Alluring Promises Box Set (Books 1-3)

by Josie Bordeaux

  “Alright. Fine. I’ll relax a little and have fun. You’re right.” I took a deep breath and smiled as I watched Aubrey turn back to the mirror and apply lip-gloss to her full round lips.

  “Are you going for that Clark guy tonight?” As if I really had a doubt about her hooking up with him tonight.

  She smiled at me through her reflection in the mirror and winked. “I’ve got to find out if his cock really is insatiable, don’t I? I owe it to women around the world.”

  I laughed as she turned around and hugged me. We left the restroom and walked back over to the gathering. I stepped over to the bar and maneuvered in between the bodies of people so I could flag down the bartender.

  I felt a warm body behind me and two arms caged me to the bar; large male hands on both sides of me gripped the counter firmly. My heartbeat picked up and a surge of fire swept through my body as I felt his hot breath tickle my ear.

  “So now that your parents have left and your fiancé isn’t here, we can really have some fun. I am thoroughly enjoying this side of you, Vanessa. Or should I still call you Ms. Hargrave?” He teased with a husky voice. I could sense that smug smile on his face, as much as I felt his body behind me. I realized that he was completely turning me on and had not laid a finger on me. Not a single part of his body was touching me.

  “What can I get you?” The young blonde male bartender stood in front of me and seemed amused the way Mr. Williams was standing so close to me. I wondered how many girls he had watched Mr. Williams do the same thing to.

  “Merlot, please,” I managed to squeak out and sound somewhat pulled together. I tried to push myself closer to the bar to try to distance myself from his body, but if I went any further, I would be climbing up onto the bar. The bartender nodded, acknowledging my order and then looked at Mr. Williams.

  “Matt, whatcha havin’?” He asked, still with that same amused smile.

  “Another Red Bull and vodka, Tim,” Mr. Williams’ gave his order with slightly less huskiness to it. Maybe his voice is just so deep and sexy to begin with and the alcohol is making it even sexier.

  Tim the bartender, nodded and turned to make our drinks. I continued to stare straight ahead, hoping Mr. Williams might pull away from me, maybe moving to a more respectable distance next to me. He didn’t. He continued his stance right behind me, continuing to cage me. I looked to either side of me, realizing how tight a squeeze it was at the bar as everyone else was trying to get their drinks too.

  Suddenly, Mr. Williams’ pressed his body forcefully against my back, slamming me into the bar.

  “Z! What the hell was that?” Mr. Williams yelled from behind me.

  “Are you alright, Vanessa?” His hand wrapped around my waist, turning me around so he could see my face. He was clearly and honestly concerned as he stared into my eyes. He still held his hand firmly on my hip and, dear God, his hand felt amazing wrapped around me.

  “It’s my fault! Don’t blame Z!” An incredibly gorgeous blonde woman with the most amazing blue eyes I’ve ever seen, exclaimed to Mr. Williams as she stumbled toward him. She wrapped her arms around Mr. Williams and gave him a huge warm hug. His hand left my waist to return her affections. A pang of jealousy filled the pit of my stomach and I was angry it was there – again. He’s not my boyfriend, not even a friend.

  Mr. Williams’ chuckled, looking down at the beautiful woman. “You know you can knock into me anytime, Iz. It’s just that I slammed into my friend here,” he told her as he glanced over to me.

  “Oh my God! I’m soooo sorry,” she slurred. She held out her hand. “I’m Izzy, Matt’s sister-in-law.” Then she gestured toward her bridesmaid’s dress, “Matron of honor,” she said with a British accent before continuing, “and –“she was interrupted by the man Mr. Williams just blamed.

  “And my beautiful wife,” the man said as he adoringly gazed at Izzy. She wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled as the man continued to gaze at her, while he kissed her. The love they shared was obvious and very sweet. Something so far from how Charles and I had ever acted towards each other.

  They all looked at me and I was just about to introduce myself when Mr. Williams did it for me. “This is Ms. Vanessa Hargrave. She’s the HR Director at my company.” I noticed expressions of recognition on both their faces, as if he had already told them about me. All eyes turned towards me as I gave a slight wave of my hand to say hello.

