His Wedding Date (Destination Weddings #1) (7 page)

When Ash entered again, he stopped just inside the door. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Fine. I was just thinking about things.”

“Things…”

“Yeah. I guess it sounds scary when a girl says that, huh? Maybe I just need something to eat when we get down the mountain.”

He slapped his palm against his forehead. “Food, of course. Did you eat anything at the reception? I was so nervous about my speech, I didn’t check to be sure you had what you needed.”

She stood, grabbed her purse and walked to him. “I’m fine. I did eat, had some champagne. It was all good. So let’s go.”

He held onto her upper arms. “I never apologized for putting you in a bad situation.”

“You said enough. I volunteered. It’s not a problem.”

“But something is.”

“No, not really. It’s just nerves.”

He shook his head and shrugged, obviously clueless about what was bugging her.

“Do you want to see me again after this?” There, she’d spit it out.

His brows drew together. “After what? After this amazing weekend of sex? Fuck yeah.” He must have heard how that sounded, because his tone softened, as did his gaze. “Bree, I’ve been trying to work up the nerve to ask you out for months, I told you. Are you having second thoughts, now? I can see how me being a dick and letting you strip for my friends makes me a lousy boyfriend prospect, but I’ll make it up to you.”

She laughed. “I think we both need to get over that stripping thing and start fresh.”

He grinned. “Cool. Is tomorrow night too soon?”

“To start over?”

His hands tightened on her upper arms. “Dinner. And we’ll see what happens from there.”

“Okay, sure. That sounds good.”

He turned and opened the door, leading her out. “Cool.”

As he helped her get in the car, she glanced up at him. “And if you really think you’re going to get away with not fucking me after dinner tomorrow, think again.”

He paused, that slow grin of his widening. “Point taken. Dessert is a given, then.”

Bree leaned back in her seat, those stomach critters fluttering madly. She wasn’t going to think anymore about where this was going. Sometimes it was enough just to enjoy the ride.

Chapter Seven

A few weeks later, Ash sat in the meeting room at BA Games, tapping his pen on the table. The boss was talking…Ash could hear his voice but the words were flying past like seagulls. Bree sat opposite him, attentively watching the screen where the sketches for the next project were displayed.

She was the reason for his lack of attention. No, that wasn’t right. He had plenty of attention going on, just not on what he was supposed to be looking at. He slouched back in the hard plastic chair and forced himself to look at the screen.

“Well, I guess that covers it.” Their boss walked over to the laptop he’d linked with the project and shut down the program.

Thank God Ash hadn’t been called on to answer some stupid question. He jumped to his feet, almost bumping the guy passing behind him. “Oh, sorry, dude.”

“No problem.”

Bree rounded the table and waited, watching him. “Where were you?” she asked when he drew near.

“When?”

“The past two hours. You definitely weren’t in this room.”

He licked his lips and grinned. There was no way he could tell her what all he’d been imagining. “Come to dinner with me and maybe I’ll show you after.”

“Hmm, should I?” Her voice was low, soft.

He didn’t know why she bothered. Everyone knew they were together. “Yeah, you should.”

“If you insist.”

He pressed his hand against her back and followed her to her cubicle. When she sat down, he spun her chair so she faced her computer monitor. Leaning down, he rested one hand on her desk, the other on the back of her chair. He spoke loudly for all the ears sitting nearby. “Bring up the War of Zeus files.”

She frowned at him, but he nodded toward the computer. She clicked her way through the directory until she found the files, then opened a few.

He spoke right by her ear. “I can’t wait until dinner.”

“We can’t do anything here. We’ll get caught,” she whispered.

“It’s not like they don’t know what’s going on between us.” He moved his hand up and massaged her shoulder.

“Yes, but there are things like sexual harassment.”

He pulled his hand away. “Is that what you think this is?”

“No, but you know Miller is such a prude, he’ll report it.”

One side of Ash’s mouth pulled back at the thought. “Yeah, after watching us long enough to be sure what we were doing.”

Bree push against his chest. “Get back to your desk and let me get something done before quitting time.”

Brushing his lips against her hair, he took a breath to carry her perfume with him. “Until later, my lady.”

She shook her head. “Get out of here.”

~*~

Dinner was unbearably long. The waiter must have been a stoner, he was so relaxed about getting their food to them and bringing the check. Ash nearly ran to the car once he and Bree left the restaurant. He needed to get her home. A cold wind stirred the air around them.

“Are you that anxious to get rid of me?” Bree asked as she buttoned her coat.

“Are you kidding? I want to get you home. Now.”

“I don’t have a curfew. I don’t even have to get up early.”

He pushed the button on his keys to unlock the car door and opened it for her. “So, you wouldn’t mind if I spent the night?”

“Did I act like I minded, when we were at the lodge?”

He closed her door and walked around the car, needing to get out of the cold. He started the engine before answering her. “I figured that was because we didn’t have much choice. You know, there was only one bed.”

“It’s not that big a deal. You can stay the night if you want.”

Not that big a deal
. That put him in his place. How many other guys was she going out with? How many of them spent the night?

After he drove a mile or two with neither of them talking, Bree asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why?”

“You got quiet. You’re never quiet unless something is wrong.”

“I’m okay. Really.” He changed lanes to catch the onramp to the freeway, and turned up the radio.

“Seriously, Ash, I’m getting a complex here. Haven’t we gone out enough for you to be comfortable talking to me? You can tell me anything.”

