AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The little girls stretched out their hands, introducing themselves as Mia and Elena. I shook Pippa’s hand last. Her name tugged at a memory, and then I remembered.
“You’re the matchmaking cousin, right?” I asked. Will groaned. I ignored him.
“That’s right. Though Will doesn’t need my skills, clearly.”
Awww. Will was almost puffing out his chest next to me. Didn’t the man know that pride was a sin? I could have kept my mouth shut, but oh, how I liked to push his buttons. And this one was begging to be pushed.
“Oh, he just brought me as his protector. My job is to save him from you.”
Will expelled a harsh breath. We turned to look at each other at the same time. The side of my left breast was pressed against his chest. Will’s next breath landed above my upper lip. The hand resting on my shoulder gripped me tighter. Holy hell, my knees buckled from the intensity of his attention. I focused on Pippa again, who was laughing, looking between us.
“Will, I think you have your hands full even without my meddling.”
“That’s the first time you’ve showed me mercy, cousin. I’ll take it.”
“Girls, let’s go inside and find your dad and uncle Jace. He does need our help.”
Pippa moved past us, and Will nudged me forward until we reached the table we’d been eyeing from the start.
“You are something,” Will declared. Those dark eyes held fire. And I wanted more fire still. The champagne had made me bold, and Will’s proximity was fueling my blood with adrenaline.
“I have a tendency to misbehave, Detective. What are you gonna do about it, arrest me?” I held my palms in front of me playfully. I realized what was going to happen a second before it did. Will did cuff both my wrists... with his bare hands. Then he moved us around the corner, where it was dark and there were no guests. He lowered my wrists behind my back, still keeping them prisoner in his hands, and then he kissed me. His mouth moved over mine urgently, his lips wreaking havoc. He tasted like champagne too, and when I opened up for him, he stroked my tongue with his. My body reacted to every stroke as if he wasn’t kissing just my mouth. My nipples hardened. The muscles low in my belly clenched. We had full frontal contact now. I wanted my hands free to roam those shoulders and chest, but Will wasn’t relenting. He had complete control over the kiss, and it made everything about a million times hotter. He was going to explore me until he had his fill of me, and I wasn’t sure my body wasn’t going to spontaneously combust in the meantime. He stopped only to tug with his teeth at my lower lip, then the upper one. Then he ran the tip of his tongue along both before kissing me again. I became slick between my legs.
His thumbs were pressing on my pulse points. His grip was gentle, and yet strong enough that I couldn’t move my hands. He slid a thigh between my legs, lowering our entwined hands to the middle of my ass. The fingers that weren’t cuffing my wrists were pressing into my ass cheeks. He was pushing me up on him, and I was practically straddling his thigh. He had me at his mercy, and it felt as if with every stroke of his tongue he was showing me that I was his to ravish and explore, that he was laying claim on me.
He groaned against my mouth before pulling back a notch. I was dissolving in his arms.
“Don’t dance with anyone else tonight, Paige. No one but me.”
I was still lost in the magic of the kiss, but that seemed like a great idea. Why would I even dance with anyone else? Will was so.... I had no words, but he was what I needed.
***
Will had been holding out on me. We’d danced before the kiss, but not like this. I especially loved it when other guys approached to ask me for a dance. Will threw them one look, and they scurried away. When the wedding reception was approaching the end, Lori announced that she was going to throw the bouquet and asked all the single girls to gather in the center of the dance floor.
I made to head to our table, but Will caught my arm. “You’re not participating?”
Before I had a chance to answer, the groom announced that he’d throw the garter after the bride threw the bouquet. Will scrunched up his nose. I saw my opportunity for some more button pushing.
“I’ll go with the girls for the bouquet if you line up for the garter later.”
“No. That’s my sister. Catching that garter... no.”
“Who cares? Every single man is supposed to line up.”
Will pierced me with those sharp eyes, leaning in until I felt his breath on my cheek. “No.”
I wanted to come up with a smart reply, but damn... the way he watched me made me lose my train of thought. I was still feeling those hot lips on mine as if we’d kissed a few minutes ago, not a few hours.
Before I had a chance to give it more thought, the Connor girls appeared at my side. Val got my right hand, Hailey my left one, and they practically dragged me to the center of the dance floor.
Will was laughing, the bastard. I’d plot my revenge on him later on, preferably without looking in those gorgeous eyes. They robbed me of thought and willpower.
The crowd of single ladies was so large that I didn’t worry I’d catch the bouquet. I didn’t have anything against it in particular, but I wasn’t one to put much stock in such traditions.
I was standing between the Connor girls, smack dab in the middle of the crowd. I had to admit, it was fun. I clapped and whistled along with the others, and watched as Lori threw the bouquet with a beautiful arch. Unfortunately, she threw it so high that it hit the ceiling... and then fell smack dab on my head. I didn’t have time to duck or even brace myself. The bouquet fell straight on the middle of my head, hitting me so hard that I nearly lost my balance. On pure instinct, I held my hands in front of me, catching it. The poor thing was missing a quarter of its petals. I suspected I was wearing them in my hair. The hit also seemed to have messed with my senses, because I wasn’t hearing anything. But then my ears made a little pop, and I became aware of laughter.
Val and Hailey were wiping tears from their eyes.