  Z reached over and offered his hand, introducing himself, “I’m Matt’s brother, Z.”

  I took a deep breath as I shook his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you both.”

  The bartender yelled behind me, “Drinks are ready.” I turned to grab my drink and watched as Mr. Williams grabbed both of our drinks, handing my wine to me.

  He gave me a small smile as he said, “Ms. Hargrave.” It felt silly to be at an event like this and not be a little more informal.

  “Thank you.” I cleared my throat and said, “I suppose for the duration of the party, you could call me Vanessa. Once we’re back at the office, we should probably return to proper name salutations.”

  He quirked up that left eyebrow and my stomach filled with butterflies as I watched the corner of his mouth follow suit with that half smile. He leaned in slightly, I felt his hot breath tickle my ear again before he whispered, “Well then, Vanessa, why don’t we just ignore the fact that we work together for just tonight and let our hair down.”

  I realized that would probably be a mistake on both our parts. Being so casual at a wedding and then returning to work on Monday might make it difficult to keep our relationship professional. Not to mention, I didn’t forget that Ms. Leonard would be entertaining him at the office. I really needed to keep my guard up and not become too friendly.

  I took a deep breath trying to calm my nerves that were still strumming from his breath tickling my ear. “I believe we both need to make sure we keep in mind that we still work together during the course of the evening.” He gave an arrogant laugh and was just about to say something when he looked really hard into my eyes.

  “Hey.” He touched my cheek tenderly. “Have you been crying? Is everything okay?” His touch seared my cheek as I flushed crimson and tears threatened to well up again in my eyes. When someone is nice to you it’s tough to keep that hard exterior up in order to protect your heart from further hurt.

  I shook my head, more so to keep my tears at bay. “It’s fine, really. Just something I need to deal with.”

  He briefly looked around the room and then focused his gaze back on me, “Was it your mom? Did she say something to upset you? I didn’t mean to cause a problem between the two of you with my comment.” He gave me a brief smile before adding, “I was just trying to let you know that I really wouldn’t let my woman be alone here looking so beautiful.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. He thinks I’m beautiful. The guy who obviously could have any woman he wants anytime anywhere.

  I frowned when I realized that Matt is just a player. Surely a guy like Matt wasn’t telling me what he really thinks and he probably tells all women this so he can get them to sleep with him.

  Aubrey’s words ran through my mind. Just one night. I could be his for just one night. What harm could happen if I just let him seduce me just for tonight?

  Matt chuckled. “Did I say something offensive?” He was sporting that half smile, that damn adorable dimple was showing again.

  “He usually does go and say something offensive,” Z interrupted my thoughts.

  Matt threw Z a mischievous smirk. “Shut up, brother. I’ve seen you do some stupid crap that Izzy still doesn’t know about. I can spill lots of stuff about you,” Matt told his brother, giving him a piercing glare. Z’s smile dropped quickly and Izzy quirked her head to the side.

  “What type of things, Matt? I want to know everything ‘bout my husband.” She giggled as she glanced back at Z, giving him a soft kiss on his cheek.

  Matt chuckled as he glanced back at Z. “Things that would
probably surprise you, Iz.”

  Her eyebrows perked up, just as Clark and Aubrey came walking back from dancing. Both were hot and sweaty as I watched Clark push his way to the bar, getting the attention of the bartender rather quickly. Aubrey looked at me quizzically as she saw the tears that were still lingering.

  “You’re not still thinking about what we talked about, are you?”

  “N—“

  “Who? Your fiancé?

  “He’s no longer her fiancé. They broke up, but are pretending to be engaged for her mom. You need to finally announce it or I’ll do it for you.” I glared at Aubrey, wishing she had a better filter on her mouth sometimes. There were days that it really helped and other times, like this, where I wish she didn’t spout off the first thing that came to her mind.

