by Megan Noelle
My hands reached out, took hold of his shirt, and yanked it up. I pressed my hands into his shoulders and shoved him backwards until it was his back against the wall. My lips found his smooth chest and began tasting my way down his perfect washboard abs. His breathing faltered, as I ran my hand over the bulge in his jeans.
He reached out and grabbed my arm, spinning me around so our positions were reversed. His hands worked with precision to get my button-up shirt undone and off, without popping any buttons.
“I need to be inside of you.” The husky tone of his voice, along with those delightful words, sent a shock through my body.
Our hands became urgent as we worked off the rest of our clothes. My legs wrapped around his hips once more. The thought of getting to a bed at this point was out of the question—I needed him. Now. I was slowly lowered onto his erection, as he filled me to the hilt. A deep groan rose from his throat making my body melt against his touch. The sounds this man made when we were together were almost as intoxicating as the way his skin and lips tasted.
He slowly began to move, prolonging our desires as much as possible. As he moved in and out, I ground my hips in a circle, making his eyes dilate with pleasure. The more I moved—the quicker his pace became. Soon he was pounding himself all the way into me. I couldn’t think of anything besides the way he took control of my body. My insides clenched as I felt him throb with his approaching release.
A scream left my body as I gave into the incredible pleasure that he penetrated deep into every inch of me. Corey thrust himself in a few more times before he came too. Our breathing shook between us as we came down from the heights we reached. His tongue and lips found my neck as he set my legs carefully back to the ground.
“Have I ever told you how fucking amazing you feel?” I giggled again against his mouth; surprised to feel an immediate twist of need deep within. Ignoring it, I reached down to grab an article of clothing but Corey stopped me.
“Oh no baby, I’m not done with you yet.” He scooped me up in his arms and carried me into his bedroom. He threw me down on top of his bed and before I had a chance to miss the heat of his body, he was back on top of me. How my body was already ready for another go—I wasn’t sure—but who was I to fight this? His lips moved from my neck down my chest and stomach before settling between my legs. Where I proceeded to squirm and twitch, until he had me screaming his name. The next few hours were spent expelling every bit of need from each other.
Wedding Bliss
“So whatever the hell all that was—I vote we do it again—soon.” I laughed at Corey as I slid on my shoes after replacing my clothes.
“Something tells me that’s very possible.”
“Lord, I hope so.” He kissed me hard before he released me and grabbed hold of my hand. Corey tried to convince me that the two of us should just spend the day in his place and let everyone else handle the craziness of work— unfortunately I refused. Since I hightailed it out of the Inn after the unexpected visit, I needed to make a reappearance before the day ended.
With our hands laced together, Corey walked me down to my car. He pinned me against the car door and smiled at me. It was the same sated smile I’ve seen countless times before—my favorite.
“By the way, Karly kind of trapped me into agreeing to go along when you guys go up north to that resort.” His eyes brightened. “But you need to get me out of it.”
“NO way! I always dread shit like that, but you’re coming? You have no idea how much better that is going to make it. My sisters argue constantly with each other and whichever poor sucker they dragged along. My mother pretends she doesn’t even notice and they all bring me in the middle of their craziness. Please come, don’t make me go alone and besides—I promise you if you break a promise to my sister—she’ll never let you live it down.” I shot him a dubious glare. “Seriously, she still holds shit against me that I promised her when she was five.” I laughed and despite all reasons I originally came up with not to go—I couldn’t think of them anymore.
“Okay, I’ll go.” The infectious grin that spread across Corey’s face was one I knew I’d strive very hard to see there, every day.
“Good! Oh, and one more thing.”
“Okay?” He leaned in so close that his lips were on my ear.
“Where are they?” My pulse rocketed and my eyes slid shut at the rhythmic hum of his voice.
Oh right—he asked me a question. “Where are what?”
“Your cigarettes.” Corey was sure to enunciate each syllable. My face grew warm; how did he always know?
“What! There is no way you smell them on me.” So—not exactly the best way to deny him—but oh well. “You’re kidding, right?” Corey scooted me over as he opened my car door. I tried to step back in the way but the vice like grip he cinched around my waist, told me I wasn’t going anywhere. With his free hand he dug around until he found my beloved cigarettes in the glove compartment.
“Please don’t take them away—just this once.” I pleaded. Truthfully, I’m a grown woman, I can absolutely tell him to ‘shove it’ and take them back. Corey’s approval though was something I enjoyed and in this case, I had no problem letting him win. Not that I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
“I will always take them away.” He pressed his lips to mine once more. “Now get your cute ass back to work before I change my mind and haul you back up to my apartment.”
“You couldn’t possibly still want to go again?” Playfulness entered his eyes.
“Wanna bet?” Heat shot between my thighs. Yes, yes I do. I definitely want to have this man prove to me had an effect on him. Because he certainly had one on me!
“Tempting, but not right now. I really do have to go.”
“I’ll see you later, Sweets.”
I sunk down into the seat and watched him walk back to the bar through my rearview mirror. On the bar door I noticed that he must have managed to flip the “Closed” sign before pulling me upstairs. Apparently, I had been far too in the moment to notice.
