He didn’t immediately understand why he’d woken up with Alina feeling so right until she walked out the door and closed it on them. A part of him felt like she could be one of those rare women who understood those things about him because she’d seen the impact of the job on her brothers. She understood the work and the men who did it. And maybe that was exactly why she’d left. She didn’t want any part of delving deeper into that world with him.
How much of it had to do with what he did for a living, and that he worked with her brothers? How much of it had to do with him in particular?
He’d never know because she’d made it clear their paths were never to meet again. She’d practically run away every time they got within ten feet of each other today. She went out of her way not to look at him all through the meal. He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off her.
This wedding couldn’t end soon enough. He’d go home, back to work, and forget this weekend ever happened.
“What’d she say to piss you off?” Beck slapped him on the shoulder with those damning words. If Beck picked up on . . . whatever the hell was going on between him and Alina . . . and found out he got drunk with his sister, then slept with her, Jay was a dead man. Admittedly, he didn’t get much sleep. Which if pointed out to Beck would only result in an even more torturous death.
Which made him think fast to play this off. “Ashley’s an angel, and definitely heaven-sent seeing as how she’d need divine grace to reform you.”
“Nice try, but I’ve seen you glare at my sister about five times now. So what gives?”
Shit. Better to take the blame than lay it at Beck’s sister’s feet. “I stuck my foot in my mouth, said something stupid, and fumbled the apology.”
“She put you in your place, did she?”
Yeah, on the other side of the door and out of her life and memory. “She’s got a way about her. It was stupid.” He should have walked away from the bar instead of taking a seat next to her. Short of that, he should have seen her safely to her room last night, said good-night, and gone back to his bed alone. Like most nights. A series of dumb decisions. He shouldn’t be surprised it turned to shit this morning. “I’ll stay out of her way. Don’t worry about it, man.”
“She can hold her own.”
Relieved Beck intended to drop it, he turned the conversation to why he was really here. “Congratulations, Beck. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you happier.”
“It’s strange. We’ve been together for months. I always knew she was mine, but the second she said ‘I do,’ I felt the connection between us roar out, ‘She’s mine!’”
Why the hell isn’t Alina mine?
He squashed that thought and the possessive beast that showed up out of nowhere this morning and wouldn’t go back to his lair and hibernate.
“Weird but true,” Beck went on. “Anyway, I need a favor.”
“Sure. Anything.”
“Alina is taking Adam for a few days while Ashley and I are on our honeymoon, but Alina has this thing on Wednesday. I had a sitter lined up to take him that night, but it just fell through. Mind babysitting my kid instead of a bunch of drug dealers that night?”
“Pizza, ice cream, and cartoons. I’m in. It’ll be a hell of a better night than most.”
“You need a woman.”
I had the perfect one last night. “You and Caden took the best ones.”
Beck and he stared at Caden and Mia wrapped in each other’s arms swaying on the dance floor. Ashley danced with Beck’s dad. Alina twirled Adam around, dodging the cupcake in his hand as he clutched it and took a bite.
“It changes everything.” Beck’s adoring gaze followed his bride across the dance floor.
For the lucky ones. Jay didn’t seem to be one of them.
“Anyway, thanks for taking care of Adam. Do you want me to work out the details between you?”
Jay didn’t want Beck to think there was a good reason for him and Alina not to have a simple conversation about pickup and drop-off for a babysitting gig. “I’ll set things up with her. Go get your wife. Looks like it’s time to cut the cake before your son steals another cupcake.”
Sure enough, Adam tried to pull Alina back to the cake table. Alina laughed and tried to coax the little guy away. Adam finally gave up and swung back to Alina, running right into her legs with his white cream-smeared face. Alina’s eyes went wide with shock, then resignation when she saw the mess on her beautiful red dress. Adam looked up at her with a wobbly bottom lip and apology in his eyes. Alina cupped his chin and smiled down at him with her lips pressed together, then said, “It’s okay. Accidents happen.”
Jay read the words on her lips and thought about last night. No accident, but, yeah, sometimes things happen. And it’s okay. The mess can be wiped clean.
He’d do that now and set them back to being, if nothing else, acquaintances who smiled politely, exchanged pleasantries, shared babysitting duties, and never let on that they’d spent one wild night in each other’s arms.
He’d learn to live with it.
And start now. He went around the bar, ignored the side-eye from the bartender, wet a towel at the sink, and rushed over to Alina. Beck used a napkin to wipe Adam’s face and hands.
Jay handed the wet towel to Alina. “Try this.” Their fingers touched and it evoked a thousand memories from last night.
Alina’s breath hitched. She covered by gently wiping the largest lumps of frosting from her dress, then using a clean corner to wipe the smears. “Thank you.” She spoke the words bent over and staring at her lap, wiping nonexistent frosting away.
Jay didn’t say anything with Beck standing right there with Adam in his arms.
“Sorry, sis.” Beck poked his finger into Adam’s belly. “What do you say?”
“Sorry.”
Alina smiled for her brother and nephew. “It’s okay.”
“Looks like Ashley is ready to cut the cake.” Beck glanced back at the three-tier wedding cake and his bride smiling for him.
