Bridget saw, though. She couldn’t help but see that hard glint in his eyes. His eyes crawled all over her. They squeezed her tits, smacked her bent-over ass, and fingered her slit. They pinched her nipples ‘til they stuck straight through her dress. Did the rest of the groom’s men see her roiling in anguish?
The moment came when Ben and Larissa faced the ecstatic church full of their loved ones. They joined hands and ran into the sunshine amid a shower of confetti.
The bridesmaids and groom’s men had to run out behind them, but Bridget wasn’t anywhere near Roy. He curved out of his place into the aisle, broke into a big grin, and grabbed Sheila’s hand. Sheila laughed, and they ran out together behind Ben and Larissa.
Bridget hated Sheila for that. How could she, Bridget Poppins, be so childish as to begrudge her friend the pleasure of Roy’s attention? Sheila concocted every subterfuge imaginable to get Roy to notice her, and now he had. Why did that infuriate Bridget so much? Why should she care if Roy looked at another woman? She should be relieved.
Bridget found herself next to Tommy. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Now she really was relieved. She could take his hand and run out into the sunshine, too. She didn’t have to worry about falling into his hands.
The sun blinded her and brought her to her senses. She ran back to the hotel, but she couldn’t change out of this dress just yet. She had to get through all the pictures, the whole reception, and every other God-forsaken part of this wedding before she could take it off. She couldn’t even sneak off to her room to get herself a fresh pair of panties. She even had to sit next to Roy during the dinner.
She didn’t have to face him for the pictures, though. All she had to do was stand there and smile. Would she look back at these pictures and remember her escapade in the broom closet? Would she have to remember, every time she looked at them, how fucking horny she was through the whole ceremony? Her brother’s wedding would forever symbolize sex and her own unbridled passion.
To her eternal relief, the part of the picture-taking in which she had to participate ended soon enough. She faded into the crowd while Ben and Larissa took more pictures by themselves. She started thinking about making a discrete exit when Roy crossed her path. He turned to face her. Without saying a word, he inclined his head toward the hotel.
She shook her head. She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t run off with him, not now. She already almost blew the whole wedding. She couldn’t run the risk of Ben finding out—or worse yet, her parents.
She almost bolted then and there, but before she got a chance, Rex shouted from the crowd, “To the reception!”
The mob crushed against Bridget, and she lost sight of Roy in the commotion. Sheila appeared and linked arms with her. The crowd swept her along. She could be happy then with a hundred bodies protecting her. None of them wanted her to have sex with them. She let out a shaky breath.
Ben threw his arm around her shoulder. His cheeks glowed. He hugged and congratulated everyone in sight, but he split off when the crowd got near the garden. Everyone rushed into the dining room while he and Larissa stayed outside.
The moment she stepped through the doors, Bridget’s mother caught her by the arm. Shouts and cheers and conversation flew every which way, and her mother guided her toward her seat. Bridget’s blood ran cold. That broad back in the chair next to hers meant only one thing. He was already there. He was waiting for her.
Her heart sank. Her mother shoved her forward. “Sit down! We have to be ready when Ben and Larissa make their entrance.”
Bridget dug in her heels. “Can’t we stand?”
“No!” her mother hissed.
Her mother whizzed off to the next guest in need of management. She left Bridget no choice. She had to sit down. She had to sit down right next to Roy. He didn’t turn around. He didn’t look at her. His silent back did the work his eyes did in the church. They excited her already saturated tissues. They nagged her to fresh gusts of arousal. She throbbed for….for him.
She stumbled forward when Betsy rushed at her from one side. She hugged Bridget and shouted something Bridget didn’t catch. She wiped tears from her cheeks. The words, “…so happy….” drifted to Bridget’s ear above the noise before Betsy raced away.
Bridget came back to staring at Roy’s back. Aw, what the hell. She might as well bite the bullet. What’s the worst that could happen? He couldn’t exactly fuck her here in the dining room surrounded by wedding guests, could he? He was too much a gentleman to try it.
She gathered her courage and marched up behind him. She pulled out her chair and collapsed into it. He didn’t move. He didn’t even glance over at her. He pretended he wasn’t waiting for her, that he hadn’t just given her a silent suggestion with his head, that he hadn’t licked his teeth at her in the church. What kind of maniac was he?
She glanced over at him. His calculating gray eyes darted left to meet hers. Then he went back to staring straight in front of him. Bridget took a deep breath. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all. They were just two members of the wedding party, sitting down to the wedding dinner. Right? What could be more normal than that?
She set her bouquet on the table and leaned back in the chair to relax. That frolic in the broom closet was just a fluke. It meant nothing. It was just sex. Of course, a tycoon like him wouldn’t want it to be anything else. How could he want anything else? He didn’t know her from Adam.
She made up her mind to break the ice and talk to him. That’s what you did at weddings, wasn’t it? Making polite conversation, he called it. She opened her mouth when Rex’s voice boomed over the crowd again. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mister and Missus Benjamin and Larissa Poppins!”
