Ten Brides for Ten Hot Guys

by Donna Fasano

  “Kissed who?”

  “The father. Harrison Wolfe, lawyer. Great kisser, Jake. There was a storm...”

  “Holy shit.” Jake’s face registered shock. “No way.”

  “I know,” I said, guilty as charged. “But I’m not going to do it again.”

  “Unless you want to drive Billy away forever, you better keep your lips and hands to yourself. He’s off limits. Way off limits.” Jake wiped his hands on a towel, and tossed it aside. His eyes were shadowed and his mouth an angry grim line. “I can’t believe you.”

  Jake was not only my employee, but also my trusted friend and confident—and no, he’s not gay. His words cut me deep, highlighting how badly I’d misbehaved. I was thoroughly ashamed of myself, and swore to be a better person--a more devoted mother—while I still had the time. Another woman would soon take center stage in my Billy’s life.

  “I won’t go near him again. Cross my heart.” I did a fake cross but because I’m not involved with any organized religion, it didn’t mean much to me. I believe in the divine power but prefer to keep my prayers private. “The big problem is how are we going to keep Billy from getting married? He’s of legal age, even if he hasn’t reached maturity. Hell, the boy’s hardly got anything to shave.”

  Jake grinned. “Well, some young lady thinks he’s manly enough.”

  “Oh, don’t even talk about it. I don’t want to think about him having sex. It’s gross.”

  “What about you and daddy-o? You think that’s okay?”

  The heat flowed up my chest, onto my neck and warmed my cheeks. Luckily for me, the door burst open and a stream of regulars rushed in.

  I breathed a sigh of relief, having narrowly escaped Jake’s inquisition. Since we went way back, he could dig my ugliest secrets out of me, and my raging hormones were not up for discussion.

  I knew my libido could get me into serious trouble if I didn’t get a handle on things. They’d flipped into high gear the second the magic thing happened and I’d jumped into Harrison’s arms.

  It wasn’t my fault. I was guiltless. The Indians were up to their old mischief, probably doing some crazy love-making dance under the ground where we stood. Hooping and hollering in full tribal gear, having a gay old time at my expense.

  I stamped my foot, hoping they’d know that I was onto them and their tricks. Now, I just had to outsmart them.

  Chapter 4

  Jenny, our one waitress, arrived twenty minutes late, full of apologies and excuses about the weather. Her brown hair was pulled back in a swinging ponytail, but I could see the damp sprinkles in her hair, and that the bottom of her jeans were soaked too. Her canvas shoes were making squishy sounds as she walked.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I told her. “Why don’t you grab the hairdryer out of the storage room and try to dry yourself off. You can’t work the shift in wet clothes.”

  “Okay. I’ll just be a sec.” She ran off, and Jake and I got the bar readied for the customers who came trickling in.

  I was pleased to see that the quick moving tropical storm hadn’t kept our die-hard customers away, and just hoped they stayed long enough to keep my eyes from straying toward the door.

  I chatted with a few of the customers, asking about their kids or their favorite sports teams, anything to try to keep my mind of Billy getting hitched to a girl I hadn’t even met.

  He still had two months left of college—what was he thinking?

  I can so clearly remember driving him to Florida State University, helping him set up his room, then we’d wandered around campus and found the cafeteria, and a Laundromat, and the bookshop. The first day he’d been nervous, but had shooed me away after only a couple of hours, embarrassed hanging out with his mom. I’d cried all the way home, but we both got used to living separately.

  The seasons seemed to flow from one to another, with Billy coming home for the summers, working part-time at a computer store nearby. Eight hours a day, four days a week. I was so proud of him! Big change from the wild youth who’d spray-painted buildings as a way to rebel.

  I met a few of his girlfriends over the years, and they’d all been nice young women. I could see that while Billy enjoyed their company, he wasn’t head-over-heels. It was the way it was supposed to be. Go to college--have some real-life experiences--throw a few seeds--and then get back on track and find a job, stability, yada, yada.

  Not frickin’ get married right after graduation. The knowledge of what his life would be like made my stomach roll.

