May the Best Man Win (20 page)

She tapped the floor with her bare foot. “This spot looks comfy.”

“
Emily.
”

Her eyes trailed over him in a way she could only hope didn't make him feel too cheap, but she just couldn't help it. “Maybe you could just tell me all the things.”

“Behave,” he groaned, looking like he was really suffering.

“Fine, I'll finish getting ready. There's a vase under the sink. How about you take care of my flowers?”

She excused herself to take care of the last touches, adding a pavé link bracelet that was just the right amount of chunky and a pair of four-inch, strappy gold heels that contrasted nicely with the aquamarine color of her dress—and did things for her legs that even she had to admire.

A dab of perfume at her wrists…and another behind her knees, because with a date like Jase, a girl could only be counted on to behave for so long.

When they were ready to leave, Jase helped her with her coat, standing too close behind her so she could feel the heat of his body against her back, all that hard muscle tempting her to press into him and see how his restraint held up when truly tested. He scattered her plans by ducking in to press his lips against the side of her throat.

Once.

For about a second.

“Let's go, gorgeous.”

Damn him.

They'd driven up to Rogers Park at the far north end of the city, and Emily was ashamed to admit how seeing a house of God with Jase in such close proximity affected her.

He took her hand and kissed her softly between her knuckles, something in his eyes telling her he knew exactly where her express-freight-to-hell thoughts were headed.

“Ready?”

Mustering a shred of that old spite, she narrowed her eyes on him. “
You did this to me.
”

He winked. “Don't you forget it.”

The wedding was lovely. There was no chance of Tyra being overshadowed, and Bill's smile was filled with such love that though Emily hadn't met either of them before, she found herself dabbing a tear or two when they finally kissed.

Curious whether Jase had been as affected as she was, she turned to see a look in his eyes that she didn't recognize but felt to the deepest part of her.

“Beautiful wedding,” she said, suddenly feeling shy.

Jase opened his mouth to say something, but then took her hand instead and nodded, looking up to the happy couple.

Outside the church, Jase's hand slid down to wrap possessively around her hip, tucking her body close to his as they walked back to the car.

She'd never been able to walk with anyone this way. Her height made it damn near impossible, but not with Jase. With Jase, for the first time, Emily felt like she'd found her perfect fit.

* * *

Jase knew what Emily did to his restraint and that he'd been playing with fire from the second he walked into her place instead of having her meet him downstairs. But he hadn't been able to resist building the anticipation. Teasing her with the light touches he knew got to her almost as much as seeing the evidence of their effects got to him—the trailing goose bumps, the parted lips, and puffs of breath. The way his name sometimes slipped past her lips in that needy way. He'd wanted her thinking about him,
ready
for him,
aching
for him the way he'd been aching for her for—hell, too damn long.

And now he had what he'd been dying for.

Emily giving him that soft smile and sexy laugh, those little looks that made him feel like he was the luckiest fucking guy on the planet—because
how
? After everything, how had he gotten this girl?

They were dancing. The party was winding down, the music was slow, and he had Emily pulled close as they swayed to Ella Fitzgerald's timeless “Unforgettable.”

Her fingers threaded into his hair where her hands met behind his neck.

“So how long does a girl have to behave on a date with you, Jase?” she asked, her smile turning just a little wicked.

“You're killing me, Emily.” But damned if he wanted her to stop.

Her hips turned within his hold, moving in time with the music. Following his lead. Making him think about his hands on her hips when there weren't any clothes in the way, and how hot it was when she moved over him.

“Am I?” she asked, knowing full well she was.

Forcing his fingers to relax where he'd started working up a satisfying grip, he pulled her in closer. Close enough so their bodies barely brushed with each step and sway of the dance.

She noticed.

Then leaning in to her ear, he started talking. “I've been telling myself I can't keep risking getting caught with you. But then I see that room at the back of the hall, where everyone dropped off the gifts at the beginning of the reception, but no one's been in for the past hour, and I think about slowly dancing you to the edge of the floor, winding our way through those round tables, and slipping into that room.”

Emily had fallen out of sync with the music, her movements slowing as he spoke.

