you!” His finger moved to Chloe. “Learn quick, it ain’t ever borin’ around here.”

“I’m getting that,” Lana replied and, luckily, her mouth was twitching.

Things calmed down after that. The men went off to do whatever it was they did and the women, Tod and Stevie, Duke and Tex hung around Fortnum’s chatting, gossiping and doing the minor changes they had to do so that Lana and Chloe could come to the wedding.

“Oh we couldn’t,” Chloe protested. “We barely know you.”

To which Indy replied with a smile, “Family’s family and, like it or not, the minute you got on that plane, you became family.”

This was sweet as al get out and Lana and Chloe thought so too.

Instead of a bachelorette party, we had pizza delivered and Tod and Stevie ran out and got beer. We ate pizza and drank beer at Fortnum’s, the chatting and gossip degenerated to sex talk but since Mace’s Moms were there, I kept silent on that particular subject. They were not used to drinking beer at altitude and did not. Chloe, I learned, had been married to a guy named Ben for five years. It was clear he was a good guy (in a lot of different ways). Lana was single and, apparently, enjoyed her status.

ways). Lana was single and, apparently, enjoyed her status.

After awhile, the sex talk downshifted to game after game of Yahtzee.

We sipped beer, shared and played Yahtzee until, at around ten, our escorts arrived to take us home.

I snuggled back into Mace’s body and mumbled, “I have to get to The Castle. I’m not a bridesmaid but I’m invited to the pre-wedding festivities.”

“You’l get there after we talk and after we f**k. First, the talk,” Mace replied and I noticed two things right off the bat.

One was that he was being bossy.

The other was that he sounded serious.

Very serious.

This made me get tense (instead of angry at him for being bossy) and I turned to face at him.

I tilted my head back to look at him and I saw he was definitely serious.

My breath, feeling adventurous, headed up the Inca Trail.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“You said you’d seen the papers.”

“What?”

“You said, the other night, backstage, that you’d seen the papers.”

I blinked. “Yeah? And?”

“If you saw the papers, when I told you about Tiny, you already knew everything.”

I was confused. “Are you angry about that?”

“Yes and no.”

“What’s the ‘yes’ part?” I asked hesitantly.

“You stood there as I told the story, actin’ like you didn’t

“You stood there as I told the story, actin’ like you didn’t know.”

“Wel , I didn’t know al of it.”

“I know the part you didn’t know, no one knows but the men. But you acted like you didn’t know any of it.”

“There were other parts I didn’t know,” I tried.

“You acted like you didn’t know any of it,” he repeated.

“Mace –”

His arm went around me, he pul ed me close and tipped his chin down further so his face was in mine. “Kitten, this is gonna work, you don’t lie to me. Ever. Got me?” I blinked again.

Now hang on a second.

“These are pretty extreme circumstances,” I defended myself.

“Yeah, that’s the ‘no’ part and why I’m lettin’ you get away with bringin’ Mom and Chloe here without talkin’ to me about it.”

I blinked.

Yes, again!

Letting me get away with…

“Mace –”

He interrupted me. “We’re done talkin’ about this. I said what I had to say. I think you get me.”

Oh, I got him al right.

He made to move into me but I scooted away and got out of bed. I stood at the side in my panties and tank, put my hands to my h*ps and glared at him.

I was pissed way the hel off.

I’d gone through emotional hel to do what I did.

And he…

He…

“I never thought I’d say this in my whole effing life but how dare you! ” I screeched.

Juno got to her bel y and woofed.

Mace got up on an elbow and his eyes narrowed.

“Get back in bed,” Mace growled.

“Fuck off!” I snapped.

“Get back in the f**kin’ bed,” Mace clipped back.

“Don’t tel me what to do, Kai Mason.”

“That’s another thing,” his voice rumbled with anger, “you don’t cal me Kai.”

“In about three seconds, you don’t back down, I’m never gonna cal you anything, ” I retorted then I moved to flounce away (I must admit, as embarrassing as it was, I was definitely going to flounce).

Before I got even a step, his fingers wrapped around my wrist, he gave a sharp tug and I was back in bed, Mace on top of me. Juno woofed again and quickly exited the bed.

“Don’t you walk away from me,” he rumbled.

“I’l do what I want.”

“We got a disagreement, we talk and work it out. You don’t f**kin’ walk away.”

“For your information, Kai, we’re not disagreeing, we’re fighting.”

“Okay, Stel a, we get in a fight, we talk and work it out. I repeat, you do not f**kin’ walk away.”

“And I repeat, I’l do what I effing wel want!” He looked furious, furious enough to explode but instead, his head slanted and he kissed me.

It was a hot kiss. Fuel ed by the fight and such an intense kiss, we were al over each other. Hands and mouths everywhere, the anger turned to something else entirely and I liked it a lot.

He tore down my underwear as I pul ed off my tank.

Luckily, he was already naked.

Then his lips were on my bel y, his hands spreading my legs then his mouth was right where I needed it.

He was good at this. If I had to rank his talents, o**l s*x was arguably top of the list. Therefore, he had me squirming and panting under him in no time.