Page 50 of The Wedding Deal
Since he’d told her she needed to initiate, she ran her hand down his torso, watching the muscles in his jaw flex and tighten. She swiped her finger back and forth over the top of his waistband. Her eyes homed in on the bulge behind his zipper, and wetness pooled between her thighs. “No, I don’t think we’re going to get much sleep tonight.”
He caught her wrist and folded it against his chest. “I just need a moment or two of you not touching me and then we’ll get out of here.”
…
Getting himself under control wasn’t easy with Charlotte so close, especially with the taste of her still on his lips, her scent overwhelming his senses.
Admittedly he’d previously judged people for grinding against each other in a club with other people watching. Now he got it and then some. It’d been so easy to get carried away.
And if you think about that, you’re never going to calm down enough to leave.
Just as he was ready and had grabbed her hand to pull her off the floor, Stacy and Grace showed up.
“Bridget just texted to say she got sick in the bathroom,” Stacy said with a grimace, swiveling her phone screen toward them as if they would need proof. She also turned it back to herself before he could read it, and he was glad, since he was pretty sure there was a picture. “I guess it’s not a party until someone tells a stranger she loves them before running to the bathroom to puke. Anyway, I need help getting her out of the bathroom and into the car. Charlotte, I hope you’re stronger than you look.”
Charlotte glanced at him, and he wanted to shoutno, forget the drunken bridesmaid, but her apologetic expression made it clear she felt the need to go help.
After a couple of seconds to process and switch gears from spending the night touching and kissing Charlotte to the emergency bridesmaid-down situation, he couldn’t just leave Stacy and Grace to deal with it themselves, either. “Once you girls get her out of the bathroom,” he said, “I’ll help you get her into the car.”
Mitch rushed over before they could take so much as a step. “Small problem.” His words came out clipped as he worked to catch his breath. “Jack’s all riled up about some girl who apparently has a boyfriend. Hunter’s holding him back, but it’s going to get ugly fast, and I need your help.” He glanced at his fiancée. “Sorry, babe. I was having fun dancing with you. Gonna have blue balls till Saturday night from it, but still.”
She leaned forward and gave him a sloppy kiss. She wobbled back on her heels, clamped on to Charlotte’s hand, and tugged her in the direction of the bathrooms.
“I’ll call you later,” Lance mouthed, but he wasn’t sure if Charlotte saw, and he was worried she was going to talk herself out of the moment they’d had. Of course he wouldn’t want her to regret anything later, so he told himself it was for the best, in spite of how much it sucked for her to get ripped away.
Then he went with his brother to go break up a fight, cursing testosterone on two different levels.
Chapter Nineteen
Being the “sober one” had its ups and downs. Charlotte’s alcohol buzz had worn off, leaving her in charge of cramming the girls in the limo and ensuring they were all safely tucked into their beds.
It’d taken twenty minutes and three upturned purses before the girls had found the key to the two-bedroom suite they were sharing. The entire time they kept telling Charlotte how glad they were they’d met and how she was such a good friend. They also doled out the kind of compliments about her outfit, hair, and makeup that inebriated girls were famous for.
Honestly, it was nice, albeit exhausting.
After helping Bridget wash up and change into clean clothes, Charlotte wrestled her into bed.
The other two she simply removed shoes and helped arrange sheets and covers.
Partway through tucking Stacy in, the bride-to-be reached up and patted Charlotte’s cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here. You’re so pretty and nice, and I’m so glad you’re here.”
Charlotte didn’t bother telling her she’d said that glad part twice. Or that she’d already told her she was pretty. “Thank you for inviting me. It was the best bachelorette party I’ve ever been to.” And it was, something she was sure would hold up even if she’d been to more than one.
“Sorry we got so drunk. Usually I’m the responsible one, and it was nice to take a night off from it. Sometimes you just have to let go and blow off some steam, you know?”
Charlotte didn’t know, but she was considering finding out. Especially since her Lance buzz was still in full effect, every part of her tingling whenever she thought about him. About that kiss and their dance.
Once she’d placed ibuprofen and bottles of water on nightstands, Charlotte went the extra mile by plugging phones into chargers and putting them on do-not-disturb mode.
With everyone settled, she crept out of their room and dug her phone out of her clutch. It’d taken much longer to get the girls situated than she’d thought it would.
She wondered how Lance and the guys had fared at the club after she and the rest of the bridal party had left. He hadn’t called or texted.
After debating her next move for a couple of seconds, she went to her hotel room.
Paced across the space a few times.
Then she decided she’d regret not at least checking if things were still as steamy between them as they had been in the club. It was more than just her body craving his; earlier today he’d been there for her in a way no one else really had.
