“Welcome to the honeymoon suite!” She swept her arms out grandly to present the elegantly appointed room. Everything a bride could want—a sitting area with a fireplace, soft lighting, a kitchenette for early morning coffee and a huge four-poster bed. Beyond the French doors lay a wide terrace, perfect for gazing at the stars.
“At least everything is here. Brian took care of that this morning. Nice of him, huh? Of course, only my bag here. Real nice of him.” Her chuckle was icy. She lifted the suitcase, put it on the trunk at the end of the bed, and flipped the latches.
“Look at this.” She pulled out a long, flimsy, lacy thing that could’ve been a nightgown, but Will didn’t think it would cover much. “For my wedding night.” She bunched it up and tossed it toward the little trashcan next to the dresser. “He wouldn’t have appreciated it anyway,” she muttered.
“You have any aspirin?” Will forced himself to ignore the image of her wearing that delicate negligee. Heat had already crept through his body, and he felt more than a little guilty at the sensation. It wasn’t right, lusting after his friend’s…his friend’s what? Well, whatever title she had now didn’t matter.
He’d lusted after her for a long time. More than lusted. Loved her from afar. If only he had met her before Brian.
“I wonder if they have this little bar thing stocked.” Lori fumbled with the latch on the wooden mini bar.
“How about coffee instead? Or water and a couple of aspirin?”
She couldn’t release the catch so she turned to him with a grimace. “Coffee, I guess. I’ll have water when I go to bed.”
Will fixed the coffee while Lori stalked around the room, restless and silent. He tried not to pay attention to her and concentrated on the slow drip of the coffee as it drizzled into the pot, but he was all too aware of her every move.
As soon as the coffee had finished brewing, he turned to her. “Okay, coffee is ready. I guess I should head out and leave you alone.”
Lori whipped around, her eyes wide. “No, please, don’t leave me. I don’t think I could stand being here by myself. Just stay for a little while anyway.”
The desperation in her voice startled him. She bit her lower lip and her gaze pleaded with him to stay.
“Are you sure? It’s late and I’m sure you’re tired.”
Lori shook her head. “I don’t think I could sleep. Not for a long time. Being alone is the last thing I want.”
With a nod, Will poured two cups of coffee into the plain, white ceramic mugs. Leaving the coffee black, he brought the mugs to the sitting area and set them down on the table in front of the couch.
“I think it’s a gas fireplace. I’d like a fire.”
Concerned for her distracted state, Will gently directed her to the sofa and started the fire himself. When he turned back to Lori, she’d tucked her legs under her and had her fingers wrapped around the mug. He sat at the other end of the couch and stared at the dancing yellow flames.
“What’s wrong with me, Will?” She sounded tired, but when Will glanced at her face, she was wide-eyed and seemed nowhere near sleep. Her fingers fidgeted with the mug.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, honey. There’s something wrong with Brian. You’re fine.”
“Then why did he choose someone else over me? After all the years and all the plans we made, he just decided to toss them away and me with them. For someone he’s only known a few weeks.”
God, he didn’t know what to say. How did he comfort a woman who’d just had the rug snatched from under her life? He could tell her that Brian was an idiot and she should be grateful she didn’t find out after they’d said their vows…that she should just forget about him and move on with her life, but that advice wouldn’t be much help.
“I gave up my career to help his and now I’m going to have to start all over. Damn him.”
Lori sipped her coffee then glanced at Will. Just this morning, her eyes had been like glittering jewels, so full of life and fire, but now they were just sad. She smiled a little. “You don’t have to say anything, just let me get it out.”
“He doesn’t deserve you anyway. You deserve to be appreciated and loved for the beautiful woman you are.”
“You’re just being nice, Will, but thank you.”
Lori finished the rest of the coffee, put the mug on the table, and got up. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek then disappeared into the bathroom. Will pushed his fingers through his hair. He didn’t think he was doing her any good whatsoever. Maybe he should’ve had Connie or one of the other bridesmaids bring Lori up here. They wouldn’t have had any problems cussing Brian out, trashing him for the bastard he was, and Lori would’ve joined in. It didn’t seem quite right for him to be doing the same thing, though, no matter how much he agreed with the sentiments.
