by Leslie North
“In Vegas, you can,” Blake said. Grayson laughed, which seemed like a success. They’d distracted him at least for a minute.
The wedding planner stepped over to them then, signaling the groom and his groomsmen to begin their walk over to the front of the gazebo. The violin music shifted as soon as they stepped out, and all heads turned their way. Once they were tucked in place, Mila’s mother came down the aisle, escorted by her son Philip. Grayson’s mother followed a moment later. Then came the bridesmaids, one by one.
A murmur rippled through the seated guests and Grayson stiffened. Mila was near—she had to be. Even still, he sought out Jackie. Waiting for her to look his way and send him a smile. Instead, she twisted in her seat, avoiding his eager gaze once more.
When the trio of violinists suddenly changed to the “Wedding March,” everyone whooshed to their feet. Daniel caught the big grin that erupted on Grayson’s face, his whole demeanor relaxing, and that’s how he knew that Mila had stepped into view.
The bride appeared at the end of the aisle, wearing a shimmering white dress and a white headpiece with a 1920s flair, her arm hooked with her father’s. Daniel was all smiles, looking between Mila as she approached and Grayson as he beheld her.
Once Mila arrived at the gazebo and her father had given her a tiny kiss and taken his seat, the violinists quieted. The officiant got things moving quickly—Grayson and Mila had specifically wanted a short and sweet ceremony—and before he knew it, the newly-wed couple was exchanging their first kiss as husband as wife.
The fifty or so people in attendance burst into applause then, and Daniel and Blake whooped their approval from Grayson’s side. One newlywed kiss turned into a second and third while Grayson cupped his wife’s growing belly. Everyone cheered.
Mila lifted her small bouquet of lilies and together, she and Grayson walked down the aisle, pumping their fists in the air as the violin trio resumed their music. Daniel smiled as he watched them walk away, then he and Blake filed down behind, paired off with the bridesmaids.
The newlywed couple and the wedding party formed a line under the hibiscus-lined veranda to greet guests. Friends and family began to leave their seats, filing toward the wedding party with grins and cheers.
A flurry of handshakes and greetings and warm hugs emerged then. By the time Jackie made it his way, the line had stalled slightly due to a chatty couple taking more time than normal with Mila and Grayson. Jackie pushed up onto her tiptoes to give Daniel a small kiss.
“You did wonderfully,” she said.
“Thanks, princess.” He wrapped his arms around her, searching her gaze. Blake leaned in.
“All right, you two. Your turn at the gazebo will come another day.”
Daniel laughed, gauging Jackie’s reaction. She smiled, but hell if he could tell what she was thinking anymore. The bet had been clear-cut, but the very real emotions that sprang up between them as a result just made everything murky.
“Have you had a good week, Jackie?” Blake asked.
“The best,” she said, flattening her palms against Daniel’s chest. She fit perfectly in his arms. It was something he noticed every time she was there. “Just not looking forward to next week.”
“The fantasy ends, huh,” Blake said.
“Yep. Everything will go back to normal,” Daniel added. “Unfortunately.”
Jackie’s face went stony just as the photographer came to grab them. It was picture time. The photographer led the wedding party and the parents to a different part of the vineyard, an expertly manicured knoll with a stunning view of the vineyards rolling away into the distance. With the blue, cloudless sky, all the greenery around them, and their closest loved ones gathered around, Daniel already knew that Grayson and Mila would cherish these photos forever.
Group photos turned into singles which turned into a re-do of group photos because of a lens issue. With each minute that passed, Daniel was more anxious to find Jackie and spend the rest of the evening by her side. By the time they were formally dismissed to the reception, Daniel was practically running.
“Dang, Daniel,” Blake teased. “You can’t wait to get to that open bar, can you?”
“More like Jackie,” Daniel clarified, sending his friend a side smirk. The friends speed-walked toward the reception, the air growing cooler as they headed down some stairs toward the unique venue. Their footsteps echoed down the smooth sandstone tunnel, which then opened up into the spacious, backlit cavern this villa was famous for.
