I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the dress’s appeal, judging from the expression on Mike’s face when he saw me. Even though it was just the rehearsal tonight, the girls had all gotten ready together and arrived to find everyone else ready and waiting. The groom and groomsmen had all gone Hawaiian casual for the evening, in beige colored linen pants and colorful Hawaiian shirts. Jordan looked nice of course, wearing a different color shirt from the rest of the groomsmen, to stand out. But my eyes were instantly drawn to Mike. I found him already looking at me when I met his gaze and felt slightly embarrassed—like I’d been caught doing something I shouldn’t.
One sweep of those dark eyes over my skin and I was burning up in ways that had nothing to do with the tropical heat. Mike seemed to shift from fun loving and carefree to intense depending on the situation—and this time, he was all business. His eyes bored right into me, like a predator stalking its prey, and he didn’t say a word as we all took our places.
I could hear Abby’s mom loudly complaining about something as we walked down the aisle, which was crazy, because she was already seated in the first row. And we were outside on the beach, so it’s not like her voice was echoing around a marble church or something. Hopefully she’d quiet down tomorrow during the actual ceremony. A few others participating in the rehearsal had already taken their places as well, but it was hard to concentrate on much else but Mike. His tall frame towered above mine, yet he was so close by my side that I could smell the scent of his spicy cologne—something he definitely hadn’t been wearing earlier in the day. My arm was wrapped around his, and I could feel his strong muscles beneath his warm skin. I had a crazy vision of him wrapping me up in those arms and kissing me until I couldn’t see straight, which was ridiculous, because it’s not like anything was about to happen between the two of us. We were in the middle of a wedding rehearsal for crying out loud. And we were most definitely just friends.
I felt a flush creeping over my face as I realized all eyes were currently on us. The strains of music continued to sound through the air, and we’d almost completed our walk down the aisle. Tomorrow the sides would be decorated with flower petals, but tonight was just as gorgeous walking across the golden sand. I snuck a glance up at Mike, taking in his chiseled profile. He ducked his head down and whispered, “You look beautiful.” His lips barely brushed against my ear, and I felt a warmth surge through me that was certainly inappropriate at my best friend’s wedding rehearsal. I was supposed to be here to support her, not lust after a guy I’d met a million years ago.
I couldn’t stop the smile that crept across my lips though and secretly hoped that no one else had noticed. Abby certainly would have, but luckily for me the bride was the last one to march down the aisle. Mike was back to staring straight ahead, acting as though nothing had happened. We were approaching the altar, the other bridesmaids and groomsmen already there. I took my spot at one end as Maid of Honor while Mike stood across from me, next to Jordan. A moment later “The Wedding March” began playing, and Abby began walking down the aisle, escorted by her father. Even though it was only the rehearsal, tears sprang to my eyes as I watched my best friend. In less than twenty-four hours, she and Jordan would be man and wife. I kind of knew what Mike was saying earlier—even though we knew it was coming, it was still surreal to witness.
Although the majority of the guests had their eyes on Abby, I felt Mike’s gaze sweeping over me again. I snuck a quick glance his way and suddenly, standing in front of all these people, I felt self-conscious of my low-cut gown, the way the halter neckline hugged my breasts. Mike was practically undressing me with the hungry look in his eyes, and I was suddenly very aware of the rise and fall of my chest with every breath. I silently prayed that everyone else would be so busy watching Abby they wouldn’t notice the glances between us. Mike abruptly cleared his throat and quickly glanced back at Abby and her father. I swallowed and turned my attention back to my friend, telling myself nothing had happened. Nothing had changed. In the pit of my stomach, I had a strange feeling though that after tonight, nothing would ever be the same.
