When she finished with his shirt, parting it and tugging it out of his pants, she started on the buttons down the front of her dress. Her hands were shaking as she released his lips, leaned back, and tried to capture his gaze.
He slowly opened his eyes, staring into hers with concern.
She smiled. “Who cares if we have sex the night before our wedding?” she reassured him. “It’s such an antiquated practice, Montgomery. Make love to me now instead.”
He swallowed. “Yeah. Okay.” His gaze didn’t leave hers, though. Not even when she released the last button, revealing her bra to him. She willed him to make the next move, but he didn’t.
After another fortifying breath, she grabbed his hands and set them on her chest. This was not at all how she pictured having sex. Not with any man. Why the hell was he so hesitant? Suddenly, she had an absurd thought. “Are you a virgin?” she blurted out.
He smirked. “Hardly.” And then he instantly sobered. “Sorry. That didn’t come out right.”
Heat rushed up her face. “Okay, then why do you seem so hesitant?” His hands were wrapped around her breasts now, but awkwardly and with the material of her dress and her bra between them.
He removed his hands and grabbed her waist. “I just thought it would be nice if we waited. For you, I mean. It’s one more night. We’ve waited this long. Why not wait one more day?”
Because I need to know.
Conjuring every ounce of strength she had, she reached for the front of his pants to cup his penis. Even though she didn’t have any experience with men at all, she wasn’t naïve enough not to expect him to be erect. He was not.
She lifted her gaze, embarrassed and confused.
He removed her hand and set it against his chest. “Not tonight, Hope. Tomorrow.”
She fought back tears. “I want to know.”
“Know what?”
“If we have chemistry.”
He laughed awkwardly. “Of course we’ll have chemistry. Everyone has chemistry.”
“Do they?” She wasn’t sure she believed him. Besides, Faith had insinuated otherwise.
His brow furrowed. “Of course they do. It’s sex. It can’t go wrong.” He backed her toward the door, his hands going to the front of her dress to redo the buttons. “Go back to your room. Get some sleep. I’m sure you have a hair or nail appointment at the crack of dawn.”
He wasn’t wrong.
She glanced down, batted his hands away, and buttoned her dress herself. Half of her was embarrassed. Half of her was disappointed. Maybe he had a point. Maybe she was being ridiculous. After all, they’d waited this long. Why not wait one last night?
“You’re sure it will all be okay?” she asked as she lifted her gaze.
“Positive.” He reached for the door, opened it, and kissed her forehead. “It’s late.”
She backed into the hallway, stopping when she bumped into someone. When she twisted her head around to apologize, she found a woman standing behind her. The woman didn’t seem to have been walking down the hallway. She seemed to have been standing at the door. In fact, she lifted a brow. “No one mentioned a threesome.” She smiled slowly and shrugged.
“Pardon?” Hope righted herself and turned sideways so she could glance at Montgomery.
The woman was tall and too skinny. She had on a sequin dress that barely covered her butt. Her breasts were fake and pushed high on her chest. The front of her spandex dress hardly covered her nipples.
In addition, she had on a ton of makeup and her red hair was teased out. The woman’s gaze shot back and forth between Hope and Montgomery.
Montgomery spoke. “You must have the wrong room.”
“Right,” the woman drawled, looking at Hope again. “I guess so. Sorry to bother you.” She turned and sauntered down the hallway, swinging her small sparkly purse at her side.
Hope shuddered.
“Get some rest,” Montgomery encouraged. He was gripping the door and the frame with both hands. If she wasn’t mistaken, his face was pale. He licked his lips.
Hope glanced at the woman and then back at Montgomery. Surely that woman hadn’t come to the room to see her fiancé? Would his buddies have sent him a hooker or something as a prank? “Do you know her?” Hope asked.
“Of course not.” He grabbed Hope around the waist and hauled her close, kissing her lips far more passionately than he had inside the room.