It had only been a few weeks, but they’d gone out several times a week, and spent the entire day together the prior Sunday. Yet the hours, months, years, they’d worked together, sometimes just the two of them, had made them closer than most new couples. He wanted to make it more serious, though. Exclusive.

He pushed the button on his steering wheel to turn down the radio again. “Are you seeing anyone else?”

“Where did that come from? When do I have time to see anyone?”

“I don’t know. But you made it sound like it was no big deal—wait, those are almost your exact words. To me, this is a big deal.”

“That’s not what I meant.” She put her hand on his thigh, dangerously high for him to keep his mind on driving sixty-five miles an hour. “I meant…God, how can I put it. I want you to spend the night. There’s no reason not to. I kind of liked waking up next to you.”

“Kind of?” he teased.

Her fingers tightened on his leg. “You are a brat. I ought to tell you it was just okay, that you have dragon breath when you wake up.”

Throwing her a glance, he grinned. “That’s not what it smelled like, and you know it. I distinctly remember the last thing I ate that night.”

Bree squirmed in her seat, crossing her legs. “Okay, so you win this round. But seriously, if you ever want to spend the night, say so. If you ever want anything, say so.”

“All right then. I want dessert.” He was pretty sure she’d remember their conversation on the ride down the mountain after the wedding.

“I think I can help you with that.” Her voice deepened just enough to remind him of the way she moaned when they made love.
 

He adjusted his pants to get more comfortable. If he didn’t get his shit together, she’d move on to some other guy. But not before the night was done.

~*~

Valentine’s Day had to be the invention of a woman. Ash stared out of Bree’s sliding glass doors, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. He’d wanted to take her out and do the romantic night, but she wanted to cook for him.

Who was he to argue with that?

He’d set the small gift bag on the counter when he’d arrived, and she had put the sunflower bouquet in a blue glass vase. Then she’d slipped into her room to finish getting ready.

What could that mean? Didn’t she know he’d just as soon have her naked as all made up and glamorous?

The oven timer dinged and she called out, “Can you get that?”

“Yeah.” He saw a pair of potholders on the stove, and opened the oven door. Taking out the glass baking dish, he realized she’d made lasagna, and the long foil bundle had to be garlic bread. With the oven door open, the garlic smell was overwhelming. He must be really nervous to have missed the aroma. “This smells amazing.”

“I’m glad. I haven’t really cooked in a long time.” Her voice was right behind him.

He turned around and the wind left his lungs in a rush. “Damn, woman.”

“You like?” She held out her arms and spun for him. The black bustier laced up the front, making her tiny waist look no bigger around than his bicep. Of course, that made her breasts all the bigger. The lace over them allowed him to see the shadowy skin of her areolas.

A patch of skin was bared above the tiny triangle of the front of her thong. Her legs stretched on forever, the black high heels making them appear even longer.

“Is that for me?

“Do you see anyone else around?”

“Thank God.”

She laughed. “But we have to eat first.”

He took a step toward her. “I can take care of that.”

Pushing him aside, she picked up the plates and walked to the stove where he’d set the food. “Funny. I meant the dinner I slaved over. I got up early this morning so I could just pop it in the oven when I got home.”

“Good thinking. That way we can get to dessert even sooner.”

Her bare ass begged to be touched, but if he did, they’d end up eating the lasagna for breakfast. Remembering the gift he brought, he walked over to it. “Better open this now, before I get distracted.”

She set down the garlic bread and took off the oven mitts. “What’d you get me?”

“Open it and you’ll find out.” Why did women drag out opening gifts? He’d rather rip the paper off-or tear the tissue from the bag-and get the suspense over with.

After reading the card and kissing his cheek, Bree pulled out the small box. She glanced up at him, then back to the box.

“Now, don’t get too excited.”

“Okay…” She popped it open.

He watched her face to see how she liked the diamond earrings. They were simple studs, not even huge, but he thought they looked perfect for her. “I figured when you wear your hair up, these would add a bit of glamour without stealing attention from your beautiful face.”

Bree took out the earrings she wore and put the diamonds in. “That has to be the most poetic thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“Really? Then you’ve been hanging around with the wrong guys.”

“Yes, but I gave up that bad habit for a good one.” She stretched up to kiss him.

He pulled her closer, running his hands over the silky fabric on her back, then the warm, naked skin lower down. He squeezed the smooth roundness. As his tongue slipped between her teeth, he tasted mint.

Bree’s arms wrapped tightly around him, pressing on his shirt as if he wasn’t close enough. If he were any closer they’d be one person.

When he began to each lower down her back, tracing the spot where her ass met her thigh, she stepped back, breathing hard. “We’d better stop.”

Ash looked at the food she’d dished up. “That does look great. Let’s eat so we can get to the good part of the night.”

“That’s all you want me for?”

They sat at the small glass dining table and she poured two glasses of wine. Ash took a bite of the pasta dish. “No, your cooking is pretty good, too.”

“Pretty good?”

He met her gaze. “Pretty damned good.”

“All right, then.”

After dinner they carried their dishes into the kitchen and set them by the sink. Before Bree could walk away, Ash put his hands on the counter on either side of her.

She pushed on his shoulders. “Wait, I have garlic breath.”

“So do I. And I happen to like garlic.”

Turning her head to one side, she said, “I can’t kiss you. Not until I brush my teeth.”

He stepped back. “Then you’ll smell great and I’ll still reek of garlic.”