Crap. It looked like there was no mistaking what exactly happened last night after all.
“Look, don’t get your hopes up. I thought you were him.”
“Him who?”
“That guy. Tod. Tad. Whatever.”
“Turd?”
“Yeah, him.”
“So you thought you were having sex with a guy named Turd?”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Of course not. The Turd part is new.”
“Oh, so it was before we deemed him Turd, so that makes it okay?”
“Yes! I mean no! I mean, it’s none of your business.”
“The guy was groping all over you and you were clearly too drunk to have that happening to you.”
“Oh, so you took it upon yourself to be my savior?”
“I sure as hell didn’t see anyone else stepping up to the plate.”
“Maybe because I didn’t need to be saved.”
“So, you’d have been totally fine with going home in a drunken stupor with a guy who respected you so little that he was sticking his hands all over your body at a bar? I don’t buy it.”
She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. “Well... whatever.” Good comeback, Elise.
“Look, Elise. Feel free to be the last one to get the memo that you and I have got unfinished business to attend to.” He pointed at her and then at himself. “What happened last night between the two of us is proof of that. You can deny it all you want, but you’re only failing yourself by not following your own instincts.”
She glared at him. “Newsflash: been there, done that, still licking my wounds.”
She could see Will was getting frustrated by the very clench of his jaw. And a little part of her understood that perhaps she was being irrational about things, but how could she not be?
He held up his hands. “I give up. Ball’s in your court. If all I take away from this is this memento”—he pulled out her panties and slid them beneath his nose again—“well, then I guess I’ll have to settle for what you’ll give me.” With that, he slipped through the door and back up the steps, leaving Elise to be the one to grind her teeth in frustration. Or was it confusion?
Chapter Nine
Why Will thought he could get through to Elise right now would have to remain a mystery. It was obvious she was either freaked out by what happened—or by how her body responded to it—or she was simply in complete denial. There was little he could do on his end to try to clear things up. At this point, he was at the mercy of divine intervention.
When he got back up to the main floor of the restaurant, everyone was already seated for the dinner service. He worked his way toward the front of the dining room to the table reserved for the wedding party and took a seat. He couldn’t help but grin when Elise arrived back at the table five minutes later to find the only remaining seat was immediately to his left.
Paging divine intervention, please pick up on line one...
He decided to take this as a sign.
Seated to his right was Red, the little gal who so brazenly came on to him at the bar last night. Perhaps he could milk this to his advantage.
“Sammi,” he said, reaching for her hand and kissing the back of it. “So lovely to get to share your charming company tonight.” He knew damn well that Elise would have one ear to his conversation throughout dinner and hoped she’d noticed that gesture too.
“You don’t know the half of it!” Sammi quickly wrapped the fingers of her just-kissed hand around his bicep, like she was measuring the diameter with the span of her hand. Weird. “Oooh, so strong and brawny.”
Okay then, he’d yet to have anyone make color commentary on his body like this before. Maybe this was what women felt like when construction workers catcalled them: shamelessly objectified. Of course, he was a guy, so feeling objectified wasn’t exactly a bad thing—more like a big fat ego boost.
Under other circumstances, he’d be on it in a heartbeat—who wouldn’t want a cute chick coming on hard like that? But he only wanted to daunt Elise a bit, not encourage Sammi’s come-ons much. This could be trickier than he expected, striking a balance between the two. After all, he knew it would make Elise a little crazy having to listen to verbal foreplay between him and Red. But he needed to make sure it stopped there and Red didn’t get any ideas that something would come of it.
Just as the entrée was served, Will caught wind of the conversation Elise was having with Candy Kettering, the brunette she was with for the charity hugs—which seemed like it had happened weeks earlier but was only two days ago.
“Is it true that you hooked up with that guy who was all over you at the bachelorette party? The one with the cowboy hat?”
Elise gave Candy a coy wink. “Oh my God, Candy. It was amazing. I’ve never had, like, anonymous-stranger sex in the dark before, but it was so alluring and, well, sexy. Who knew he could be so hot?”
Will saw her glance at him from the corner of her eyes and he just rolled his. If she wanted to play this game, then fine. He wasn’t going to lose sleep over it.
“Obviously I’m no expert, but let’s say that quasi-anonymous sex in the dark is simply not to be missed. Not to get too granular, but trust me, you have to try it at least once in your life. It revs up your awareness and it’s as if all of your senses are so heightened. Know what I mean?”
He leaned over to join in the conversation. “I totally know what you’re talking about. Funny, I had the very same experience the other night, and holy shit, when you’re sound asleep in the dark and the next thing you know someone is making love to you like she means it, and you know she’s as turned on as you are, well, nothing can compare.”
Elise’s eyes widened like a lemur’s. And if those eyes could talk, they would be saying, “Shut the ever-loving fuck up and don’t tell people that you and I had sex together!” Not that he was planning to. But oh, how fun it was to flip this on her head.
Sammi raised her hand to join in the conversation. “Is this like, a thing, here in Bristol? Anonymous late-night sex? ’Cause I’d love to know where to sign up for that.”