“I keep thinking about getting my hand under all this flowy business and finding out how wet I can get you.”

“
Jase
.” Her fingers had tightened in his hair, pulling in the way that drove him nuts.

“I keep wondering how many different ways I can get you to say my name before someone walks in and sees me
taking
what I
couldn't wait for
.”

She shuddered, and when he straightened, her eyes were hazy with need.

She turned, looking at the door to that little fantasy, and heat rushed into her cheeks as Tyra's mom and great-aunt walked out.

Laughter punched out of Jase's lungs, and Emily grabbed the lapels of his jacket and buried her face in his chest, giving in to the humor of the moment before peeking up at him.

“Well, we know the room's empty now.”

Damn, this woman.

It was after ten when Jase admitted defeat. The reception was still going strong, and from what his buddy had told him, the hall was booked until two. No way was he going to make it that long. Though Femily seemed to have embraced this prolonged torture with open arms. That wicked, wonderful mind of hers was finding new and creative ways to short-circuit his brain every five minutes or so.

She had a gift.

The last notes of the pop ballad faded, and Jase caught Emily's hand. Backing her through the crowd, he led her from the dance floor to the coatroom. Where he did not pull her in, despite Emily's sly grin as she asked him, “Is it later?”

So tempting, but what he wanted from Emily tonight,
for
Emily tonight, was more than that. What he wanted would take time and—if they didn't want the cops showing up—walls and a locked door too. “Soon.”

Jase used the last of his restraint on the drive home, keeping his eyes on the road instead of the way Emily was shifting her legs in the seat beside him. And it paid off, because now Emily was unlocking her apartment, her fingers wrapped lightly around the lapel of his coat.

Like she thought he might make a move to leave if she let go.

Not likely.

Her door was open, her apartment lit only by the overhead hall light she'd left on.

She turned to him, those big brown eyes drifting to his mouth. “Jase,” she murmured.

“I know.”

His hand curved around the back of her neck, pulling her toward him as he lowered his mouth to hers, sinking slowly into the kiss he'd been dreaming of. So sweet, and that soft sigh was sweeter still.

He hadn't kissed her like this before. Like they had all the time in the world. Like it was about the journey, not the destination. Like he wanted more than her body. And more than anything, he wanted it to last.

There'd always been too many other things driving them. But not tonight.

Tonight was about something new. Something pure. Something right.

Her lips parted as they met in that soft back-and-forth glide.

He tasted her then, a slow stroke of his tongue against the lush pad of her bottom lip.

She trembled, her hands fisting against the fabric of his shirt, an urgency rising within them both.

Angling to deepen the kiss, he groaned as she opened wider beneath him, offering what he needed to take. Pressing closer. Clutching tighter.

Yes
.

He reached past her, catching the side of the door toward the top, and pushing it closed behind them. And then they were alone. Eyes locked with his, Emily backed down the hall, those killer heels clicking against the hardwood with each step. Mesmerized by the sight of her, he watched as she lifted one beckoning arm to him. Jerking his tie free and yanking his belt loose, he followed, leaving just enough distance to tease them both.

He started on the buttons next and she stopped where she was, her lips parting on a gasp, her eyes glazing with lust. Christ, her desire was so damned sexy.

She leaned against the wall halfway to her bedroom, knee cocked so one sexy heel rested flat against the wall behind her, while her hands worked a slow roam over that flowy fabric at her thighs.

Her eyes flicked to his before returning to where he was half through with his shirt. “Don't stop on my account. I'll just hang out here and enjoy the show.”

“You want to watch, Emily?” he asked, taking his time with the next button.

She licked her lip and nodded.

“What about me?” he asked, jutting his chin toward the dress she hadn't made nearly enough progress in taking off.

“What about you, Jase?” she replied, a sensual challenge in her tone that flipped every switch he had.

He swallowed hard, wondering how he'd ever thought
she'd
be the one to end up ruined for all others. “Yeah, I'm good.”

He tugged the tails of his shirt from his pants and freed the last few buttons, completely caught up in the way Emily responded to his shrugging out of one shoulder and then the other.

She was hot as hell, and she wasn't really doing anything at all. It was just the look on her face. The need.

