He put his water bottle down and looked at her.
“Okay.”
“Okay,” she said. Olivia and Maddie would get mad at her for not throwing herself at him, but they didn’t understand that she just didn’t know how. Plus, rejection from this guy was the last thing her self-esteem needed. Talk about the opposite of getting back on the horse; that would make her avoid horses, and stables, and all farm animals for another few years. So to speak.
He stepped closer to her and put his hand on her waist. Her hand landed on his arm, and without even meaning to, she ran her fingers up and down. Oh God, touching him like this was as good as she’d thought it would be.
“Or”—he looked straight down into her eyes—“you could stay.”
A question was in his eyes, and a smile hovered over his lips. His thumb drew slow circles on her hip and then moved up her side to her ribs. His other hand moved up to her face and traced the outline of her lips with his fingers.
She shivered.
He waited.
“Or,” she said, “I could stay.”
He pulled her against him and kissed her. Their lips clung together softly at first, then with more urgency. He tasted like bourbon and chocolate cake and everything she’d ever craved. She sighed against his lips and murmured his name, and she could feel his smile. Her hands moved into his hair, that hair that she’d been wanting to touch all night, and he kissed her harder. His hand cupped her cheek, and the gentle touch on her skin as she felt the heat of his mouth had her nerve endings on fire.
It seemed like they were all alone in that crowded ballroom. The people and the noise swirled around them as his lips touched hers, his tongue slid inside her mouth, his body pressed up against hers.
They pulled apart for a moment, and he smiled down at her.
“I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” he said, his golden brown eyes staring straight into hers. He kissed her cheek, her ear, her collarbone. His tongue traced her lips before he claimed her mouth again. She moved her hand in between them so she could touch his chest, wishing there was no fabric under her fingers but just his skin.
Her touch seemed to alight something in Drew. He moved his hands to her back and tugged her against his body. His hands felt like iron against her back, and his rough touch sent a thrill up and down her spine. She bit his lip in retaliation for the bruises she’d have the next day. He laughed and sucked her lip into his mouth.
“Sorry for interrupting,” Amy said, sounding not at all sorry.
They pulled away from each other, both breathing hard.
“What is it, Amy?” Drew didn’t look away from Alexa. He looked at her like he wanted to throw her over his shoulder, take her into a dark closet, and screw her senseless. Maybe that was just what she wanted him to do.
“Molly and Josh are about to leave. You’re needed for the pictures.”
He finally looked in Amy’s direction. Alexa tried to step out of the way, but he grabbed her hand, not letting her go.
“Great, we’ll be there in a second,” he said. Amy stood there looking from Drew to Alexa for a few seconds before she sighed and stomped away.
Drew turned back to her.
“How about instead of going to take more pictures, we go upstairs right now?”
Was this really going to happen?
She squeezed his hand and let go.
“Go take the pictures. Patience is a virtue,” she said. “Stand still.” She reached up and rubbed her thumb against his lips and cheek. “We can’t have you in the wedding pictures with my lipstick all over you. Okay, now you’re ready.”
He grabbed his tux jacket from the chair where he’d abandoned it and walked with her, hand in hand, over to the wedding party. Drew tried to keep Alexa with him, but she pushed him toward the rest of the groomsmen and faded into the background.
He tried to take this last set of pictures, to look excited and surprised to see Josh and Molly waving at the crowd, but his eyes kept straying in Alexa’s direction. Her hair was disheveled, her lipstick had mostly rubbed off, and she looked so incredible that he wanted to push her against the wall and pull that dress off her shoulders.
Amy came up behind him.
“Can you just, for the next few minutes, pretend that you ever cared about my sister and take a few damn pictures without staring over at what’s-her-face over there?”
He sighed. As much as he hated to agree with her, Amy had a point.
“Yeah, okay, fine.” He took a deep breath and turned back to the photographer. Without looking at Amy, he said, “I did care about your sister, you know.”
She snorted.
“You had an interesting way of showing it.” She moved closer to him and waved as Josh and Molly left the room. He started to walk away, but the photographer spun in their direction and told them to do “something spontaneous.” Amy put her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. He grinned for the camera and hoped it didn’t look too much like he was gritting his teeth. He jumped when he felt Amy’s hand on his ass.
“I put my room key in your pocket,” Amy whispered in his ear. “In case you want to escape that date of yours and compare sisters later. I can promise I’ll beat out Molly. I’ve always been the wild one.”
