I whisper in her ear. “The same one I’m in.”

She shudders against me, and my bones crackle. My mind floods with filthy images of her. I’m dangerously close to overheating. I pull back slightly, trying to clear the haze so I don’t take her, toss her over my shoulder, and stalk into the inn to fuck her, forgetting my client, forgetting the job I’ve been paid to do.

I glance around the reception, tipping my chin toward the guests swaying under the lights, others laughing and chatting at the tables and the deejay swaying in place as he plays pop songs I despise, but I can’t find the energy to loathe anything right now. “What do you think of the wedding?”

“It feels like it’s real.” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “Like we’re not here as fake friends of the groom.”

“I know what you mean. It’s not like I think I’m going to hang out with Chip when this is done, but there’s something about him I like.”

“He’s authentic,” she says.

“He is. All he wants is to make her happy.”

“I think he’s succeeded.” The couple is on the dance floor too, practically sealed together. You’d need a butter knife to wedge them apart, but who would want to? The way they hang on to each other, the way they maul each other’s mouth, says they both chose well.

I turn my full attention back to Truly, cataloging her face, her midnight-blue eyes, the sweep of her hair off her neck, and those glasses. She fits perfectly in my arms, and I let myself imagine what it would be like to have more of her.

She doesn’t feel like a fake date. “I’m glad you’re here.”

She lifts her chin, meeting my gaze. “How glad?”

I laugh, pressing against her. “Incredibly glad. Isn’t that obvious?”

“Maybe it is now,” she says, sliding against the outline of my length.

I groan appreciatively. “Are you trying to send me a message?”

She shrugs, her eyes a little glossy, her voice a little rough. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Jason.”

I curl my fingers around her hip, squeezing, loving her frankness. “Really? It seems like you know exactly.”

She plays with the ends of my hair, sending sparks down my spine. “Do I?”

My entire body is lit up, charged by her touch. “I think we both know what we’re doing.”

She tangos her fingers across my shoulders, playing with the lapels on my jacket. “But we said it was a bad idea. You and me. We said it made no sense.”

“I know. And yet here we are.” My gaze drifts down to her fingers, now toying with my bow tie. “And you’re trying to undress me in front of everyone.”

“I’m finding it a little hard to keep my hands off you.”

“I know that feeling well. It’s always that way with you. It’s a constant battle not to touch you, kiss you, or steal you away to a dark corner.”

“And how’s the battle going tonight?”

“Let’s see. I’m dancing with you. Pretending you’re mine. Yeah, I think I’m losing the battle for control.” I slide my palm over the top of her ass, and she gasps then sucks in a breath. “All I can think about is how to get this dress off you.”

“And have you figured it out?”

“Oh, I absolutely have. I’ve mapped out the fastest way to undress you. In my head, you’re already naked.”

She smiles naughtily. “And how is it with me naked in your head?”

I meet her gaze, holding it as electricity radiates down my skin. “Dirty. Wild. Sweaty. Carnal.”

She shudders, pressing her breasts against my chest. “Sounds about right.”

I dip my face close to her, brushing my jaw across her cheek, letting her feel my stubble. “Wet. I left that out. You’re so fucking wet in my head.”

She trembles, her voice barely a whisper. “It’s not only in your head, Jason.”

I can barely contain my desire for her. I drag a finger down her spine. “You mean I could take off this dress, strip you down to nothing, and find out how much you want me?”

“Yes, and that’s why you need to stop.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re not ready to leave yet, and I don’t want to walk around the rest of this wedding a hot, wet mess.”

I glance toward the inn, then back at her. “I could take you inside, find a room, and fuck you right now up against the door. Would you like that?”

“You know I’d like it, but you can’t do that. You’re on the job.”

“Look at you, being so thoughtful and considering when I can and can’t fuck you,” I say.

“I think about you a lot. I think about you fucking me a lot.”

A groan rips from my throat. I’m on fire for her. Every square inch of me is sizzling. “Do you have any idea how much I want to make you call out my name right now?”

“Wilbur?”

I laugh, then the laughter fades when I give her my answer. “Like I said, you can call me anything while I’m fucking you hard.”

She seems to let my last words roll around her tongue like she’s tasting them, biting the juice from them. “Fucking me hard. Is that what you’re going to do to me tonight?”

“You and I both know how this night is ending.”

But when the song finishes a second later and turns into a faster one, we stop the dirty talk, the flirting. If we don’t, it’s going to be perfectly obvious to everyone that we want this wedding to end right now, and there are two more hours on the clock.

Instead, we dance, fast and hot, moving and grooving. We dance together, we dance with others, and we toast again to the couple. I knock fists with the groomsmen, I listen as Chip tells a joke, we talk to Ashley, we pet the pugs, and then finally, mercifully, it’s over.

Even though it’s been wonderful in its own way, I’m desperate for it to end.

I take her to the limo that Chip reserved for me and open the door for her, this woman I want.

Once inside, we lunge at each other.

24