He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and opened it. As he started to scroll through the numbers to find Connie’s, movement caught his eye. He glanced up to find Lori had returned.
“Oh, my God,” he choked, though his breath had been knocked right out of his body.
Chapter Two
Lori stood in front of him so the fire behind her created a haloed glow.
Her hair fell over her bare shoulders in a tumbled mass. Tendrils, rich and thick, licked her pink-tipped breasts. Her slim waist gently curved into full hips. Will’s heartbeat crashed inside his chest, and he looked away before he completely lost himself in the sight of her.
“Put some clothes on, honey,” he whispered. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and dampness collected against his skin beneath his shirt.
Want and need, like a fist, tightened in his gut and sent fiery fingers creeping down into his groin. He closed his eyes tightly and counted to five as he willed himself to remain cool and detached from the woman who stood before him, completely nude. Slowly, he opened his eyes again.
“No, I won’t.” Lori gazed down her slim nose at him, her mouth curved in a defiant scowl. “What’s wrong with me, Will?” She stepped closer to him until her knees touched his.
Will drew in his breath to get his thoughts in order, but only succeeded in drawing in the delicate lilac scent of her perfume. Oh, Lord, that didn’t help at all. Thrills rushed through his entire body.
He focused his gaze on Lori’s face. Her pale blue eyes were a mixture of fire and sadness. “There’s nothing wrong with you. I told you that.” Even his voice was affected. He cleared his throat, trying to remove the huskiness.
“Am I a desirable woman?”
“You know you are. Please, Lori, put some clothes on.”
She shook her head. “No.”
Lori reached down, gathered Will’s hands in hers and lifted them, placing them lightly against her breasts.
With a moan, Will tried to pull away, but she held them firmly so his hands were molded to the soft flesh, her tight nipples hard against his palms.
“Stay with me tonight, Will.” Her voice was low and seductive, the voice he’d heard in his dreams of her.
“Lori, you don’t know what you’re asking.”
She lowered herself onto his lap, straddling his legs, her face hovering just above his. “I’m not drunk anymore, Will, if that’s what you think. I know what I want. I want you to show me that I’m a desirable woman.”
She touched her mouth to his and removed her hands from his so she could run her fingers through his hair. For a dizzying moment, he thought to protest, but the way her lips moved over his in sensual invitation and the thrust of her lush breasts into his hands made it impossible for him to do anything but savor her delicious assault. He started to question Brian’s sanity again, but attempted to push the other man thoroughly from his mind, refusing to let a third person into this moment.
Yet, it was all about that third person.
Lori nipped at his bottom lip, but he eased her back sliding his hands away from her breasts, resting them on her slim waist. Will wanted to curse Brian for this, wanted to thank him for this, but he ne
ver wanted to hurt the woman who now offered herself to him.
He was afraid it was too late. His whole body wanted to engulf hers, to take her, touch every inch of her fragrant soft skin and not worry about the next morning.
He just wasn’t sure which will was stronger.
Lori leaned her forehead against his. A sheen of sweat glistened on her shoulders and her ragged breath mingled intimately with his. His gaze lowered and locked on the soft, ripe swell of her cleavage.
This is no good. Sitting on his lap, she was sure to feel his growing arousal. He couldn’t deny that he wanted her, not now. He wanted to push her away, knew that he should, even shook his head as her fingers traced over his shoulders and started to unfasten the buttons on his shirt.
“No, I won’t stop.” Her breath was as soft as the brush of her lips against his forehead. “I need you. I want you and I know you want me.” Lori wriggled her hips slightly to prove her point.
Will’s breath caught in his throat. She’d finished unbuttoning his shirt and opened it, leaving his torso as bare as hers.
“You are such a gorgeous man.” Her voice caressed him, low and husky.
