No Weddings (27 page)

Now, I couldn’t tear my gaze from her as she stood in her entryway, looking fucking magnificent. Her long hair hung down around her face in waves. A low-cut tank top cupped the upper swell of her breasts. Dark shredded jeans clung to her thighs. And her toes peeked out beneath the frayed denim at the hem, covered in a green polish.

My breathing grew shallow, just shy of outright panting with my tongue hanging out. “Fuck, you look edible.”

Her easy smile twisted into a smirk as she pushed a flat palm against my chest. “Back up, horny boy. You don’t get to lick the frosting tonight.”

Tonight.

I did get to lick it at some future time. That incredible point was not lost on me. I wanted to say “soon”—I was
dying
for it to be soon—but I knew Hannah needed my patience. And I would be patient as a rock for her.

Her brow furrowed. “You sure we can’t take my car?”

I glanced at the fastback. Bet she purred like a dream. My thoughts immediately went to Hannah’s jeans and the seam that stroked up between her legs where I couldn’t wait to be. I
knew
my bike sent vibrations hard enough to cause a friction there for her. But would the bass vibration of the muscle car be more intense?

On a snort, I shook my head. Wild car rides would be saved until I actually had access into those jeans. For now, I settled for the next best thing.

“No,” I growled low. My meager control around her had slowly unraveling threads. “I need you wrapped around me, even if it’s only on my bike.”

She pressed her lips together and then her tongue flicked out, wetting the lush bottom one. My eyes dropped there, staring as she bit it. Her neck flushed, and she took a deep inhale, doing wonderful things to her cleavage.

My mind raced. Intuition told me she’d guttered her thoughts as her gaze drifted down my body. I clenched my fists and released them, unable to stop myself from asking. “Whatcha thinkin’ there, Hannah?”

Her gaze flew up from my crotch. Her blush deepened, lips twisting into a smirk. “Something very naughty.” She passed me by, motioning to the bike. “Well, you getting on, or what?”

Too many retorts flew into my mind, tangling into a jumbled mess. Damn woman had short-circuited my brain.

Instead of taking our flirting dance further and risking her being uncomfortable by my ramping up the sexual innuendo, I climbed onto the bike. Over my shoulder, I muttered, “Hannah, please have mercy on me. If you don’t, I may not survive the night.”

She climbed on behind me, soft laughter ringing out in my ears. The wonderful sound calmed me back into a man more in control of his faculties, even if only by a few degrees.

As she adjusted though, I had to breathe deeply, pinching my eyes shut. Her flattened palms spread up my back, then down and around my waist, settling on my chest while her body pressed flush against me. I nearly blew a gasket, but slowly exhaled, grateful. I’d become the luckiest man alive with heaven wrapped around me.

She trusted me. Even if only with her life for this brief moment in time as we drove the twenty minutes to the bar. My heart thudded hard over the fact. After a week of not knowing which way was up in my world, her holding tight to me was an incredible start.

Although recent March nights had been unseasonably warm, there was still a slight bite to the air, and I worried for an instant whether or not she’d be warm enough. But with her pressed up so tight against me, intensifying the heat between us, I made it my personal mission to keep her plenty warm.

By the time we arrived, the front parking lot was almost full. I eased my bike into a slim space in full view of the packed front patio and cut the engine.

I helped Hannah off the bike. She removed her helmet and then looked up at me with bright eyes and a huge smile. Her cheeks were pink, and the soft waves of her hair had a windblown look, rendering her relaxed and naturally gorgeous.

She looked a little wild, in fact, and the effect knocked the wind out of me.

Because it resembled the just-been-thoroughly-fucked look she wore in my fantasies.

My body had been aching far too long for the woman smiling up at me. All week, my thoughts had drifted at random times to wonder what she was doing then, how she felt, and when I thought about what she might be wearing (or
not
wearing), which positions were her favorite.

And after all the torture of being away from the very thing I wanted most in this world, there she stood, here with me now, taking another tentative step toward me.

She smirked, a gleam sparking in her eyes.

My heart raced. I’d become the excited kid who got the exact toy he’d wished for all year for Christmas. And all I wanted was to run off to my room, lock the door, and play with her all day. And all night.

