Her eyes flashed up toward me. “No, your mother will be angry if we miss dinner.” She hiccupped.
Smiling, I ran the back of my fingers along her soft cheek. “She’ll be fine, Mia. Let’s go upstairs.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and maneuvered her toward the stairway.
Mia came to a stop, causing both of us to slightly jerk. She turned to face me. “But, Marcus, it’s your birthday. We can’t end it early.” She swallowed and stared at me with beady, gleaming eyes. “We haven’t even sung happy birthday yet.”
Megan came up beside us. “Do you need help, Marcus?” I quickly glanced around and saw that Jeremy had remained seated by the bar.
“Yes, please. Can you take Mia up to my room? It’s the last door at the end of the hall.” Nodding, Megan tossed Mia’s arm around her shoulder. “I’ll be up in a few, Mia.” She caved in with a simple nod and allowed Megan to guide her up the stairs.
I ran a hand over my face as I let out a deep sigh. I was beyond drunk. But I was able to handle my liquor better than Mia, obviously.
“Marky! You’re a hard man to get a hold of.” I felt a hand clasp my shoulder and turned to see who it was.
“Lou, I didn’t think you would make it. Did you just arrive?” Thankfully, Mia was upstairs and had just missed him. I relaxed my shoulders.
“And miss my nephew’s thirtieth? Ah, that hurts.” He placed his hand over his chest, pretending that he was wounded. “Nope, I’ve been here for about an hour now. I was catching up with a few old friends.” He looked around me. “So where’s that gorgeous girl of yours? We ran into each other earlier. She seemed upset and left. I hope I didn’t scare her off.” Lou’s eyes squinted, and he focused on my reaction to that comment.
Fuck. That was the reason why Mia wanted to drink. It wasn’t like her to lose control unless something was bothering her. Why didn’t I realize that earlier?
Shrugging, I patted his shoulder, “She’s been like that for a few days. Personal issues she’s dealing with. Don’t take it personally. Thank you for coming.” I played it off. He nodded, and I gave his shoulder a tight squeeze when I caught sight of my mother. Curious, I excused myself from Lou and made my way toward her.
“Mom, are you okay?” I asked as I reached her.
She blinked a few times, let out a deep breath, and then glanced up at me. “Oh yes, baby, I’m fine. You seem drunk.” She smiled lightly as she reached out her hand and cupped my face. “I’m guessing you’re having a good time?”
“Yes, thank you. It was great, but I’m going to call it a night.”
Her brows bunched together, “Oh? It’s still so early, Marcus.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Mia is upstairs. She drank a little more than usual and so have I.”
She smiled with understanding and then nodded. I leaned down, squeezed my fragile mother in a tight hug, and thanked her one last time before heading up the stairs.
While I was walking down the second floor hallway, Megan had exited my bedroom with her head lowered as she laughed to herself. When she looked up, she burst out laughing again at my questioning stare. “Oh my God, Marcus, she’s so drunk.” She patted my arm when we met in the middle.
“How drunk?” I asked, concerned she may have been sick.
“Let’s just say that she had something planned for you and she insisted she wanted to still go through with it. I had to help her get ready.”
With a raised brow, I quickly glanced at the closed bedroom door and back at her. “Thanks, Megan.”
She laughed again, shook her head, and headed back down the hall toward the stairs.
I closed the door behind me as I entered my room. The lights were dim, candles burned all around, and soft music played in the background. My lips curled into a smile as my eyes scanned the room, but I couldn’t find her. I was slowly making my way further into the dark room when she stumbled out of the bathroom. My heart raced at the sight of how beautiful she was: her hair down in waves tossed over her shoulders and a short thigh-revealing red silk robe wrapped around the curves of her body. She stood in black heels that caused her to seem taller.
Mia let out a barely noticeable smile as she slowly and seductively made her way toward me. In the few steps it took for her to reach me, my heart pounded with each one. I couldn’t get enough of her. Every single aspect of her drove me insane with want, desire, love, and so much more.
She slightly tripped into me and let out a light snicker as she tried to straighten herself. She didn’t say a word as she ran her hands under my shirt, taking it with her as she went up. I lifted my arms as she pulled it over my head. She held the fabric of my shirt on a finger, allowing it to dangle there for a few seconds before she tossed it over her shoulder. Mia kept her eyes locked with mine as she ran her finger across my bare skin, and then she leaned in and pressed her lips along my chest.
The warm touch of her lips shot an electrifying current through me. Mia pulled back and continued to stare at me as her finger slowly made its way down, past my abs, down my torso, plunging toward the rim of my jeans. She teased and twirled her finger along my lower abdomen, causing a tingling sensation in my groin. She smiled as she took notice of the goose bumps that formed along my skin.
Impatient, I leaned down to kiss her, but she shook her head as she waved a well-manicured finger in my face. I couldn’t help the smile that crept along my lips from amusement. Mia glanced up through her long lashes. Her eyes were the most beautiful I’d ever seen: big emerald green eyes, with long curled brown lashes. “Not yet.” She whispered through luscious red lips.
She began to unbuckle my belt and jeans. “I want to make love to you, Marcus.” She lowered herself, bending and bringing my pants down with her. I slid out of my boots and removed my jeans completely. As she stood straight again before me, she wrapped her hands around my neck. “Will you make love to me?” She asked her eyes back on mine, though they seemed to sadden for a mere second. Confused, I framed her face with my hands.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, and then it dawned on me. “I saw Lou downstairs. I know you ran into him. Do you want to talk?”
Her eyes snapped up. “No, I don’t want to talk about him.” Her face softened. “I want to forget about it.” She brought her hands down and pressed them along my chest and began moving me forward. I took a few steps back with every step she took. She stumbled a few times, so I placed my hands on her elbows to keep her balanced, until the back of my legs touched the bench in front of my bed. I took a seat on top of it. Mia ran her fingers through my hair. With her eyes closed, she stumbled out of her heels. I gripped her waist as she slightly swayed.