That was a new development. He and Alexa had joked about Amy either wanting to kill him or fuck him, but he hadn’t really believed it. Apparently, she wanted to do both?
Now he was even more grateful that Alexa was there. Because he knew himself, and he knew that if he hadn’t met Alexa in that elevator, at this point in the wedding he would be just drunk and impulsive enough to make yet another bad decision.
He stepped away from her, and her hand fell.
“No, thanks, Amy. You have a great night.” He backed away from her and the rest of the wedding party, and turned to find Alexa.
She was sitting on one of the couches in the corner with Lauren and Dan . . . and Bill. That big, fake smile was back, and her legs were crossed tightly.
“You’re in my seat,” he said to Bill with a shooing motion. When Bill didn’t get up, he wanted to punch him in the face, but Dan caught his eye. Instead, he reached out a hand for Alexa. She took it and stood up.
“I think it’s time for us to call it a night, don’t you?” he said. He pulled her close, maybe a little closer than necessary. Dan and Lauren stood up, too, and all four of them walked out of the ballroom without another word to Bill.
“Did he bother you?” he said to Alexa as soon as they were out of earshot.
She shook her head. “He was probably about to, but I had a drink in my hand, and I was not afraid to use it.”
They’d been speaking quietly, but Lauren turned around at that.
“That guy is an ASSHOLE.”
Dan waited for them to catch up, then whispered to Drew, “Did you tell her what he said?” But his “whisper” was more like a shout. Dan had never been a quiet drunk.
“No, but she figured it out,” Alexa said.
“He tried to talk to me in Japanese!” Lauren said. “I’m Korean. Come on.”
As they waited for the elevator, Drew stood behind Alexa and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back against him and set one of her hands against his. Every time she touched him seemed like a secret message reminding him of their kiss and what was to come.
When an elevator finally came, they stood against the back wall, his arms still around her. Her hair tickled his chin when he bent down to whisper in her ear.
“I think this is our elevator.”
He kissed her softly when she turned her head toward him.
“I think so, too.” She smiled. “I hope we don’t get stuck again, no offense to Dan and Lauren.”
When the elevator stopped on Drew’s floor, Lauren and Alexa hugged.
“I don’t know what I would have done without you,” Alexa said to Lauren. “Especially during the bouquet toss.” The women waved good-bye as he and Alexa got off the elevator. Drew could still hear Dan’s laughter echoing in the elevator as they entered his hotel room.
“I really liked Lauren,” Alexa said as the room door closed behind them. He didn’t give her a chance to say more before his mouth descended on hers. He pushed her up against the door and boxed her in with his arms. Her hands tangled in his hair and pulled him closer. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders, ripped his shirt out of his pants, and slid her hands up and down his chest.
He moved down to her neck, licking and sucking until she wrapped one leg around his waist and pulled him flush against her body. Just kissing this woman was the best thing he’d done all month.
He pushed one strap of her dress off her shoulder and bent down to kiss the curve of her breast.
“I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” he said.
“I’ve been wanting you to do that all night,” she said. Her head was back against the door, and her eyes were closed. She stroked his hair, scraping his scalp with her fingernails in a way that made him shiver. He pushed the other strap down and the dress with it until it hung to her waist.
“Good Lord.” He stared at the red lace of her bra, and what was underneath it.
“That’s a nice reaction.” Her hands drifted to his waist, and her fingers moved against his skin. As he stared, unmoving, she reached up to unbutton his shirt. After she’d unfastened two buttons, he growled and pulled the whole thing off over his head.
She tried to reach for him again, but he pinned her arms against the wall, holding both of her wrists with one hand.
“Tell me,” he said to her. “Tell me what you want.”
She hesitated, her eyes half lidded and hazy.
“Do you want this, Alexa?” he asked, his free hand moving up and down her torso.
“You know I do,” she said, her eyes closed. She pushed her chest against him, but he kept his touch gentle. He could sense her frustration. He loved it.
“Then tell me what you want me to do to you.”
Finally, she opened her eyes wide and smiled at him.
“Kiss me.”
She didn’t specify exactly where she wanted him to kiss her.
“Oh my God, Drew.”
But she hadn’t seemed to mind the place he chose.
“We’ve got to get you on that bed.” He picked her up by the waist, took three steps across the room, and tossed her on the bed. She laughed as she landed on the pile of pillows. He took a flying leap and landed next to her. He rolled on top of her as they laughed together. He tickled her, and she giggled as she tickled him back.
“This dress has to come off,” he said, tugging at the hem.