Page 33 of Always a Bridesmaid

“Isn’t that the same?”

He yanked her against him so she could feel just how crazy he was behind his zipper, and she gasped. “Feel the difference, love?”

“Maybe this was a mistake.”

She began to take a step back when he tugged her to him. “Too late for that. You started this, aren’t you going to finish it? I mean, I never took you for a quitter.”

It was that last part that had her back going straight, her chin going up, and those green eyes daring him to call her a quitter again. He rested his hands back on her hips. “That’s my girl.”

“I’m not your girl. I’m a woman. And my own woman at that. Doesn’t feminism exist in this country?”

“I’m a feminist,” he said. “I am an equal opportunity kind of person.”

At the double entendre she laughed and it was a big belly laugh that seemed odd coming from someone so refined. Then again, the more time he spent with Elle, the less refined she presented and the more real she became.

He heard a commotion behind them and snapped out of the trance to see what was going on when a warm hand softly touched his cheek and drew his attention back toward her. “This is what Sarah wants, Henry.”

“She doesn’t know what she wants. She was too young to remember how he really is.”

“And maybe you were too old to give him a chance to redeem himself.”

“You heard him. He’s here to network, not for her.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But that is for Sarah to find out. I know it’s hard to let go, trust me. But this is her wedding and every little girl dreams of having her daddy at her wedding,” she said and suddenly, he felt like an asshole, wanting to chase off his dad when he knew that Elle would give anything for a moment alone with hers. “It’s up to Sarah to decide just what she’s willing to put up with to make that dream a reality.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about your dad when I?—”

She put a finger to his lips. “Tonight isn’t about my dad or me. And it isn’t about you. It’s about Sarah and Wayne and what they want. So it’s up to us to put aside what we want in order to make their night as perfect as possible.”

Her gaze flickered to his lips so quickly, had he blinked he would have missed it. “What do you want, Elle?”

He didn’t know what he’d said, but her posture sank a tiny bit and her eyes dimmed.

“Do you want to talk, or do you want to dance?” she asked and spun in his arms until her back was plastered to his front, then she glided his hands down her sides as that slender body of hers undulated against his.

She dropped to the floor, her legs parting around his, before slowly making her ascent back up, straightening at the waist, so that her ass was firmly planted in his crotch. With a seductive body roll, she ran her hands along her thighs, hips, ribs, the sides of her breasts, until they reached that beautiful strawberry-blond hair, which she lifted with a practiced flick of the wrist, before shooting him the sexiest, most seductive grin in the history of the world. And she was back. His wildfire, Elle.

He grabbed her hips and roughly pulled her to him, loving how her ass fit between his legs. It took a moment and then they were moving together as one. She lifted her hands over her head to lock behind his neck and he ran his down her sides until they rested on her lower abs and their bodies submitted to the bump and grind of the music.

That was how they danced, like erotic foreplay, hidden by the crush of bodies around them, for what seemed like hours, until he was so erect it was painful.

“Aren’t you tired?” he said into her ear, so as to be heard over the music.

“I could stay out here all night.”

“No, I mean of this game we’re stuck in.”

“What game?” she said, but her voice told the truth. She knew exactly what he was talking about.

“The one where we both pretend like we don’t want to rip each other’s clothes off.”

She hesitated briefly, then began moving again. “It doesn’t matter. I promised Sarah I wouldn’t go there. Besides, anything beyond dancing would just get too tangled. Trust me, whatever this thing is between us is just chemistry and it isn’t worth the complications when the week is up.”

So she’d thought about it enough to have a talk with his sister, huh? The news was as interesting as it was enticing.

He knew why Sarah would put on the protective sister act. So many of her friends had tried to get to him through her. But he didn’t think that was the case with Elle. If it was, she’d have made her move years ago. Plus, she’d rejected every one of his advances and it wasn’t because she was playing hard to get.

There were times when she played it coy, but there were also times when she was so damn real he didn’t want their conversation to end. Even when they were arguing. Especially when they were arguing.

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