Tables stretched out before them, covered with white linens, each one full of plates, silverware, and shocking sprays of vibrant red and white lilies. The cave arced up at the sides, forming a dome overhead, and light displays played along the smooth taupe walls. It was exactly like being in a dream. Except this was reality.
He spotted Jackie across the way, picking cheese cubes off a platter. He headed her way, leaving Blake to chat up a single lady he’d already spotted by the door. As he approached, drinking her in, he made the decision: tonight, they’d talk about what the future might hold for them, even if it was the scariest conversation he’d ever have in his life. He could finagle a boardroom full of banker sharks, but the prospect of talking about the future with Jackie was far more terrifying.
He swept up to her, wrapping an arm around her. She smiled up at him just as she popped the cube of gouda into her mouth.
“There you are. Pictures took long enough.”
“You’re telling me. Every time I thought we were done, the photographer would ask for a re-do with someone’s arm a quarter of an inch to the left.”
Jackie giggled, reaching for another cheese cube. “Sounds like hell. But you didn’t have it nearly as bad as I did in here. I was forced to wander this cavern wonderland, eat cheese, and listen to live jazz music.”
“Life is rough,” Daniel said, gently rubbing the sides of her arms.
She let out an exaggerated sigh. “I guess I’ll manage.”
A waiter passed by with a platter full of white wine glasses. Daniel grabbed two and handed one to Jackie. “Hopefully this will help things.”
They clinked glasses, sharing warm smiles. Still, the anxiety thumped distantly in his chest. His flight to Bangladesh left on Tuesday.
Before Daniel could even take a sip, Grayson and Mila swept in, eliciting cheers and applause. They did a little dance toward the party just as Daniel’s phone buzzed in his pocket.
He sighed, fishing it out, already fearful that he knew exactly who it was: his father.
“Oh, look.” He swiped the phone to silent, setting his jaw. It was definitely his father—and there was no way in hell he was answering. “Sorry, Dad. Not today.”
Jackie sipped at her wine. “What’s wrong?”
“I told him that I would be unavailable today, due to Grayson’s wedding. I made that explicitly clear. I think I deserve one full day to myself each year, right?”
Jackie frowned. “I’d say you deserve more than that.”
Daniel scoffed. “Yeah, well, with my job, I only get one—and I have to take it by force.” He shook his head, downing the rest of the contents of his wine glass.
Silence stretched between them. Jackie’s gaze sizzled on him, and he couldn’t tell if she was scrutinizing him or sympathizing. But he didn’t want to think about his father or work—at all. When another waiter passed by, he snagged a second glass of wine and lifted it to tap against Jackie’s.
“I want to have an amazing evening with you,” he said. “Because we both deserve it.”
Finally, Jackie’s private smile returned, igniting butterflies in parts of him he didn’t know existed.
And that right there—it was proof that although they didn’t have years and years under their belts together, there was something uncanny between them.
Even though Daniel wasn’t sure about how to proceed, he was sure that he wanted to.
15
By the end of the evening, Jackie felt like she could publish a book. N
o, two books.
One would be all the reasons that her and Daniel would never work. He was too busy. He was leaving on Tuesday. For him, free time was a distant concept. Everyone in his life knew it, reiterated it, accepted it. That was the biggest and thorniest among so many other reasons.
Yet the other book she could fill was with all the ways in which she was hopelessly attracted to Daniel, even when she had a whole entire book of reasons to stay away.
By the time they drifted back to the bedroom, toasty from the wine and the dancing and laughter, the soft part of her heart was—at least for the moment—winning the battle against her brain.
Screw the consequences. She wanted one last night with the man who had won her heart. Even if she regretted it tomorrow, and next week, and for the entire rest of the year.
Daniel had at least been a bright spot in her existence, even if a lasting relationship would never—could never in her wildest dreams—work out between them.
