Forbidden to Taste

by JC Harroway

  Becka reached up and traced the top button of his dark gray shirt. “Is a conversation really what you’re after?”

  He opened his mouth and seemed to reconsider. “I’m after you.”

  The honesty washed over her, a fresh breeze that made the choking environment of this fucking wedding a little more bearable. I am happy for Lucy. I am. I just can’t look at her without seeing our mother, and we both know how that turned out. It’s not the same and it won’t have the same outcome, but that doesn’t change anything. Not really.

  Becka managed a smile. “In that case, let’s skip the drinks and you can take me back to your place for a nightcap.”

  If anything, his brows rose higher. “A nightcap.”

  “Yep.” It would be good with Aaron. Exactly what she needed. The lightning nipping at her fingertips from just this small touch told her as much. They could offer each other an enjoyable night, and then she’d get back to her life with only a fond memory to balance out her mixed feelings about her friend and sister leaving her behind.

  They weren’t really leaving her. Rationally, Becka knew that. Most days, she even believed that nothing would really change even though both Lucy and Allie had gone and fallen in love.

  Stop that.

  Becka finished her drink and set it on the bar. “Another, please.”

  Aaron covered the glass with his hand. “If you want that nightcap, then you’re done for the night.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he shifted closer, placing his free hand over hers, his broad shoulders blocking out the rest of the room. “Trust me—you’ll want to be sober for this.”

  His audacity made her laugh. “Yeah, no, you don’t get to decide when I’m done.” She was buzzed, but she wasn’t anywhere near drunk. Another drink or two wouldn’t make a difference.

  “All the same.” He removed his hand, but he didn’t move away. “You’re more than welcome to drink yourself stupid, but you won’t be coming home with me if you do.”

  Sheer stubbornness almost made her tell him to fuck right off. Becka responded to commands about as well as she did to ultimatums, and Aaron had issued both in the last thirty seconds. The whole point of a night of wild abandon was the abandon part, and that only worked if they were equal. Letting him set the pace and lay down the boundaries was not part of the plan.

  But then the DJ’s voice laughed from the speakers. “It’s about that time, ladies and gentlemen. All the single ladies on the floor to catch the bouquet!”

  Desperation clawed at Becka’s throat. She had to go out there and smile and be supportive, and all she wanted to do was crawl under the bar with a bottle of vodka. She glared at Aaron. “Fine. No more drinks.” She turned on her heel and stalked toward the group of women gathering in the middle of the dance floor.

  He’d better be as good as he thinks he is.

  * * *

  Aaron spent the rest of the reception watching Becka. Taking her home was likely a mistake. He might be on decent terms with her sister, but her newly acquired brother-in-law was a different story altogether. Pissing off Gideon Novak wasn’t on his list of things to accomplish, especially with Aaron’s business on the verge of expanding. He’d need the headhunter in the future, which was part of the reason he’d accepted the invitation to this wedding.

  Becka’s laugh drew his attention, the sound just as bold as the rest of her. From her blue hair to the piercing glinting against her red lipstick to her tight little body... Yeah, bold summed up Becka Baudin pretty damn well. She couldn’t be more different from her straitlaced older sister, and even though he knew better, those differences intrigued him. She was the kind of woman who saw what she wanted and went after it, no holds barred.

  Tonight, it appeared that what she wanted was him.

  He set his empty tumbler on the bar as Becka grabbed a microphone and instructed the guests to head out front to see Lucy and Gideon off. She was the kind of woman born to stand in the spotlight. She held everyone’s attention easily as she laughed and made a joke, but still managed to be firm and get everyone moving toward the door. Most of them would be coming back into the reception to keep drinking while the bride and groom went off to do what new couples did on their wedding night.

  Aaron had other plans.

  Becka’s gaze found him across the small sea of people between them, and the barely banked heat in those blue eyes seared him to the bone. He started for the door with the rest of the guests. Despite all the jostling, he never lost sight of her in the crowd. How could he, when everything about her seemed designed to draw attention? Aaron let himself be borne along, but he managed to ensure he ended up close to her once they reached the sidewalk. As more people piled out in front of the venue, he had to step closer until he nearly bumped into her.

  She glanced over her shoulder and grinned. “Hey there, handsome. You come here often?”

  Before he could answer, Lucy and Gideon walked out the door, hand in hand. A cheer went up from the people around him, and the crowd surged as guests started blowing bubbles at them. The movement sent Becka teetering in her sky-high heels, and Aaron instinctively grabbed her arm and steadied her. It pressed their bodies together, her back to his front. This close, there was no way to avoid noticing the curve of her ass, or the way it lined up so fucking perfectly with his cock.

