Temporary to Tempted

by Jessica Lemmon

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. Though he didn’t like the idea of any woman leading him around by the pecker, for Andy—for this weekend—he could make an exception and forgive himself for it later.

  “On your back, beautiful. Let’s do this properly.”

  She lay down and pushed herself up the bed, gloriously naked—all that smooth skin exposed for his eyes and his twitching fingers. He slid his hand from her hip to her ribs and back up to her breasts.

  “So much better.” He kissed her lightly. “No complicated countertops or vertical maneuvering.”

  “Yeah.” Her smile the slightest bit shaky. Before he could work out what that meant, she said, “Condom.”

  “Right.” Right! Wow. Where was his head? He’d been consumed with being inside her and totally forgotten about protection. Rookie move, Fleming.

  Again that distant alarm rang, a little louder than before. It hinted that he was in deeper than he’d intended, but that was stupid. This was a temporary arrangement between them—they were completely compatible physically. No reason not to enjoy themselves.

  Repeatedly.

  He retrieved a condom from his wallet and rolled it on, returning to Andy. Then he lifted her leg and lined up with her center, enjoying teasing her. Enjoying watching her hands clench the sheets into a wad, her lips parting in anticipation.

  “You want me, Strawberry?” he asked.

  She didn’t take him to task for the nickname, only hastily nodded.

  He didn’t tease either of them any longer, thrusting inside of her in one mind-melting slide. She cried out, her pleasure infusing the air with a scent not unlike the cinnamon of her perfume.

  He repeated the action again, again, until she locked her legs around him and cried out with wild abandon. He lost track of his voice as well, especially when he came on what would qualify in most countries as a roar and collapsed on top of her. His entire body was buzzing, his head detached, a slight layer of sweat sticky between them.

  He returned to earth when Andy’s fingers found his hair. A move that was already becoming familiar to him, and was unique to her.

  That caused another alarm to break through the haze of his orgasm.

  But he ignored that one as well.

  Fourteen

  Gage woke to the telltale clicking of computer keys, his head swimming through a seascape of dreams. He opened his eyelids a crack to notice two things: one, it was still dark outside, and two, Andy was sitting up in bed next to him, laptop on her lap, naked breasts highlighted in the bluish light emanating from the screen.

  He stretched his hand across the bed—king-size, so he had a way to go—and brushed her thigh with an open palm. She started, jerking her head over to him before flashing him a grin. And flashing him, period, considering the movement also shifted her long hair from where it covered her breasts and out peeked a nipple.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice sleepy and craggy.

  “Working,” she whispered. “Did I wake you?”

  “Yes.” He sat up in bed next to her, propping a pillow behind his back. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. Mmm. She smelled good. He lingered on the second kiss and she sighed, a soft sound from her throat, before giving in and turning her head for a kiss. A kiss he almost gave her.

  “Hang on.” He wandered out of the suite and into the bathroom, using the facilities before washing his hands, face, and finally scrubbing his teeth. He wasn’t going to kiss her long and slow if he had dragon breath, that was for damn sure.

  When he emerged, she was standing in the living room, bare-ass-naked. “If you’re going to brush your teeth, then I have to, too.” She seemed inconvenienced by this, but he was glad to see that the laptop on the bed was closed.

  He climbed back into bed and glanced at the clock, doing a double take. When Andy meandered back into their shared room, teeth brushed, he pointed at the digital readout. “It’s barely five a.m.”

  “I know.”

  “Does the word vacation mean nothing to you?” He rarely saw the other side of six o’clock in the morning. Whenever he’d tried to start his day earlier than that, he’d met it grouchy and groggy. He was still groggy, but his grouchiness had been replaced by another feeling entirely, considering Andy was crawling toward him in bed, her breasts shifting temptingly with every move she made, her hair tickling up his body.

  She rested on him, chest to chest, and Gage cupped her bottom, his grogginess dissipating when she leaned in to kiss him slowly.