  I didn’t want my slender hold on Billy to go. I wasn’t ready to slip down the chain of command. But it wasn’t selfish reasons that made my heart ache. It was motherly concern. I didn’t want my son to take on the physical, emotional daily grind of supporting a family at the tender age of twenty-one.

  Billy would have enough on his plate—finding good steady employment--a place to live--learning to pay his own bills and budget. I guess I assumed he’d move in with me, after he graduated. At least for a while.

  I downed a couple of Advil from under the bar, fighting a headache. Good!

  “You’re quiet this evening, Miss Candy.” Jim Watson, a newly divorced banker, said to me. “Where’s that bright smile of yours?”

  I shook my head. “Sorry. Sinus headache, that’s all.”

  “It’s the weather,” he said, and lifted his empty beer glass. “I’ll have another if you don’t mind.”

  “I’d mind if you didn’t,” I said, forcing a grin. I slid a bowl of popcorn his way. “Warm popcorn too. Jenny just made it a few minutes ago.”

  He glanced around and winked at Jenny. “Thanks, Sweetheart. This will be my dinner tonight.”

  “In that case we’ll keep it full,” she told him, and brought over some pretzels.

  Turning away, my mind escaped again to Billy. How could he support himself, and her, with college loans to repay? What if Katie got pregnant right away? I released a heart-felt sigh.

  “You okay, Candy?” Jake asked, his smile not reaching his eyes.

  I nodded, pouring a seltzer water to calm my belly. I needed to talk to Billy, but there hadn’t been two seconds to get away.

  Jake nudged my hip with his, reaching around me for another glass. “Nice crowd,” he said, pouring a draft for a smiling twenty-something and her friend.

  “For a crappy night, it’s not bad.”

  By nine o’clock the Friday night band was setting up. Most of the tables were full. Not like the old days when we had several waitresses working, but busy enough where I lost track of time, and stopped looking at the door.

  Jake handed me a bill and a credit card to run since I was already at the machine. “That guy at the end asked for you. Is that the Wolfe?”

  I finished running the card, casually glancing in the direction Jake told me. There he was. Harrison. My stomach clenched. “Mmm-hmm. It sure is.”

  “Don’t go there, Candy.” Jake narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m warning you.”

  “Uh-huh. I won’t go anywhere,” I said, moistening my lower lip as I remembered Harrison’s excellent kiss.

  He’d changed into jeans and a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up, and looked sexier than I remembered. My mouth went dry and my pulse raced like a Kentucky Derby winner. I picked up a drink menu and fanned my face and chest.

  “You’re flushed again. Are you frickin’ crazy?” Jake grabbed my shoulders and shook me, as if hoping to get some sense in there. “Wait here. I’ll get rid of him.”

  “Jake.” My teeth rattled. “Sweetie, I appreciate the thought. I really do. But I can handle this. We’ve got to talk, for Billy’s sake.”

  Jake dropped his hands and gave me an enigmatic stare with some message that refused to transmit, then shrugged and walked away. “You’re something else.”

  Ignoring my temperamental bartender, I sauntered over to what could soon be Billy’s new father-in-law, and my new family member. Seeing him at the wedding, birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, all that familial cl
oseness was an intoxicating thought. But…

  “You shouldn’t have come,” I said, putting my hand on my hip and tilting my head to give him a half-smile. “I’ve been hoping all night that you wouldn’t.”

  He folded the stir straw in half, his eyes never leaving mine. “No, you haven’t.”

  “You’ve got a high opinion of yourself.” My toes curled inside my pink boots. “I’ll give you that.”

  “You gave me more than that this afternoon, and that’s some of the reason I’m here.” Harrison flashed a panty-melting smile, as good as Jake’s who was at least a decade younger.

  “Don’t,” I said, warding him off with one hand in a “stop” gesture. “You can’t flirt with me. Not today—not ever.” I had a sudden thought, a way to justify our flirtatious actions. “Unless we can make sure that our kids have come to their common senses and their engagement is off.”

  “That’s the idea.”

  I glanced at his mouth--thinking about how good his lips had tasted--and how much I’d like to sample them again. “Then you can do whatever you like.”