  “Aubrey, please.” I gave her my pleading ‘shut up’ look and prayed she would keep her mouth shut. Clark turned around with two drinks, handing one to Aubrey. She thanked him quickly as I noticed he slipped his now free hand around her waist and pulled her gently to him. She smiled up at him.

  “What are we talking about?” Clark asked as his eyes went straight for Aubrey’s cleavage.

  “Vanessa’s gonna broke up with her fiancé, but didn’t tell her parents yet. Aubrey said ‘Nessa better do it or she’ll. Then ‘Nessa will be free to fall madly in love with our Matt,” Izzy blurted out and looked proud of her synopsis of the situation as we all gaped at her. The guys all started laughing as we watched Z wrap his arms around her tightly. My stomach tightened and I did everything I could not to correct Izzy’s shortening of my name. It’s always annoyed me when people try to shorten my name.

  “Damn, girl, you’ve had way too much to drink,” Z told her as he kissed the top of her head.

  Izzy looked slightly confused as Aubrey pinned her gaze on me. “That pretty much sums it up, Izzy.” I swallowed feeling my cheeks heat up as I stared back at Aubrey, at the same time wondering what the heck was going through Matt’s head as he heard all that.

  Z tilted his head down at Izzy, laughing. “Babe, I think we might need to get you back to the hotel soon.”

  “I don’t wanna go,” she mumbled, barely audible into his chest.

  I watched as the bride and her groom made their way over to our group. Flynn clapped Z’s back as he approached, still holding the bride’s hand.

  The bride sighed heavily as she approached, looking exhausted, but still smiling. “I think we’ve made all our rounds.” Matt left my side to grab some drinks for them at the bar. I felt odd standing there with the group that I barely knew, but glad Aubrey was here. Well, slightly here since she and Clark were busy fondling each other.

  Mel placed her hand on Izzy’s back. “Hey, are you doing alright, Iz?” She asked, clearly concerned about Izzy.

  Izzy rolled her head looking over at Mel and slurred drunkenly, “I’m soooo drunk. Shhh.” She put her finger up to her mouth to show her to be quiet even though she didn’t whisper it.

  Mel started laughing as she looked up at Z. “I think I’m going to take her back to the room soon,” Z told Mel and Flynn.

  “He’s gonna do naughty things to me, Mel,” Izzy slurred as she laughed into Z’s chest. Mel glanced back up at Z and she and Flynn started laughing.

  “I think you do need to take her back, if she’s already talking like that,” Flynn joked while looking at Izzy. He pulled her hair out of her face. “Hey Iz.”

  “Mmm,” she mumbled, barely looking up at Flynn as her eyes were fluttering closed. Matt returned and handed drinks to the bride and groom as he listened to the silly conversation going on.

  Flynn lowered his voice and spoke to Izzy, almost as if she were a child, teasing her, “Thanks for helping out with the wedding. The guy who’s holding you up is going to take you back to the hotel now. Just be warned that he might try to fight any guy that looks your way, okay.” Flynn looked up at Z after he said that and smirked.

  “Mmm hmm. But if he gets t’ fight, I get t’a hustle guys in pool again,” Izzy said softly.

  Z scoffed, “Yeah, no fucking way, babe. We’re done with all that.” He grabbed Izzy by her waist and gave Flynn a handshake and then half hugged Mel while holding Izzy. “We’ll see you guys in the morning before your flight.”

  Flynn nodded as the rest of our group said their goodnights to Izzy and Z as they made their way out.

  I looked up at Matt. “She hustles pool?”

  Matt smiled bright. “Yeah, she’s amazing at pool. She used to hustle guys in college. Do you play?”

  I shook my head.

  “We’ll have to get Izzy to teach you. She is really great to watch.” He said as he rubbed my back. I flushed at the touch of his hand when he slowly circled his fingertips along the small of my back. My first thought was how amazing it would be to be in his arms.

  I glanced up at him timidly, catching his eyes glance away from me as he turned his attention back to our group conversation. I watched him lick his full bottom lip and I couldn’t help but wonder how amazing he would taste. How his tongue gliding against mine would feel. I hadn’t really had thoughts of another man since I’ve been with Charles.