  “I’m an early riser.”

  He pushed his pelvis into hers, his arousal making itself known despite what time it was. “Me, too, but never this early.”

  Not that he usually had a reason to wake hard and ready. Rare was the occasion a woman stayed over. And on the off chance she had, he pretended to be fast asleep until she left so they didn’t have to do this dance. Many, many lines were being crossed with Andy, and while he knew that wasn’t cause for a panic attack, he reminded himself not to get used to it.

  “What time’s the rehearsal?” he asked around a yawn. “Early, right?”

  “Ten o’clock.”

  In the morning, he knew. Evidently Gwen and Garrett had opted to rehearse for the wedding the morning of the wedding, which wasn’t typical. He remembered that from the quick scan of the itinerary.

  “That gives us several hours,” Andy purred before pressing a kiss to his shoulder. Then his neck. When she opened her mouth at the base of his throat, he slid his arms to her back and squeezed.

  “I need my beauty sleep,” he joked.

  “Sex first, then you can sleep, princess.” She nipped his bottom lip and soothed the twinge with a kiss.

  “There is some serious role reversal going on here,” he pointed out. “I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t like not being in charge?”

  “Correct.” He was all-the-way hard now, the languid, teasing kisses and verbal sparring turning him on regardless of what ungodly time of morning it was. “I have a better idea.”

  He reversed their positions, rolling Andy to her back and sliding down her body as he laid kisses here and there. Her eyes widened with excitement.

  “What are you doing?” The question burst from her like a bottle rocket, capping with her stopping him when he began kissing a line down the center of her breasts.

  “Making sure you go back to sleep when I’m through with you,” he mumbled against her skin, shaking off her hands to kiss her flat belly.

  “Gage.” She clamped her legs together, her hands returning to his hair. He gave her his attention and that was when she shook her head. “You don’t want to do that.”

  “Oh, but I do.” He removed one of her hands from his head and kissed her palm. “You touch my hair a lot.”

  The panicky expression gave way to a shaky grin.

  “I don’t remember any woman I’ve been with who played with my hair the way you do.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Not a complaint. And right now a big turn-on.” He put her hand back on his head. “Pull when I do something you like and I’ll keep doing it until you explode.” He gave her a wink, licking a line just under her belly button before moving to her thigh and kissing there, too.

  Her clean scent hit him, musky and inviting. He absolutely could not wait to taste her. To make her scream his name.

  “But...”

  With a sigh, he raised his face from the cradle of her thighs.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Andy, haven’t you ever done this before?” A rhetorical question, because surely...

  But she slowly shook her head, and in the sparse light from the digital clock he could see her cheeks darken with color. He had no idea how that was possible, or what dickweeds she’d dated who didn’t take the time, energy and effort to satisfy her—but...

 
He knew of one, didn’t he?

  He kept his eyes on hers as he lowered his lips to just above her center. “Step one—” he licked her seam, thrilling when desire bloomed in her eyes and her mouth dropped open “—let me do all the work.”

  Shifting her so that her knees were resting on his shoulders, he opened her to him. “Step two—” he placed another reverent lick to the heart of her “—instructions are encouraged. Faster, slower, left, right, that kind of thing.”

  She bit her lip—to keep away a smile, he was guessing. Her shoulders had come down from her ears, and he wondered if that was because he’d just made it clear she had no need for performance anxiety.

  “Step three—” instead of one lick, he delivered several in rapid succession, loving the way she thrust upward toward his seeking tongue “—enjoy yourself. This is all for you.”

  Her fingers were in his hair, seeking, pulling and pushing or a combination of all three when he went to work. When she was close, she rewarded him with a high cry and he doubled down on his efforts, concentrating on that one spot in particular designed to make her lose her mind. She never gave him instructions but she never had to. Soon she was coming, clenching around his fingers, which he’d added to help her get there, and crying his name on a weak, sated shout.

  Hell.

  Yes.

