His voice sounded deep and sexy, and Mikki had a sensation of a tongue trilling her earlobe. Much to her horror, her nipples hardened.
Not daring to look at Barry, she said, “
Very
long time.”
“Thirteen years or so, right?”
He was taunting her, clearly. “About that,” Mikki said in a clipped voice. Then, “You're the last person I expected to see here.” She paused briefly. “Why
are
you here?”
Ken slapped Barry's back. “Barry's a second cousin. Small world.”
“This'll work out well, then,” Chantal said. “Since you already know each other.”
“Excuse me?” Mikki asked.
“Barry is Ken's best man,” Chantal explained. “You're my maid of honor. So you'll be paired up. Which works well, given your history.”
“Ah, right.” Mikki's head began to pound. This couldn't be happening.
“If you'll excuse me,” Mikki began, aware that she sounded a little breathless. “I'm heading to the bathroom.”
Quickly, she scooted past Barry, her pulse racing so fast she wondered if she would end up having heart failure. She hurried into the bathroom and locked herself in a stall. Two minutes later, she was still in there, leaning against the wooden door, taking deep breaths as she assessed the situation.
So much for a one-night stand not coming back to haunt you. Goodness, could Mikki have worse luck?
After another minute passed, Mikki asked herself what she was doing. She couldn't hide out in the bathroom all night. So what if she'd slept with Barry and then sneaked out of his hotel room like a thief in the night? Life went on.
That thought in mind, Mikki exited the stallâwhich she hadn't usedâand then made her way to the restroom exit.
She opened the door and stepped outside.
And ran smack into Barry.
Her heart pounded so hard, she thought it might explode. She stared up at Barry, at the humorous smile on his face, and swallowed.
“So, we meet again,” he said.
Chapter 5
Mikki's chest rose and fell with each heavy breath as she stared at Barry. She said nothing.
“Tell me,” Barry went on. “Was I ever going to hear from you again?”
“Sure,” Mikki lied.
“That's why you slipped out of my bed and didn't even leave me your phone number on the night table.”
His eyes danced as he spoke. He was enjoying this. Enjoying humiliating her.
“What do you want me to say, Barry? I woke up in a strange room, discovered that I was naked in someone's bedâ”
“
My
bed.”
She swallowed again. There was a lump in her throat that wouldn't dissipate. “Your bed,” she whispered, her chest tightening when she saw the victorious smile on Barry's face. “And why was I naked, by the way?”
Barry chuckled, the warm sound causing Mikki's stomach to flutter. And then another image flashed into her mind.
Barry's full lips wrapped around her nipple.
Mikki jerked her gaze from his, disturbed by the thought that had come into her mind. She couldn't actually be aroused, could she?
No. Of course not. She was simply uncomfortable at seeing him again, when she never expected that she would.
“Why were you naked?” Barry asked. “Don't tell me you don't remember . . .”
“I don't,” Mikki stressed. “All I know is that I woke up and discovered I was naked and that you were naked beside me.” She paused. “What did you do to me?”
“What did I do to
you
?” One of Barry's eyebrows shot up, humor playing on his face. “I think the more appropriate question to ask is what did
you
do to me?”
Mikki's breath caught in her throat.
After a moment, Barry's expression changed from playful to serious. “You really don't remember?”
Mikki shook her head.
“Damn,” Barry said. “Damn.”
Mikki suddenly realized how her words might have been construed. “I'm not saying you took advantage of me. I'm just saying . . . I don't remember . . . what went on.”
“Too bad,” Barry said, his eyes holding hers, his voice deep and husky as he spoke into her ear. “Because you had a good time.”
Barry watched Mikki all but trip over herself as she scurried back into the dining room, and he couldn't help grinning.
What were the chances? He'd woken up this morning, found Mikki gone, and had been hugely disappointed. Because last night had been one of the best nights of his life.
Never had he experienced such an explosive sexual encounter before. Mikki had made no secret of the fact that she had wanted him, starting on the dance floor. The moment she'd kissed him, his body had erupted in heat, and the way she had grinded her perfect figure against his as the music played, Barry had become hard almost instantly.
He'd had to hide his throbbing erection as he'd left the bar with Mikki, and the way she'd kissed and groped him in the back of the taxi . . . well, it was a wonder they'd made it to his hotel room before she'd started to take her clothes off.
She had been wild with lust, but Barry wasn't stupid. He knew she had consumed a large amount of alcohol. He'd suggested she drink water, lie down, and take a breather. But he was a man, one who had dreamed of Mikki wanting him sexually in high school, and when she hadn't been able to take her hands off of him, he had been powerless to resist her.
He was surprised to hear her say she didn't remember what had happened, because last night, he had jokingly asked her if she knew her name, how many fingers he was holding up, that sort of thing. She had been aware of everything. And even after she'd gotten naked and had then helped him out of his clothes, Barry had restrained from making love to her right away. He'd taken her to the bed and lain with her and talked for a good half hour.
Actually,
she
had talkedâall about the ex who had just dumped her. But she'd also said how glad she was to have run into Barry and continually told him how hot he was.
Only after being certain that she had her wits about herâand after Mikki had asked,
Didn't you want to do this back in high school?
âBarry had caved to Mikki's seduction.
And then they'd made love, and the sex had been phenomenal.
Barry hadn't considered himself the type to believe in fate, but the fact that Mikki was here, in Florida, and that Ken was marrying her sister . . . if that wasn't fate, what was?
It was also something elseâpretty damn perfect. Because after the night he'd had with Mikki, he knew that one taste of her would never be enough.
Â
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Because you had a good time . . .