***
“And, I want to thank my parents for this beautiful week here in Hawaii. And Jordan of course—my groom!” she added with a little shriek. I caught Jordan’s eye and wondered if one of us should stop Abby’s little “thank you” speech. Many cocktails and several bottles of wine after dinner started, and it felt like this evening was going to last forever. First Abby’s dad gave a speech, then her mom. Then Jordan had to thank everyone for coming. Then Abby. Her speech was turning into the longest of them all, and I was sure that was due in part to the fact that she’d had more than her fair share of drinks. She giggled as she glanced my way. “I want to thank Erin, for baking my fabulous wedding cake—our wedding cake,” she corrected, glancing over at Jordan. “And all the other bridesmaids, for coming. And my hair stylist—oh wait, I won’t see her until tomorrow. Well anyway—”
“Thank you,” Jordan concluded, grabbing the microphone from her and effectively ended the speech.
Abby collapsed back down into her chair and shot me a grin. “Killer speech, huh? I am wiped out though.”
“Maybe you should get to bed,” I suggested. “It’s already 9:00 p.m., and you know, I’m sure you want lots of beauty sleep before the big day.”
“I suppose,” she said with a sigh. “This has been such a great day though, hasn’t it?”
“Sure has,” Jordan said, grabbing her hand and leaning in for a quick kiss. “Let’s head back to our room though, okay? We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”
“All right, if you insist,” Abby replied, unsteadily getting to her feet.
I rose as well, giving her a quick hug goodbye. “So I’ll see you tomorrow? Brunch and then hair and makeup?”
“Oh, why did I schedule everything so early? We should have had an evening wedding,” she muttered.
“You’ll be fine,” I insisted. “Get a good night’s sleep.”
“All right hun, love ya,” she said.
“Love ya,” I replied.
Jordan and Abby stood and after saying their goodbyes, walked away hand-in-hand. I picked up my glass of white wine and took a final sip as Mike turned toward me. “So are you heading in, too?”
“Probably soon,” I admitted. “Big day tomorrow and everything. And I’m kinda wiped after spending all day in the kitchen.
“Want to take a quick walk on the beach first?”
“Sure, why not. Enjoy this tropical vacation and all….”
Mike led the way out of the restaurant, and I followed him along the path cutting across the resort that led to the beach. Tiki torches lit up the pool, and I could hear drumming in the background from one of the luaus that a restaurant at the resort put on every night. Could I really see myself working here all summer? The opportunity sounded amazing, but I’d also be far, far away from all my family and friends. Well, except for Mike, who conveniently would be here in Hawaii, too. So it’s not like I wouldn’t know anyone. But really, the way things were going, it was obvious that we weren’t just platonic friends either. My eyes snapped back to him as his broad shoulders moved back and forth as he walked. Mike moved with such ease and carried himself with a confidence that I couldn’t deny.
We cleared the more crowded pool area and were finally able to walk side-by-side as we approached the beach. There were plenty of people here as well, the beach lit up to some extent despite the late hour from the lights of Waikiki and the torches placed along the hotel resort’s property.
As we stepped into the soft sand, not far from where we’d stood hours earlier at the rehearsal, Mike suddenly reached over and took my hand. I almost pulled back in shock but let myself relax as his fingers tightened around mine. All of my senses seemed to go on high alert, taking in the sounds of the waves breaking on the beach, laughter in the background from the resort we’d left behind, the breeze on my face—and of course every single movement that Mike made. I shivered, more from
all the sensations than from cold, but Mike glanced down at me.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“No, I’m fine,” I said quietly as he let his thumb gently caress my hand. Every nerve in my body was vibrating with his touch, and I resisted the urge to pull away and run back the way we came. This was too much, too soon. I hadn’t seen Mike in years—it didn’t make sense. How could I be feeling so strongly after seeing him again for such a short time?
“I can’t believe you barely talked to me back in college,” he said, his voice gruff.
“What? What do you mean? You never talked to me.”
“You didn’t seem interested,” he said with a shrug. “I was just in the background—Jordan’s older brother.” He glanced down at me and grinned, stopping and turning me to face him. “But I take it you’re interested now?” he teased, his hands resting on my bare shoulders.
I flushed but tried keep my response light. “Well, maybe just a little….”