For a moment, she prayed he would change his mind and pull her back inside. But then he broke the kiss and stepped back. “See you tomorrow, honey.” He eased the door shut.
Hope stood there, staring at the door, her mind spinning. Honey? He never called her honey. He didn’t use any pet names for her at all. Perhaps the sudden endearment should have warmed her, but it didn’t. It sounded awkward instead.
There should have been a spark when his hands were on her breasts. Instead, she’d felt nothing. Not even when she kissed him. She’d never once gotten hot and bothered when they made out. Not like the scenes she read in romance novels.
She closed her eyes for a moment and took several deep breaths. Surely she was imagining things. Making up problems that didn’t exist. Montgomery Ainsley was marrying her tomorrow. No one was forcing him to do so. He could have any woman he wanted.
They’d been going together for a long time. Years. This was the logical next step. He loved her. No way would he marry her if he didn’t. She was being paranoid. Sex with him would be amazing.
Tomorrow.
Chapter 3
“So, let me get this straight,” Aaron said, glancing at her from the driver’s seat. They had been driving for over an hour, during which time Hope had told him about her talk with Faith at the bar, the fortifying tequila shots, and the peculiar trip to Montgomery’s room.
Hope closed her eyes, wondering how Aaron was going to spin her story.
“You’re a virgin?”
She winced, her eyes popping open. She swatted at his arm from her side of the car. “Is that the only thing you gleaned out of everything I just told you?” She had no idea what made her spill so many details to a man she hardly knew, but she rationalized that she needed to vent and who better to vent to than a man she probably wouldn’t see again in her life after this trip.
He grabbed her hand with his and gave it a squeeze, chuckling. “You didn’t let me finish.”
“Fine.” She tried to pull her fingers back, but he gripped them, probably to keep her from swatting him again.
“You’ve been dating this Ainsley guy for over two years and he never tried to have sex with you?”
“No. He’s a gentleman.” She tried to sit up taller as if that would help her believe her own words.
Aaron shot her another glance and then shook his head, his attention back on the highway. “Baby, no man is that much of a gentleman, unless he’s gay or completely uninterested.”
She gasped, finally jerking her hand free of his clutch. “Of course they are.”
He shook his head. “No. They aren’t. And considering there was a woman in the hallway waiting to see him, I’m inclined to suggest he isn’t gay.”
Hope rolled her eyes. “She wasn’t there to see him. That’s ridiculous. She said she had the wrong room.”
Aaron took the next exit and turned in to a gas station. He didn’t pull up to a pump, however. Instead, he parked at the entrance. And then he turned toward her. “He had champagne chilling.”
She rubbed her arms and stared out the windshield. “The hotel made a mistake,” she murmured.
“They didn’t make a mistake. And men don’t remain flaccid when they are in the same room as a half-naked woman who’s ready to give herself to him, seducing him, eager, willing, and definitely not if she’s someone like you. It’s not possible. If his cock wasn’t stiff, you were right to assume there was a problem.”
She jerked her gaze back to his, gasping. “What are you talking about? Men don’t get hard in the same room as me.”
He smiled, reaching out to tuck the tendril of hair curling around her face behind her ear. “Yes, they do. You’re knockout gorgeous, and even though you have a snobby air about you that might turn men off, it’s still obvious you lack the self-esteem to know your own worth. Your stuck-up attitude isn’t enough to keep a man’s cock from responding to your fucking sexy hair, pouty lips, and smooth skin, especially if you were unbuttoning your dress.”
She flushed a deep red, feeling the heat rush up her face.
Aaron reached up toward her bun and shocked her by removing one of the pins. He set it in the cup holder and grabbed another one. “How many of these are there?” he asked when her hair didn’t even budge.
“About a hundred, probably.” Her voice was shaking. She grabbed his forearm to stop him.
He met her gaze again.
“You really think he was going to fuck that woman last night?”
