Page 27 of One Wild Wedding Weekend

“But John did...”

“Because he loves Tabby. Love changes people, I think,” she said.

“All the more reason not to fall in love. Change is hard and messy and painful. It’s a lot easier to sail through life being yourself.”

Daley heard the message loud and clear. Tristan was who he was. Woe to the woman who thought she could change him.

His philosophy didn’t matter to her. She didn’t desire or need to mold Tristan Hamilton into husband material. All she wanted was to have sex with him one more time.

After that, she likely wouldn’t see him again until Christmas, and possibly not even then if she had enough advance warning to come up with a good excuse.

She laid her hand on his taut thigh. “It’s late. Maybe we should adjourn to the bed.”

A muscle in his jaw flexed. “That’s what I like about you, Daley Martin. You always have the best ideas.”

They stood and faced each other. Daley still felt uncertain around him. This weekend had opened her eyes to many facets of his personality, but it was far too short a time to say she knew him.

And honestly, she was painfully aware that she had started this ill-advised insanity. She had invited him inside her room last night on the flimsiest of pretexts. Fooling with ice buckets. He must have thought she was the easiest woman on the planet.

That impulsive decision wasn’t like her at all, but she had no regrets. Tristan was a genius in bed. Besides, against all odds, she liked him. Even if he was a confirmed bachelor who thought honeymoons were more important than weddings.

He took her hand and led her to the bed. “Let’s get you out of that hot robe,” he said, smiling in a way that made her heart clench with something. Yearning, perhaps? That would be dumb. She was far too smart to yearn over a man like him.

While Daley held her breath, perfectly still, he fiddled with the knot in the belt, untied it and slid the robe off her shoulders. His chest rose and fell. “You’re about the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“I’m a woman, not a thing.”

His lips quirked. “My bad. I should have practiced that line in my head before I said it out loud. Brown-eyed blondes make me clumsy.”

“Have there been many?” she asked. “Brown-eyed blondes.”

“Actually, no. You’re my first.”

He was staring at her body so intently, she thought she might spontaneously combust. Was it normal to feel on fire for another human being? For a man? She’d never experienced this level of raw, carnal heat before. And certainly not with a partner who was so unabashedly interested in sex and only sex.

To be fair, so was she.

They had skipped over all the socially acceptable dinner dates and getting-to-know-you activities. Both had one thing in common. They were living in the moment. Indulging a powerful attraction.

Daley had never picked up a stranger in a bar for a one-night stand. But this thing with Tristan came close. Despite their siblings’ wedding, this fling had temporary written all over it. Oddly enough, though, she knew she could trust Tristan physically.

It was her heart she had to protect.

“Take off your shirt,” she whispered. “Please.”

His smile disappeared. A flush of color darkened his face. As he ripped the soft cotton over his head, he kicked off his shoes. The front of his pants betrayed his arousal. “Why does it feel like a lifetime since I had you?” he muttered, the words low and gravelly.

“Maybe because this afternoon was too quick to count.”

“Ouch.” He winced. “You’re tough on my ego.”

“Oh, don’t be dumb,” she said impatiently. “We had no choice. They’re called quickies for a reason.”

He closed the distance between them and cupped her face in his hands. His blue eyes darkened to deep sapphire. His lashes were long and gorgeous. “Fair warning. There won’t be anything quick about tonight.”

Her jaw dropped. She snapped it shut, trying not to let him know he had destroyed her with one quiet sentence. “Is that a threat or a promise?” she asked, turning her face into his palm and nibbling his thumb.

He put a hand on her bare ass and dragged her closer, grinding his erection against her pelvis. “Kiss me, Daley.”

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