  “Anything I like?”

  “Well, most anything.”

  He quirked a brow and his eyes slid over me, bringing heat to my inner core and a tingling from the tips of my toes to the roots of my colored hair. How in the world had this guy managed to stay single for three years after his poor wife passed away? He had heads swirling all over the bar, oozing sex appeal from every manly pore.

  A big, big man that commanded attention. Broad shoulders, slim at the hips, great hair, perfect teeth, a well-shaped nose, and gorgeous eyes that lasered in and saw more than he should. Irresistible, and yet I must resist.

  Life was cruel. First it had tempted me with Jay Carpenter, the first man in years that had set my heart on fire, and now again it offered a man I couldn’t have. Why, with all the men that stumbled through this bar, did I have to fancy the ones who were poison to me? Maybe I was just meant to stay single.

  “What time are you closing down tonight?” Harrison asked. “Should I wait?”

  “I can leave once things get slow. You want a drink?”

  “Just a beer, thanks. A light draft.”

  I poured an Amstel and slid the mug over to him. Our fingers bumped, and I jolted as a current went through me. He was like an electrical force that lit me up like the fourth of July. Inside of me, I tingled with awareness. It was so bad. So wrong.

  Determined to put an end to an unfinished beginning, I spoke quickly. “Don’t wait for me or come back. Not unless you’ve figured out a solid plan to break our kids up. Pretending to be receptive of this idea might backfire, and I don’t want to take a chance.”

  He took a sip of his beer, wiped his mouth, his eyes holding mine captive. My blood heated up. “I’d like to discuss this with you in private.”

  “How private?” I blurted out, wishing I could learn to keep my mouth shut when temptation knocked on my door.

  “I have a hotel room two miles away.” He twisted the mug around. “We could talk there.”

  “We could talk in the coffee shop first thing in the morning,” I offered instead.

  “Tonight,” he countered quietly.

  “Tonight…okay. Sure. But at my place, not the hotel.” If we went to his place, it meant out and out sex. My apartment? There was a chance one of us would see reason. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jake watching us. I felt a twinge of guilt, but shrugged it off—figuring I’d carried enough around for the greater part of my life.

  “I can leave now,” I told Harrison, wanting to get it over with. Whatever was going to happen, needed to happen before I became completely combustible and exploded. “My bartender will close up. You can ride with me, if you want, my place is only a few blocks from here. But no funny business. We just need to talk.”

  “I’ll follow you in my rental. Whatever you say, Candy, although I can’t guarantee anything.” He finished his beer and I was transfixed by his jaw. “There’s something about you that’s calling to a part of me. Never felt anything like it before.” His gaze narrowed and he pushed the empty mug away.

  “It’s the bar,” I explained with a shrug. “And storms. I’ve seen it time and time again.”

  “And yet you’re still single.”

  “By choice, mostly. Besides, you can’t control the metaphysical. Today, the place was empty, except for my friends. Maybe lightning doesn’t strike twice, because they’ve all been hit before.” I picked up his mug and leaned forward, as if sharing a secret. “I don’t know how or why it happens, but it does.”

  His deep eyes smiled, crinkling at the corners. “I don’t believe in magic. I do believe in physical attraction.”

  I believed in all sorts of things–not as woo-woo as my friend Susie, but not black and white, either. “I’ve seen it firsthand and on numerous occasions, so I know it’s real. It can cause a person to do a lot of things they normally wouldn’t.” Like lust after a perfect, forbidden, stranger. If I didn’t have him in my arms soon, I’d scream with frustration.

  As if he could feel my tension, he ran the back of his hand in a soothing gesture down my cheek. “Let’s hope back at your place we can behave like two mature adults, instead of randy kids.”

  My face warmed from his light touch. “Yes. We already have two of those on our hands—and that’s who we need to focus on. You and me aren’t going anywhere.” I took a few deep breaths, wondering if these feelings might fade come morning. Unlike my girlfriends, I hoped I could maintain some kind of control. Not for myself, but for the love of my son.