Aaron nodded. “I do. Maybe it was just a final fling. Maybe he does it all the time. I can’t know what’s in his head. If you didn’t believe it yourself on some level, then why did you run from the church? Why are you running from the state? Why are you in my car right now instead of in that hotel room with your husband having sex?”
She didn’t respond for a moment, and then she glanced down at her lap. “I got cold feet. There was no spark. This isn’t about him. It’s about me.”
“Is it?” Aaron asked as he resumed pulling pins from her hair.
She leaned closer, her head tipped down, letting him pull the stupid painful things out.
He continued, tenderly, careful to remove each one without pulling a single hair.
“Why?” Her voice cracked as a tear ran down her face.
“I don’t know, baby. You said yourself the marriage was a merging of two families. You said your mother set you up with him and encouraged you to date him. Maybe he wasn’t that into you, and he was only in it for the connections and the financial alliance. Though, if you ask me, he’s a fucking moron.”
“I feel so stupid.”
Aaron set a pin down, cupped her face, and lifted her chin. “Don’t. He’s not worth it. I don’t know his story, but even if there were a logical explanation for the hooker, the champagne, and his weird unwillingness to sleep with you for two years, you said there was no spark. That matters more than anything.”
She nodded, tipping her face into his palm. Aaron had shown her kindness, given her his attention, touched her, met her gaze, and even used a sweet endearment twice. It was more than Montgomery had done in two years.
She’d been with Aaron less than two hours.
She licked her lips. “Surely not everyone feels a spark.”
He shrugged. “Probably not, but I feel sorry for them. Granted, sparks can fade over time, I assume, but I for one wouldn’t walk down the aisle toward someone I wasn’t so madly in love with that I couldn’t take my gaze off them or stop grinning.”
“He didn’t meet my gaze, and he wasn’t smiling. In fact, I would say he looked uncomfortable, like someone was stabbing him or he was too hot.”
Aaron blew out a breath. “He wasn’t the right man, Hope.”
She nodded. “Right.” Another deep breath. “Thank you.” She lifted her hands and pulled another pin out of her hair.
“Here,” he said, gently guiding her head toward the console again. “Let me help. You look like you’re about to be scalped by that tight bun.”
It took the two of them several minutes, but finally they had the last pin out.
“How is this damn thing still holding its form?” Aaron asked, tugging gently on the bun.
“Two bottles of hairspray.”
“Jesus. You won’t even be able to lie down until you wash this out. You’d get a cramp in your neck.”
She righted herself and ran her hands through the sides of her hair. “It’s not that bad. You’re exaggerating.” It was almost that bad, but she did manage to shake some of it free.
He was smiling at her when she glanced at him again. His gaze warmed her entire body. He was nothing like Montgomery Ainsley. In fact, he was so very different.
Swallowing, she recalled the first time she met Aaron. She’d been with Montgomery. She had stopped by Rowen’s house to drop off a box of Faith’s belongings from her childhood room. Aaron had been there. Montgomery had come to the door with her. He’d even met Aaron, but he’d declined to go inside with her.
He’d put Hope in a foul mood with his snobbiness. Hope should have ignored him or apologized for his rude behavior, but instead she’d mirrored his attitude as if she were better than everyone else. To this day she felt ashamed for tipping her nose up as she followed Faith, Rowen, and Aaron to the kitchen.
Aaron had trailed behind her on the way back to the front door, set his hand on it before opening it, and stared her down, inches separating them. His gaze had been intense. He didn’t mince his words. “If you treat your sister like shit, Rowen will cut you out of her life, and I won’t blame him.”
She had stared at him for several seconds, unable to catch her breath. Several things had gone through her mind, and she recalled all of them now. What stood out above all other characteristics about Aaron was that he held her gaze, never dropping it. Never looking away. He made her feel. At the time, he made her feel like a bitch. But he could make her feel all sorts of things, and right now he was making her feel like he cared.
How often did Montgomery meet her gaze and hold it?
She blinked at Aaron now, recalling how he’d conveyed so much in those few moments at the front door. Strength. Seriousness. Dominance.
