The Best Man

by Ana Blaze

  She laughed. “I thought you were a pain in the ass.”

  “You mean you couldn’t stop looking at my arse, saucy girl.”

  Beth rested her hands on his shoulders. “I like you, Colin. I do. But you’re acting like--”

  He reached down and slid his hand under her conservative pencil skirt and up her thigh. “You’re saying I’m nuts, and you’ll get no argument from me. I’m crazy about you.” His fingers found the edge of her lace panties and dipped inside, cupping her mound as he pushed her back against the wall.

  Beth gasped at the delicious shock and curled her fingers, digging her nails into his flesh.

  “I need you. Now. Here. Tell me you want me too.” Colin used his free hand to drag her skirt up to her waist. He wedged his knee between her thighs and kissed her possessively. “Say it, Beth. Tell me to take you right now just like this.”

  Beth quivered. “Yes.” She tugged at his belt. Fuck. She didn’t like this caveman crap. Except that she did. When it was Colin, she did.

  “Yes.” He looked stunned, but he only hesitated for second. Colin dragged her panties down, tearing them as he pulled them over the heel of her shoe, and cupped her ass with his palms. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he lifted her up and plunged inside.

  Colin had her pinned between the wall and his body. “You’re mine, Beth.” He was primal, thrusting deep and hard, merging, dividing. Again and again. “Meant for me. To be mine.”

  Beth pulled his head back and silenced him with a hungry kiss. Their bodies met with a wet slap; a pair of deep groans announced each parting. The first climax took her without warning. She shouted against his lips as heat and pleasure skittered through every nerve ending, draining her, leaving her open, bare. His.

  Colin didn’t slow. “Again,” he demanded huskily.

  Beth shook her head. She couldn’t possibly.

  His eyes ablaze, he growled, “Yes. Again.”

  “Colin, I …” Already it was building.

  His lips touched her throat and skimmed her jawline before meeting hers. He was voracious — demanding — driving her unerringly back up to the peak. He joined her there, flinging them both over the edge with a final powerful thrust.

  Colin rested his back on the wall and fixed his pants. “Come here.” He lifted his arm, holding his hand out towards her. Beth inched closer and let him pull her into the space between his thighs. She laid her cheek on his chest and listened to his ragged breaths, the fervent pounding of his heart. He rested his chin on the crown of her head and brushed his fingers down her arm.

  She clutched his hand, entwining their fingers. Colin bewitched her, clouded her thoughts, and brought out her deep, hidden, wanton side. The resultant sex was magic, but some of the other effects had her troubled. She needed space; lust-free, mind-clearing space. “I like you, Colin.”

  “Told you so,” he said, still breathless.

  Beth pulled her head away and stroked his cheek. “But you need to go to a hotel.”

  He stared down at her, clearly startled, and the look of hurt that flashed through his eyes nearly broke her. He didn’t argue, merely clenched his jaw and nodded. “If you wish it ...”

  Chapter Eleven

  “I NEED SOME BREATHING space,” Beth said, trying to soften the blow.

  Colin gave a half nod. The frown on his face said he clearly didn’t agree, but he’d respect her wishes.

  “We jumped into this too fast and now things are getting out of hand.” Was she trying to convince him or herself, now?

  “I disagree.”

  Beth let out a heavy sigh. “Col—”

  “I disagree, but of course I’ll stay elsewhere if you don’t want me here.”

  Want him? She resisted the urge to explain that not wanting him wasn’t the problem at all, and stood up. Her legs trembled and she rested her palm on his shoulder to steady herself. Colin covered her fingers with his hand. She glanced down and gave him a little smile. “Want some water?”

  “Please.”

  Beth fetched him a cold bottle from the fridge before ducking into her room to freshen up.

  It was official … she was a freak. Beth was sending away a sensitive and sexy man, who’d injured himself to help her and was undoubtedly the best lover she’d ever had, because he wanted to marry her. Someday, when she was eighty and still alone, she’d tell this story over martinis at some sassy, spinster’s club. They’d all stare like she was growing horns. Beth replaced her wrinkled work clothes with an old pair of jeans and an oversized sweatshirt. Chastity armor -- it couldn’t hurt.

