“If you want me here, I’m here.”

Those words had played in my head over and over for the past few days.

“If you want me here, I’m here.”

I was in awe of her generosity and selflessness. It made me love her even more. Christ, I’d been in love with her for fucking years and had been too much of a coward to do anything about it. Now I could only hope it wasn’t too late.

In the meantime, spending so much time with her while not actually having her was driving me out of my mind. I kept going back to the one and only night I had with her, replaying every one of those little sounds she made, how her face softened as she came. Fuck, I could still taste her on my tongue.

Those images were what was playing through my head as the water poured over me from the shower head.

With one hand braced on the cool tile wall, I took my cock in my fist and did what I’d been doing for months, stroking with the image of Lyla’s warm, soft, naked body beneath me as I drove inside her.

I imagined it was her jacking me as I squeezed and tugged, my arm flexing with exertion. My eyes were squeezed closed so I drew up the memory of her golden eyes hooded with lust as I drove inside that tight, sweet pussy. My hand pumped faster as I pictured her lips parting on a breathy moan.

The base of my spine began to tingle as I worked myself harder and faster, my impending release just on the horizon. Turning around, I leaned back and used the hand that had been propping me up to cup my balls, tugging and palming them hard enough to pull a groan from deep within my throat.

“Fuck yeah,” I hissed as they drew up closer to my body. I imaged her cunt tightening, her walls clamping down as her head fell back on a cry of pure ecstasy, and that was all it took “Fuck, Lyla. Feels so damn good.” A second later I blew, shooting cum across the shower as I continued to fuck my fist until every last drop had leaked out and mingled with the water to steadily trickle down the drain.

The fog lifted a few seconds later, and my eyes shot open at the sound of a soft, feminine gasp. When I turned my head, I could see Lyla’s figure through the partially opened bathroom door as she turned and scampered away, and there was no stopping the wolfish smile that tipped my lips.

She’d just gotten herself an eyeful, and from the sound of that gasp, she’d liked it a hell of a lot.

* * *

Lyla

I felt like I’d been coming out of my skin since accidentally stumbling on Mace pleasuring himself in the shower earlier.

I’d gone into his room to tell him we needed to leave for Garrett and Gwen’s barbeque when I caught an eyeful of something I hadn’t been expecting. The image was burned into my eyelids, giving me a front row seat to all that sculpted, wet skin glistening beneath the shower as he jerked off with an unexpected, but no less hot brutality I never would’ve had the courage to use.

Jeez, it had been a thing of beauty, and every time I thought about it, my cheeks felt like they’d just caught fire.

I’d been trying my hardest—and failing miserably—not to think about the persistent ache between my thighs or the fact that my panties had been wet the entire drive to Garrett’s house.

I looked over and noticed that Mace seemed oblivious to my uncomfortable squirming in the passenger seat as he white-knuckled the steering wheel. His jaw was clenched violently and the muscles in his neck were straining like crazy.

My concern for him easily snuffed out the desire that had been raging inside me for the past hour. “Hey. You all right?”

“Fine,” he grunted unconvincingly.

“Really? ’Cause it looks like you’re about to bend that steering wheel with how hard your squeezing it.” That seemed to shake him out of whatever was weighing on his mind, and he quickly loosened his grip. “Talk to me,” I coaxed gently. “Something’s obviously bothering you. Let me help.”

He shot me a quick, sad grin before turning his eyes back to the road. “No offense, baby, but not too sure you can help me with this.”

Man, how I loved it when he called me baby, even more than Goldie. “I could at least try. We won’t know unless you tell me, right?”

He hesitated for several beats. The struggle he was currently going through tugged painfully at my heart. “It’s the guys,” he finally admitted.

“What about them? Did you get into a fight or something?”

He shook his head in quick, jerky movements as he carefully navigated the car through the winding tree-covered roads into an unfamiliar neighborhood. “No. Well, not like you think. Things are tense right now. We haven’t really talked since we got back.”

In all the chaos that had been swirling around in my head, my concern for Mace’s health and well being, the feelings I still had for him, I hadn’t stopped to think that he hadn’t talked to any of the other guys even once in the two weeks we’d been back.

I knew they were concerned because they called me on a constant basis to check up on him, but I didn’t think they’d picked up the phone to dial Mace once this whole time. And there was no denying that those of us on the fringe could feel the disconnect between Mace and the guys during the last leg of the tour.

“I fucked up,” he continued, his tone heavy with defeat and guilt. “I fucked up huge, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to fix it.”

