One Night With The Best Man Page 4

  All similarities ended on a superficial level, though. She preferred a man with an interest in agriculture and organic health, someone loyal and trustworthy from a large, welcoming family. After refilling her wine glass, she typed more specifics, not pausing until she reached the Send box at the end of the application.

  Clicking the button would formalize her request for a single night of sex. She could accomplish the same thing by picking up a random person in a bar. Letting someone else choose her companion came with more risks, and Susan was not a risk-taker. Even the purchase of the farm had been a carefully weighed consideration.

  Sipping her wine, she reread her responses on the application. If the service could match her with a man somewhat close to the type she’d asked for, he’d be worth checking out.

  Using the laptop touch screen, she tapped her index finger on Send.

  Chapter Five

  Alex’s attention should have been on his sister pledging the rest of her life to the man she loved. He kept his eyes on the couple, refusing to squirm as Susie’s gaze bored into him from the rear of the audience. If looks could kill, a recovery team would be removing chunks of his mangled flesh from every square inch of the yard.

  He’d made the right decision by not going to her the night before, but blowing her off had been beyond rude. He should have explained his reasons for changing his mind. She might have even appreciated hearing she deserved better than a guy who’d sleep with her and then walk away.

  Even if she’d professed to being okay with him moving on after they spent the night together, he feared he wouldn’t be able to. The farm played no role in his future, and she and the farm were a package deal.

  The wedding ceremony concluded, and he took his place in the receiving line, shaking hands and then posing for seventy million photos. After the toasts at the reception, he and Marcia fulfilled their obligatory waltz. Then he danced with his sister, his mother, and a multitude of cousins and distant relatives.

  Finally, he gave up his place on the dance floor for a much-needed drink and ended up facing Susie. He didn’t know who she’d been dancing with, but judging by the surprised expression on her face, she hadn’t sought him out.

  “Hey,” he said. The song switched to something slow and weepy that called for him to hold her.

  She jerked away from his touch. “Why did you stand me up last night?” Of course, she had every right to be furious with him.

  “Because I’m a total ass, and I decided to do you a favor by not using you.”

  “At least, you’re telling the truth.” Her lips quirked in a wry smile as she crossed her arms and rubbed her biceps.

  The self-protective gesture made him want to hold her more, but he didn’t try again.

  “I doubt you were having noble thoughts about doing me a favor when you left last night,” she said. “In fact, I’m curious how the asshole internal monologue went. Something to the effect of ‘thank God I got a better offer than wasting my time with her,’ maybe?”

  If she’d watched him leave the farm, she probably assumed he’d spent the night with Marcia. He’d rather she stewed over that conclusion than discover he’d come to think of Marcia as a sister. If Susie screamed at him and hated on him, she’d keep her distance and he wouldn’t have to worry about his feelings for her careening out of control.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t handle your connection to the farm.” Instead of purposely pissing her off, he spoke from the heart, surprising himself. “I have too much baggage over this place. I need a clean break from it, and if I sleep with you, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get one.”

  Her frozen demeanor melted, and she reached out as if she wanted to heal him. He wasn’t broken, though, not as long as he stayed away from the place where the thankless, unending labor crushed his spirit, the place that left his father disappointed in Alex for his choice to leave, and the place that ultimately stole the life of the greatest man he’d ever known.

  “How about we have one dance and then I’ll make it easy on you and walk away?” she suggested, her gaze sad but understanding.

  One dance. Yes, he wanted to cradle her in his arms and hold her to his chest one more time. Surrounded by relatives and neighbors on the packed dance floor, they were guaranteed not to go too far and lose control.

  As Alex enveloped her in his embrace, Susan rested her head on the lapel of his tuxedo jacket. Instead of a lightning bolt of lust she could extinguish with a single romp in the bedroom, he incited a long, slow burn that promised to grow stronger with each encounter. Good thing she didn’t have to worry about future encounters endangering her heart.

  Of course, she had no intention of letting him off the hook by agreeing he’d done her a favor by blowing her off. “I touched myself last night,” she whispered in his ear.

  Along her midsection, his semi-hard shaft thickened and twitched. His breath caught and then quickened at her neck.

  She slanted her hips closer. “After you drove away, I kept touching myself. When I came, I screamed your name.”

  His erection throbbed full and hard, teasing her softness through their clothes. Her core ached for a more intimate caress. As soon as she returned to the house, she’d touch herself to achieve the release she’d never get directly from him.

  “I can feel how sorry you are that you missed it, but I had a damn good time without you.”

  Sure, sex with him would have been better, but the fantasy of him still packed a hell of an orgasm.

  He growled in her ear. “Since you can feel exactly what you’re doing to me, you would be wise to stop now.”

  Biting her inner cheek, she withheld a smile. “Good thing you don’t need me either.”

  Tipping her chin up with a single finger, he met her gaze then skimmed her lips with his, sending sweet desire thrumming through her veins and tingling her limbs. He dipped his tongue into her mouth, drenching her in heat and need.