The place erupted in wild applause. Everyone leapt to their feet and cheered the couple making their grand entrance. The noise startled Bridget out of her reverie. She jumped to her feet and clapped and cheered along with everyone else. So did Roy. Ben and Larissa took their places at the table in front of the dining room, and the waiters circulated to serve the dinner.
Voices rose and fell all around Bridget. Roy didn’t say a word. For some reason, Maury Jensen wasn’t there, so they ate in silence. None of the other people assigned to their table appeared, either.
The longer they sat without talking, the more Bridget relaxed. Roy must not want to continue anything outside the broom closet, either. He might want to go back there with her, but he didn’t want to have anything to do with her in real life. That’s the message he tried to give her by not talking to her now.
She could live with that. She could get on board with having nothing more to do with him for the rest of her life. She could look forward to life returning to normal after they went home from this wedding. So she had a wild fling with a guy at a hotel in the Berkshires. This was one for the record books. File this under ‘I did something crazy once’.
Tommy got up and gave a silly speech about the time he and Ben stole his father’s car and got arrested on the freeway. Ben turned red and Rex yanked Tommy back into his seat. Then Jason got up and started talking about….something. He rambled and gabbled. Bridget lost track of what he was saying.
Out of nowhere, Roy’s low voice touched her ear. “I had a really good time with you just before. You’re hotter than I ever dreamed. Why don’t you come to my room tonight so I can finish the job?”
Bridget’s head whipped around, but she managed to keep her voice low so no one could hear her. “Finish the job? Didn’t you finish the job before?”
He didn’t smile. His eyes shot daggers into her heart. “I’ll never finish the job with you, Bridget. I could work you to kingdom come and never go soft. You were made in my dreams.”
She turned away and concentrated on her food. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We had a quickie in the closet. Let’s leave it at that.”
“I don’t want to leave it at that. I want to do it with you again. I want to do a lot more than that with you, too.”
; She looked up. “Like what?”
He leaned closer. His minty breath brushed her cheek. “Like slow dancing. Like talking to you about whatever you want to talk about. Like spending some time with you. I don’t want to let you slip through my fingers.”
She cast her eyes down at her plate. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You said that, but I do think it’s a good idea. I think it’s a great idea. Didn’t you like dancing with me?”
“Of course.”
“And you liked fucking me in the closet. Don’t say you didn’t.”
Her cheeks burned. “You know I did.”
He lowered his voice. “Tell me how much you liked it.”
Her lips smacked when she caught her breath. “It was the best I ever had. Don’t you know that?”
He leaned just an inch closer. He whispered in her ear. “It could be like that again. It could be like that all night long.”
She shook her head, but she couldn’t clear her thoughts. How did she know this would happen? She knew she would cave the very first time he put out his hand to grab her. She couldn’t resist him.
He sat back in his seat. “That’s my cue.”
She looked around. Everyone in the room turned around to stare at her. Roy got to his feet, and she understood. They weren’t staring at her. They were looking at Roy. He picked up his champagne flute and held it out toward Ben. His voice filled the whole room.
“I’ve known Ben for four years now. I’ve been his boss. I’ve been his mentor, and now, I’m honored to say, I’ve been his friend. We’ve faced triumph and tragedy. We’ve fought and bled and failed together. We’ve worked side by side in the trenches every day for four years, and I am here to say, categorically and positively, I have never seen Ben happier than he is today. Every since he met Larissa, he’s gotten happier and more confident. He’s become steady and certain. He’s a man after my own heart, and we have you to thank for that, Larissa. I never knew a woman could make a man that happy, or that a woman could do a man so much good until I saw what you did to him. It made me envy him, and I don’t generally envy people. I have what I want, and when I want something, I can get it without much trouble. When Ben met Larissa and I saw what that love did to him, I realized there was something in this world I wanted that I couldn’t have, and I wanted it bad. It made me look around at my life, and I realized my life was poor and lonely compared to Ben’s. He had this big happy, loving family. He had the woman of his dreams. He had all that and a brilliant career besides. What did I have? Nothing. I had the career, but that meant nothing compared to his happiness and his confidence and his steady certainty. Damn, I wished I had that. I stand here today in awe of you guys. You’re an inspiration to everyone around you, and I look forward to the honor of being your friend for a long, long time to come.”
Through his whole speech, Ben and Larissa squeezed each other’s hands. Larissa sniffed back tears, and even Ben’s eyes misted over.
Roy raised his glass one more time and sat down. The dining room rocked with thunderous applause. The music started, and Ben and Larissa moved into the middle of the floor for their dance. Bridget swallowed the lump in her throat. She murmured to Roy. “Did you mean all that?”
“Do you think I would lie to your brother on his wedding day?”
She stared at her hands in her lap. “I didn’t know you felt that way.”
“I do.”
“I hope you weren’t talking about me.”
“Why do you hope that?”
“Because I’m not going to be that woman. I’m not going to be the woman who does for you what Larissa did for Ben.”
He turned to look at her with a very different expression in his eyes. That glittering rapacious hunger no longer drilled into her. He was just a man.
