by Lace Daltyn
The heat in Jenna’s face wouldn’t ease. The dancer’s gaze zeroed in on her and never wavered as he danced slowly across the stage until he was right in front of her.
He peeled the vest off slowly and Jenna’s mouth dropped open. Golden, lightly oiled skin showcased a body that had her wet with the need to touch. She wanted to rub herself all over that chest. To suck those tiny, taut nubs into her mouth.
When he jumped off the stage and landed in front of her, Jenna sighed in satisfaction. The echo of catcalls and screams reached her ears, but her body shut them out. There was only her, and this dancer, in this moment.
Without taking his eyes from hers, he undid the button at the top of his slacks. Jenna watched, unable to look away. Not wanting to look away.
He cupped himself, thrusting toward her, before backing off and sliding the zipper down. The slacks dropped without his assistance and Jenna gasped at the slender hips and large sac held in by nothing but a G-string.
The fire in her face filled her body, reaching a scorching level as the man stepped fluidly out of the slacks and moved closer to her.
Jenna swallowed, trying to wet a parched throat. The man knelt in front of her and picked up her foot. His hands, warm and gentle, caressed her calf before lifting her foot to his lips and kissing her red-painted toes.
Jenna couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t do anything but let desire wind from that kiss up her leg, until it settled like molten lava inside soaked panties.
What was it about this guy? He had the same build as Josh. Maybe that was it. She missed her man. That’s why this guy affected her. He reminded her of Josh.
Thought fled when his hand stroked up her calf and settled briefly on her knee as he stood and turned around. And then, oh God, he backed into her, swaying in perfect rhythm to the music and oh, so close. His ass was damn near in her face. Close enough to touch. Delectable enough to lick.
And, God help her, she wanted to do just that.
Jenna wiped her brow, careful to not come in contact with the sweet ass cheeks swaying back and forth, staring her down. After what seemed like hours, he stood and turned toward her.
Relief was short-lived, though, as the dancer-with-the-great-ass-and-rhythm gyrated his way onto Jenna’s lap. He didn’t put all his weight on her, but it was enough to effectively trap her. There were a lot of hoots and hollers going on around her. Jenna swore she heard one woman yell, “Give him a good screw.” She and this dancer were making a spectacle of themselves. And she didn’t care one single bit.
She wanted to run her hands over that shiny, sculpted chest. To let the stubble on his chin graze against her skin. But she held her hands away, tried to convince herself it was her need for Josh that fed the desire raging through her.
He leaned in and brushed against her. Jenna’s nipples strained for more, became tight, painful nubs. When he leaned back, she followed him. And the crowd noise rose to a crescendo.
He leaned into her again, his breath blowing sweet cravings in her ear. She reached up and tangled her hands in his hair just before he whispered.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Her body wanted to more than she’d thought possible. But her heart knew she wouldn’t. Couldn’t. It belonged to someone else and she wouldn’t give in to a momentary need for some physical satisfaction.
Jenna shook her head with a lingering regret. “I won’t.” She breathed the words back to him. “Engaged. In love. Not going to screw with that.”
“Right answer,” he said, grinning.
The dancer stood and she missed him. Missed his touch. Missed his body. Missed that musky scent that seemed so...familiar?
He pulled off his mask and Jenna’s smile widened.
It was Josh.
Chapter Thirteen
Shock rooted Jenna to her chair. Josh? Here? And...like this? What the hell was going on?
A smile spread across Josh’s face. A sexy, slow-spreading smile. He held out his hand and Jenna didn’t hesitate to take hold. He pulled her into his arms and tickled her ear with his whisper. “Now can we get out of here?”
“Oh, yeah.”
He turned to an audience Jenna had forgotten completely about and bowed. The cheers were cacophonous and the added heat in Jenna’s face bespoke her embarrassment, not her desire.
Sharon clapped louder than anyone and tipped her head to Jenna.