* * * *
The next two weeks flew by.
With Emily’s wedding right around the corner, I practically lived at the Inn. Something always needed to be done, or confirmed; along with setting up the room to her exact—and ever-changing—specifications. Just when I had the new adjustments ready, Emily would drop by, claimed to be just “passing by”–which always ended with some new idea.
Along with Emily’s visits my other frequent visitor was Karly—which I surprisingly didn’t mind her company. In fact, I was really beginning to enjoy it. Karly would request that I stopped and took a lunch or dinner break— depending on when she stopped by—and I rarely argued because I liked the friendship that was forming. Sometimes we talked about the wedding but mostly she filled me in on her life with Jake—while sneaking in questions about Corey and me.
Even Abby made time to give me a call to just talk. I felt guilty the way Corey’s sisters were already accepting me into their family, as if I was their own. I felt even worse because I loved every moment of it and even found myself sending texts to Abby and Karly throughout the day—just to joke around with them. If Corey knew about my growing relationship with his sisters—he said nothing.
Between the upcoming events and Corey being one bartender short after firing Jerry, we hardly had time to see each other. During his slow periods at the bar, he’d call me and we’d talk as long as we could, until something or other pulled us away. One night when he wasn’t closing, Corey showed up at the Inn and drove me home—leaving my car in the parking lot. We were so burnt out from the craziness of our lives that all we had energy to do was lie on the couch, eat take-out, and watch movies. The next morning he drove me to the Inn and left me with a kiss that energized me the way coffee couldn’t.
It was a few days before I saw Corey again—the night before the wedding. The last of the flowers needed to be attached into the archway over the door, that guests would walk under to enter the magic
al space. My amazing staff—Bailey included—stayed until almost midnight; eventually I sent them all home. The following day would prove to be exhausting and extensive. So I wanted to make sure they all got their rest. Besides, Corey took the night off from work to be here to help me with whatever else was needed.
“Hand me another one, Core.” I called down from the top rung of the ladder.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to do this?” I looked down to see Corey holding up large yellow and white roses, his forehead scrunched with unease.
“Calm down, I’m fine.” Every slight movement I made—he flinched—which only made me giggle more. Well, that and I was gravely sleep deprived, so everything quickly became hilarious. It took another half hour to finish the top of the arch before I was took a step back and examined my work.
I held on as I stepped down one rung at a time. When I was close enough, Corey enveloped my waist and lifted me down. He set me down in front of him and took a few steps back. We gazed up at the sight in front of us; his arms remained locked around my middle, I leaned my head back against his shoulder. Not only was I exhausted but also I’ve utterly missed being near this man, and the way I was instantly comforted by just being close.
“What do you think?”
“I think this is incredible, Danielle.” Corey whispered, placing a kiss to my temple. My eyes slid shut at the sweet contact. So much work had gone into this and now my body was finally felt the strenuous effects of the past two weeks. “You should hit the lights, so we can see what it’s going to look like when people are dancing.”
“Good thinking.” Corey’s arms released me, as I ran to the panel out of sight of the guests and flipped the appropriate switches.
In a flash the brightly lit room became something out of a dream. Twinkle lights hung low from the ceiling and wrapped delicately around the arch, spreading throughout the room—giving the exact look Emily envisioned. My breath was absolutely taken away with the beauty surrounding us. Corey was standing behind the DJ booth, that was set up and ready to go. He tinkered around with something before he called me over—I didn’t hesitate to go to him.
“What do you say we give this dance floor a proper test before we let the love birds waltz away on it?”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“Well, I do!” He pressed a couple more buttons before he jumped down and met me in the middle of the floor. “Ready?”
“For what?”
Corey’s face beamed and his eyes held onto mine with a look I hadn’t seen before. I didn’t have enough chance to decipher what it meant, as the room was soon filled with the beautifully melodic sounds of Elvis Presley’s song, “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
“I love this song.” My smile grew. Corey’s beaming face matched mine; his hands moved into a slow-dance position around my body. We moved with grace around the floor, our eyes never straying from the other. He twirled me around then pulled me back into him. My hand held tight to his while the other felt the muscles under his shoulder. There was no playfulness in his face and I found myself lost in the moment.
Corey’s mouth began to form the charming words being sung, causing my heart to flutter. My body felt at ease— all the tension from the past couple weeks gone. All I felt was Corey’s strong hands and my own beating heart.
The song was slowly ending—to my own disappointment. Corey twirled me once more, dipped me down and brought me up so we were standing closer than before. His head leaned in marginally. Mine turned up to meet his as his lips grazed against the length of my jaw, moving tantalizingly slow up to my desperate lips. When they finally met, he didn’t take the kiss far, but in that very intimate moment I felt every ounce of passion behind it.
“You’re a great dancer.” I cooed, when his lips left mine. Corey smiled and moved a strand of hair away from the curves of my face.
“When I was a little kid I’d hear my mom crying in the living room over my dad—I hated it. One night I gained the courage to go out to her and she was listening to Etta James—her favorite—and I was just this little boy, but I held out my hand and asked her if she’d dance with me. We danced around the living room and she seemed happy. Then it eventually became a late night lesson in dancing between the two of us. My mother used to say to me, ‘someday you’ll meet a beautiful girl and you will dance this way with her. Then she will fall in love with you.’”