“Uh, surely you’re well acquainted with Tinder,” Elise said with a smirk.
He leaned in to whisper into Elise’s ear. “Or you could find the person you’re meant to make love with and let bygones be bygones and get on with the fun stuff. Because we both know how much you enjoyed yourself.”
ELISE CHOKED ON HER water. Jesus, the man knew how to get her hot and bothered. Because yeah, she had indeed enjoyed herself. And she couldn’t help but yearn for a command performance, one where she’d have better command of her senses, considering she was still a bit drunk last time around. Over the past day, she kept having little snippets of recall—tiny raindrops of clarity in her alcohol-tainted memories that landed in her mind and spread like drops of gasoline in a puddle, till she couldn’t compartmentalize the truth anymore: she’d never truly let go of Will Montgomery. Now that she’d had a taste of him, she didn’t know how to walk away from him yet again.
After dinner came the requisite speeches. At this point, she was clock-watching to get out of here and far, far away from the temptation seated to her right. She just needed to get through the next twenty or so minutes of premarital platitudes and she’d be good to go.
First, Jennifer and Jamie stood up and clinked their glasses to get everyone’s attention.
“Jamie and I are so very grateful that you all chose to share this special occasion with us.” Jen reached over and clasped her fiancé’s hand. “Each and every one of you has had an important influence in our lives, and we would have been so heartbroken to have missed out on having any of you here—”
Jamie winked at their friends gathered around them. “Which was why Jen and I decided to lie and not even tell our maid of honor and best man that the other would be in the wedding party—we knew for them it would be a deal breaker, after their unpleasant breakup years ago. But what kind of wedding would this be without the two of them here?
So, props to Elise and Will for setting aside their differences for the greater good!”
They both lifted their glasses in the air as the guests all toasted them. And while Elise bore a somewhat pinched expression on her face, Will broke into laughter and stood up.
“Well, well, well. Look who had the last laugh. I can’t say that I’m disappointed, though. I’d not have missed this weekend for the world, and to be honest, having Elise here would have only been added incentive to attend. As they say, time heals old wounds, and here’s hoping whatever scar tissue I might have left behind is pretty much invisible by now.” He turned to Elise. “Elise—it wouldn’t be the same without you here, so I’m glad you didn’t turn tail and run the minute you saw me back in town.”
Elise was filled with hot shame at being singled out as the center of attention like this. It wasn’t even her special weekend—why then did they have to draw attention to her? Now everyone was going to start probing to find out all the dirty details, which she had zero interest in rehashing at this point. Over the next few minutes, while others stood up to speak, Elise dwelled on this. And the more she focused on it, the more anxious she became. The more anxious she became, the more shallow her breathing became, and before she knew it, she felt light-headed.
She turned to Candy. “I feel wooz—” But she never got out the “y” before she started to fall toward Will, who amazingly caught her before she was able to hit the floor.
She had no idea how much time had passed, but all she knew was that she was looking up from what seemed to be Will’s lap into his marine-blue eyes, concern knitting his brow, as he scraped his fingers through her hair and gently called out her name.
Whoa. She must’ve been dreaming.
Chapter Ten
Elise could vaguely hear Jennifer urging Will to take her back to his room, but oh, man, she knew even in her altered state that was an awful idea. Look what happened last time she was hauled off to his hotel room against her will! She tried to voice her objections, but speaking seemed too cumbersome. It felt easier to let Will comb through her hair with his fingers, scratching her scalp in the way she always used to love.
Apparently, the wife of someone at the rehearsal dinner was a doctor who looked her over and thought the best course of action would be to find her somewhere to lie down. She didn’t think Elise was in any danger. Except Elise knew she’d be in imminent danger—of falling even more for Will—if she actually went back to his room.
It took both Will and Jamie to hoist Elise up to a standing position.
“Can someone give you two a ride back to the hotel?” Jen said.
“No worries—you guys stay here. There’s an Uber on the way and I’ve got everything under control.”
It was slight consolation that Will hadn’t flung her over his shoulder again at least. Some guy named Ricardo helped Will get her down to the curb where the Uber was waiting for them.
“Dude, good luck,” he said. “Maybe you can have more success this time around than you did last night.”
Huh. Elise was lucid enough to get what he was saying. So this guy didn’t know what had happened between Will and her last night? He didn’t go boasting to all of his peeps about doing her? How very unguy-like of him. Make that how gentlemanly of him. Strange how Will didn’t cease to surprise her.
Once in the car, Elise tried to raise her objections. “I’m fine going back to my room.” She held her hand up in protest. “In fact, you can tell the driver to wait and take you back to the party. No sense in both of us missing out on the fun.”
It fleetingly crossed her mind that they could make their own fun, but she knew better than that.
“Please, Elise. I’m not going to leave you alone twenty minutes after you passed out. And if you think I would, you don’t know me at all.”