Deciding she could be a good sport, Jenna winked at Sharon, and then dipped into her own bow. The women blew the roof off with their cheering.
It took him only moments backstage to throw his clothes on and grab his luggage.
“Where are you staying?”
“Two hotels over.”
Jenna and Josh were out of there fast, but not fast enough. He tugged her along and she kept his pace willingly. She wasn’t only horny as hell, she’d also missed Josh. He was her best friend as well as her soon-to-be husband. She had so much to tell him.
While they waited for the elevator, Josh hugged her, caressed her, and touched her everywhere he could in public. He heated her beyond reason as his fingers ran up and down her arm in slow, feathered movements designed to tantalize. She felt like a puppet and the strings he pulled led straight to a wet core.
Maybe the talking could wait.
Inside the elevator, Josh dropped his bags to the floor and he and Jenna quickly devolved into a clinging mess of heat that the security people would probably hold in their “best of” file for some time. Josh kissed her with a hunger she matched. His lips branded her, his tongue devoured her mouth, inside and out.
And his hands. Oh, his hands. They were doing the most delicious things to her breasts. Squeezing and tweaking her to a fever pitch.
When the doors opened, they stumbled out into the hall, breaking apart long enough to find her room.
“No roommate, I hope?” Josh asked as he inserted her key card.
“Thank God, no.” Jenna hugged him from behind, staying with him as he entered her room. As soon as the door closed behind them, they separated. Jenna felt the absence of his body against hers like a chill that cooled her ardor some.
When Josh turned to grin at her with a very lecherous look on his face, Jenna chewed her lower lip. She missed him. She wanted him. But...
“Josh?”
He advanced on her and pulled her into his arms. “Hmmm?” he asked as he nuzzled her throat. Shards of sensual power spread outward from where his lips made contact, filling her with a smoldering heat that needed more than anything to explode. Instinct overrode thought as missing Josh amped the desire coursing through her, sending her to a whole new sensual level.
Jenna wanted nothing more than to have Josh inside her, to feel that ultimate climax. She’d waited so long and he was doing such amazing things to her.
She stretched her hands out on the bed, fisting the bedspread as Josh sucked her nipple through her dress.
Bed? How had they gotten to the bed? Jenna tried to clear her head, difficult to do with the way her body was reacting. His hand shifted down between them and stroked her wet pussy through the slick material of her dress.
“Josh?” She tried to pull his hand away, but he was too focused, too in the moment.
“Josh, please. Stop.” She gasped as he bit her clothed nipple, feeling his teeth like a sharp dagger of desire that made her shudder with pleasure.
If she didn’t stop this now, she wouldn’t stop until it was too late. “Damn it, Josh.” She pushed at him. “Stop for a minute.”
“Hmm?” He pulled his head up and she could see the dark, heavy lidded eyes of her lover in the throes of sexual need.
“We need to stop.”
“Stop?” It took a moment for the fog to clear, but she saw when the word filtered through to his conscious brain. His expression went from horny, to a fleeting anger, to grudging acceptance, all in a few short seconds of time.
“You still want to wait, don’t you?” He didn’t tip the end of the sentence li
ke it was a question. He already knew.
“I’m sorry, Josh, but we’re so close. Only one week left.”
“One week is close enough, don’t you think? Can’t you let this whole ‘waiting for our wedding night’ thing go?”
Jenna bit her lip and shook her head, knowing she was disappointing him. “It’s what I want.”
Josh jumped off the bed and, after resettling his pants with a groan, ran both hands through hair she’d only moments ago been running her own hands through. When he spoke, it was tight-lipped. “Jenna, I’ve never felt this waiting thing was your idea. You respond to me.”
She nodded emphatically.
“Then why do I feel your mother’s still influencing you?”
Jenna rose and joined him. “You feel that way because she’s run my life for so long. I understand that.”
“But I don’t understand,” he waved at the bed, “this. Why, Jenna?”