His shirt hit the floor, and those perfect white teeth pressed into her soft bottom lip. So pretty.

“God, you have the best body. Not that your ego needs any more stroking, but from the first time I saw you, you took my breath away.”

High school. That's what she was talking about. “Yeah?”

“I liked how tall you were. But it was more than that. I think even if you'd been an inch shorter than me, I'd have been drooling over those shoulders and how broad your chest was. Is. You're just so solid, but in a way that's the perfect mix of genes and athleticism. I had so much trouble concentrating in classes around you.”

Jase undid the top button of his pants. “Believe me, I was worse off. I dropped a half grade in every class we had together. You nearly cost me my 4.0.”

“Liar,” she said, skimming her hands up her belly and teasing him by stopping just beneath the swell of her breasts.

He growled, wanting her to touch them.

Maybe she read his mind. Because now her palms were cupping her breasts, and his fly was unzipping by the power of his hard-on alone. He wanted her to take that dress off and to see her play with those petal-pink nipples until there wasn't anything soft about them. And he wanted to watch her do it while she watched him.

“I thought you were beautiful. You know I did.”

A shadow passed behind her eyes, but then it was gone.

Releasing the catch behind her neck, she eased the straps of her dress down her shoulders and arms. “And now?”

He finished with the zipper and slid his thumbs into the straining waistband of his boxer briefs. Pulled them over the top of his cock and pushed them low so Emily could see him. How much he wanted her. What she did to him.

Expelling a harsh breath, she sought out his eyes, asking him with a look for what she wanted.

He stroked a hand up and down his length, doing it again when she slowly peeled the top of her dress down far enough for him to see the tight pink tips of her nipples.

“Beautiful.”

“Do it again,” she whispered, nodding to where his hand still held his cock.

Oh fuck.

“What, baby, this?” he asked, knowing damn well.

A slow heat had been burning up her neck and settled into her cheeks, hinting at that shy girl thing she'd had going back when he first met her. The one that pushed all his buttons.

But add to that this sexy-as-hell bit of kink.

God, she was perfect.

He stroked again, slowly. Setting a rhythm that wouldn't leave him embarrassing himself within the next thirty seconds. If he focused really hard on banking regulations. Maybe.

But then her hands were on the move again, her fingers playing with her nipples. Rubbing back and forth as he watched. As he stroked. As his breath went ragged and she planted both heels on the floor, her knees looking like they wouldn't hold her much longer.

“
Jase.
” And if the needy quality of his name alone wasn't enough, the next words she said sure as hell were. “I can't wait anymore.”

He closed the distance between them in a flash. His hands gathered all that sexy skirt while Emily wrapped her smooth hand around him, stroking once herself before letting go when he caught her behind the knee and pulled her against his hip.

Tugging her soaked panties to the side, he groaned, making contact with her wet heat.

“I'm going to make you come like this, Em,” he told her, sweeping a single finger through all that slippery moisture. Spreading it around her swollen sex. Circling back to that throbbing point that had her eyes locking with his and her breath fracturing across his lips.

Around and around, slow and soft.

Her body was tensing, her grip on his shoulder and side tightening.

“Yes.”

“And after I make you come with my hands”—he stroked back to her opening and dipped inside, felt her clench around him, as she gasped his name—“I'm going to make you do it again with my mouth.”

Another shallow thrust of his finger and he took her mouth with his kiss. With his tongue.

He sank deep, then deeper. Stroking in and out. Kissing her like he was touching her,
like she was his
.

Just the thought had his cock pulsing between them.

He added a second finger and her hips were rocking into his thrusts. Her pleas falling against his lips. “Please…like that… Yes,
yes!
”

Enough. He needed his mouth on her.

“Come for me, baby,” he growled against her ear, pressing his thumb to the spot where she needed him most.

“Jase!”

Liquid heat spilled down his fingers as Emily spasmed around him, her inner walls hugging him rhythmically.

So damn hot.

And then he had her in his arms as he strode the short distance to her bedroom.

Emily's eyes were wide, hazed with the kind of satisfaction that got a guy off just from looking at it. “That was—”

“Just the beginning, Em.”