  She kissed him in response, her body—and her heart—ignoring her head’s plea to stop and move away from him. Although she was willing to make changes to accommodate a man in her life, she refused to compromise over the farm. She needed its roots and the connection she’d been searching for her entire life. Anyone who rejected it, rejected her.

  She didn’t have to explain her stance to Alex. He understood. Unfortunately, the farm was also his deal breaker.

  Susie broke off the kiss and ducked out of Alex’s arms as the final notes of the song drifted through the speakers and his heart thundered in his chest. “I’ll pack up your keeper pile of mementos and ship it to your mother.”

  “Good.” He needed to say a million things, none of them about the stuff sitting inside her house, but his voice wouldn’t operate beyond the single word. Knowing he would never hold her in his arms again, never see her again, was anything but good.

  “Good-bye, Alex.” She stood in front of him, maintaining eye contact.

  What the hell could he say? He couldn’t tell her how badly he ached to bury his cock inside her after he’d explained her connection to the farm stopped him from all further contact. Anything he said would lead her on and hurt her more.

  So, he drank in her beautiful blue eyes, dark-red hair, and clear, smooth skin until she hugged her arms around her chest once again and swiveled away from him. Even then, he continued to stare, mesmerized by the sway of her hips and the proud, straight set of her shoulders until she disappeared into the house. A moment later, a light switched on inside, creating a warm glow through the curtains.

  Tearing his gaze from the building, he weaved between the joyful, gyrating bodies on the dance floor to the head table. At his seat, he sat and drained his water glass then poured a refill from a nearby carafe.

  Although the open bar tempted him, drinking anything stronger than water wouldn’t erase his need for her. He’d tried that path last night, to no avail. He could, however, with a willing partner, release the sexual energy Susie’d inspired in him. Unfortunately, everyone on
the dance floor was either related to him or married.

  He lifted his gaze to the partygoers congregated around the tables. His former science teacher, Mrs. Santiago, who’d been ancient back in the day, lifted her head from the quilted bag attached to her walker and winked at him. He waved a weak greeting and chugged more water. He would not be hooking up with anyone in attendance.

  He’d hit rock-bottom, in desperate need of a last resort. From his wallet, he unfolded the certificate Luciana had bought for him. With a new cell tower on the corner of the land, he had a signal on his cell phone. Quickly, he typed a text to Madame Eve, hitting send before he could second-guess his actions. An immediate reply directed him to an online application.

  As he finished filling in his personal information, two of his cousins approached the head table, their obvious goal to drag him onto the dance floor. Application complete, he pocketed the phone and resolved to put his needs aside for the duration of the party.

  Two hours later, Luciana and Blake left for their honeymoon suite while the DJ finished packing away the sound equipment. Alex hesitated halfway to his car. Maybe he should apologize to Susie one more time.

  The house loomed dark and silent behind him. If he woke her to ask forgiveness, he’d have to apologize for waking her too. Anyway, he deluded himself. If he knocked on the door, he wouldn’t stop with an apology and a stilted good-night. She was better off without him messing with her head and toying with her emotions.

  But he would suffer the loss of never holding her in his arms again.

  ***

  Returning to his hotel, he debated then discarded the idea of hanging out in the bar, and headed to his room instead. As he stepped inside, his phone vibrated with an incoming text. Madame Eve had come through for him.

  Go to the hotel across the street to claim your one-night stand.

  He stripped off his tux, redressing in jeans and a T-shirt. Then he filled his pockets with condoms and followed the instructions. At the front desk of the new hotel, he picked up a key card for his assigned room and stepped into the elevator.

  The silence enveloped him, but he refused to listen to the inner voice insisting he no longer wanted a random encounter. He needed to go through with it to forget about Susie. Walking away had been the right decision. Though prepared to rethink his views on freedom and being tied down, he’d never settle on the farm.

  Exiting the elevator, he strode down the hall. After unlocking the door, he stepped inside. Six feet away, a gorgeous redhead wearing nothing but a blue low-cut bra, matching thong, and four-inch stilettoes peered over her shoulder, inspecting her smooth, curvy ass in the mirror.

  She whipped toward him. Her blue eyes widened, first with surprise, then horror. Lunging for a shirt lying over the arm of a chair, she tripped on her fuck-me shoes.

  Alex shot forward, catching her in his arms and breaking her fall. Her breasts and hips imprinted on his body, destroying the control and barriers he’d worked so hard to erect. No matter how many battles he won, he’d already lost the war.

  “Let me go. Please, let me go.” Susan struggled in Alex’s arms, her throat clogging with the tears she tried desperately to hold back. “What are you doing here? Please tell me you’re not my 1Night Stand date.”

  “Apparently, I am.” He caressed her bare back, his hand gentle and oddly comforting. “If it’s any consolation, you were the last person I expected to find when I opened the door.”

  “It’s no consolation. Please leave,” she whispered. She had to get him out before he noticed her nipples shrinking to hard points as her breasts wedged against his shirt. Frantic longing tempted her to undulate against him, swelling her humiliation to epic proportions.

  His arms relaxed around her. He didn’t release her, but held her lightly enough she could have stepped out of his grasp if she had any willpower. “What did you tell Madame Eve you wished for?”