When she met Daniel’s gaze, just as he pushed open the plum orchard door, she saw the question marks there. The free pass he was giving her to take this evening in any direction she wanted. And oh, she only wanted it to go to one place.
Watching his sexy, sturdy frame underneath that black tuxedo all night had only teased and provoked her. Their long kisses and sexy slow dancing had been a torturous foreplay. Steamy looks from across the cave while one went off to get drinks—practically as much of a turn on as if he’d stuck his hand inside her dress.
So it was only proper to act on it. One last time.
Jackie pushed the door shut behind her and then tugged at the lapels of his coat. A grin broke out on his face—probably realizing that her plan involved as much sexy time as the two could stand. She pulled him into a hard, urgent kiss. One that held as much passion as hunger.
Because she was starving tonight. This was the last chance she could get a taste of Daniel, and she wasn’t going to waste it.
Daniel grunted, cupping her face as he backed her up against the door. His fingers knotted in her hair as he pressed his body against hers. Heat poured off of him—intoxicating and wild. She melted back against the door, her knees giving out, but Daniel was there to catch her.
“Princess,” he murmured, smiling through a kiss. “Don’t fall and hurt yourself.”
“Sorry,” she breathed, as his kisses ventured down her jawline. “You kiss too well. It’s your fault.”
His laugh was low and rumbling. His big hands traced up the sides of her body, slowly hiking up and gathering the swishy material of her dress at her hips. “No. It’s your fault. You bring out this side of me.”
She giggled, but it turned into a gasp when his warm palms found the bare skin of her butt, exposed by her thong, and he hoisted her. The grin on his face turned devilish—pure mischief and promise. And this was one of the other things she loved about Daniel. He could be so proper and well-behaved out in public when people were watching and he needed to act the successful businessman part.
But times like these, when he let out his wild side, and the lust dripping off of him was enough to push her to climax without laying a finger on her?
“God, I can’t decide what I want more right now,” Daniel groaned into the hollow of her neck. “Fuck you right here against the door or throw you onto the bed and eat you out until you scream my name.”
This was the Daniel she loved more than anything. The animal side of him. The man who wasn’t afraid to pin her to the hotel room door and have his way with her. The man who wanted her with unbridled passion but still wasn’t so wild that he stopped caring about whether she enjoyed it.
“Both options sound equally good—” she began.
“Right here against the door,” Daniel growled, which sent a shiver through her. She clung to him as he shifted against her, holding her with one arm while he sidled out of one side of his jacket.
“Agreed.” She placed soft kisses along his neck, up to his earlobe. She knew he loved being kissed there. And damn, she wanted to go out with a bang. So she wouldn’t be forgotten, like Tania. So maybe he still might think fondly of her in six months, or six years. “Did you get any more condoms?”
His jaw tightened and then he grunted. “Fuck.”
She nibbled on his earlobe while he flexed his hips against her. The hardness through his pants rubbed up against her in just the right way.
“I’m not saying we need one…” she began, hoping he’d catch her meaning.
His eyes went hooded, his fingertips digging into her ass cheeks. “Princess. You’re killing me. Do you want to?”
She searched his face, trying to find some reason that she shouldn’t do this. She knew all the low-hanging-fruit reasons—they weren’t anything serious, this was the last time, she didn’t do things like this, she couldn’t be certain that he was clean and that there wouldn’t be consequences—but getting lost in his blue gaze made all of those excuses dissolve on her lips.
Truth was, she did want this with him. Raw. Real. Intense.
There was no better way to say goodbye to him than that.
“It’s not usually my style,” she whispered, her voice sticking to her throat. “You’d be the first for me. But I’m on birth control, so fuck it.”
That devilish grin returned to his face, and he dove in for a kiss that was even hungrier than before. They kissed so hard her lips buzzed. When he pulled apart, he looked like he was in outer space.
“That’s so hot. And a huge honor,” he said, finally slipping off his coat. It crumpled to the floor in a soft whuumph.
“Not as huge as yours,” she teased.