  He kissed her hip bone and then her ribs, placed a loving peck on each of her nipples and then suckled her earlobe when he reached it. Her heartbeat was erratic, her breathing labored and her eyes closed.

  “Wow” was the first word she said. And Gage, who’d meant that exploration as a precursor to some really great morning sex, decided he’d let her ride this wave into oblivion.

  “Sleep well, Strawberry.” He gave her one last kiss and she grunted what might’ve been a word if he hadn’t rendered her every muscle useless. Proud of himself, he rolled over, his erection protesting. He ignored it. She needed that—worse than he’d originally known, apparently—and he’d been the first to give it to her. That special sort of release when you’re the center of the attention—the very attention she’d given him without hesitation last night.

  In the dark, she began to lightly snore and he smiled in wonderment at the creature who’d brought him here, bedded him and confused him constantly.

  Who was this woman?

  And how, in all of his years of folly and dating, had he never met another like her?

  * * *

  Andy showed up for the casual brunch rehearsal wearing a light floral dress rather than the navy blue bridesmaid’s dress she’d purchased for Gwen’s navy-and-red-themed wedding. Gwen had eschewed the traditional rehearsal dinner for a casual brunch rehearsal, which was being held in a tented-off area in view of the lake.

  The sky was heavy with clouds, but the weather was warm. The app on Andy’s phone showed the skies clearing by noon, and nothing but sun after, which was good news for Gwen and Garrett’s 4:00 p.m. ceremony.

  Gage accompanied Andy to the rehearsal even though she’d assured him he didn’t have to come. He didn’t need to rehearse for anything. He’d insisted, though, saying he’d better regain his strength and “have something other than you for breakfast,” which made her remember how completely he’d spoiled her this morning.

  After he’d successfully tranquilized her by going down on her, she’d slipped off into the most pleasant sleep of her life before waking him an hour later in much the same fashion. The sex had been electrifying and gratifying, and yet lazy and languid, the way morning sex should be.

  She’d ridden him, her hair tickling her back, and he’d held onto her hips, lifting to meet her with each languid thrust. It was the kind of sex a girl could get used to, but that thought made her melancholy, so she’d ignored it all morning. If there was one clear boundary line between her and Gage it was that they shouldn’t get too used to being together.

  “I’m grabbing a bite to eat that’s guaranteed to be less satisfying than you,” Gage whispered in her ear.

  She ducked her head, suddenly shy at the copious attention. He placed a kiss on her temple before leaving her to her sister Gwen, who appeared uncharacteristically nervous.

  Uh-oh.

  “Hey. Everything okay?” Andy asked.

  “No.” Gwen’s gaze flitted left, then right. “Carroll is my maid of honor, and Garrett’s best friend is Kenny, so that worked out perfectly. But you’re my bridesmaid and so is Amber, and Amber is dating Matthew, who is your ex.”

  “Right,” Andy said, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “Garrett doesn’t really like Matthew.”

  Andy didn’t really like Matthew, either.

  “But he’s in the wedding party. Because I love Amber and she’s in love with Matthew and wanted him to be her partner. So I talked Garrett into it, which makes me feel awful...but worse than that—” Gwen winced “—I didn’t warn you about Matthew being here. I’m a giant coward.”

  Andy tracked her eyes past Gwen over to where the wedding party was gathered near the wedding arch. Granted, she didn’t like Matthew any more than Garrett did, but she wasn’t going to ruin her sister’s day. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, Gwen. We’ve survived this weekend so far without incident.”

  Except him referring to her as Ice Queen. But Gage had been there to stand up for her.

  “He said you called him and he told you he’d be here.”

  Andy stiffened. She’d called Matthew to ask him to be her stand-in date, in a fit of insanity, apparently, but luckily never had to ask. Matthew had interrupted and bragged about attending with another date—Gwen’s best friend, Amber.

  “I did... I did call him. I was curious about how he was doing. It was a random whim,” Andy lied.

