Those eyes burned into my soul, even after I took refuge in the kitchen. Those eyes knew exactly what they wanted. They knew what they were looking at, and they knew what to do with it. Years of experience told him how to take his time, how to move in on his prey with infinite slow movements.
Those eyes kept me frozen like a deer in the headlights. They disintegrated my flesh at his touch until I fell at his feet in a puddle of panting desire.
My mom shoving the empty Tabasco bottle into my hand woke me from my reverie. “What are we going to do? We can’t serve crab dip without Tabasco.”
I bit my lip to contain my laughter. Of course, my mom would worry about something as little at Tabasco sauce. But this was my chance to get away from Brady. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll run out to the store and get some.” I would make any excuse to get out of here before I fell apart.
“Oh, would you, really?” she gasped. “Thank you so much, honey. You’re the best.”
Yeah. I’m the best. I’m the best at getting myself into situations I can’t get out of.
I tossed the empty bottle in the trash and raced for the door when a blocky figure barred my way. It was him. My heart stopped, and my breath stuck in my throat. He looked me up and down.
“There you are. I was hoping I would see you again.”
I ducked around him. “Gotta go. Crab dip emergency. Can’t serve crab dip without Tabasco.”
I raced to the door and ran out to freedom. I jumped in my car and fired that mother up. Now that I was outside, my dress made no sense at all. I would attract lots of attention at the grocery store, but who cared? I was out of there. I didn’t have to talk to Brady Townsend after all.
I hit the gas and swerved into the main road. Phew! I started to calm down on the way to the store, but once I got to the parking lot, I faced a whole new problem. A bunch of construction guys leaned against their truck fenders right outside the door. They unwrapped the sandwiches they just bought and ate their dinner. They laughed and joked and swigged their drinks out of the bottles.
Well, here goes nothing. I got out of the car and slammed the door. The noise attracted their attention, and their eyes bugged out of their heads when they saw me sashaying across the parking lot toward them in my dress.
At first, they just stood and stared. Then came the first wolf whistle and the catcalls. “Holy Mother of God! Will you look at that!”
“Hey, baby, come on over here and have dinner with me. You won’t regret it.”
My cheeks burned, but I couldn’t help smiling. I could throw it around for them, no problem. Anything was better than getting stared at by Brady Townsend. I wasn’t in danger of falling for any of these guys.
I strutted past them and paused in the door to throw one hip out to the side. I gave my ass a hard slap. “Take a good look, boys, ‘cuz you ain’t never getting a piece of this.”
I went to the store and got the Tabasco. When I came back, the guys were gone. I got in my car and started the motor, but I drove back to the house much slower than I left it. I parked outside and took my keys out of the ignition, but I didn’t want to go in.
Now, what was I going to do? I couldn’t exactly ditch the party when I carried the crucial Tabasco in my hand. I definitely didn’t want to go back in there, though. He would be waiting for me. Once he set his eyes on something he wanted, he didn’t back down. I knew that better than anyone.
Those eyes told me everything. He wanted me again. He wanted to pick up where we left off, and I couldn’t let that happen. I had to avoid him.
Maybe, just maybe, I could duck in, toss the Tabasco to my mother, and hit the bricks. Maybe he would be in the bathroom and wouldn’t see me, but what about Charlie? What about Mandy and all my family and all Mandy’s family? They would notice if the groom’s sister ditched the engagement party. Charlie would be furious and demand an explanation.
No, I had to go back in there. I had to face the music, and that meant Brady Townsend. I had the rest of the weekend to get through, and I wouldn’t be able to do that if I didn’t get myself under control pretty quick.
I could still pull this off. I got away from him once. I could do it again. I could be too busy helping my mom and talking to people to notice him. I would surround myself with strangers so he couldn’t touch me.
He couldn’t lead me off into a private room for you-know-what if I didn’t let it happen. Right?
5
Brady
I spotted her the minute she walked in the door. Holy fuck, that dress worked miracles on her. She looked even better than she did in high school. The dress hugged her curves, and her heels made her ass sway when she walked.
Her face showed the signs of maturity. She wasn’t a little girl anymore. She understood pleasure and pain. She understood the heart in ways she never did before.
Her eyes widened when she saw me looking at her. She still wanted me. She still craved the attention of my eyes slipping over her curves, but they didn’t respond the way they used to. I could tell something was stopping her, but I wouldn’t allow that.
Gravity hauled me toward her. I had to get near her, but she kept slipping away. She hurried to the kitchen, and a dozen women engulfed her. No way was anyone with a cock getting in there. She worked with her mother and her aunts to get the buffet on the table. Bodies surrounded her so I couldn’t see her.
A moment later, her mother came into the living room. “Come and get it, everybody.”
The whole crowd came at a run. Charlie caught my arm. “You’re with me, man. Don’t think you can run off and leave me high and dry.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
He dumped me in the chair next to him, so I couldn’t get away. I caught sight of Victoria’s dress flashing gold and shimmering down the table. I kept calm, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. She spent the meal talking to other people. She never looked at me once.