He grunted. “Just you wait and see.” Daniel lowered her onto her feet gently so that he could unbuckle his pants and slip out of his shoes. He made quick work of his shirt and bowtie next, and Jackie watched, amused and turned on, while he stripped down to nothing.
“Can you get my zipper?” she asked once he’d shed all his clothes.
He dragged his teeth over his bottom lip, his gaze bouncing up and down her body. “Not yet. I want to fuck you in the dress first.”
She couldn’t keep in the giggle. “So that implies there will be a second time, without the dress?”
“Oh, yes. At bare minimum.”
Lust surged through her veins as he gathered her dress again and hoisted her, pinning her against the door. This time, his cock bobbed heavy in front of him before it was trapped between their bodies. His swollen cockhead rubbed against the damp crotch of her panties, pushing at her clit.
“Ohhh my God,” she whispered, tightening her grip around his neck. Already, it was the best thing she’d ever experienced. And it was only just beginning.
“I’ll go slow,” he whispered, his breath hot on her chin. “As slow as I can, I mean. Because once I feel just how fucking juicy you are with nothing between us…” A shuddery breath escaped him. “I can’t promise anything.”
He rolled his hips against her, dragging the hot shaft of his cock back and forth over her panties. Her entire body went tight—wanting it, expecting it, preparing for it—while he reached between them to push aside the scrap of fabric separating them.
“Oh, my God,” she moaned, tightening her thighs around him. “Maybe I can’t handle this.”
“You can.” He ran his tongue over his top teeth as he wriggled into place. She gasped when his cockhead made contact, the velvet heat slipping inside her with ease. “We both can.”
And then he eased himself in—a fluid, languid movement that was both tender and determined. All the air in her body whooshed out in a gasp while he sank inside her. There was something so intimate, so wildly raw about the bare flesh of him, being buried inside her with nothing to separate them. All of her thoughts disappeared. Her brain turned into a pleasant hum of silence.
She could only feel. The penetrating heat and steel of him. The way he drilled inside her, down to her core.
Jackie was trembling by the time he’d claimed every last bit
of space inside her. And then he moved against her, both sweet and unbridled at the same time. A strange whimper escaped her, something animalistic yet feminine, and her head fell back, knocking against the door.
“Ohhhh, Jackie,” Daniel moaned, his voice sounding deeper, more guttural, than she’d ever heard it.
“Fuck,” she moaned, digging her nails into his biceps. “Fuck, it’s too good, Daniel.”
He grunted, hoisting her up further, his lip finding hers.
“Nobody has ever felt like this, Jackie,” he murmured against her lips as he eased into her, pinning her to the door once more. As he eased himself out, he added, “Nobody in the fucking world.”
His words were just gasoline on the fire already alive and raging unchecked inside her. And god, she felt it too. She was right there with him.
“I know,” she whimpered, emotion tightening her throat. “You’re the only one.”
He was so right, which made this whole situation even worse. She believed without a doubt that they did have something magical and unique. Something so special that she knew she’d never be able to find it again.
But Daniel would never change his lifestyle. He’d never quit the job that didn’t just consume but utterly swallowed his entire life.
And what sort of future did they have like that?
Daniel pounded into her, a firm but tender rhythm that only reinforced the swell of emotion and pleasure and heartache. She bumped against him in time, breathless from the sense of being filled by him—unsheathed, uninhibited—as the base of his cock rubbed at her in just the right spot.
The tightness in her belly was the first sign. Her thighs squeezed around him, and as he rocked into her again, she went spilling over the edge. She cried out, everything going bright white behind her lids as the orgasm assaulted her like an explosion in her core. Her legs trembled as she came and she felt weak as a kitten, unable to hold on, but Daniel just held her tighter.
He shouted gruffly then, pulling out of her quickly as his own completion arced through the air and onto the ground. He smashed his lips to hers in a greedy kiss. His half-hard cock was trapped between them as they kissed, over and over again, as though they hadn’t just reached the pinnacle of pleasure together.