Aaron was not vanilla. She knew that of course. He’d been a member of Club Zodiac in Miami, and he’d moved to Denver to open another branch.
Her heart was racing as he continued to smile at her.
Suddenly, her head felt clearer than it had in months. “Would you do two things for me?”
“What?” He lifted a brow.
“Take me to a drive-thru to get a burger. I’m starving.” She couldn’t remember the last time she ate. Not today for sure. And even though she was small by most people’s standards, her mother had insisted she eat like a rabbit for the past several months to ensure the damn ugly wedding dress fit. She would give anything for a greasy burger.
“I think I can make that happen. What else?”
“Find the nearest hotel, get us a room, and show me what I’ve been missing out on.”
Aaron’s eyes bugged out of his head. “What?”
“You heard me.” Her cheeks flushed a dark red as she glanced at her lap.
“Yeah. I heard you, but you’re out of your mind.”
She jerked her attention back to him. “Why? I think I’m more in my right mind than I’ve ever been. I’m a twenty-six-year-old virgin. I’m tired of wondering what all the hype is about. You’re sexy, smoking hot, kind, generous, fun, friendly, honest, and a good listener. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather give my virginity to. I know you’re a good guy because my sister likes you. I trust you.”
He leaned back, holding his hands up, palms out. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he was going to have sex with Hope Davenport. He shouldn’t have even touched her.
He had no idea why he’d grabbed her hand and then felt the need to run his fingers through her hair. But he’d given her the wrong idea. For one thing, she’d run away from her own wedding just hours ago. For another thing, she had no idea what kind of kink he was into.
“Hope, it’s not going to happen.”
“Why the hell not? You said no man in the same room as me could possibly avoid an erection.” She glanced at his lap.
He moaned and shifted his weight side to side. She wasn’t wrong. His cock had been hard from the moment he pulled that first hairpin out, which was probably why he hadn’t stopped himself from touching her and leading her on. She had smelled so good, and every little noise she made as he removed those damn pins had gotten under his skin, making him crave
things he should not have been pondering.
This was his fault. “That’s true.” He wasn’t going to lie. Besides, how the hell could he. She had eyes. “Nevertheless, I can and will control my dick. It’s staying in my pants for the duration of our time together.”
Speaking of which, he needed to get her someplace safe, have her call her sister, and get someone to pick her up. No way was he driving her to Denver. He didn’t know why he’d ever entertained the idea in the first place.
She looked like she might cry. She sucked in a breath, swallowing. Of course she would be emotional after what she’d been through, but he hated how he was contributing her to stress level. His chest tightened as her eyes filled with tears. And then they fell down her cheeks. Dammit. Her lip trembled and she swiped at the streaks with her fingers.
Fuck. “Hope…” He could not stand it when a woman cried. It brought him to his knees.
“No. Really. It’s okay.” She leaned away from him, hugging the door and turning to stare out it. “You were just saying those things to humor me and make me feel better.”
He groaned. “No, baby, I was not. I may have totally botched this up, but I never lied to you.” He couldn’t leave her thinking he’d made all that up. She was hurting. She needed reassurance. How the hell had he gotten into this mess?
Damn his GPS and the late flight and the hotel room not being ready. If he’d arrived at the church five minutes earlier, he would have been sitting in his pew watching her run out the door with everyone else. He would not now be responsible for a hysterical runaway bride.
On the flip side, he shuddered to imagine her sitting here with some other man, whatever random person might have driven up behind him.
He sighed and reached for her hand, wrapping his palm around it and tugging it away from her lap. Her fingers were so small against his much larger ones. He closed his eyes and inhaled, which was probably also a mistake since she smelled fantastic.
She jerked her face toward him again, shocking him. “Prove it.”
“Prove what?” He cringed. God, please tell me she isn’t suggesting what I think she’s suggesting.
Trusting Aaron: Club Zodiac, Book Five Page 3