by Candace Shaw
Justin and Derek rolled their eyes at each other. A knock sounded on the door and the men jerked their heads in that direction. Thankful for the interruption, Rasheed strode over to open the door. There stood the topic of their conversation along with Raven wearing their maid of honor dresses.
“What’s up, fellas? I have your boutonnières,” Bria said as they entered the dressing room. Raven took a boutonnière from a box in Bria’s hand and headed toward Justin.
Rasheed’s eyes were instantly drawn to Bria’s sexy body like a magnet. The sage-colored, straight dress hugged the curves of her petite five-foot-five frame in all of the right places. He was so used to seeing her in medical scrubs that he hadn’t noticed how shapely her body was.
His eyes gazed over her hips and a butt that he’d never realized was so rounded. Her small yet plump breasts were sitting up all nice and perky, and he resisted the urge to pull down her dress and introduce himself to them by kneading and kissing them senseless. Her thick, back-length hair was pinned up in a loose, tousled updo with sexy, wispy curls framing her delicate, bronze face. She always reminded him of the actress Gabrielle Union because of her sexy girl-next-door look and breathtaking smile.
Rasheed downed his glass of champagne, hoping it would calm down whatever the hell he was feeling for his friend. He tried to concentrate on what Raven blabbed about. Something to do with pictures, rings, and walking back down the aisle after the ceremony. But all he could do was imagine hiking up Bria’s dress and holding her up against the wall. He walked over to the bottle of champagne and poured another glass. His attention came back when she spoke directly to him.
“You’re next, playboy,” she said in her usual upbeat, bubbly voice.
“Playboy? You think I’m a playboy?” He didn’t know why all of a sudden he was offended by her comment. She called him that all of the time, and he always gave her some witty, smart-aleck answer such as “and you know this” or “til the day I die.”
The men and Raven laughed while Bria smiled and shook her head.
“Boy, please.” She walked toward him with the rose bud. She took the champagne glass from him, took a sip, and then handed it back to him. “The whole world knows you’re a playboy. Now, let me put the final finish to your attire so you can take pictures. The photographer is done with Shelbi and the bridesmaids.”
Rasheed’s pet peeve was women drinking from his glass; however, he thought it was cute when Bria did it. He finished the rest of the champagne and set the glass on the table.
“I’m going to go ahead and take Justin down to the chapel now that Shelbi is back in her dressing area,” Raven said. “The pastor mentioned wanting to see him.”
“Cool. I wanted to ask him a question about the vows I’ve written.” Justin headed toward the door with Raven.
“I’ll go with you,” Derek said. “I want to get a glimpse of those twins again.”
Rasheed looked passed Bria and straight to Derek. “Hey, I got first dibs on the twins,” he yelled as the door closed.
“Humph. And you say you aren’t a playboy,” Bria said with a whispered laugh.
Rasheed looked down at her while she struggled to pin the flower to his lapel. She was on her tippy toes despite the fact that her heels had given her a few extra inches of height. A sweet, soft scent of jasmine and gardenia radiated from her and filled his senses with her aura.
“You smell and look beautiful,” he said in a deep voice that he normally wouldn’t use with her. “I’m not used to seeing you all glammed up.”
Almond-shaped, coffee-colored eyes glanced up at his face, and her lips parted slightly before she sighed and continued to straighten the flower.
“This thing won’t stay still!” she expressed in a flustered tone. She unpinned it and tried again.
Rasheed wasn’t sure what had ruffled her feathers. Bria was always laid back and nothing got on her nerves—except the task of pinning a rosebud to his lapel. When he had first met her, he’d flirted hard. Real hard. However, she nipped that in the bud fast. She’d threatened to throw him over the banister of Justin’s restaurant and then proceeded to tell him she wasn’t some floozy or groupie. After that, he had nothing but respect for her, and they’d hung out ever since. Bria had become one of the boys to him thanks to her athletic ability, her love of sports, and cool attitude. He still checked her out from time to time, especially in the little shorts she wore when playing basketball. But he never flirted and even asked for advice about whatever girl-of-the-week he was seeing.
“Having problems, Bree?” he asked, using the nickname he’d given her and concentrating to stay composed. He tried to remember this was his friend, his homegirl. She stood in front of him so close he could see the pulse at the base of her neck beat faster than usual. He pushed his hands in the pockets of his trousers to resist the urge to glide them down her neck, her arms, back, hips—especially the hips—and then end up on her plump little derriere as he imagined picking her up and kissing her already parted, sexy lips.