“Go. I’m fine.” Alina shooed him away with her hands, the dirty, wet rag swinging. She still didn’t look at Jay.
“Jay can take Adam on Wednesday.”
Alina’s gaze finally swung to him but she didn’t say anything.
“We’ll work it out. Go, your bride is waiting for you.” Jay cocked his head toward Ashley, waiting patiently with the wedding coordinator, who checked her watch.
Jay waited for Beck to walk out of earshot. He didn’t look at Alina when he handed her his phone. “Put your number in there. I’ll text you for the pickup and drop-off times. Oh, and your address.”
Alina tapped all the information into his cell, then sent herself a text. He tried not to make it obvious he watched her every move, noticing her slender fingers, the swell of her breasts pressing against the top of her gown, the incredible way she smelled. Sweet and exotic.
“Now I have your number.”
“You had my number last night.”
Her gaze snapped to his. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed. “Nothing.”
“I think you meant something.”
“You didn’t want to hear it this morning, it won’t make a difference now. You made up your mind.”
“What is it you think I think?”
“That this is a bad idea.” He couldn’t really disagree when Beck kept checking them out despite helping Adam pick another cupcake from the assortment stacked on a rack next to the big cake.
She didn’t say anything. He took his phone from her hand hanging at her side and walked away. They didn’t have anything left to say to each other on that subject. He skipped the cake and opted for another beer at the bar. He kept his back to the room and everyone having a good time dancing and celebrating the happy couple.
Two hours and three beers later he made his way up to his room and flopped on the perfectly made bed with his back against the headboard. He stared at the black TV and lis
tened to the silence, fighting the memories of him and Alina wrecking the bed that felt as empty as his heart.
He didn’t regret last night. In fact, doing it all over again nearly had him running to Alina. But his friendships with Caden and Beck mattered. They were like brothers to him. He didn’t want to disappoint or piss them off. This could affect the trust and bond they’d forged working side by side in the trenches.
But Alina was a grown woman with her own mind. She’d been all-in last night. And he’d reveled in the way she gave herself over to him with complete abandon. So much so, he wanted more. A lot more.
She may have had second thoughts this morning, but there’d been that moment when she stared at him before she walked out and wanted to say something but held it back. He’d caught her looking at him throughout the reception and thought he’d seen a glimpse of the same look in her eyes that he felt inside. That what happened between them may have been impulsive, but doing it again was a temptation worth repeating.
Wishful thinking?
No one had to know.
It’d be their secret.
You hate secrets.
But he really wanted her and more of that happy feeling he found last night and woke up with this morning.
He wanted her like he’d never wanted anything in his life. If he didn’t do something, try, he’d regret it.
“Shit.” He rolled off the bed and headed for the door. He didn’t often give in to impulse or subject himself to the potential for utter humiliation, but tonight he threw caution to the wind again and headed to Alina’s room. He knocked on the door and it opened seconds later. Alina stood there with a glass of champagne in her hand wearing the hotel bathrobe loosely tied at her waist. He swept his gaze over her beautiful face, scrubbed clean of makeup, the swell of her breasts in the opening of the robe, and all the way down her gorgeous legs to her bare feet and sheer-pink painted toes.
She didn’t say anything, so he did. “I have a bad idea.”
She pushed the door wider, grabbed his shirt and tie in her free hand, and yanked him into the room. He took that as a “yes!” and bent, grabbed her by the ass, hauled her up so she wrapped her legs around his waist, and kissed her, igniting the fire between them all over again.
He carried her toward the bed, their lips locked, his hands sinking down past the hem of the robe to her bare bottom. He squeezed the two globes in his palms and grinded her against his aching cock. She moaned into his mouth and he took the kiss deeper. His knees hit the edge of the bed but he didn’t put her down. He slid one hand past the swell of her bottom and found her center.
“You’re so damn wet for me.” He slid one finger, then two, deep into her slick core.
Her legs locked tighter around him as she rocked against his hand. She placed one hand on his face and kissed him hard and deep.
He wanted his mouth on another part of her, leaned forward, and set her on the bed, breaking the fiery kiss. The robe gaped open at her breasts, just hiding her pink nipples from his view. He grabbed both sides, spread it wide, and bared her naked body to him. He remembered every curve and plane, but she still took his breath away.
“God, you’re beautiful.”
She downed the last swallow of champagne, tossed the empty glass over the edge of the bed, hooked her hand at the back of his neck as he leaned over her, and pulled him in for another searing kiss. He pressed her down into the mattress, then laid a trail of kisses down her neck, chest, and belly to the very tempting prize he desperately wanted to sink into and lose himself in her warmth, locked in her arms.
Instead, he tasted heaven and earned the very satisfying reward of his name tumbling from her lips on a deep groan. He hooked his arms under and around her thighs, drawing her legs over his shoulders. He buried his face between her legs, licked her soft folds, then sank into her, taking her up to the peak but not letting her fall over the edge. He kept her right there, lingering over the task, and drawing out every sweet sigh and greedy groan for mercy. He gave it to her, driving one finger deep and sucking her clit. She shattered against his lips and a wave of pure satisfaction and lust shot through him.