  ~*~

  Harrison followed me back to my apartment, and Jimmy, the doorman gave him a look of approval as he held the elevator. “Good evening, Ms. Thompson. You both have a pleasant night now.”

  “Mr. Wolfe won’t be long. How’s your wife, Jimmy? She over that bout of pneumonia?” My doorman had seen me through thick and thin over the years, and we were friends of a sort.

  “She sure is. Thanks for asking.” He pushed the number for my floor then stepped back.

  Alone in the elevator, I darted a quick glance at Harrison. Why had I invited him here? What the frig was I thinking—or he for that matter? We were like dogs in heat, wanting to tear at each other, to mate, with no regard to the calamity it could bring.

  I was not going to do this. I’d make him a cup of coffee and send him on his way.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked softly, his eyes warm on my face.

  I bit my bottom lip, wanting to feel the pain. No pleasure for me. Not tonight, not with this man.

  “That this is wrong. Stay for a cup of coffee, if you will, and maybe we can come up with a plan. But that’s it. Nothing physical. Not even an accidental brush of the hand.”

  “You mean like this?” He nudged up beside me, and the back of his hand was against my hip.

  Heat pierced me and I began to tingle. I stepped back. “Yes, like that.” My eyes were glued to his. “Stop looking like that.”

  “Like what?” He advanced one step closer.

  “Like you want to eat me.”

  “I do.” His hand cupped my ass.

  Trying desperately for levity I asked, “Should I be worried? Maybe you’re a cousin of Hannibal Lector.”

  He laughed. “You wish. No, you know what I want to do with you, and you’re afraid that you’re going to like it.”

  “I’m not stupid. I know I’ll like it, and that’s precisely why it can’t happen…it can’t.” If it didn’t happen, I might die. I wouldn’t have to explain or apologize to Billy about my rotten decision as his only parent—I’d be found alone in my room, dead of unrequited longing.

  The door of the elevator slid open and I dashed out, hoping Harrison wouldn’t follow. He did.

  We got to my apartment and he was right behind me, his body pressed to mine. I felt his hardness—from shoulder, to chest to groin. It should have been creepy, and I should have stood my ground and told him to get away from
me, but I didn’t. I shivered with pleasure, my fingers clumsy as I unlocked the door.

  We stumbled in and then his arms were around me, and mine around him, and we did a strange backward walk until my knees touched the sofa. I collapsed into the cushions, Harrison on top of me.

  My hands clasped around the back of his head as his big, warm body suffocated me. I held on to him and kissed him madly, wishing that I could be strong and resist this overpowering desire, be unmoved by this man’s caress, the taste of his mouth, the hunger of his tongue. Let me feel nothing, I cried silently, knowing I’d already lost the battle.

  Ravenous desire pierced my defenses and I could feel myself slipping away, further, further into a lust-filled passion. His hand was on my tee-shirt, lifting it up so he could feel my breasts. My breath hitched, and I pushed myself into his hands, needing the rough feel of them on my tender skin. I broke away from him long enough to rip the shirt over my head and toss it on the floor. He suckled my nipples through the silky bra, then pushed the cup down, taking one breast firmly in his mouth. He laved it for a long time while I wriggled under him, and then he started on the other.

  I was squirming with desire, whispering his name, taking nips of his shoulder, his neck—out of control. He reached down to unsnap my jeans, and then his fingers slid the zipper down. I sucked in my breath, creating enough space for his hand to dip inside, and then he was there.

  His warm hand covered my panties, and one finger dipped in lower. Nearly delirious, I tried to tear his buttons off his shirt, but he grabbed my hand and put it on his crotch.

  Oh, my! He was a big, big man. I gasped and pulled his zipper down. He was commando underneath, and the back of my fingers discovered the hard, long length of him.

  I had him between my fingers, and wondered if I had any condoms in my bedroom, and how I could get to them without breaking contact with this delicious specimen of a man.

  “The bedroom,” I gasped. “Condoms.”

  He pushed himself off me, just as I heard the front door open. I looked up, over Harrison’s shoulder, and there stood Billy, a young girl next to him.