  He gritted his teeth and tried to get his body’s reaction under control, but Becka chose that moment to lean back against him and roll her hips, ever so slightly. In case he missed it—not likely—she shifted his hand from her arm to her stomach, tucking them tighter together. Another roll of her hips had him cursing softly. He resisted the temptation to let his hand drop lower to brush the V between her thighs. They were in the middle of a goddamn crowd, and her sister was only a few feet away.

  But he wanted to.

  Fuck, he wanted to.

  Aaron wanted to hook his fingers beneath the hem of her dress and stroke her pussy right here. To bring her to the edge and leave her there, teasing her to see how long she could hold out from making a noise that would give them away.

  Holy shit, get ahold of yourself. This isn’t you. You don’t lose control like this—especially with a woman who’s barely more than a stranger.

  A few precarious minutes later, the newlyweds were safely tucked into the limo. Before he could decide how he wanted to play this, Becka turned in his arms and laced her hands around his neck. The move pressed her more firmly against his cock, and hell if her lips didn’t part and her blue eyes go hazy with need. For him. She leaned up until her lips brushed his ear. “You are the sexiest goddamn distraction I’ve ever seen.”

  He traced the curve of her ass and lost his battle with control. Aaron dipped his fingertips beneath the hem of her dress. “I’m not the only one.” Weddings made people crazy, and he’d always thought he was immune to that particular insanity, but then, he’d never met a woman like this before. The attraction was too strong to resist, and it came on too quickly to do anything but let go and see where it took them.

  Becka nipped his earlobe. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “One thing before we go.” He walked them back until his shoulders hit the brick wall, away from the people already disappearing through the door into the hotel. It took several long minutes before the sidewalk cleared of the wedding guests. All the while, he studied Becka’s face, the dark fringe of her lashes, the curve of her lower lip, the way her breath caught when she met his gaze.

  Aaron cupped her jaw and tilted her face up to claim her mouth. She tasted minty, a burst of freshness as intoxicating as the woman herself. Becka went soft in his arms, melting as she opened for him, her tongue eagerly meeting his, stroke for stroke. As if she’d been as impatient for this moment as he’d been.

  She’d called him a distraction.

  She was the distraction—one he wasn’t sure he could afford.

  He pre
ssed his forehead to hers, trying to regain control. “Let’s go.”

  “How far is your place?”

  A forty-minute cab ride.

  Too far.

  Inside the building, a burst of laughter trailed down to them. Perfect. “About twenty yards.”

  She laughed. “That works. I don’t want to wait anymore.” She grabbed his hand and towed him back inside the building. They bypassed the entrance to the ballroom where the reception was being held and headed for the main desk.

  Ten minutes later, they stumbled through the door to a room and slammed it behind them. Aaron guided Becka to the bed and laid her on top of it. He kissed her neck, her shoulder, the line of her heart-shaped bodice. She was fire in his arms, arching to meet his mouth, her hands busy on the front of his shirt. She shoved it down his shoulders, and he released her long enough to shrug it off. Aaron tugged her dress up over her head.

  Need shot through him, rushing his movements even as part of him wanted to slow down.

  To savor every moment.

  He stopped short, drinking in the sight of her. She wore nothing but a silk thong in show-stopping pink. Against her pale skin, the neon color practically glowed, just as brilliant as her hair. Aaron traced the rose tattoo nestled on the inside of her left hip, noting the thorns circling the full petals of the flower, and then he smoothed his hand up her taut stomach to her high breasts. She was lean, every muscle defined in a way that spoke of serious time spent in the gym. “Strong little thing, aren’t you?”

  “Well, I’m a spin and TRX instructor, so that goes with the territory.”

  He bracketed her ribs with his hands and then cupped her breasts. “Maybe I’ll take one of your classes sometime.”

  Becka laughed even as she twined her hands over her head, offering her body to him. “Honey, you wouldn’t last ten minutes.”

  “Think so?” He lightly pinched her pale pink nipples, gauging her reaction. Her sharp inhale only fanned the flames within him. He needed her. Now.

  “I know so.” She grinned. “But let’s be honest—there’s only one kind of exercise we’re interested in right now, and it doesn’t have a single thing to do with a bike. Now, stop teasing me and take off your pants.”

  Copyright © 2019 by Katee Hird

  ISBN-13: 9781488048609

  Forbidden to Taste

  Copyright © 2019 by JC Harroway

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