Mikki thought about the words all night long. Strangely, she couldn't forget them. In fact, she found herself flushed when she remembered the deep timber of Barry's voice as he'd whispered in her ear.
Aroused.
And when she fell asleep, she dreamed of him. Of deep kisses as his hands tweaked her nipples. Of enthusiastic, steamy, toe-tingling sex. She had dreamed of his lips and tongue tantalizing all the hot zones on her body. The dream had been scorching, definitely X-rated, and Mikki woke with a sensation of lust coursing through her body.
Because you had a good time . . .
Just how good of a time had she had? That's what Mikki wanted to know. She wished she could remember what had happened.
Her dream had been so vivid, Mikki could almost feel Barry's lips and hands on her body as she thought of it now. Almost as if the dream had actually been real. She couldn't help wondering if on some level the dream had been a memory of what had happened the night she'd ended up in bed with Barry.
All she could say with certainty was that the dream had been so hot, it left her craving sex.
And this wasn't like her. Not at all. She hadn't even been attracted to Barry in high school. Why should the thought of him turn her on at all now?
Because he's a totally different guy than the one in high school,
came the whisper of a reply in her mind.
Who was she kidding? She may not be able to wrap her mind around the physical changes, but Barry's hotness factor had gone up about one thousand percent.
Was that what was causing Mikki to think of Barry and sex in the same sentence? Because Barry was now undeniably smoking hot?
Perhaps. But as Mikki lay in her bed, she thought of another reason, one that was more likely. Alex had broken her heart, and her self-esteem had suffered. Barry's attention was helping to repair her bruised ego.
Surely any guy who paid any attention to her would cause the same reaction.
Because you had a good time . . .
Maybe there was yet another reason. The mystery behind exactly
what
had happened in Barry's bed. Maybe the wondering about what they had done had the effect of a sexual stimulant.
Because Mikki was definitely not used to waking up and thinking about sex. Not with anyone.
Doing her best to push all thoughts of Barry and sex out of her mind, she got up, took a shower that was more cold than warm, and then sent text messages to both Isabel and Debbie to let them know she was at home and that she had survived the first night.
But by the time she'd finished her breakfast and she still couldn't put Barry out of her mind, she knew she needed to talk to someone about the latest, unnerving development. She called Debbie, since she'd already spoken to her about waking up in Barry's bed. But Debbie's number went to voice mail. So Mikki did the next best thing. She called Isabel.
“Girl!” Isabel exclaimed when she answered her phone. “I've been waiting to hear from you. What happened that night?”
“Did you talk to Debbie?” Mikki asked.
“She didn't answer her phone, since she was traveling to California, but she sent a text to say I needed to talk to you. I called last night, by the way, and you didn't pick up. So, what happened?”
Mikki said frankly, “I don't remember what happened.”
“What?”
“I don't remember. I have no memory of that night.”
“You blacked out?”
“I . . . I don't think I blacked out. I just . . . I just can't remember. Everything's a blank from after I left the bar until the morning.”
“No way, chica,” Isabel said. “But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You were drinking a lot.”
“Why did you let me leave with him?” Mikki asked, feeling the need to blame someone. Debbie and Isabel had seen how drunk she was and really should have intervened on her behalf. If only her friends had stopped her from leaving with Barry, she wouldn't have done something so out of character.
Because you had a good time . . .
Mikki felt a tingle of desire in her belly.
“Don't you remember the conversation in the bathroom?” Isabel countered.
“No.”
“You were all excited, told us how turned on you were just by dancing with Barry and that you were going to take Debbie's advice and get laid.”
Mikki cringed. “I said that?”
“Oh, yeah. Like I said, you were real excited. We tried to suggest that maybe you should slow down on the alcohol and even offered to get you home in a cab. But you told us absolutely not. You said you were looking forward to spending the night with Barry because he looked good enough to eat.”
“Okay, I get the picture.” Mikki couldn't quite stand hearing this account of how she had behaved. Because it was completely unlike her. What had the bartender put in her beer? Surely he had put something in there to knock the sense out of her. Because Mikki didn't behave like this, drunk or not.
“You don't remember
anything
?”
Isabel was one of her best friends. She could tell her everything. “All I remember is waking up in bed and there was a naked guy beside me. I was . . . unsettled, to say the least.”
“Damn,” Isabel said. “I was hoping to hear the details.”
“Isabel!” Mikki rolled her eyes. “So you're not so much concerned that I don't remember the details, only that you're not going to be able to live vicariously through me!”
“Sorry,” Isabel said sheepishly.
“Here's the thing,” Mikki went on, sighing softly.
“And it's really thrown me for a loop. Guess who I just saw last night at a dinner for my sister's fiancé's family?”
Isabel paused briefly; then she said, “Get out.”
“He's
here,
” Mikki said, hearing the note of alarm in her voice. “Thirteen years I haven't seen him, and then suddenly I'm seeing him twice in twenty-four hours.”
“He didn't tell you he was going to Miami?”
“I have a feeling we didn't talk much that night.”
“But afterward. In the morning.”
Mikki hesitated a moment, knowing that this was going to sound lame. But she said, “I snuck out of the hotel room.”
“What?” Isabel shrieked.
“I panicked. I woke up, realized that I was next to some naked guy, and I panicked. It wasn't like me to go to bed with a guy on the first night. I got out of there as fast as I could. And before you ask, no, I didn't leave my phone number. I never thought I would see him again. And then I come to Miami and here he is?”
Isabel muttered something in Spanish that Mikki didn't understand.
“What does that mean?” Mikki asked.
“It's fate.”
“Pardon me?”
“It's fate,” Isabel repeated. “You tried to escape him, but there he is in Florida. The two of you are destined to be together.”