“I … I almost got it,” she said with a relieved smile. She stuck the pin through the lapel and back out to firmly connect the boutonnière. “Ouch!” She pulled her finger back and waved it in the air.
Rasheed took her finger in his hand and lightly kissed it. Before he had time to think about what he was doing, he sucked the pricked finger into his mouth as his eyes met hers in an intense stare. The rise in his silk boxers strained against his pants as his lips touched her skin. He knew he needed to stop this charade, but her finger was literally finger-licking good, and he wanted more—much more.
“Better?” he whispered in a seductive tone as he caressed her other fingers with his lips and brushed a wisp of hair out of her face.
“Hmm … um …” she stuttered, and her eyes shut as more untamed purrs trailed from her throat.
The aroused music which escaped her was answer enough for him. With little effort, he moved her hands around his neck and drew her petite body hard against his. He bent his head to her quivering lips to imprison them with a seductive kiss. He kissed her deep, relishing in her essence as his tongue wound its way around hers in a slow, sensual dance. Her body arched against his, and more soft moans rose from her. He dipped his tongue inside her mouth even further as she continued to reach for it with her own. Her soft hands slid over his bald head, down to his neck and gripped his shoulders which stirred fervor in him.
“You taste so damn good, Bree,” he groaned.
Rasheed had known all along if he ever had the chance to kiss her, she would be delectable. Now he knew what the closest thing to heaven was, and a moan trembled from him. He moved his lips to her smooth neck which released a rumble from her throat. He kissed her with a tenderness that surprised him, but Bria was a delicate piece of art, and he wanted to treat her as such. He nibbled the hollow area near her collarbone and ran his hands down her backside until they rested on her plump little butt. He was trying his best to not unzip his pants and lift her leg around his torso …
Bria jerked away from him with a gasp and a wide, bewildered gaze. She placed her hand over her mouth as if it were burning.
They stared at each other for a moment before she broke the silence. “We need to go,” she said in a stern voice he wasn’t used to hearing. Usually it was a sweet musical sound, but now it was laced with disapproval and regret.
Coming down from cloud nine, he straightened his tux and looked down at her. Her eyes were wild, lipstick smeared on her full lips, and her breasts rose up and down tempting him to grab her again. He continued to be mesmerized by her hard breathing because one, he caused it, and two, her breasts had never looked so damn perky before. He cocked his head to the side when he realized her nipples poked through the material as if they wanted to break free. How could he have forgotten to touch, kiss, lick, pull, and nibble on her two luscious peaches? Damn. I’m slipping.
He stepped forward. “Bria, are you all right?” He reached for her to offer comfort.
> She turned from him and headed towards the vanity area. He placed his hands back in his pockets where they should have stayed in the first place. That’s when he realized the monster in his boxers was hard as a rock. He pulled down his tux jacket, but that still didn’t hide it.
“I’m fine, but that can’t happen again.” She blotted the red lipstick with a Kleenex. “We’re friends, and friends don’t get all hot and bothered for each other.”
“So, you’re all hot and bothered over me?” he teased, trying to make her smile, but the sternness on her face hadn’t cracked.
“Rasheed, this isn’t a joking matter!”
“You’re right, Bree. I don’t know what came over me.” And the truth was he honestly didn’t know what had come over him. He couldn’t believe the aggressive way he had acted with her.
She headed toward the door avoiding eye contact with him. “Let’s just forget this happened. The photographer is ready for the men in the wedding party. You’re going to be late, and I don’t want Shelbi upset. It’s her day today.” She opened the door and closed it, leaving him in the room alone.
As much as he loved a passionate kiss with a sexy woman, Rasheed never thought kissing Bria would set his mind into overdrive. Sure, he’d been attracted to her since they’d met. He’d been drawn to her kissable dimples which displayed when she flashed her inviting smile, and he’d had the urge to place kisses in their deep crevices. He loved her funny little laugh, her thoughtfulness, and her nonchalant attitude. She was an all around cool woman. She was his best friend, his girl. He could depend on her to keep him in check and stay focused. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her. She was visibly shaken when she left, but of course his kisses always did that to any woman. No surprise there.
Rasheed checked himself in the mirror one more time, wiped Bria’s lipstick from his lips with his handkerchief, and stuffed it neatly back into his pocket. As he opened the door, he realized he was shaken as well, but he wasn’t going to let it show. After all, he was Rasheed Vincent, player extraordinaire on and off the court. Sure, Bria was beautiful, intelligent, and sexy, but he wasn’t going to let a woman steal his heart again.