  Charles. My thoughts reverted back to him and I started to wonder what he was doing tonight. Was he thinking about another woman the same way that I just thought about Matt?

  I glanced up and noticed Aubrey was staring at me. She briefly shook her head at me. She knows me too well. I gave her a brief fake smile. There was no sense in both of us thinking about my soon-to-be ex-fiancé.

  I felt my glass being lifted from my hand and realized Matt was placing it on the bar before I could protest. He took my hand and led me to the dance floor. A slow romantic song was playing as he guided me until we finally stopped in the middle of the floor. He gave me a small grin as his strong hand wrapped around my waist while taking my other hand into his. He pulled our hands close to his heart as he pulled me close to him. I pressed my head sideways to his chest and began to sway softly to the music with him. His hand shifted lower to the small of my back, pulling me tighter to him as he pressed his lips against my hair.

  The music guided us, pulling us closer together and giving me the feeling that this could be a possibility. Matt could be someone to share my life with. All my insecurities seemed to float away as I felt his hot breath and his hard body pressed to mine. I nuzzled my head to his chest thinking how tall he is and I was glad my heels made me tall enough to rest my head close to his neck.

  “It’s nice when you’re loosened up like this, Vanessa,” his smooth voice broke my silly romantic notions. I gave a small fake laugh in reply. “I could really get used to this.” He paused briefly after he gave me a small kiss on my head. “I don’t think I told you how beautiful you look tonight, have I?”

  I looked up to his gorgeous face and my breath hitched at how attractive he really is, especially when his eyes are hooded and looking down into mine. As my heart beat faster knowing he thinks I’m beautiful, everything inside my brain was telling me how many other women he’s probably told that to. I gathered my strength enough to say, “Actually, you sort of did earlier with your pick up line. The one I’m sure you give every girl you’re trying to bed.”

  His brows pulled together in confusion as he stopped dancing, still holding my hand tight, still holding my body close and firmly to his. “That wasn’t a pick up line, Vanessa. Even when I didn’t recognize who you were, I meant what I said.” I glanced away from his heated gaze and swallowed. What had I said about him at the office? Wasn’t I annoyed with him earlier? Why did it feel so right being in his arms? Just dancing. One dance.

  “You don’t take compliments very well, do you?” he asked.

  I didn’t respond. I just put my head back to his chest not wanting to think about his question. Not wanting to tell him all the reasons why I don’t accept compliments very well.

  He held me tight and didn’t speak any more as we continued to sway to the music. God, it felt fantas
tic to be in his arms. The music continued to play and I was lost in the moment.

  I inhaled deeply and his spicy, woodsy scent filled my lungs, melting me closer into his chest. His strong arms held me so firm, as if anything that was going to happen after tonight wouldn’t matter.

  I nuzzled my cheek into his neck as he lowered his head towards mine. My heart picked up and my breath hitched, as my lips seemed to find their own way to his throat. I inhaled his amazing scent as my lips grazed his skin, as my tongue begged to taste him. I moaned the second I tasted his salty skin, my lips slowly curled around my tongue, wanting their own taste of him. My lips felt the vibration of his throaty groan as he felt my kiss graze his neck.

  His warm lips barely touched my lobe as I felt his hot breath on my neck. His hands gripped my lower back, pulling me closer to feel his hard maleness. What I had done. How I made him feel.

  The music started to change to an upbeat tempo and he pulled back. His head cocked to one side with that half grin. My heart beat faster and faster as I stared into his blue eyes. He lowered his head to mine, as we both glanced at each other’s lips in anticipation of our soon to be kiss. As our mouths moved closer towards each other, I caught his scent in that very instant. His own personal essence that we shared for just that moment. That very second, right before our soon to be kiss, consumed me. It stole my breath.

  I felt a grasp on my arm, which instantly brought me back to reality. I snapped my head back and stared right into Matt’s beautiful blue eyes, both of us in disbelief that whatever spell we had between us was broken. It took me a second, realizing both of Matt’s arms were wrapped around me.