* * *

He was sucking his fingers.

Emily had never seen anything sexier in her entire life as the powerhouse of a man in front of her, his shirt hanging open over that hard, sculpted torso, the fly of his suit pants undone—though he must have tucked himself back inside his boxer briefs—as he slowly licked her pleasure from his hand.

She gulped.

But then Jase went to his knees in front of her, that urgent, intense look in his eyes, and told her to take off her dress.

Not asked. Not suggested.

Told.

While he was on his knees!

Legs backed up to her bed, heart racing, she reached behind her and, with trembling hands, eased the partially open zipper down the rest of the way. Then shifting her hips slowly back and forth, she let the dress pool around her feet. Which left her in a pair of itty-bitty, bronze silk panties trimmed with lace, her gold heels, linked bracelet, and the chandelier earrings she'd hoped weren't too much.

Jase shook his head, almost like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Her skin was hot, her sex and breasts achy as Jase smoothed his palms over her hips and thighs, and then, hooking his fingers into the string-cut sides of her panties, slid them down her legs.

“Sit.”

Another shockingly hot not-suggestion, accompanied by his hands settling firmly at her hips and guiding her to the edge of the bed.

Just as well. Her knees wouldn't have lasted another second the way he'd been looking at her.

“Jesus, Em,” he said, letting his hands coast down the length of her thighs. “I can't wait.”

He opened her, spreading her knees with his hands and then the bulk of his shoulders. His mouth working hot, wet kisses from her knee up, up, up…until he was
there
.

She cried out at the first brush of his mouth. Even seeing it coming hadn't been enough to prepare her. And then he was kissing her like he'd kissed her mouth. Softly, gently, thoroughly. The pressure building with her need until he'd found her center…

“So damned sweet, Em.”

…and licked.

Another cry, and she fell back on her elbows as her body clenched with a need Jase was both satisfying and exploiting with every lick, nibble, and swirl.

She'd come less than five minutes ago, but already that delicious tension was lacing through her center again. Tightening the places that had gone lax.

Her knees were opened wide, Jase's hands cupping her bottom as he held her to his mouth. So good.

Swirling the point of his tongue, he made her pant and grasp at his hair.

Then he was running that firm point back down to where—

“Jase!”

—he speared inside. Wet and slick and hard, he thrust in and out of her until she was mindless, her head beginning to thrash.

“Do you need more, baby?” he asked, again rubbing his mouth against the tender spread of her sex. Making her writhe. Because he knew.

“Yes,” she panted, tipping her hips into his kiss. “More. Please.”

And then he was kissing that straining, aching little bud, closing his lips around it as—oh God, yes—he filled her with his fingers. That subtle stretch was just what she needed, the slow pumping motion taking her higher, faster. His fingers flexed inside her, twisting slowly, stroking over that hidden spot.

She was close…so close…

Teeth sinking into her bottom lip, she watched as Jase looked up to meet her eyes while he pleasured her.

That look…that connection…Jase…

He sucked, drawing hard against her. And the world came apart.

She screamed, tumbling through sensation like she'd never known, pleasure like she'd never imagined.

But still it wasn't enough. Barely reaching the other side of the climax of the century, Emily tugged desperately at Jase's hair, her legs squirming in an effort to get him where she needed him to be.

“Please, Jase. All of you.”

She wanted him inside her, his body hot and hard above hers. The crazy, intense eye contact doing things that made this more than sex.

She needed it.

Jase's hair stood on end in utter disarray, and sweat beaded his forehead as he shucked the last of his clothes and climbed up her waiting body.

Her knees coasted up the outside of his hips, her gold heels at the backs of his thighs urging him as she met his kiss, tasted herself on his lips and tongue. She was shaking with need, her body begging.

Jase's touch had gone rough as he pulled her to him, like he'd spent the last of his restraint. Or maybe not.

“Condom,” he ground out through gritted teeth, already beginning to reverse his path. “One second, Em.”

Her heel at Jase's ass stopped him from retreating any farther.

“You know I'm on the pill. And I've always been safe.” Smoothing her fingertips over the heavily muscled terrain of Jase's chest, she asked, “Is there any reason we can't—”