“You’re a terrible liar,” he said, taking a step closer.
My breathing hitched, and he lifted one hand to gently caress my cheek. He leaned down, his lips gently brushing against mine, before lowering his mouth to my neck. I gasped as his hot lips moved across my tender flesh. Mike was kissing me in the moonlight. Mike—the guy I’d put so far from my mind because he seemed like someone I could never have.
“God, you smell amazing,” he said huskily. He kissed his way back up across my jawline and moments later, his lips once again met mine. His kiss was firm and demanding, taking control and taking my very breath away. He pulled back a moment later, his fingertips gently running down my arms as he searched my eyes with his intense gaze. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he said, his voice deep. He paused for a beat, pinning me with his gaze. “Or how much I want to kiss every square inch of you.”
I trembled slightly beneath his light touch and after only a moment’s hesitation, stepped forward. My arms wrapped around his neck, my breasts pushed against his firm chest, and my lips were on his, kissing him over and over, telling him, yes, I want that, too.
Chapter 7
We stumbled down the hallway, kissing and caressing each other from the moment we left the elevator. A moment later I was pulling out my keycard, and a beat after that we were tumbling into my room. “That dress is all kinds of hot,” Mike said huskily between kisses. His lips were working their way down my neck again, and this time I had a feeling they wouldn’t be returning to my mouth anytime soon. “I almost got hard when I saw you earlier—that would have made for an uncomfortable walk down the aisle.”
I barely breathed out a laugh as Mike’s hands slid to my hips as he walked me backwards across the room. One hand slid behind me to cup the curve of my bottom and a step later, I was already backed up against my bed. His hands gently traced up over my hips, sliding up my sides until he gently squeezed my breasts, caressing and kneading with his hands. “These are just begging to be inside my mouth,” he mumbled as he kissed me gently across my collarbone. “So plump and perfect….Are you going to let me have a taste?” he asked, working both thumbs across my nipples. A jolt of electricity shot straight through me, igniting me all the way to my core.
“Oh,” I gasped, arching my head back. At this point I didn’t care how far we took things tonight. I just needed him to keep touching me, just like that, and never, ever stop.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
I was startled out of my daze by the thumping at my door. Who on earth would be coming over at this time of night? Mike froze, his hands still on my breasts, as we waited to see if whoever it was would leave. Hopefully they had the wrong room and would quickly be on their—
KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Erin! Are you in there?”
Mike reluctantly took a step back, and I nervously smoothed out my dress, even though it was still perfectly in place.
“Yeah, Abby I’m here! Is everything okay?” I hastily crossed the room and glanced back at Mike, throwing up my arms in a “What am I supposed to do?” gesture. I pulled open the door to find Abby standing there crying with Jordan at her side. “What’s wrong?”
“You won’t believe it,” Abby moaned, storming into the room with tears rolling down her cheeks. “The hairstylist cancelled on us tomorrow. Cancelled! I can’t believe—whoa.” Catching sight of Mike completely stopped her in her tracks. She looked from him to me and back to him again. I had to give Mike credit though—he had pulled out the chair at the desk, was casually sitting down, legs crossed, and had some papers spread out in front of him.
“Is everything okay, Abby? I was just rehearsing my Best Man speech for Erin,” he said, gathering the papers and stacking them neatly into a pile.
“How long is the speech, man?” Jordan asked wryly.
Mike shot him a look that could kill, but Abby was too upset to notice anything amiss and glanced helplessly back at me. “What am I going to do?”
“It’s okay,” I said, pulling her into my arms for a hug. “We’ll do each other’s hair—the other bridesmaids and I will take care of everything. I’ll do yours myself, and it will be absolutely perfect.”
“But you—you’re in charge of the wedding cake!” she choked out between sobs.
“Shhh,” I said soothingly, rubbing her back. “The cake is ready and waiting. It’s absolutely gorgeous. And after brunch tomorrow, we’ll start on hair right away. We’ll have plenty of time.”