Corey smiled to himself at the memory; my heart soared at his nostalgia. “That scared the crap out of me back then because that was the stage in my life when girls still had cooties.”
I giggled, resting my cheek against his. The music continued on to another love song; Corey continued to move us slowly back and forth.
“I don’t get it Corey; you’re probably the best guy I’ve ever known. You’re an amazing friend, smart, self-sufficient and of course a great dancer—why haven’t you found yourself a beautiful girl to love you?” His arms tightened around my back.
“None before were right for me and I’m not going to settle down until it’s real.” He moved his cheek away from mine to press his lips to my temple. I sighed and leaned deeper into him as we sustained our dance around the floor.
Time seemed to stand still with us together in our own blissful bubble but eventually Corey drove me home. With a kiss goodnight, I went to sleep. My dreams were filled with a small boy that called me momma and spent the night dancing with me—the way Corey danced with his mother.
* * * *
The evening was off to a great start.
Dinner was just ending and everyone seemed more than pleased with their food and service. My servers looked fantastic and were doing a wonderful job catering to the guests’ every need. Bailey typically remained in the kitchen during dinner, helping to keep to a tight schedule of getting each course out on time. As always, Bailey did such a fantastic job—I never had to worry about things when she was around. Corey and Sanders worked behind the bar and were busy from the moment the guests poured in. I waited for a break in the action to go say ‘hi’ but I also enjoyed the sight of watching him work. Everything he did was completed with skill and accuracy; drawing me in as it always did when I visited him at the bar. Of course I wasn’t the only woman impressed with him, making my insides clench with an unnecessary sting of jealousy. Corey was polite to every single person and if a woman was excessively flirty—after the woman walked away—his eyes found mine and sent me a wink.
I hadn’t been close enough to him yet, to see the full effect of his outfit but the dark red button-up looked great from where I stood. It was rolled up over his forearms, exposing his intricate tattoos and I found myself practically drooling at the sight. My attention was still focused on Corey, when a soft hand grabbed hold of my arm. I looked up to see Emily. She looked absolutely radiant tonight in her beautiful white gown but best of all was the beaming smile on her face.
“Emily, you look incredible!” She grinned; her hands motioned to my outfit. “So do you, Dani!” I looked down at my black, stretch linen dress with a thin belt latched around the middle; the dress hugged every curve and stopped a couple inches from my knees. My favorite part of the dress though, was the top; it curved up to cover my chest but left a slit in the middle that showed a tasteful amount of cleavage. A black binder held back my hair into a low ponytail with a silver necklace, that added a touch of elegance.
“I could never compare to you!”
“Dani, this is amazing—really, this is everything I dreamed it could be. The arch, the flowers, the tulle, I mean— you made it all happen!”
“I just took what you gave me and created it for you—this was all from your mind.” The light radiating off her grew, as she took in the sight surrounding us.
“I could never thank you enough. By the way, tell your Grandparents we’re bummed they couldn’t make it, but I hope they’re feeling better.”
“Of course I will! I think my Grandpa just has a common cold, but my Gram springs into action when it come
s to taking care of him.” Actually, I was quite relieved that the two of them weren’t here tonight. Not only so I could prove that I could handle this without her, but I knew she would be extra watchful of Corey and me.
Emily smiled. “I hope in 50 years I’m still the devoted wife that would rather take care of my husband with a cold, than do anything else.”
“I’m sure you will be. So, no more cold feet?” She smiled wide and shook her head.
“Not even a little; I am so happy I am finally married to my Benny.”
“And just think—you have a lifetime to be this happy!” Emily threw her tiny arms around my shoulders and gave a tight squeeze.
“Thank you so much. Not just for tonight but for the other day when I just really needed someone to talk to.” I smiled.
“I’m happy I could be of service and I’m always here for you!”
“I know you are—you’re a genuinely good person—I can see that. Please tell me things between you and your hunky bartender are better!” My eyes shot over to Corey—he was watching me—while his hands readied the next drink. He gave me a smirk and a wink, making my heart flutter.
By now it was just easier to let her believe Corey and I were a blissful couple, so I was no longer opposed to public affection. Besides, she was no fool. Emily saw the way we looked at each other, especially on nights such as this. If I was completely honest with myself—I liked it. Maybe we weren’t together because of issues that I really need to get over, but I enjoyed this.
“We’re much better.”
“Good, I can tell he makes you happy—the way Benny does for me.”
“He does.” My eyes lingered back over to Corey and decided I needed to get over the fact that they were busy and steal a minute of his time, anyways.
“Go see him, Dani. I’ve been watching you stare at him all night. You know I don’t care if you show affection at my wedding—the two of you have been with us from the start of this blessed event. I know you’re a professional but c’mon this is a wedding—what better time to show your love for someone than here? When we get back from our honeymoon, I would love to get together and maybe do a double date with you and Corey. I think that would be so much fun!” I looked to her gleaming eyes and smiled.