  Colin was sitting on the couch when she returned, his head resting in his hands. His suitcase and garment bag were waiting near the door.

  “Were you able to find a room for tonight?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he replied

  “I’m sorry.”

  Colin looked up and shook his head. “You needn’t be.”

  “It’s not that I don’t like you, really. I just —” Beth wrung her hands. It’s just that I can’t stop touching you long enough for the lust clouds to clear. Yeah, that was something a normal woman said.

  “Will you join me for dinner?”

  “What?”

  “You didn’t expect me to give up, did you?”

  “Colin, I —”

  “I want you to be my wife, love. I’m asking for a lifetime. I’m willing to spend a few days convincing you.”

  A taxi horn blaring outside interrupted her response. Colin stood up, kissed her cheek, and collected his luggage. “Dinner?”

  “Not tonight.”

  “I’ll call tomorrow then.” He smiled warmly before turning away.

  Was it wrong to hope he really would call?

  Beth shook her head. She needed a more practical man. She needed a man who didn’t rip his soul open two days after meeting someone and ask her to do the same. Still, she couldn’t deny the charm of the man who’d done just that.

  Going back to work was out of the question. Beth knew her coworkers well; they’d be full of questions she wasn’t ready to answer. She flopped on the couch, used the remote to turn on the television and perused the daytime programming options. Talk show, talk show, cooking show, talk show, made-for-TV movie about a woman searching for her teenage daughter, and another talk show: nothing distracting enough to keep her from dwelling on or calling Colin. Beth gave her DVD collection a quick perusal. Normally a little Sleepless in Seattle or Notting Hill could be counted upon to cheer her up. Today, she knew better.

  Instead, she pulled on her favorite work-out clothes and headed to the complex’s gym. She cranked up a bit of angry girl music on her iPod and hopped on a treadmill. Her body exhausted far more quickly than her mind. Swiping the back of her hand across her forehead, Beth paused the machine and stepped off for a water break. A familiar face appeared in front of her almost instantly.

  “Hey, Beth.” Casey grinned broadly. “Putting in your time on treadmill, huh?”

  Captain Obvious strikes again. Beth, careful to rein her temper, took several swallows from her water bottle. Casey wasn’t really the culprit responsible for her bad mood; he didn’t deserve to be punished for it. “Yup.”

  “Looking good. You should talk to me if you want to add some weights to your routine. You wouldn’t want to bulk up, but some light weight, lots of reps — helps keep things tight.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” She stepped back onto the treadmill and lifted her headphones, hoping he’d take the hint.

  “So, there’s a game this Sunday. I was —”

  “I don’t think so.”

  He frowned. “Should be a great game. We could grab a couple steaks after.”

  “I’m sorry, Casey. I have to be honest. The thing is …” She took a deep breath. “You’re a catch. I mean, you are going to make some girl really lucky, but I don’t see us being anything more than friends. I don’t want to lead you on.”

  Casey chuckled. “Come on, Beth, there’
s some serious heat between us. That kiss was something.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  His eyes took on a cold edge. “You seeing someone else?”

  “No. Maybe. I don’t know, but it doesn’t change this. I hope we can be friends.” Honestly, she didn’t care, but who said that?

  “Sure, yeah. See you around.”

  “Definitely.” She smiled, put her headphones on, and restarted the treadmill. She’d lied; Colin had everything to do with her ending things with Casey. Whether they continued seeing each other or not, Colin had changed things. He’d given her a taste of something different, something better. She couldn’t go back now.

  Chapter Twelve

  AT THE OFFICE THE next morning, Eli quickly tested her good mood. “Sweetness, what are you doing here? You should be playing Florence Nightingale for our heroic VIP.”

  “Colin’s fine and I have work to do.”

  Eli’s eyebrows went up. He stared at her for a moment. “What’s wrong?

  “Nothing. I just have a lot of work to get done. She gave him a brief smile. “Everything’s great.”