She slid her hands up his chest to his shoulders, leaving a burning trail behind her palms. Down his sides, her hands ran until they reached the waistband of his dress pants. She ran the tips of her fingers under the fabric. “Why hasn’t any woman snatched you up, Will?”
With each feathery touch, each velvet kiss, Will wandered closer and closer to the edge of reason and the beginning of ecstasy. He couldn’t answer her question even if he’d wanted to because she was the reason he hadn’t developed any long-term relationship with another woman. How could any other woman hold a candle to Lori?
“I don’t want you to be sorry in the morning, darling.”
Lori pulled back, just slightly, her mouth poised over his. She shook her head. “I won’t be sorry, Will.”
With a groan, he surrendered to her seduction. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her tight against his chest, and sought her mouth again, this time demanding her participation. Her tongue found his and they danced and curled together. Boldly, his hand sought her firm breast again and he caressed her pebbled nipple with the tips of his fingers, circling it, feeling the rough texture of the aroused flesh. He wanted to taste it, but her mouth was too delicious to give up just yet.
Swiftly, without breaking the absorbing kiss, Will stood with Lori in his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her to the bed. As soon as he set her on the mattress, her fingers went to the button on his pants, making fast work of it and the zipper and shoving the garment down. He kicked the pants aside as naked as she was.
Lori lay across the bottom of the bed, her hair spread around her. Will didn’t know if he wanted to sink his hands into it or stroke up her firm abdomen to her full breasts. Through hooded eyes, Lori gazed up at him, her lips parted and swollen. Leaning over, he propped himself up on his arms and dipped his mouth to one peaked nipple, tracing it with his tongue before closing his lips over it.
“Oh, Will,” Lori gasped breathlessly, her torso rising off the bed toward his hungry mouth.
Her quiet plea drove him on. He moved farther up onto the bed, his body over hers, and shifted his attention to the other nipple, taking it between his teeth and lightly biting until Lori cried out. Her hands clasped his back and dug at him with her fingernails. He ignored the sting she inflicted and it disappeared in a haze of heat and desire as he abandoned her breasts. His lips danced up to her shoulders and neck, tasting her smooth skin.
Lori wrapped her legs back around Will’s waist, easing him closer until the tip of his erection pressed tightly against the slick heat of her center. He paused, just for a moment, and their gazes locked. Her eyes were so dark, so lost in passion.
“Wait!” Lori’s voice came out in an urgent gasp.
Will pulled back. She’d come to her senses. He knew it. His heart pounded painfully against his chest. How in God’s name was he supposed to stop? But he would, for her sake.
“Protection.” Lori drew in a breath, lifted her hand, and stroked Will’s cheek. “In my suitcase, side pocket. Can you?”
Will nodded. Relief washed through him, mixed with a good dose of reality. Of course, they needed protection. Brian was a lying, cheating bastard and they couldn’t be too careful. He pulled away from her and went to the open suitcase, searching the side pockets until he came in contact with the little foil packets. Returning to the bed, he made quick work of putting the condom on, staring down at the woman waiting for him.
Light from the fireplace flickered against her skin and glittered in her passion-darkened eyes. Will leaned back down and reclaimed her mouth, his tongue tangling with hers as her hands stroked up over his shoulders and she opened herself to him. There was no holding back. Her ragged sighs drove him to the edge and he thrust his hips forward, driving into her moist depths.
He held himself there for a long moment, but Lori rose to meet him and moved against him, hot, wet, abandoned. With each rhythmic push and pull, she pressed her lips against his torso and neck, running her hands from his shoulders down to the base of his spine and pulling him tighter against her, making his urgent strokes harder and faster. He couldn’t tell if it was his breath that came harsh and uneven or hers, they mixed together, hot and erratic.
Too fast. She deserved to have this last. He pulled away from her, gathered her into his arms and placed her farther up on the bed, climbing to her side. Starting at her neck, he feathered kisses down her shoulders and across each breast while he stroked her thighs, seeking out her delicate, sweet warmth. Putting his own urgent needs aside, he tended to hers with hands and mouth, to prove to her that she was an incredibly desirable woman.
