The room turned scary quiet, and Stephanie wanted to grab Stone out of the line of fire, maybe escape someplace warm and cozy and private with him. Maybe pick up where they left off and—
Grace's mouth tightened, and through lips that barely moved, she said, “You picked out your gown without me?”
“Sorry.” With a shrug and a grin, Liz held her arms out at her sides, threw back her head, and spun around the room, making it perfectly clear she wasn’t sorry at all. “It’s the most gorgeous gown in the whole wide world. My friends will be green with envy.”
Her friends.
Not the groom or her mother. Stephanie resisted the urge to frown.
Stone shifted out from between the two women. “I’ll pick up the groom. It’ll give me a chance to get to know my future brother-in-law.”
“Are you kidding? You’ll give him the third degree and frighten him off.” With a laugh and a shake of her head, Liz plucked the keys out of her pocket. “I’d rather you took Stephanie to the doctor. Maybe he can give her something to settle her stomach.”
Stephanie took a step back. “No, that’s really not necessary.”
Stone indicated his assistant, who looked like she was attempting to disappear into the cushions on the couch. “Wanda can take the wedding planner to the doctor. I’ll come to the airport with you.”
“Liz doesn’t want you acting like a third wheel,” his mother stated, a smile blooming across her face. “You can stay here and help me personalize the wedding invitations.”
Liz fisted her hands at her sides. “Mother, there are no invitations.”
“Then I will order some. You can’t have a proper wedding without formal invitations.” Grace unclenched her teeth and turned her focus on Stone. “It will give us time to talk, catch up.”
His gaze landed on Stephanie and she stilled the urge to take another step back. “Wanda’s handwriting is far better than mine. She can help you. I’ll take the wedding planner to the doctor.”
His assistant shot to her feet, a feral expression on her sharp features. “I’ll do the wedding planner.”
Stephanie met his gaze head on.
He’s already done me, but I wouldn’t mind him doing me again.
It was almost as if he could read her mind. The edge of his mouth turned up in one corner.
A maid walked in with a tray of an assortment of baked goods and set it on the coffee table, and as the scent of yeast and sugar reached Stephanie’s nose, the contents of her stomach rolled.
She swallowed hard and sat down on the couch.
Grace slid a small garbage can closer to her feet. “You look like you’re going to be sick. What’s wrong with you anyway?”
Stephanie shook her head and nudged the offensive tray back an inch. “Must be food poisoning. I promise it won’t interfere with the wedding plans.”
“I should say not. What kind of professional would you be if you allowed something so insignificant as an upset stomach to ruin the bride’s beautiful…” Grace choked on the word. “…wedding?”
“You’re right, of course.”
Stone shoved his hands into his pockets and came to stand in the circle of people now eyeing Stephanie, a frown furrowing his forehead. “Maybe you should see a doctor.”
“If it gets worse, I’ll do that.” She sat forward and hugged herself around the middle and rather than stare at the man who had rocked her world and her body, Stephanie pulled her cell out of her pocket and glanced at the list of items they still needed to accomplish. “Let’s discuss the dinner menu—”
Grace turned her attention back to her youngest daughter. “I have seventy-five people to invite.”
All the fake oomph Stephanie had mustered leaked out in a flash. She pressed one hand against her sweaty forehead and shook her head. “But Liz told me to plan for twenty people.”
Liz stomped her foot. “Mother, Roger doesn’t have any family.”
Grace nudged the tray closer to Stephanie, and as the two women went at it again, Stephanie caught another whiff of the baked goods, clapped her hand against her mouth, and raced from the room.
If she didn’t do something about this nausea, she’d never get the bride or her mother or the wedding under control.
Absolutely nothing could be worse…unless it involved the distraction of the hunky divorce lawyer.
CHAPTER FOUR
The knock on the bathroom door was soft, the deep masculine voice laced with concern.
“Steph? Are you okay?”
Stone.
He’d followed her, and her heart went so sweet, while her brain rationalized one night stand.
Maybe being nice was a ploy to get her back in his bed. She could probably muster the energy…except business and pleasure rarely mixed well.
As the brother of the bride—and the son of the Eternally Yours hostess—he was off limits. No matter how her body responded to his, no matter that she craved his touch like a hound dog locked away from human companionship, she had to be strong…had to resist.
She folded her arms on the bathtub ledge and rested her forehead in the crook of her arms. With her insides still churning, she willed the contents of her stomach to stay down. “Go away.”
The doorknob rattled and the door swished open.
Stephanie raised her head and looked up—way up—past the legs of his pants, the six pack hidden beneath his white shirt and charcoal gray jacket, and the matching tie that he’d loosened at the throat.
As Stone stepped into the small room, filling it with his size and his presence, she wanted to purr at the memory of running her hands all over his delicious body.
The door clicked shut behind him, drawing her attention to his face. Concern pinched his brow and when he reached her, he hunkered down to her level and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I have orders to take you to the doctor.”
She shook her head and dropped her face back into the crook of her arms. “No time. As you can see, I have a wedding to plan. With difficult, uncooperative, crazy people, I might add.”