He eased away, kissing his way down her thigh and gently setting her legs back on the bed. He stood and reached for his tie.
Alina stared up at him, her half-mast eyes sultry and filled with satisfaction. “That was a very good bad idea.”
He pulled his loosened tie over his head. “Just good?”
“Amazing.” She sighed out the word, her eyes locked on his chest as he undid shirt buttons.
He dropped his shirt and coat all at once down his back and attacked the belt, button, and zipper at his waist. He managed to grab the condoms out of his wallet before he dropped his pants and boxers. He’d kicked off his shoes at some point during loving Alina into the puddle of bliss before him on the bed. He slipped off the last of his clothes and stared down at her.
“I have another bad idea.” He put one knee on the bed and leaned forward with one hand planted next to her hips.
She rolled out of the robe and onto her belly before he could cover her with his body. She glanced over her shoulder, and drew her long, dark hair away from her face and held it in her hand. The seductive smile held his attention. “You shouldn’t have to come up with all the bad ideas.” She spread her legs wide, giving him a tempting view of her sweet ass and the glistening invitation that said, “Fill me,” clear as day.
He rolled on the condom, crawled up the bed behind her, covered her body, his chest to her back, and thrust into her to the hilt, nudging her forward a few inches before she pressed back into him. He stilled, seated deep inside her hot body, and whispered in her ear, “Excellent bad idea.”
She rocked her hips forward, then back into him and he lost all control and took temptation all the way to mind-blowing climax.
They settled into the quiet. He held her close with her back curled into his chest, his face buried in her hair, his arm locked under her breasts, his hand curled around her side. Her heartbeat vibrated against his palm as her breathing evened out and he enjoyed the feel of her against him.
He didn’t sleep. He didn’t want to miss a moment of this.
When she spoke, her words were soft and unsure. “We shouldn’t do this again.”
“I’ve got another bad idea left in me.” He rolled her onto her back, shifted over her, and showed her in slow, long strokes of his body, against and in her, that some bad ideas should be repeated over and over again.
Exhaustion claimed her while she lay tucked at his side, the single lamplight casting a soft glow over her beautiful face. He looked his fill, soaked up every second she was in his arms, then reluctantly slipped from the bed before the morning light touched the sky and she turned her back on him again and crushed the heart she’d somehow taken from him without him even trying to hold on to it.
He stood by the door, looked back at her sleeping in the bed, her hand lying where he’d been beside her, and whispered, “I wish every bad idea I ever had was as good as being with you.”
Tempted to slide back into bed and make love to her again, he forced himself to remember this was always meant to end. In a few hours, he’d drive home and go back to work, she’d attend the family-only breakfast before Beck and Caden left on their honeymoons and she returned to her life.
Although it should surprise him how much he wanted her in his life, it didn’t. Not after all they’d shared.
But his life and hers didn’t connect. Except on Wednesday when he picked up Adam for the night.
Even if they couldn’t keep doing this, he couldn’t wait to see her again. Just one more time.
Chapter Five
Alina pulled into the lot behind the medical building where she worked in the pharmacy. She cut the engine and stared at the brick wall, lost in thoughts about this past weekend and the man who refused to get the hell out of her head.
Day and night, she thought about him.
The all-too-familiar flush o
f heat that rushed through her, both welcome and unwanted all at the same time, reminded her of how she felt when he looked at her, touched her, and simply held her.
But that was over now. He’d gotten her back for walking out on him and left her sleeping alone in her hotel bed that felt even more massive and lonely without him in it.
Damn the man.
Okay, yes, she’d deserved it after the way she acted, but when he’d come to her room after Beck’s wedding, she’d thought maybe there was a chance to turn a one-night stand into something more.
Nope. The empty bed and no goodbye said it all. He’d gotten what he wanted—okay, so had she—and walked away before things got complicated. And messy. She didn’t even want to think about what her brothers would say if they found out she hooked up with their friend.
Despite knowing very little about him, she liked him. She liked that she let loose around him. She didn’t watch what she said, or hold back taking what she wanted. A couple times she’d actually begged him for more. As greedy as her, he’d given it to her with a tilt to his lips that hinted at a satisfied smile, though it didn’t come easy and looked rather rusty. The why came easy enough. His job. The things he did and saw day in and day out working with people at their most desperate and vulnerable. Add in the dangerous ones out to kill or be killed over the drugs and money that flowed no matter how hard the DEA tried to stop it. The constant battle took its toll.
She saw it in her brothers. She saw it in the weariness in Jay’s whiskey eyes.
She saw a lot more. In the dark, she’d found herself staring at a man who, asleep in her arms, found a peace she didn’t see in him any other time. It did something strange to her heart to see him so at ease with her. She’d reached out and traced her fingers along the lines flaring out from the corners of his eyes, down his cheek, past the gray threaded through his dark hair at his temples to the stubble just starting to appear on his strong jaw. In the quiet, he leaned into her touch and held her tighter. She’d snuggled in and found her own peace and a feeling she couldn’t identify but felt very much like the thing she’d been searching for without really knowing it.
Tempted by Love Page 4