  He shook his head. “None of that. I’m not just a pretty face, sweetie. I know you. You’re hiding something.”

  Beth shook her head. Eli had an eerie ability to read people, especially regarding matters of romance. She considered denying things again, but decided against it. She sighed. “Colin Pratt is … he’s … I may have … he asked me to marry him. I agreed to go on one date with him, and he asked me to marry him.”

  Eli gave a delighted laugh. “That’s incredible.”

  “Yeah, incredibly insane.”

  “Or romantic.”

  Beth frowned. “No one gets married after one date.”

  He shrugged. “Says who?”

  “Eli, be serious.”

  “I am. This boy’s got you all worked up and it only took him one date to do it. That tells me everything I need to know.”

  “He doesn’t have me all worked up. I’m just … I don’t want to hurt his feelings. I mean, he’s a sweet guy but he’s nuts.”

  Eli just grinned.

  “Stop that. I’m being serious here.”

  “Mmhmm”

  “Eli!”

  “Beth, when was the last time a man broke through this little wall you’ve built around yourself?” He lifted a single hand to make a circular gesture in the air between them.

  “Not this again. I date, Eli. I date plenty. I’m just busy.”

  “I’m not asking about dating. I’m asking about the tummy-fluttering, toe-tapping, can’t-say-his- name-without-smiling thing Colin Pratt has you doing.”

  “I’m not.” She took in Eli’s grin and frowned. “He doesn’t make me do that. He’s just … different and — I’ll admit it — he is really cute.”

  Eli nodded. “And?”

  “And nothing. I like my life. I’m not looking to throw it all away for a man who …” she paused. “No sane person jumps into marriage like that.”

  “Maybe not. But you, my dear, are tempted, and that’s incredible.” Eli leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I can’t wait to meet him.” He gave her a wink as he strolled out of the office.

  Groaning, she dropped into her desk chair. There were flowers again, with a handwritten card asking her to call him. She pulled out a single rose and inhaled its sweet scent. No one could accuse Colin of lacking an aptitude for romance. Beth stuck the flower back in its place, and moved the vase to a side table.

  “Beth?” Eli’s voice beat him to her door. “This is Miss Kara Stevens and her husband-to-be Grant Pearce.”

  “Hi. Come on in!” Beth smiled brightly and pointed them toward the chairs in front of her desk. “Congratulations on your engagement.”

  The bride, a pretty brunette, smiled broadly. “Thank you. I can’t believe you’re able to see us on such short notice. I promise we’re not normally like this. I just thought that maybe we could get a little information from a secretary or like some brochures, but Mr. Eli insisted we should stay and meet with you. I hope we haven’t interrupted anything.”

  “Nothing at all. Please, sit down.” She gestured again toward the chairs and walked around her desk to sit across from them. “Why don’t you start by telling me how you met?” They laughed and Beth found herself disarmed. “Ooh … that sounds promising.”

  “Grant roomed with my big brother in college. Nick brought him home for Thanksgiving their freshman year and I was totally smitten.”

  Beth giggled. “Sweet.”

  Grant laughed. “Yeah. She was also thirteen years old and a terror.”

  Kara shook her head. “I was fourteen and my father will assure you I was a delight.”

  Grant’s eyebrows shot up. “A delight? If your father knew what you’d been up to, he’d have skinned both of us.”

  Laughing, Kara turned back to Beth. “I may have snuck into the guest room and tried to seduce him.” She grinned and shrugged.

  Beth laughed. “When a girl knows what she wants …”

  Kara grinned. “Exactly.” She giggled and looked up at her fiancé. “We didn’t actually start dating until we saw each other again at my brother’s rehearsal dinner last year. Grant was his best man. I hadn’t seen him in years.”

  “Adorable.”

  Grant was staring at his bride with an awed expression. “Yeah, she is. I almost fell over when she walked in. I couldn’t believe she was even prettier than I remembered.” He turned back to Beth. “I then proceeded to make a complete fool of myself.”