Shaking my head clear of the riot of dirty thoughts she incited merely by being naturally sensual Hannah, I put my hands on her shoulders and turned her toward the door. “C’mon. Let’s get inside before I do something stupid and go caveman on you.”

With a fiery look in her eyes, she bit her lower lip. “Is that something you do? ‘Go caveman?’”

I growled, lowering my mouth to her ear. “Don’t tempt me, Hannah. Remember, I’m hanging on by a frayed thread here. Play nice, or I’ll take it as a sign you want to be thrown over my shoulder and then down onto my bed.”

Her dark eyes widened, and she sucked in a fast breath. The pulse at the base of her neck jumped faster. When her gaze dropped to my lips for a fraction of a second, and she licked her own, I knew we were in trouble on the whole “take things slow” plan.

Desire pulsed inside her just like it raged through me.

I crooked the tip of my finger under her chin until her gaze locked onto mine. She blinked. “In. Now. Before we start something neither of us can handle yet.” Not entirely true on my part. I was ready to take the leap with her. Even if I hadn’t yet dealt with all of my demons, something deep in my gut told me they would work themselves out.

With Hannah, I believed anything was possible. She made me a stronger man in all the ways controllable and made me want to smooth out every other rough edge.

I ushered her forward and into the club, nodding at the doorman I knew well. A subtle buzz of energy hummed in the atmosphere inside the club. Which meant, as charged as we already were, we needed to calm down a notch or two with a drink—STAT.

When we crossed the dance floor, I spotted our group. The girls all sat to one side of a VIP section huddled together, laughing. Kristen glanced up and waved. I tipped my chin up toward her in greeting.

We worked our way through the light crowd, and every male turned his head toward Hannah, staring at her with blatant hungry expressions. The hairs rose on the back of my neck and I growled. Alcohol and testosterone made guys stupid assholes. A gorgeous girl magnified the effect tenfold, making the idiots blind to the fact that my arm was around her.

I tightened my hand on her shoulder, and she instinctively leaned closer as we walked. Her natural calm to my possessiveness chilled me a fraction.

We climbed the few steps into the private area our party had reserved for the early part of the night. The bouncer unfastened the velvet rope as we approached with a small nod.

“Cade! You made it.” Kiki sprung up from the red upholstered couch, launching herself into me with a body-bouncing hug and a squeal, accidentally knocking Hannah away from my side.

I winced. The bubbly girl on steroids, who I swear had kidnapped my sister, looked up at me with bright eyes and a huge smile. I raised my eyebrows, directing a look at Kristen and Kendall. They pressed their lips together, but lost it seconds later, laughing.

I glanced back down at her, squeezing her shoulder. “Kiki, how many drinks have you had?”

She furrowed her brow in concentration, sliding a glance back to the table. Her finger bobbed as she tallied on her midair imaginary chalkboard. “Three. But I got here early. And Tiffany introduced me to their new house special. It’s
sooo
good.”

I laughed, shaking my head as I guided her back to the couch. “I can see that. Maybe ask Tiffany for something milder for your next round, before you start inspecting floor fibers.” I nodded to Kristen’s husband. “Hey, Jason. This is Hannah, the cake designer for our team. Hannah, this is Kristen’s husband, Jason.” I paused, tilting my head. “You may have met each other at the Super Bowl party.”

Hannah gave him a warm smile and reached over to shake his hand. Jason snorted, pulling her in for a big hug. That’s how we did things in my family. No half ass about it. You were friends and family, or you were other.

“It really is good.” Kendall gestured to the green frothy drink beside Kiki. “You should try one, Hannah.”

I glanced at the drink, wondering if she’d take the recommendation. “And these two party girls are Stacy, Ben’s girl, and Laura, who Mase belongs to.”

Laura laughed as both of them waved from the couch.

A dozen martini glasses sat empty, collected on their tabletop. Inside each was a green, curled glow stick and a pineapple wedge on the rim. When Tiffany returned, I beckoned her with a curl of my fingers. “Let’s do a round of club sodas for the girls.” I pointed to the group while they laughed a little too loudly over something Laura shared. “I’ll have a Konrad’s Stout. And Hannah will have…”

“Single vodka tonic in a chilled draft glass with lime.”