Anger bubbled up in my chest. What was she trying to do to me? Didn’t she know what seeing her again would do to me? Didn’t she know how she drove me crazy? A guy couldn’t stand this much blood rushing to his nuts and cock without some relief.
Was she turned on right now? Did seeing her bring back old memories and old feelings, old desires? Did she ever dream about me the way I dreamed about her? I stole another glance at her, and she never once looked back at me. From the way she acted, anyone would think we never met at all. I could actually start to think she didn’t remember me.
How many guys did she play around with in the last seven years? Maybe some of them were ten times the lay I ever was. Maybe I was too young and stupid to make much of an impression on her. Maybe I squandered my chance to get close to her.
Charlie told everyone how funny I was. He told them all about the great jokes I used to tell, how I kept everybody rolling in the aisles. He kept nudging me in the ribs and telling me to tell everyone that joke about whatever. I didn’t feel like joking, though. I couldn’t get my mind to function.
Of everyone at that table, no one existed for me but her. She filled my whole world. I spent so much time dreaming about her, and here she was. She was just as enticing as ever. But she was out of my reach. She talked to other guys, but she didn’t flirt with them. Maybe they were her relatives. I couldn’t tell. I couldn’t think straight.
Charlie made some joke about me being preoccupied with my business affairs. Everybody laughed at my expense, but I didn’t care. If I could give them a laugh without taking my eyes off Victoria, I was happy. I didn’t want to talk to anybody right then.
Dinner broke up, and lively dance music bumped in the other room. Victoria hung back to help the women clear the table and put the food away. I lingered around in the doorway until I saw her coming back for another pile of plates. Then I moved in to murmur under my breath. “Why don’t you come outside for a walk with me when you’re finished here?”
She actually smiled. “I’d like that, but I have to help Mandy after this. We’re going over to pick up
her luggage from the fitter’s, and then we have to take all the gifts to her place, and the bridesmaids are getting together to plan the bridal shower. Maybe another time.”
I started to say, “Okay, let’s make a time,” but she lugged her plates to the kitchen before I got a chance. Now I knew for certain she was avoiding me, and she did such a good job that I never got near her again.
What the fuck was going on? Why couldn’t we just pick up where we left off? I felt the same way about her, and now I knew she felt the same way about me. What was stopping her from migrating toward me the way I migrated toward her? She must have felt that cosmic pull bringing us together. She must understand it would happen one way or the other.
Charlie appeared at my elbow with some other reason I had to go back to the living room with him. I went along with it, but I kept glancing toward the door. I didn’t want to be there. I wanted to be somewhere alone with Victoria.
After several minutes of chatting with the other groomsmen, I caught sight of her heading down the hall. It was now or never. I made an excuse to the guys, and I hurried out to find her returning from the sunroom with a paper gift bag in one hand. It took all my strength not to kiss her then and there. I would have dragged her into a nearby room if I had my way.
I blocked her path again. “Come outside by the pool for a second. I want to talk to you.”
“I gotta go,” she replied. “Mandy’s waiting for me.”
I frowned down at her. “You’re not going anywhere until you talk to me. We haven’t seen each other in seven years, and you won’t look sideways at me. What’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on. I told you I have to go. Mandy and all the other bridesmaids are waiting outside.”
“Why are you avoiding me? Why do you keep running off every time I try to talk to you?”
“Come on, Brady. You know I wouldn’t avoid you.”
God, her saying my name like that stabbed straight to my guts. I would give anything to get her to say my name again, and again. My insides convulsed in knots. I took a step toward her.
At that moment, Charlie’s voice interrupted me. “Hey, man. I thought I asked you to spot me on a game of Quarters, but you keep running off. What’s going on?”
I turned to answer. Quick as a wink, Victoria darted around me. “Gotta go. See ya later. Have fun with your game.”
I kicked myself, but I couldn’t show Charlie any annoyance. “Can’t it wait, just for a second?”
Charlie stiffened in the doorway. “What’s going on with you, buddy? Every time I turn around, you’re working in on my sister. What’s the big deal?”
I waved my hand. What was the point? She was already long gone. “I’m just trying to talk to her, but she keeps giving me the slip. I haven’t seen her in seven years. I just want to touch base with her, you know?”
Charlie took my arm. “She’s busy. You know how all this bride’s stuff is. Come and have some fun. That’s what we’re here for. You can catch up with her anytime.”
I shook my head. “Sorry, man. I’ll be back with you as soon as I can, but there’s something I gotta do right now. It’s important.”
Charlie frowned. “What could be more important right now?”
I got away from him as fast as I could. He would never understand about Victoria and me. That little tidbit could destroy our friendship worse than seven years of not talking to each other, but I couldn’t let her slip away from me again. Now that I had her in my sight, I couldn’t let her go.
I raced down the hall, but I couldn’t see her anywhere. Brightly colored dresses glinted in the lights outside the windows. Car doors slammed, and women laughed. Motors roared, and the cars drove out of the driveway. She couldn’t be gone already. She couldn’t.
Then I saw her heading for the closet in her uncle’s office. That’s where everybody hung their coats when they first came in. Her leg flashed under her dress going through the door. Now was my chance.