  Kara laughed. “He waits until we’re doing our pretend walk up the aisle and leans in and asks if I’ll be making any surprise visits to his room that night.” She swatted his shoulder and shook her head. “Jerk.”

  Grant shrugged. “I honestly don’t know how I thought that was going to help me.”

  Beth laughed with them for a few moments, then switched tracks. “So, you’ve just had a family wedding.”

  Kara sighed. “Yes. My brother’s wedding was huge and formal, and my mother is all worked up already about making sure this wedding outshines that one. Which, for the record, I think is a horrible way to think and is really not my style. I love her, but she is making me bananas.”

  Grant nodded emphatically.

  Beth smiled. “Weddings can bring out a lot of emotions, and also some unexpected streaks of competitiveness. Let’s start by talking about what you’d like, if you know, or even what you don’t want. Then we can talk about compromises for your mother.”

  Kara shook her head. “You don’t know my mom.”

  “Still, tell me how you picture your day.”

  “We’re … fun. I want our wedding to be fun, too. Happy, you know, and cheerful. I don’t want things to be too fussy.”

  “Excellent. How about some details? Do you want to be married in a church? Have you thought about what type of dress you’d like, or possible color schemes?”

  “Outside. We both love to be outside.” Kara gave Grant a quick glance and he nodded.

  Beth nodded. “What else?”

  “Yellow. I think it’s bright and cheery, but my mom says you need more than one color, and that the yellow cummerbunds will make the groomsmen look like bumblebees. She also says yellow roses aren’t romantic, and other yellow flowers look cheap and she won’t have people thinking she went cheap on the flowers for her daughter’s wedding.”

  Clearly, the bride’s mother was a challenge. The bride had lots of ideas but was second guessing them all. “Okay.” Beth smiled reassuringly. “First, there is no rule about how many colors your wedding should have. Many people choose two colors, but many people don’t. I’ve seen beautiful weddings where a single color was focused on or where they had a palette instead of a specific color. Yellow is cheerful, but it can also be elegant.” Beth grinned broadly. “Don’t worry about your mother; we can show her arrangements featuring yellow flowers that will knock her socks off. Are we thinking summer?”

  “We w
ere thinking July.”

  “Perfect.” Beth pulled a photo album off her shelf and set it on her desk. “Let me throw out a few ideas here. Just ideas -- no pressure.”

  Beth chatted with them for a half hour, and scheduled a meeting for next week.

  Grant shook her hand firmly as she walked them out.

  “Thank you.” He said, meeting her eyes. “This is actually the first time I’ve seen Kara excited about the wedding in weeks. That’s … thank you.”

  Beth smiled back at him. “I’m going to make sure you two have a beautiful day.” She watched Grant place his hand on the small of Kara’s back as they left, and heard their light laughter as they shared a private joke. He loved her. Beth had seen it in every glance and touch during their visit. She would help them have a perfect wedding, and they would build a life together.

  Eli stepped up behind her. “I see you charmed them right into a full service contract.”

  “They’re going to be wonderful to work with.”

  He shook his head. “How is it you can get all misty-eyed every time you meet a nice couple, and then be stone-hearted in your own love life?”

  “I’m not stone-hearted.”

  “No?” Eli pointed to a large, white box with a big red bow on the reception desk. “Your Romeo has left another offering, Pixy Stix. Have you called him yet?”

  She looked at the box with wide eyes. “Oh.”

  “Well, go ahead and open it. The suspense is killing me.”

  Beth slid off the bow and lifted the lid. Laughing, she lifted out a stuffed pig.

  “I do hope there’s a story.”

  “There is.”

  “A good one?”

  Beth nodded. “Yeah.”

  He poked her side. “Call him. Now.”

  Beth took her new toy pig back to her office, and set it on her desk. It stared at her with its über-cute, unblinking eyes.

  “Okay.” She nodded. “I’m going to call. You don’t have to keep looking at me like that. I just need to prepare myself first. Otherwise, I’ll end up letting him talk me into doing something crazy. Like talking to a toy pig for example.” She picked up the phone and dialed his number.