He touched her again, a gentle caress the length of her back with the warm palm of his hand. It sent a shiver up her spine. “You need to go to the doctor, babe. Spending your time with your head in the toilet bowl doesn’t get the job done.”
It was nice, sitting here on the floor with his hand rubbing her back, listening to his low, soothing voice. She raised her head from the crook of her arm, and shifted to sit on the edge of the tub so he was no longer touching her.
And that’s when she inhaled the scent of him. It eased her stomach and turned the topsy-turvy roller coaster sensation of his presence from dizzyingly terrifying to dizzyingly pleasurable. “It’s nothing. Food poisoning from something they served on the plane, or maybe the flu.”
He straightened to his full height, his hands stuffed into the front pockets of his jeans as he looked down at her. A glint of calculation sparkled in his gaze. “Save me from my family. If you don’t let me take you to town, I have to help my mother with the wedding invitations.”
“Invitations?” Stephanie frowned. “Liz isn’t doing invitations.”
“You can try to talk my mother out of it, but once she gets something into her head, it’s a done deal.”
“Sounds like my mom,” she grumbled as she grabbed her purse off the floor, and pulled out a small tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll freshen up and get back to work. I’m on a tight deadline.”
As she pushed to her feet, he leaned one broad shoulder against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest, and silently watched her.
He wasn’t leaving.
Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him. “I can manage this on my own.”
“Probably.”
When he still made no move to leave, she shrugged one shoulder and turned toward the sink. Self-conscious, her cheeks heating, she scrubbed her teeth, rinsed out her mouth, than dabbed on some lipstick.
T
urning from the mirror, she watched him push away from the wall to block the exit. He stood there, his gaze steady on her face.
“What?” she finally asked.
What was it about this man that made her stomach flutter, her bones turn to liquid, her knees weak. She felt his knuckles against the underside of her chin as he gently coaxed her head up until she stared directly into his eyes.
Eyes that were surprisingly serious.
“Ease my curiosity, Stephanie Goodwin. Why didn’t you stick around for breakfast the next morning?”
She shrugged and focused on his mouth. “Because it’s uncomfortable, and I don’t do long term.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners, his assessing gaze liquid fire against cold stone, while his voice deepened to a husky drawl that sent a seductive shiver through her entire body. “Seriously? You mean I threw that phony business card away for nothing?”
His hands drifted down her sides to her hips, silencing her, making her catch her breath in anticipation of what might follow.
The man had dangerous hands. He must have women drooling all over him—just like she’d drooled that one night.
She felt her stomach roll again while the rest of her body was trying to resist the urge to climb onto his body and have her way with him. She inhaled deeply, and attempted to hide her reaction to his scent. “So we’re good? Things won’t be awkward between us? Because in all seriousness, I could use your help getting your mother and sister to agree on anything wedding related.”
One masculine eyebrow zinged upward. “I’ll have you know I have a black belt in deflecting marriage minded women.”
She huffed out a laugh. “My mother would kill me if she knew I’d let a divorce lawyer touch me.”
“We didn’t just touch.”
His low, seductive voice tripped her internal defense system, and as she caught the scent of him again, the tightness in her stomach eased, and her heart rate kicked up a notch. She eyed his throat and sucked in her bottom lip.
He crooked one finger under her chin and brought her gaze back to his face. “Don’t look at me like that.”
Amusement climbed up her throat. “Like what?”
“Like I’m your next meal.”
The edges of his mouth turned up into a smile. That crazy, half-crooked smile that had warmed her from the inside out at her grandma’s wedding.
Heat rushed to her middle.
Ever since he’d slid into her life—into her body and her soul—she’d been hyper-aware of him. But she didn’t want to get any closer to him than strangers in the night. She’d use him for sex, and that was it.
And one other thing…
She stepped right into his body, buried her nose against his neck, and wrapped her arms around his waist. The tightness in her stomach immediately disappeared.
It was the best she’d felt in days—maybe weeks.
His chest rumbled with suppressed laughter, and his arms slowly came up to envelope her against his body. His hands did a foray up her back, then down to her buttocks, snugging her closer. “The first time I saw you, I knew you were trouble.”
She could feel his body’s reaction to her nearness, and her body answered in a rush of desire and pulsing need. “Sorry. I’ll try not to be too troublesome.”
The sound of his laughter warmed her from the inside out.
His cell rang, and when she tried to pull away, he kept her tucked close. “Kincaid here.”
As he listened to whoever was on the other end, Stephanie allowed herself to relax against him and let her mind wander.
Maybe she could borrow his tie, something small to tuck into a pocket so the scent of him would always be readily available. As ideas went, it wasn’t a bad one, but borrowing his body—and getting him naked—seemed like it would be a whole lot more fun.
His deep voice rumbled from his chest into hers. “Bill, did you receive the prenup my assistant faxed over to you?”
Prenup? Right. He was so nice and she was so infatuated that she’d almost forgotten he was a divorce lawyer. Yet, he was the perfect guy, a man who didn’t want marriage any more than she did. And even though she knew better—business and pleasure never mixed—he was so yummy and delicious that her body did a hopscotch whenever he was nearby.