“Now, Will,” Lori’s gentle plea pulled at him. “Please, I want you inside me now.”
He couldn’t deny her, didn’t want to deny her whispered, desperate request. Poised above her, he bent and kissed her lips again then filled her in one swift motion, delving deeper into her with each rhythmic push. Together they rocked, their hearts pounding as one until he couldn’t hold his release any longer. He focused on Lori’s face and the way she writhed against his thighs, until her body shuddered around him, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps he recognized as his name. He let himself go in a fiery wave of ecstasy.
Pulling her into his arms, he held her close as their climax waned, kissing her eyelids, stroking her back until her breathing returned to normal.
Will lay her back into the pillows then climbed out of the bed and went to the fireplace to extinguish the flames. Returning, he gathered Lori into the crook of his arm and pulled the covers up around them. She nestled her cheek against him.
“Thank you, Will.” Lori’s eyes were already closed and a smile played on her lips. Gently, he smoothed away a curl of hair that fell across her cheek.
Thank me? No, thank you for making my dream come true. At least, for one night.
* * *
Between the dull ache that fit like a cap over her head and the bright sunlight filling the room, Lori wanted to roll over and die. Or at least pull the blanket over her head and go to sleep for a week. She rolled anyway, expecting an empty bed, but the bulk of another body sent sleep fleeing. She should’ve been alone. Her first coherent thought was Brian, but the frame of the body next to her was much broader, bigger.
“Oh, Lord.” Lori buried her face in her pillow. Memories of the previous night trickled into her brain, blurry around the edges, but solid and inescapable. With each passing second, the night became clearer, more vivid.
Each touch of his hand on her skin, each kiss and, most of all, the way he sent her body into a wild spiral of ecstasy.
Of course, the man sprawled out next to her wasn’t Brian. Brian was off with some bimbo named Roxi or Roxanne. No, she’d spent her wedding night with her ex-groom’s best man.
Lori eased away from him, trying to process what had possesse
d her to seduce him. Her broken heart? Or was it more the words in Brian’s letter? She didn’t need to have the note in front of her to remember his words.
Lori,
I know you’re going to think me a bastard for doing this, but I don’t have a choice. I can’t marry you, plain and simple. I thought maybe I could—after all, I owed it to you. We’ve had a lot of years together and I do love you, but last night I realized those feeling aren’t enough anymore. I’m not in love with you. It’s like everything I felt for you isn’t even there anymore. You don’t need to be married to a guy who can’t even be in love with you.
Somewhere along the way, I lost the passion. And that’s no way to start off married life. I’m sure you must feel it too, that it hasn’t been good between us, you know, the sex. Neither one of us has been that into it for a long time. I don’t think we can ever get it back. Truth is, I don’t think I want to get it back with you. It’s not you, it’s not me, it’s us.
I’m going to be honest here because you’ll find out anyway. I’ve met someone else and I’ve been seeing her for the last couple weeks. Being with Roxanne reminded me of the excitement that’s missing from my life, and right now, I can’t give it up. I can’t give up this freedom for marriage. I know I’m an ass for saying it, but I have to tell the truth, no matter how much it hurts.
I know it doesn’t seem like it’ll be possible, but I hope that someday you’ll forgive me.
Brian
That had been it. She bored him. He had been right about one thing, though, it wasn’t her. Their failure might not even have been him, it was them. Because sex with Will had been incredible. Out of this world. So Brian could keep his little Roxanne. She hoped things would get dull for them as well.
She stared at Will the even rise and fall of his breathing. God, he was one of her best friends, and she may have just ruined their relationship because of her vanity. It was an extremely unpleasant thought. As unpleasant as wondering just what he’d think of her when he woke. Lori slipped out from underneath the covers, careful not to wake him, and snuck into the bathroom. She avoided looking into the mirror, but splashed some cold water on her face and put on her discarded clothes as quickly as possible. Back in the suite, she went to the desk and took out a sheet of the inn’s stationery and a pen.
The Better Man Page 2