Which was the problem, wasn’t it? She didn’t know him. Or she thought she knew him and didn’t. Even when she knew him, she didn’t know him. And now she couldn’t figure out who exactly Will Montgomery was: friend or foe? Potential lover, or betrayer? The only thing she knew for sure right now was that he was a well-endowed ex who, she discovered, had learned a lot of tricks in bed in the intervening years that only served to please her. And that, without a doubt, was hard to dismiss.
WILL WOULD NOT TAKE no for an answer and insisted on walking Elise through the hotel lobby, into the elevator, and down the long corridor to his room with his arm snaked around her midsection supporting her.
He pressed the keycard to the lock and opened the door, then walked her to the bed where they stopped. She closed her eyes against the memories flooding back from the night before, the slow glide as Will slid into her slick center, that moment when they both stilled as their bodies climaxed in unison. Wowza. She was in deep.
“Okay, so have a seat and I’ll help you slip off your shoes,” he said, helping her settle onto the bed. He reached past her to prop up the pillows so she could at least sit up, and he bent down to remove her shoes, lifting her feet onto the bed. “Blanket on or off?”
She shrugged.
“Okay, I’ll take that to mean on.” He shifted the blanket so that it draped over her up to her midsection, then grabbed the remote control from the nightstand. “Movie okay?”
She shrugged.
“You’re just full of opinions tonight, aren’t you?”
“Do I have a choice in the matter?”
“On having an opinion? I would say so.”
“On being here at all.”
It was his turn to shrug. “Look, Elise. I’ve taken on the responsibility of making sure that you’re okay and I’m going to fulfill that responsibility. You passed out at the rehearsal dinner. I’m not going to leave you alone in your room!”
She shook her head. “Fine. Movie.”
“Any particular genre?”
“How about one involving mass destruction. End of the world would be a good start.”
“You sure are cheerful.” He aimed the remote at the television and pulled up the menu. “I’ll take that to mean you’d like to watch a romantic comedy.”
At least he didn’t unilaterally decide to switch on porn.
After selecting a film, he went to the minibar and grabbed a beer for himself and a bottle of water for her. He even rifled through the tea selection and heated up hot water to make her some herbal tea.
“Figured you probably weren’t hydrated enough back at the restaurant, so here, drink up.”
He plopped down on the other side of the bed as the movie started to play.
It was so weird, the two of them, like old times, watching a movie together as if years hadn’t passed. As if hurt and betrayal hadn’t gotten in the way of things the way it had.
They watched the film in silence for a while. When the inevitable scene came on in which there was a misunderstanding and one partner walked away from the other, Elise had to speak up.
“Can I ask you something?”
Will had slunk down in the bed and was now lying sideways facing Elise. “Fire away.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Make you come here tonight?”
She shook her head. “No, dummy. It. Why did you do it? Why would you have betrayed me and given up what we had together like you did?”
Will rolled his eyes. “We’ve been over this so many times, Elise. I didn’t betray you. You chose to think that I did.”
“Then what happened? Where’d you go? Why were you so secretive?”
“Because it would have betrayed someone’s confidence, that’s why.” He reached out for her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “I asked you then and I’ll ask again now for you to trust me and know that I am not and was never the bad guy you made me out to be.”
“How can I know that?”
“I think the bigger question is how could you not know that?”
He stroked along the top of her hand with his thumb.
It all felt so familiar and... good. And yet, how could s
omething so wrong feel so right?
She turned so she was lying on the bed facing him. She reached out and traced along his goatee. “Did I tell you I like how this looks?”
He smiled. “I aim to please.”
She couldn’t help but think how it would feel against her mouth, or better yet sliding along other exposed parts of her body.
“Speaking of pleasing,” he continued, “I’m not sure if I should be insulted that you had so much fun last night but only because you didn’t know it was me you were with.”
She groaned. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to talk about that.” She pursed her lips. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to talk about that.”
“Are you ashamed that you did what you did and didn’t care that it was a random fling?” He traced his finger along her mouth. “Because I find that’s pretty damn sexy. A woman confident in her sexuality and willing to take charge is pretty hot if you ask me.”
Elise’s face heated for what seemed like the hundredth time this weekend. “You don’t think it was a little, oh, slutty of me?”
He shook his head. “If this was a regular habit of yours, I might think you’d want to reconsider your actions. But under the circumstances, no. And being on the receiving end of it, hell no!”
“It’s only that I hadn’t been with anyone in forever,” she said. “I thought maybe it would all atrophy if I didn’t do something sometime soon.” She pointed toward her crotch. “And here I found myself in bed with a naked man, and it seemed so salacious, so subversive, so not something I’d do—it felt right.”
“It felt even more right to me,” he said and leaned in, this time using his tongue to trace along her lips. “Like right enough to demand a command performance, even.”
He licked along the seam of her lips and coaxed them open where his tongue met hers and began the age-old mating dance as each explored the other’s mouths, teeth, tongues, lips.
She let out a groan.
Will paused for a moment, lifting her chin with his fingertip as their eyes locked. “You okay with this?”
Bird Dog (Confessions of a Chick Magnet Book 4) Page 6