I darted into the office. It wasn’t much more than a closet itself, with a desk at the far end and coats draped everywhere. They hung on hangers from the curtain rod and piled the desk and chair. I took one step into the room, shut the door, and locked it behind me.
6
Victoria
I spun around when I heard the lock click to find Brady standing right behind me. He stood so close the seething power radiated from him. How did I think I could ever avoid him? His fingers, those magical fingers, trailed off the doorknob when he took a step toward me. He towered over me in all his massive bulk.
He glanced down at my mouth, and the air stuck in my lungs. I couldn’t breathe when he looked at me like that, when he glided toward me on a cushion of masculine energy. He murmured low. “Put your coat down.”
I did my best to smile. “I told you I have to go. I have to help Mandy.”
“Mandy has plenty of people to help her. You’re not going anywhere.”
I opened my mouth to argue back, but my cheeks burned so hot I couldn’t form the words. He stood so close, so impossibly close. If he moved any closer, he would be right on top of me.
He breathed into my face. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. When I got the invitation, all I could think about was seeing you again.”
“Brady...” I stammered.
His midsection contracted the way it used to when I used to touch him in sensitive places. His voice grated through his gritted teeth. “Say it again. Say my name again.”
He couldn’t mean it. He couldn’t think we were going to do it...right here in my uncle’s office.
He took one last step, and his hard chest came up against my cleavage—the cleavage I worked so hard to prepare for him. He smashed me back against the wall and crushed me under his weight. He pressed the air out of my lungs. I would have cried out if I could get my breath at all.
Before I could respond, his lips closed over my mouth. His hot skin touched off a chain reaction. The squirrely melty sensation of him cascaded down my body to in between my legs. My insides went all wet and squishy at the touch of those lips on mine.
Oh, God, I felt myself falling into his dominating presence. I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t resist it, but I didn’t want to. I needed this. All these long, lonely years, I wanted him, and he wasn’t there. Now he was here, and I couldn’t walk away. I couldn’t live without this another day.
He sensed my reserve collapsing. His big arms wound around my ribs and lifted me off the floor, so my feet dangled in the air. He hugged my waist against him so hard I couldn’t stand it, but I screamed inside myself, Yes! God, yes! I waited so long for this moment; I wouldn’t let it slip away. If he wanted me again, I would accept it.
Already his hard cock poked my sensitive tissues through my dress. He was just as hard and dangerous as he ever was. His muscles strained under his jacket. He smoldered and burned with raging power and passion.
His mouth tore my lips apart, and his hot tongue flashed inside. He awoke all my latent desires with that wicked tongue. I couldn’t stop my legs from moving around his waist. He noticed, and his strong hand slid down my back to cradle my ass and hold me up.
The more he kissed me, the more I fell into his hands. His fingers were squeezing me, and breaking apart the hard shell holding me captive. He released me from my prison to explode to life in his hands.
The kissing got stronger, more manic and demanding. I had to have him. I had to kiss him if it was the last thing I did. If he walked out that door and I never saw him again, at least we would have this moment.
He tried to grab my ass, but that dress, that dress I was so proud of, got in the way. I cursed that dress, but before I could kick it out of the way, he yanked it up behind me. He scooted it over my ass, so his hand closed around my bare flesh.
The last of my reserve evaporated. Nothing could hold us apart. I ripped his jacket off to get to that muscle-ripped body underneath. I had to feel his skin. I had to rub myself all over him. I had to feel his pounding m
ight, just one more time.
He let go of my ass to tear my neckline down. My tits tumbled out in his face, and he attacked them in rabid lust. I started to fall, and he grappled me against him again while his teeth and lips went to work on my nipples.
God, I never felt anything like that since the day he vanished out of my life. Other guys could come and go, but he held a special place in my life. No one could touch me like him. His teeth nibbling my nipples drove me to distraction. I shoved my chest in his face to get as much of him as I could before I lost him again.
Once he got my dress up, my legs wouldn’t keep still. My legs tightened around him. He lifted me into position to sit me on that throbbing hard cock in his pants. I locked my ankles behind his back, but he never let me fall. I was never in any danger of falling as long as he held me in his arms.
He leaned forward and pinned my back against the wall. He held me in place with his chest to give his hands free-range. He groped down my ass to the wet slit between my legs. Man, he turned me on so much, but I couldn’t reach him with his big shoulders in the way. I could only squeeze his neck and scratch my fingernails down the back of his crisp white shirt.
He did all the work for me. He burrowed farther down and freed that pulsing tool of his from his fly. He got himself out, and my burning tissues closed around him. He never hesitated. I would have gone out of my mind if he did.
He dragged it along the dripping core where my legs met, and my juices coated it with a lubricating sheen. He angled his hips just an inch, and it stuck into the opening so hungry for it. I held my breath in aching anticipation. Would he? Could he?
Oh, yes! Yes, he was in there. He pushed it in so slowly. Oh, yes! Oh, yes! I couldn’t stand it. That felt so good.
March Heat: A Firefighter Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 22