Page 53 of Bridesmaid to Bride

“Stop grinning like you know you’re going to have me begging for more,” she breathes, pulling me in.

“Am I wrong?”

“No.”

Our lips meet, and I dive into the kiss with everything I have, putting every moment I spent loving her from a distance into each stroke of the tongue. But here, now, I’m exactly where I belong. With her.

I push into her, inch by inch, and her hands claw at my back, nails leaving love trails that I’ll wear like medals of honor. “West, please,” she whimpers, and it’s intoxicating.

“Patience, Manhattan,” I say softly, but fuck, my dick is already pulsing. Every cell in my body wants to rush this, to claim her with a fevered urgency that would require an apology afterward. But not now—tonight is about savoring, about worshiping this woman who brings out my most intense feelings. Someday I hope I can tell her that. I will tell her that.

“More,” Eva gasps, her hips rising to meet mine in a primal plea. I hold her gaze, my eyes locked onto her piercing ones, a silent promise that I’m here for all of it—the good, the messy, and everything in between.

“Ask nicely.” My voice is low and rough.

“West... please,” she says again, and I don’t think I can hold off another second, but I do.

“Since you asked sweetly,” I whisper, and we start moving together. Our rhythm is heated but measured, none of the frenzy from earlier. It’s slow, deliberate—like every stroke is a word, a sentence, a paragraph etched onto our skin. And there’s no fear this time.

“Fuck, you feel incredible.” I let out a shuttering groan, and she flashes me a wicked curve of lips that shows she knows exactly the power she holds.

“There we go,” she murmurs, and I realize if she’s able to talk, I’m not doing it right.

So I go deeper, harder until her words are whimpers. No doubt that this is more than sex—this is the kind of connection that anchors. And hell if I don’t want that with Eva.

“West,” she cries. “Jesus, don’t stop.”

I obey, pushing up her knees so I can go even deeper, a dance as old as time, yet uniquely ours. Heat coils tighter, a spring wound to the brink of shattering. “Eva,” I gasp, her name a plea, a proclamation.

“Oh my God!” she cries out, fingers digging into my back like she’s claiming me for eternity.

I’m thrusting so hard, so out of control, but I can’t stop myself now—I’m pure primal, groaning as I watch her perfect boobs jiggle up and down as I drive into her.

And then it happens. That cataclysmic rush as we both come apart, our names tangling in the air. I come so hard I don’t know when the deep pulsing will stop, and God, it’s incredible.

We collapse, a sweaty, panting heap of limbs that can’t quite figure out where one ends and the other begins. The sheets are twisted, the pillows are on the floor, and if this memory foam isn’t remembering, it damn well should be.

I roll off her, still trying to catch my breath, feeling a high that no drug could ever touch.

“Holy shit,” Eva breathes out, her hair a testament to what just happened.

“Understatement.” I turn to face her, propping myself up on an elbow. She’s all flushed skin and bright eyes, looking like a goddess who decided mortals might be fun to play with after all.

After a moment where the only movement is me swirling my thumb over her hand, she says, “Are we really doing this?” Her gaze pierces me through the semi-darkness.

“I think we just did. Twice.”

“No, you dork.” She swats at my chest. “Having meaningful sex when we’re supposed to be dating others?”

“Oh, that part.” Air catches in my throat at the reminder. “You think some lines are blurring?” I ask, even though I know the answer.

“Little bit.”

“Right.”

Ugh. There’s reality, rearing its ugly head again.

And as sure as I am about Eva, the thoughts creep back in, and I run a hand through my hair. Groomsman to Groom. My folks’ store. Her father’s firm in New York. Those things aren’t going away. “Okay, so during the night, we’re this West and Eva.” I wave a hand back and forth between us. “In the day, we’re the West and Eva intent on doing what we’ve got to do to secure our families’ futures.”

---