She kissed his chin. “Because. It’s the one thing I never gave in on. The one thing that I never wavered on. Well...” Jenna grinned. “Except for almost giving in to your very amorous attempts to convince me. You’re very good at that, you know. But I’ve held my ground. Isn’t that what you wanted me to do? Stick up for myself?”
“Not this damn much.”
Jenna winced at the irritation in his words. When Josh stepped away from the bed, she felt the cold space between them. Would this be the straw that broke their relationship? Couldn’t he wait just one more week? Maybe she should... No. Jenna sliced through the thought, cut it off before it could take hold. No matter how the possibility of losing Josh hurt, she would remain true to herself. She had to.
She watched in silent agony as he stared out the window. When he turned around, Jenna was shocked at the look on his face. Where she expected haggard, she saw energy. Where he should be feeling as torn in two as she was, he looked whole.
Josh smiled. That slow, I’ve-got-a-plan-and-you’re-going-to-love-it smile that meant Jenna would never be bored. As long as they survived this night.
“Then let’s get married.”
Of all the phrases she’d expected to hear, that wasn’t it. The words rumbled through her mind, past the ones she had feared. I don’t think this will work anymore...I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t love me enough to...I’m sorry, but... It drove her straight into a brick wall of confusion. “We are getting married. In one week. Aren’t we?”
“No. That’s not what I mean. Let’s get married now.”
At his “no”, Jenna gulped. Once. Twice. On the third gulp, the flutter in her stomach settled down and the rest of his words filtered in. “Now? You mean...tonight?”
Josh laughed. “Yes. Tonight. We’re in Vegas. Marriage capitol of the world.”
“But...all the plans back home.”
“You mean your mother’s plans?” He crossed to stand in front of her, rubbing her arms. “Seriously, what about that fiasco is the way you want it to be?”
He had a point.
“Nothing, really,” she said. Still, she wasn’t sure she could disappoint her mother like that.
Josh pulled her into his arms. “I know you. I know how generous your heart is. It’s one of the things I love about you. But, honey, you’ve got to stop thinking about your mother. She’s never once thought about you.”
“That’s pretty harsh.”
“Harsh, but true. Right?”
She shrugged, not quite able to agree. How could she do this to her mother? Her father’s begged promise surrounded her heart, trying to guard against her making a decision that would cause her mother pain.
Josh tipped her head up to look at him. “Your father wouldn’t want you to be unhappy. You know he wouldn’t. He would consider this promise more than fulfilled.”
She nodded, tears filling her eyes.
“And besides, where has it gotten you? Or your mother? Is she any happier?”
“No, she’s not.”
“Then it’s time to let her live her life. For herself. She’ll never find what she truly wants while she’s using you as a shield.”
Jenna’s mind exploded as the thought took hold. Josh was right. Her mother was hiding. Could her mother actually be afraid of putting herself out there? It was a new concept and one Jenna would need to think through, but not right now. She snuggled deeper into Josh’s embrace, knowing she could spend forever here.
He pulled away and dropped to one knee. “Jenna Wilton,” he said. “I’ve loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you. I love your spirit, your sense of right, your love of life. I want to spend the rest of my life reminding you of how special you are. Will you marry me?”
Jenna didn’t hesitate. She didn’t want to. She’d waited for this her whole life. A sense of peace settled over her as she stared into Josh’s dark eyes. Eyes filled with love she tried to reflect in her own. She wanted to be Mrs. Josh Latham more than anything.
“Yes,” she said.
“Woohoo!” Josh leaped up and grabbed Jenna, swinging her around. Her grin was wider than his, but Jenna didn’t have time to reflect on that as he swallowed her smile with a kiss that left no doubt what they would be doing that very night.
Chapter Fourteen
When Josh set her away from him, Jenna wanted only to be back in his arms. But he bounced around the hotel room in excitement.
“I’ll call the front desk and find out how and where to do this. You,” he waved to her, “do whatever you want to do to get ready. Although,” he ran back to her, cupped her cheeks, and kissed her, “you look perfect just as you are.”