He looked for a moment. Then he turned back to his food. He didn’t say anything.
Chapter 9
Bridget left the dining room when the dance music started thumping again. After the cake and the speeches, Ben and Larissa ran off to their limo. They rode away to their honeymoon, while Tommy and Sheila and all the young people and even some of the oldsters busted a move on the dance floor. No one could hear themselves think, much less speak.
Bridget’s dress started to chafe. She had to change. She headed for her room, but she paused at the door to watch the sun go down over the garden. She hadn’t seen Roy since his speech. He got up to refill his champagne glass and didn’t come back to their table.
Bridget waited for him for more than half an hour. What the deuce did she have to wait for him for? Didn’t she tell him their quickie in the closet was nothing more than that? She told him, and that’s what it was. She didn’t have to wait for him. She didn’t even want to see him.
The music changed from the raucous racket, and high-pitched guitar strained through the still air. A voice made her spin around. “May I have this dance?”
She found herself looking at Roy. “What’s the point of that? Why do you keep chasing after me when I already told you I didn’t want to take this any further?”
He shrugged. “I’m not chasing you. I just asked you to dance. That’s all.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you sure that’s all it is?”
He held up his hand. “Scout’s honor.”
She snorted. “You were never a Boy Scout. I’m sure of that.”
He only smiled and held out his hand. She glared at him. Why did he have to be so infuriatingly persistent? The song was half over. If she was going to do this, she better do it now. “I don’t think this is a good idea. You better forget about me.”
“I’m not thinking about you. You’re just the only woman here I can dance with. That’s all I’m saying. I’m not asking for a lifetime commitment the way you seem to think I am.”
He still held out his hand in front of her. Should she take it? Should she find shelter in his arms one more time? Her resolve weakened, but just as she started to lift her hand to take his, the music changed again. It started singing YMCA. Roy let his hand drop. She’d missed her chance. Her heart sank into her shoes. Now he would walk away, and he would never ask her to dance again. Her bright idea bit her in the ass.
He didn’t walk away, though. He raised his voice above the music. “Come to my room.”
Her head shot up. “What for?”
He didn’t answer. He inclined his head toward the lobby and walked away. She stared at him. What did he mean by that? Go to his room? She would have to be daffy to do that. She just said no. She turned down his offer to dance. She wouldn’t find anything she wanted back in his room.
He didn’t look back. He ducked behind a potted plant, and the hotel swallowed him up. Would she ever see him again? All the guests would leave for their homes tomorrow morning. She might see Roy with Ben sometimes, but she would never get another opportunity to spend any time with him. She would never get another experience like she got in the closet.
Her body ached for more of that. Did she really want to look back on this experience with nothing but the broom closet to show for it? She threw caution to the wind and hurried after him.
She found him waited in front of the elevator. She stopped to confront him when the elevator doors opened with a ping. He didn’t hesitate. He took her hand and escorted her in.
The doors closed, but he didn’t let go of her hand. He didn’t speak or try to kiss her or do any of the millions of things she thought he might do. He stood still while they rode up into the hotel.
The doors whooshed open, and they stepped out into the hall. Bridget snapped alert. She pulled her hand out of his. “I better not do this. You go ahead. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He rounded on her with that calm, clear expression in his face. No smoldering sex machine here. “You won’t see me in the morning, Bridget. If you say no, you’ll never see me again. I can promise you that.”
She stared at him. “You’ll still be working with Ben.”
&
nbsp; “Yes, I’ll still be working with Ben, but you won’t see me. I’ll make sure of it. Ben will continue to benefit from our acquaintance, but I won’t bother you.”
“You’re not bothering me.”
“No. I’m asking you to come to my room for the night. I’m asking you to spend one last night with me. You want it and I want it. This could be our last and only night together. That’s all I’m asking, but if you keep saying no, I’ll accept it. I won’t ask again.”
She stood rooted to the spot. She wanted it and he wanted it. Of-course she wanted it. She wanted more of that wild, orgasmic sex she had in the closet, only this time in the comfort of his hotel room. She wanted his body and his hands and his mouth. This could be their last and only night together. Those words burned a hole in her soul. How could she turn her back on that? She wasn’t marrying him.
She met his eyes, but he didn’t wait for her to answer. He put out his hand the way he offered to dance with her. “Come on. Come with me.”
They were dancing—nothing more. They moved around each other and came apart. They went off to dance with someone else, and neither held on tight enough to get hurt.
This time, she put out her hand and let him grasp it. She followed him down the hall and into his room. He closed the door behind him.
Bridget strode into the room and gazed out the windows at the land rolling beyond the resort. The setting sun bathed the scene in soft pastel light. Her eyes softened at the sight. In less than twelve hours, she would return to her old life, her old self, her old routine. Nothing would remain of this weekend interlude.
Out of nowhere, soft jazz music filled the air. She looked over her shoulder to see Roy bent over the radio. He adjusted the knobs, and the delicate strains cast their spell over the room. He came up behind her and took her hand. “Come on.”
CEO's Christmas Party: A Bad Boy Billionaire Boss Romance Page 42
