Page 6 of One Night Bride
I bit my lip and told my heart to slow down. It was no use. She was tripping all over herself from the deep rumble of his voice. This guy sounded like he could be on a radio station.
“This is going to sound crazy, but would you mind if I joined you?” Wow. Super subtle, Esme. “See that blonde in there? She bugs the ever-loving shit out of me.”
The guy looked over to Ashley, giving me a glance at his chiseled jawline that held a five o’clock shadow I wouldn’t mind feeling between my legs. When he looked back at me, his lips quirked up at the corners and his eyes danced with humor.
“I bet I can guess why,” he drawled.
My nipples felt like they were trying to cut their way out of this dress. “Guess.”
When he described Ashley so accurately I thought he might actually know her, it sealed the deal for me. I wanted this man. Badly. Which is why my hands went for it, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him toward me.
“Have dinner with me?” I begged, hoping he’d take the hint and skip dinner altogether.
His eyes had widened the tiniest bit, but his lips curved into a full-out smile, the sight of which cut off air from my lungs. Fuck, I needed to get laid. I was about to come just touching this guy’s shirt and seeing him smile at me. Granted, it was a damn good smile, the kind that made me feel like I was a tiny animal staring into the face of a predator intent on eating me in a way that I’d thoroughly enjoy.
“Why don’t we skip dinner and have a drink together?” he offered.
I lifted a shoulder, aware of the strap of my dress slipping down my arm. “There’s not an open chair.”
His hands lifted and found my hips, his thumbs almost touching in the middle they were so big. “Pretty sure my lap will work fine.”
I couldn’t help it. My core gushed and the tiny thong I was wearing couldn’t contain that kind of desire. The juncture of my thighs felt wet, and that was just from conversation in a public bar. He lifted me, which wasn’t easy considering I was close to six feet in these heels, depositing me on his lap, an arm snaking around my middle to hold me there. A waft of his cologne had me shifting.
His arm tightened, and he practically growled in my ear. “Sit still or we’ll have to forgo the drink too.”
I instantly stilled, my brain wanting more conversation and playful banter, even though my body would have been happy with a sprint to the elevator to head upstairs in the next five seconds.
“I should probably ask for your name,” I said much more calmly than I felt.
His thumb, the one that lay on my stomach, below the swell of my breast, swept up and down. “Remington. Yours?”
Jesus, even his name was hot. “Esme. And yes, I know it’s a weird one.”
His head gave a quick shake. “Not weird. Unique and beautiful, just like the woman.”
The bartender slid my wine across the bar top and another amber-colored glass toward Remington. He lifted his and waited until I’d clinked our glasses together.
“To a much better night than I envisioned,” he rumbled.
“Amen to that,” I answered, hearing Ashley’s high-pitched laugh even through the glass walls.
I took a sip of my wine and set it back down. Remington tossed the whiskey back in one swallow. There was an awkward pause as we both wondered what to say to the other. I was pretty sure we were on the same page with the sex thing, but I hadn’t done this in a long time, so maybe I was wrong.
“I, uh, need to head to the restroom.” I tilted my head to the restrooms located outside the bar in the hotel's lobby.
Without even a moment of hesitation, he lifted me again and set me on my feet. “I’ll walk you over.”
I gave him a smile and grabbed my clutch. “What a gentleman.”
He put his big hand on my back and was about to steer us out of the bar when Ashley’s voice rang out behind me. I swiveled my head in dread, having forgotten altogether why I was even in Tahoe. The girls were heading out of the private dining room, looking for a cluster of seats at the bar. Ashley’s gaze caught mine in a double take before she eye fucked the cowboy next to me.
“Let’s go,” Remington rumbled, walking us out of the bar.
I gave Ashley a wink and a little finger wave, enjoying how her mouth fell open rather unattractively.
When we hit the door to the ladies’ restroom, I felt happier and bolder than I had in years. I poked my head in the restroom, not hearing or seeing anyone else in the two stalls, and then swiveled back to Remington.
“Looks like it’s empty.”