Contagious excitement filled Jenna with wonder. She waltzed over to the closet and the emotion faded as she stared at the empty hangers. She had meager offerings when it came to wedding attire. Or any clothing, for that matter. She certainly had nothing to get married in. Nothing, except the dress she currently wore, and that wouldn’t do at all. She glanced back at Josh, who waved his arm back and forth, as he spoke to the concierge. Jenna chewed her lower lip. He was so excited. Would he be willing to delay long enough so she could shop for a dress? Yes, it was nine at night, but this was Vegas, right? The city that never sleeps?
He hung up the phone and turned to her with a wide grin on his face. “Found a place. It’s close and they have an opening tonight. In two hours.”
“Only two hours?” That kills any chance of shopping. She slumped onto the bed and Josh joined her, putting an arm around her.
“Not having second thoughts, are you?” She could hear the instant tension in his voice.
“No. Not at all.”
“Then why the glum moment?”
“I—this is going to sound silly, but I was hoping I could go shopping.” She wrung her hands in her lap. “I don’t have anything good enough to get married in.”
The look on Josh’s face, akin to a light bulb turning on, confused Jenna. He rubbed Jenna’s arms, his smile as wide as ever. “That’s it? That’s all you’re bummed about?”
She nodded, staring at her hands.
Josh lifted her chin and she was surprised to see how serious his face looked. He understood. “I think can help with that.”
He jumped off the bed and went to his luggage, leaving Jenna completely baffled. “Close your eyes.”
“What?”
“Just close your eyes.”
Jenna did and heard a long zipper being undone and some rustling, along with a well satisfied “ah hah!” After a few more moments, Josh told her to open her eyes.
When she did, Jenna felt like the world stopped spinning. She couldn’t believe it. Josh stood there, his face ablaze with pride. He held up a wedding dress. And not just any wedding dress. Her dress. The one she’d fallen in love with weeks ago in that dress shop. The one her mother overruled her on, but she’d bought anyhow, hoping...
The dress she was going to have the perfect wedding in.
She fingered the simple satin. “How—?”
“Maggie,” he said, k
nowing her question. “I received a cryptic message saying you were in Vegas and I should join you, so I called her. She told me I had to stop by before going to the airport, thrust this bag at me and told me not to look. That I’d know if and when it was time to open it. Josh shrugged. “Looks like she put you and me and the marriage-capitol of the world together and came up white. And I didn’t question her. Just grabbed the garment bag and ran.”
“You have no idea how much this means to me.” Jenna clutched the dress to her body, speech completely eluding her, feeling all the love for Josh she’d felt these past few years well up until it wanted to spill over.
His other hand, hidden behind his back, came forward, holding the tiara she’d seen while shopping with Maggie. “Found this in there, too, along with some other stuff. And my tux.”
Jenna smiled, realizing she owed her friend a deep debt of gratitude.
“So what do you say,” he said with that lop-sided grin she adored. “Want to get hitched?”
Jenna breathed, trying to get the words past her bursting heart. When she answered Josh, she poured all that overflowing love into her words. “Oh, yes,” she said, pulling him down for a long, lingering kiss, giving him her promise of a wonderful future. “Yes, I do.”
“Good,” he said. “I’ll confirm with the chapel. You,” he said, giving her a nudge toward the bathroom, “go get ready.”
Chapter Fifteen
An hour later, Jenna stared at herself in the mirror. This was how she’d imagined looking on her wedding day. This was the vision her mother would never have allowed.
She smoothed the material of the ivory dress and felt her nerves settle with each motion. Her almost-natural hair hung down with just a few simple curls to soften it. The tiara and a pair of pearl post earrings, a birthday present from Josh, were her only jewelry. Maggie had packed a wedding, or at least a bride and groom. Everything Jenna needed was there, including her makeup. Jenna had laughed when she pulled out the virgin-white thong and matching strapless bra.