“Come on, babe, I told you it’d be fine,” Jordan said, walking over and pulling Abby into his arms. “Let’s get a good night’s rest, and Erin and the others will take care of everything in the morning.”
“If you say so,” she sniffed, leaning her forehead against Jordan’s shoulder. “I am a little tired. Maybe I should just go to bed….” Her voice trailed off as they walked toward the door.
“Sorry to come barging in, Erin,” Jordan called out over his shoulder. I glanced at Mike, but he didn’t make a move to leave, just said goodbye to the others.
“It’s always something,” I said with a sigh as the door clicked shut. I found myself involuntarily yawning and hoped it wasn’t too obvious. “I for one will be relieved when the wedding chaos is over.”
“You and me both,” Mike agreed, standing up from the desk. He stalked over toward me, a wicked gleam in his eye. “But if I remember correctly, we were in the middle of something before we were interrupted….”
“Is that so…,” I nonchalantly commented, a teasing smile on my lips.
“Umm…hmmm,” he murmured, stepping closer. “I was about to taste every square inch‑”
KNOCK! KNOCK!
We both glanced at the door again.
“Seriously?” Mike muttered.
I stalked over to the door, knowing exactly who to expect. As I yanked it open, I once again saw Abby and Jordan standing there. Abby was still crying but this time had her large binder of wedding planning ideas grasped in her arms.
Jordan helplessly shrugged. “I tried to get her to go to bed. She wanted to show you the hairstyles first.”
I glanced between the two of them feeling like this must be some kind of joke. We’d been here all week and they came over not once, but twice the one night I happened to have someone here with me? Someone I’d wanted…oh…just about forever? “All right, come in. Let’s have a look.”
“This really is the worst thing that could have happened.”
“Well, maybe not the worst,” I said pointedly. “I mean, nobody’s hurt. Nobody died.”
Abby shot me a look that could kill. Maybe I was wrong about nobody being hurt….
“All right,” I agreed, “I know it sucks. But the other girls and I can do each other’s and your hair. And I’ve seen your wedding book a thousand times—I know what style you want. We’ll make it look absolutely perfect in the morning,” I added soothingly. “It’s late—midnight,” I said in surprise as I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Maybe we should all just call it a night.
Things always look better in the morning.”
“Maybe so,” Abby agreed with a resigned sigh, wiping the remaining tears way. “Let’s go, Husband,” she said, glancing over at Jordan.
“Husband, huh?”
“Just practicing for tomorrow—or today, actually, since it’s midnight. It’s our wedding day!”
“Well congratulations, you two,” I said with a grin. “Now get out of here.”
“Sorry to barge in here, twice,” Abby said sheepishly, glancing over and suddenly realizing that Mike was still here. “I hope we weren’t interrupting anything….”
“No, Mike was just leaving,” I said smoothly.
“That I was,” he agreed, heading toward the door. “Shall we all leave Erin alone for the night?” he asked, glancing over at Jordan and Abby.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” Jordan said, grabbing Abby’s hand and tugging her toward the door.
“Goodnight,” I called out after them with a small wave. Jordan and Abby headed toward the elevator, and Mike paused a moment while I stood there with my door open.
“So, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said quietly, his voice deep. I met his gaze, but didn’t want to say too much in front of the others. They were both mysteriously quiet, and I had a feeling they were trying to listen in on our conversation.
“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.”
“Good night.” Mike quickly glanced down the hall and saw that Jordan and Abby were facing the other direction, so he bent down and brushed his lips against mine in a soft kiss. My heart took off, and I was sure he could hear it thundering loudly in my chest. The elevator dinged, and Abby glanced at us, before giggling and pulling Jordan in with her. The elevator doors closed a moment later, leaving Mike and me standing alone in the hallway, my door still wide open. I glanced up at him again, meeting those dark eyes, and a second later he was scooping me up and carrying me back into my hotel room.
Chapter 8
Summer with a Soldier (Soldier Series Romance Novellas Book 5) Page 4