“Take a look at it and get back to me. You can’t keep getting married and divorced without one or you’ll go broke.” He clicked off the phone, tucked it into his jacket pocket, and wrapped his arm back around her waist. “Now, where were we?”
She nuzzled closer. “You were about to take off your tie and let me keep it.”
“Why would you want my tie?” When she didn’t answer, a laugh escaped him. “If I take off my tie, what will you take off?”
She nearly said everything, but instead, leaned back and grinned up at him. “You’re bad, but I kind of like it.”
“Only when I’m with you.” His hands made another foray down her back. “What cottage are you in?”
“The Hole-In-One.” She frowned. “What’s with those names, anyway?”
A grimace crossed his features. “My dad’s idea. Drives my mom nuts. He probably knew that when he named them.” His gaze dropped to her chest, then back to her face, his eyes crinkled at the corners. “I’ll take Two-For-Birdie. That way, I won’t be far away, you know, in case you decide you need some badness in the middle of the night.”
Stephanie sighed. What was there about a male wolf that taunted her to step over the line and go howl at the moon? She stilled the shiver working up her spine at the warm feel of his palm against her bare skin. “Sadly, Liz is staying there.”
“Then I’ll take Three-For-Shot. A little bit further away, but still doable…like you.” He dipped his head closer to her ear and whispered, “I’ve been thinking about you.”
The words left Stephanie suddenly elated. She pulled back and looked up into his eyes, unable to help the smile that crept out at the edges of her mouth. She’d been so sure he’d forgotten about her. “It was the sex.”
His mouth quirked up into a sexy grin. “Yeah, that wasn’t too bad, was it?”
“Not too bad at all,” she murmured. In fact, the sex had been so good that they’d both barely gotten any sleep that night.
And judging by the growing length of him against her belly, a repeat might be in the nearby future.
As she stared up at him and he stared back, she wondered if he was waiting for her to make the first move.
Stephanie grabbed the front of his shirt, and he found her mouth with unerring accuracy, kissing her until all thoughts of troublesome brides and their mothers flew right out of her head.
His large hands cupped her face, angling her head for a deeper fit of his mouth to hers. Then he shifted his hands down her shoulders and over her arms. Goosebumps broke out on her skin.
“I’ve been thinking about you non-stop,” he said against her lips. His fingers found the buttons at the front of her shirt. “In fact, I’ve been living with a semi-permanent hard on since I woke up and found you gone.”
“You could’ve called. I would’ve talked you through the basic steps to relieve yourself.”
“How could I? You left me a phony number.”
“I should say sorry, but I’m really not.” She nipped at his chin, then palmed his crotch where his semi-permanent problem had become a full blown bone of contention. “You could have opened your little black book and called someone else.”
“I have a feeling the wait is going to be worth it.”
A knock on the door sent her pushing out of his arms and the nausea she’d been fighting all morning returned full force. Stephanie slapped her hand over her mouth and dove for the toilet.
Liz’s voice carried through the wooden door. “Is everything okay in there?”
Stone's voice rose above the gagging. “Just fine.”
“I’m getting changed, then leaving for the airport. I hope everything goes well at the doctor’s office.”
As the bri
de’s footsteps disappeared down the hallway, Stephanie heard the soft tread of feet come up behind her.
“Go away,” she grumbled the first time she could grab a breath, totally embarrassed to have him witness this. “I’m supposed to be working, not fooling around with you.”
Behind her, water ran and then she felt a cold cloth wipe away the sweat on the back of her neck. When her stomach calmed down, she flushed the toilet, then sank back onto the floor and sat there, weak, exhausted, embarrassed, but somehow glad that he’d chosen to hang around.
He crouched down in front of her, a frown on his face. “I’m taking you to the doctor and I won’t take no for an answer.”
She closed her eyes, and let him wipe the cloth across her face and around to the back of her neck. “I suppose I should. Otherwise I’ll be doing that,” she hooked a thumb toward the toilet and sent him a weak grin, “instead of doing you.”
The frown disappeared. The edge of his hard mouth turned up as he grabbed her hand and started to tug her to her feet. “Come on, then.”
She waved him off. “Give me a moment to let my stomach settle.”
They stared at each other and Stephanie became conscious of the intimacy of sitting here in the bathroom, conscious of him absently rubbing the inside of her thigh, conscious of her body coming alive at his touch.
“You know, maybe before we head into town,” she suggested with a waggle of her eyebrows, then a moment later, her stomach heaved and she hit the toilet again. When she was done, she sank back onto the floor and tried to give him an apologetic smile, but she couldn’t muster the energy. “Sorry.”
“No problem. You’re worth the wait.” He was looking at her with concern. He also looked like he’d settled in for the duration, which made her and her stomach feel much better. Simply because he cared about her as more than an object in his bed.
Now wasn’t that a dangerous thought.
Determined to keep feelings out of their relationship—and relationship out of whatever was going on between the two of them—she laid her head against the wall behind her and closed her eyes. “So tell me about yourself, Stone Kincaid. What are you most afraid of in the world?”
Caught Between an Oops and a Hard Body (Caught Between series Book 2) Page 4