  You.

  But Susan had enough pride not to admit it. “Orgasms.” She met his gaze defiantly. “A lot of them. Now go away.”

  His brown eyes smoldered. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I want you too much.”

  “You don’t want me at all.” Because she came as a package deal with the one thing he hated more than anything.

  He laughed, his voice lower and rougher than normal. “Rub the front of my pants and feel how badly I want you.”

  She refused to glance down. She’d felt his desire earlier in the evening. Any woman could fill the need, which he’d no doubt been banking on when he opened the door. She’d seen the surprise in his eyes—he hadn’t expected to find her.

  “Your lust isn’t for me personally. You’d have the same reaction to any woman standing in her underwear.”

  He palmed her bare ass cheek. “You underestimate yourself. Let me give you what you want—orgasm after orgasm, pleasure only for you, nothing for me.”

  “Why?” Already so weak with need, she wanted to unzip his jeans and drag him inside her. He didn’t have to strike a bargain that would deny him pleasure.

  “I want you to get what you came for, and I can’t stand the thought of any other guy caressing you.”

  Susan could have reassured him she didn’t want anyone else touching her either. She’d yearned for only him since she’d seen him standing in the tent before the rehearsal the previous day. No, from the moment she’d laid eyes on him in her hospital room a year ago. “You can touch me, but you’d better make it good.”

  A wicked smile spread across his strong, chiseled face. “You have my word. Tell me what position you want to come in the first time. Then, after we do it your way, for the rest of the night I’ll decide how you’ll come.”

  He intended to pleasure her more than once. Sure, she’d fantasized about it, but reality suggested the unlikelihood of the possibility. Regardless, he offered her an orgasm. She’d take it—and revel in it.

  “I really like your hand on my butt,” she started, not sure what she had in mind. Her fantasies had been more about him than positions. “Maybe if I lie on my stomach but keep my underwear on.” The thong didn’t offer much coverage, but she’d take the tiny bit of modesty it offered. Facing away from him, she could accept the pleasure without focusing on or connecting with him.

  Smacking her bottom lightly, he released her. “Lie on the bed.”

  Flooded with unexpected hunger and aching to please him, she jumped and took a step toward the bed then glanced at Alex, hoping he’d embrace her. Surrounding her and rubbing his naked skin against hers was what she truly wanted.

  But not what she’d asked for. Teetering on her too-high heels, she turned down the covers, revealing a plain white sheet. She lay face down, the linen cool in contrast to her hot flesh. Pinching her eyes shut, she prayed she hadn’t made a huge, foolish mistake.

  Muffled footsteps crossed the carpet. Alex brushed her back then leaned over her. “Put this under your stomach.”

  She opened her eyes as he plucked a pillow from the head of the bed. As he brought it closer, she lifted her midsection. He tucked the cushion under her pelvis, so her butt stuck up in the air. Good God, what had possessed her to suggest such a vulnerable position?

  “Excellent.” His voice trembled a bit. “Now reach for the headboard.”

  She did, but, too defenseless and exposed, she shoved onto her elbows to maintain control. “Let’s start with something else. How about missionary sex instead?”

  He cupped her shoulders then slid his hands down her arms, gently straightening them again. “Trust me, Susie. I’ll make this good for you.” He glided his lips across her temple.

  Her fears ran in the opposite direction. What if he rocked her world and the rest of her life felt empty and unfulfilled because she’d had a taste of him?

  Alex had promised her two things—he’d give her pleasure, and he’d never return to the farm.

  Chapter Six

  He caressed her arm from her shoulder to her f
ingertips then over her wrist, elbow, and collarbone before tracing a path down her spine and over the bump of her bra strap. At the base of her back, he massaged under the elastic band of her underwear, tugging the thong string taut but not moving lower to touch her the way she craved. She raised her hips to signal for his attention.

  Instead, he stroked up her sides then down her back. Again and again, with gentle caresses meant to relax her. But she was too knotted with need and anticipation to unwind.

  “You’re not doing what I requested.”

  “You don’t want this?” He paused along the side swell of her breasts, at the edge of her bra cup.

  She wanted everything. “I want you to grab my ass while you slide your fingers inside me.”

  “Plural?” he verified.

  Oh God. Her insides turned molten with desire. “Yes.”

  “Your wish is my command.” He shifted on the bed, spreading her legs, his jeans brushing her inner thighs as he knelt between them. Settling his palms on her ass, he rubbed in a circular motion.

  Oh yeah. She moaned into the sheet and tried to lift to give him a better angle, but, with him kneeling between her spread legs, she’d lost her leverage and was at his mercy. She gripped the headboard and squirmed.

  He slapped one cheek lightly. Gasping, she wiggled again, unable to control her eagerness. With another smack, he dipped inside her.

  “Alex.” Her head spun with wonder and exhilaration while her body trembled.

  “You’re so wet for me,” he whispered. “I could glide another finger in you already.”

  “Yes, yes.” With tears and screams threatening, she begged for him, every emotion building like a volcano on the verge of eruption.