Unable to witness his sadness and not attempt to comfort him, I placed my palm on his thigh. One of his hands instantly disengaged from the wheel and came down on top of mine, holding onto it firmly. “Have you tried reaching out?”

He let loose a self-deprecating laugh. “And say what?”

Flipping my hand, I wrapped my fingers around his and replied, “How about ‘I’m sorry’? It’s as good a place to start as any.”

Then the truth finally came out. “What if that’s not enough?”

Leaning close, I lowered my voice as I said, “They love you, Mace. That hasn’t changed. And it’s for that reason that it’ll be enough.”

“You can’t know that.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I can, because they each call me every single day to make sure you’re all right. That’s not an act of people who don’t care.”

At my admission, his eyes grew round and he turned to look at me in surprise. “They do?”

“Yeah,” I whispered, my grip on his hand tightening. “They do. So start with an apology, honey. They’ll lead you from there.”

The conversation came to an abrupt end when he pulled the car into a huge half-circle drive. The heavy wooden glass-fronted door of the enormous house swung open just as Mace parked and cut the engine, and Gwen came walking out with a little girl I only recognized from the pictures Garrett had flaunted proudly on his phone—their little girl, Liddy.

“Unca Mace!” the little girl shouted at a decibel that could make ears bleed. She held Gwen’s hand while the other waved in the air manically as she jumped up and down with an excitement only a little kid could pull off.

“Oh my God,” I said quietly. “She’s the cutest little thing in the whole world!”

“Tell me about it,” Mace replied. My eyes were pinned out the passenger window, watching Liddy, so I couldn’t see it, but I heard the smile in Mace’s voice clear as day. “Sweet as sugar. You’ll get two cavities within minutes of being around her.

“Unca Mace, come on! Let’s go swimmin’!”

“Come on, baby,” Mace coaxed. “Let’s go meet the little dumplin’ in person, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Unbuckling my seat belt, I climbed out of the car and hooked my pool bag over my arm as I waited for Mace to round the hood and reach my side. I didn’t balk when he grabbed my hand and started leading me up the front walk. Holding his hand felt like the most natural thing in the world, so I just went with it.

For today, at least.

The sun was out, the temps were comfortably warm, and I was about to spend the next few hours with great friends, tasty food, and a crystal-clear pool.

It was going to be a good day. I could go back to worrying about everything tomorrow. Today was all about the here and now.

“Hey, squirt!” Mace dropped my hand just in time to catch Liddy as she released her mom and launched herself at him. Swinging her up, he deposited her on his shoulders, her tiny hands tangled in his hair to hold on while she squealed in delight.

And just like that, my ovaries exploded.

“Squirt, I want you to meet someone really special to me. This is Lyla.” His eyes flashed with a light I hadn’t seen in so damn long it nearly took my breath away. “Lyla, meet my squirt.”

“My name’s not squirt, silly! I’m Liddy!”

“My bad,” Mace chuckled. “Ly, meet Liddy.”

I reached up and took one of her teeny tiny hands. “Nice to meet you Liddy.”

“You too! Are you goin’ swimmin’ with us?” It was impossible not to smile at such a bright, happy little girl.

“Maybe later, monkey,” Gwen answered for me. “For now, why don’t we let them join the party, huh?”

Resuming her hold on Mace’s hair, she gave it a jerk and ordered, “Go, Unca Mace! Go fast!”

They disappeared into the house, Liddy’s peal of laughter trailing behind as they went. I stared in wonder at where I’d last seen them, unaware I was being so obvious until Gwen spoke.

“Put your tongue back in your mouth, babe. You’re getting drool all over the floor.”

My frightened gaze shot to hers and she let out a soft, tinkling giggle.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I get it. Believe me. I get it. Garrett and I didn’t have the best start,” she said, talking about the first few years of their so-called relationship. What had started as nothing more than a fling ended in an unexpected pregnancy. For the first few years, Gwen and Garrett only co-parented. That was, until they found themselves falling for each other, and eventually took the leap and fell crazy in love. “I might not have been able to stand him, but I still got that little quiver deep in my belly every time I saw him with her.”

I knew precisely what quiver she was talking about.

“You guys talking about the dudes with Liddy?” Gwen’s best friend Corrine asked, coming out of nowhere. “I totally get it. First time I saw Ian pick her up, I spontaneously orgasmed on the spot.”

Gwen turned back to me with a roll of her eyes. “Ignore her. Corrie’s all about oversharing and shock value.”

I smiled and laughed as I followed them through the house to the backyard, thinking Corrine had been spot-on.