I glanced at her, tilting my head. “I didn’t know you drank vodka tonic.” Aside from the lemon drop martini I’d made for her at the bar, all I’d ever seen her drink was wine, beer, and Champagne. I liked learning another small thing about her.

“Tonight I do.” She grinned. Then she leaned up and pecked my cheek before joining the group sitting on the couch, splitting the difference between the girls and the guys.

I turned my head to find the guys staring at me like some stranger who’d crashed the party, which was almost true with how different I felt being the guy whose world was rocked when his girl pecked his cheek.

Fuck
. I should’ve ordered a scotch for that beer to chase.

Glaring at the nonexistent space between Mase and Hannah on the couch, I weighed out how much I needed to be near her tonight with how much shit they’d give me if I shoved him out of the way. Not giving a rat’s ass what the guys thought, I moved toward them. Hannah saved the potential scuffle by scooting closer to the girls, glancing at me with a smile.

When I sat down, she eased closer to me, pressing her thigh flush against mine. Thank fuck, because it calmed me even further.

Irritated with the guys’ continued scrutiny, I growled, “What?”

Mase held up both hands. “Nothing, man. Just didn’t realize you and Hannah were a thing beyond studying and work.”

Ben’s eyes gleamed with challenge. “Yeah. What happened to your rule about no fraternizing in business?”

Fuck
. The guys giving me shit in public hadn’t been something I’d considered. They’d had ample opportunity to witness little things and suspect more, had even accused me of being whipped, but I’d never confirmed or denied.

Kristen sat diagonal to me; Hannah sat across from her husband, Jason. With laser-beam focus, Kristen zeroed in on the conversation. “Yeah, Cade. What happened to your rule?”

Sure. Figured. She wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to give me shit too, even though she was the one who’d suggested Hannah could be good for me, insinuating rules were made for me to break them.

I glared at her as all the girls leaned closer, wanting in on the news.

And I sat in the hot seat.

Used to being on the receiving end of harassment from three unrelenting sisters all my life, this bullshit didn’t faze me, but Hannah sat right beside me. What she felt and thought mattered to me a great deal, and we hadn’t discussed the pressure of the microscope we’d be under.

I pinched my eyes shut and took a deep breath, calming my reaction. How the hell could I define what Hannah and I were when she and I were still figuring it out? The last thing I wanted to do was spook her. We were in a fragile place right now, and her comfort with where we were at was more important than what any of these armchair quarterbacks thought.

“No rule was broken. We aren’t a ‘thing.’” In full view of at least Kristen and Jason, I put my hand on Hannah’s knee, squeezing lightly as a measure of consolation. “We’re friends who came together tonight. So chill the fuck out.”

I glared at each of them until they all gave in, laughing, nodding, holding their hands up in surrender. Kristen gave me that knowing look, like she suspected more was going on. Let her look, assume whatever she wanted. Nothing to see here. Not yet.

Hannah pressed in close, leaning up to my ear, grabbing my full attention—which, to be honest, was the only place I wanted it to be tonight, scrutiny be damned.

“Will we come together every night?” Her whisper had the heat of a nuclear blast.

I swallowed hard, closed my eyes, and dropped my face onto my hand, sweeping my fingers together over my brow to pinch the bridge of my nose. Frustrated beyond definition, I forced myself to remain patient.

I tilted my head toward Hannah and opened my eyes. Mischief glittered in hers. I narrowed mine, trying to send menacing vibes her way. “
Behave
.”

Hannah laughed, and I couldn’t help my smile. She was having a good time, and since that was the goal of tonight, I sighed and decided to let her have her fun. Even if it was at my expense.

“Troublemaker,” I growled low at her.

Animated conversation resumed around us. Jason and Ben were embroiled in a heated golf discussion over the latest adjustable Cobra drivers, spurred by watching last weekend’s PGA Valspar Championship. Mase philosophized about the merits of golf as a sport, and I interjected a random comment here and there on both topics.

But we’d had this discussion dozens of times. Philosophy of golf didn’t interest me tonight.

Only the brave woman drinking the vodka tonic beside me did.

While I half listened to the guys, I eavesdropped on the girls. Kristen had booked us another gig, but she was gossiping about the host of the party, which was uncharacteristic of her. Before I could delve into that thought, Kendall brought up the subject of a hot new intern at her architectural firm. I think she said his name was Toby.