  “I should have been the one to tell you—to warn you. It’d been so long since you two dated... I guess I didn’t give it much thought.” Gwen pressed her lips together before adding, “Are you sure you’re not mad at me for not warning you?”

  Andy palmed her youngest sister’s shoulder, relieved Gwen wasn’t instead suspicious over the reason that Andy had called Matthew in the first place. “No, Gwen. I’m not the least bit mad.”

  “Good.” Gwen’s shoulders sagged in relief. “You’re walking with Garrett’s good friend Jon, who arrived this morning. He’s in the blue shirt.”

  Andy spotted the slender, smiling man in khakis and a golf shirt. “Okay.”

  “Don’t be mad about this, either, but I sort of told him you were single.”

  “Gwen!”

  “I didn’t expect you to bring a date! If he hits on you, break it to him gently.”

  Andy sighed. Just what she needed. First, she’d barely scrounged a date for this wedding, then she’d learned Matthew would darken the wedding’s doorstep, and now she was sleeping with her pretend boyfriend and had another suitor asking if she was available? She’d never had so many man problems in her entire life.

  One more look at Gwen showed that she wasn’t her normal happy-go-lucky self. This must be what the pre-wedding bridal jitters looked like on her. Kelli had had an outburst about her bouquet containing the wrong kind of roses, Ness had dissolved into tears when her flower girl refused to wear the tiara that matched her own and Carroll had done a shot of peppermint schnapps to ease her last-second nerves before she walked down the aisle.

  “I’ll let him down gently,” Andy assured her.

  “Thank you.” Gwen beamed. “I’m getting married.”

  “You are!” Andy couldn’t help smiling back at her youngest sister. She was enjoying herself so much now that she was here. Andy had Gage to thank for that. He seemed to be the common denominator in every moment she’d been at ease. “I’m so, so happy for you and Garrett.”

  Gwen embraced her in a tight squeeze that made Andy’s eyes watery. “I’m so happy for you and Gage. I know Ness and Mom can be comp
lete pains in the rear about pairing you off, but they want what’s best for you deep down on the inside.”

  Andy hoisted a brow. “It must be buried deeper than the mines of Moria.”

  Gwen giggled, loving the Lord of the Rings reference, as Andy knew she would. “Thanks, Andy. I appreciate you being understanding.”

  “Sure thing.” She followed Gwen to the wedding arch, toward Matthew and the stranger she’d be paired with in the wedding, and drew back her shoulders in determination.

  She could do this.

  And maybe it was better if she did. She’d used Gage as her security blanket for long enough. Andy could handle this part on her own.

  Better get used to it, a tiny voice warned.

  Soon she’d be back in Seattle and their bout of pretending would be over. But their physical connection wasn’t pretend for her at all. She wondered if it was for Gage, or if, like her, he was steeling himself for the end.

  Fifteen

  Around noon the clouds swept aside like curtains, parting to reveal the sunshine. By the time Gage made his way to the wedding area, the grass was dry and the day warm but not too hot.

  He was invited to sit with the remaining Payne sisters who weren’t included in the wedding. He overheard Ness say she’d begged off, not wanting “to deal with another useless bridesmaid’s dress.”

  Not that he’d ever accuse any woman of being an “Ice Queen” but he wasn’t entirely sure how Andy had earned that moniker over Vanessa.

  Gage took the seat next to Boyd on one of the white plastic folding chairs arranged in rows. He turned to smile at the tiny flower girl walking down the aisle beside Carroll, who was helping the little girl throw petals. The tot probably had no idea why she was dressed in a white confection and all eyes were on her.

  Next came the bridesmaids, and Gage turned expectantly to see Andy. She’d left him in the room, her dress in a bag tossed over her arm, and promised to see him at the wedding. There’d been an awkward moment when she’d debated whether she should kiss him goodbye or not, and then she had. Just a quick peck on the side of his mouth. He’d wished her good luck.