Page 25 of The First Best Man

No. Never.

When I can’t take it anymore, I wait until everyone’s attention is focused on some story Logan is telling, then lean in close to Kate. Her spine snaps straight as I bring my mouth closer to her ear, but I’ve gone this far, so I might as well keep going.

“Is everything okay? Between us, I mean,” I whisper.

She inhales a tiny gasp, then shakes her head. I hear a quiet groan vibrate from her chest, and she quickly nods.

“Yes. Everything is fine,” she says, but I don’t buy it.

Something is up.

I catch a small movement from the corner of my eye, and when I look toward it, I see Kate subtly rubbing her thighs together. My breath catches in my throat as I watch the small movements in wonder. Kate’s own breathing ramps up as she goes completely still, and I know thatsheknows I noticed her attempt to ease an ache between her thighs.

Fuck me.

She’s turned on.

By me.

Images of me standing, yanking her out of her chair, and dragging her to the nearest bed flash through my mind, making my cock stand up and take notice. Leaning away from her, I pick up my wine and take along gulp as I calculate how much longer dinner will last. I could follow Kate to her house and––

Kate doesn’t know what kind of fire she’s playing with here, J.T. She’s avirgin.

Logan’s words ring through my head, cooling my heated blood like a flood of freezing water. I can’t go there even if I wanted to––which I definitelydo. Desperately. But it doesn’t matter.

I will not be the douchebag who takes Kate’s virginity, then skips town. And that’s exactly how it would go, too. I’m leaving on Monday. Back home. Back to my real life.

A life that doesn’t include the gorgeous and alluring Kate Reid.

CHAPTER TEN

Kate

Dinner last night was…interesting.And that’s putting it mildly.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about that moment in the water when Tucker picked me up and threw me. The firm grip of his hands. The pure strength and control it took and how easy it seemed.

And of course, my mind wandered into more intimate territory, wondering how that strength might come into play if we were naked on a bed. Those imaginings were hopelessly devoid of color and detail because my experience beyond kissing is nonexistent. Everything I know, I’ve learned from books and movies and whatever details Penny’s shared from her own experiences.

But even though I don’t have any personal experiences to draw from, I do know one thing for sure…Tucker Gibbs would rock my world if we allowed ourselves to go there.

Holding onto my promise to Penny to keep my hands off him got even more difficult when he snubbed Blaine’s advances and did everything he could to stay out of reach of her greedy claws. The fact that he opted to stay so close to me and avoided the gorgeous, blue-eyed blonde sent a shock of thrill through me and turned me on like no man has ever managed to.

And, of course, Tucker noticed something was off with me. His concern only made me want him more, and if I had any experience with luring a man into my bed, I would’ve put it to good use when we all left Penny and Logan’s last night.Penny’s warnings be damned. It’s honestly getting to the point where I don’t even care if he loves me and leaves me. As long as thelovingis as good as I suspect it would be, I’d deal with the aftermath.

But later, as I lay in bed and replayed the day over in my head, I realized something. Tucker and I have become friends over the last few days. He stays close to me because it feels comfortable. Safe.

And because he simply has no desire for Blaine doesn’t automatically mean hedoeswant me.

I can’t read too much into all of this. He’s been the perfect gentleman, not hinting in the least that he might be up for something dirty in the dark. I need to get my shit together and stop being such a freak every time his skin happens to brush against mine.

Because thinking there’s a spark and finding out I’d imagined it might actually hurt worse than beingproven right, sleeping with the man, then never seeing him again.

I remind myself of that fact as I check my appearance in the mirror and determine I’m ready to go. We’re all meeting for breakfast at the Grill this morning before today’s game, and I need to get there a bit early to confirm with the staff that everything is ready. We don’t usually open for breakfast, but a couple of my cooks and one of my servers agreed to come in and make food for the wedding party.

When I walk into the restaurant, the delicious scents of bacon and sausage hit me, making my stomach grumble with hunger. I head back to the kitchen and confirm with the staff that the breakfast burritos and the coffee, tea, and orange juice carafes are ready to be served. Thanking them again for coming in so early, I head back out to the dining room as Penny, Logan, and Sam walk through the door. I greet them all with hugs, and as I release Sam, the door swings open and Tucker walks in, followed closely behind by Blaine.

Did they come here together? Have they been together all night?

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