“Here’s the thing, Walker. Inconvenient though it may be, I want you. Speak now or forever hold your peace if you’d rather me not kiss you right this second,” I whispered.
A glint entered his gaze, but he stayed silent. Sliding my hand up to cup his nape, I gave a light tug, and he met me halfway. I liked to feel in control. I needed to feel in control in situations like this. Or so I thought. A sense of relief I didn’t want to consider washed through me when he didn’t try to go all manly and alpha on me.
I brushed my lips against his, once and then twice, before arching up further. Only then did Walker assume control. Angling his head to the side, he murmured something softly against my lips. I sighed against his mouth, and his tongue swept in.
One of his arms, strong and sure, slid around my waist, cupping the edge of my hip and teasing over the curve of my bottom as he pulled me against him. Oh hell. Being plastered against Walker and feeling the beat of his heart while mine went wild in my chest made me temporarily lose my mind.
The tease of his tongue wasn’t overwhelming, just a stroke against mine and then another before he drew back and brushed his lips across mine again. He caught my bottom lip lightly in his teeth as he straightened.
We stared at each other, the air around us alive with a humming, nearly electric desire.
“I suppose I can speak now,” he murmured in a gruff whisper.
I swallowed and licked my lips before nodding. “Yes.”
Walker’s smoky gaze searched mine as I tried and completely failed to get my pulse to slow down. The silence felt loaded and heavy, crowded with my thoughts and his. I liked to think I could read people pretty well. And yet, the brutal betrayal of one friend had thoroughly thrown that into doubt forever.
The circle of people I trusted was small. My family, and a tight group of friends. That was about it. Which made it all the more puzzling why I felt an intrinsic urge to trust Walker. I managed a shaky breath, unable to tear my eyes away from his.
“Well, now, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you to kiss me. But, I’d also be lying if I said you didn’t surprise the hell out of me with that,” he drawled.
I licked my lips again and managed enough air to give myself a hint of fortitude. I tried my best to seem nonchalant and lifted a shoulder in a small shrug. “I can’t help it that you look good enough to eat. Don’t even try to tell me you’re not aware that plenty of women wouldn’t mind kissing you.”
Walker’s gaze was inscrutable. “That wasn’t quite my point. But if that’s the direction we’re gonna go, I guess I could point out that I doubt it’s escaped your notice that plenty of men can’t keep their eyes off you,” he said bluntly.
We stared at each other, the air practically vibrating between us.
“Shall we leave it at that?” he asked as he took a step back, beginning to carefully unroll his sleeves and button the cuffs.
“What do you mean?”
I could hardly believe it but a shaft of disappointment pierced me when he stepped away. I didn’t like thinking about how much I enjoyed being held by Walker.
“I mean, are we gonna leave it at just that kiss? We do have a wedding and two more nights here,” he replied.
My body felt as if lightning was pinging around inside of it. The need Walker kindled within me was unfamiliar. Frankly, it was something I didn’t expect to ever have to deal with. I had made a decision that I wasn’t going to date for very good reasons. It had been a decision that had been easy to make and easy to keep. So far.
Because no one tempted me, not even a little. Until now. The temptation of Walker was downright overwhelming. My senses were rioting, and I thought it would be worth making an exception. Not a relationship, but maybe an eyes-open-wide fling.
With my heart hammering away, I lifted my chin slightly. “Maybe not. What do you think?”
“I think you’re complicated, and a helluva lot more than I bargained for. I also think your brother would kick my fucking ass,” Walker said flatly.
Anger ran through me in a hot sizzle. Narrowing my eyes, I rested a hand on my hip. “Don’t you dare fucking tell me that my brother has any say. What happens between us, or me and anyone for that matter, is none of his goddamned business.”
A glint entered Walker’s gaze, his lips curling at one corner as he eyed me before turning away to snag his suit jacket off the back of the chair and shrug into it. Dear God. He was too much. His shoulders filled out his jacket quite nicely.
The charcoal gray against the crisp white of his shirt and his deep bronze skin sent my belly into a somersault and my pulse revving.
“I wasn’t implying this was any of your brother’s business,” he finally said. “I was just making an observation.”
Whether it made a lick of sense or not, somehow having Walker voice his concern about Lucas’s possible opinion galvanized me. On the heels of a ragged breath, I said, “Well, good then. We have two nights. That’s it. Let’s make the most of them.”
Chapter Ten
Walker
I watched as my oldest friend said “I do” without even the slightest hesitation. If you’d asked me before Dave met Jenny if he’d ever settle down, or even entertain the idea of happily ever after, I would’ve laughed good and hard. He would’ve laughed right along with me.
Yet, I didn’t doubt for one second just how deeply he’d fallen in love. Dave was a loyal man, and his commitment would never waver.
I found it hard to consider the possibility that I could fall for someone the way he had. Although the fact he actually had made me wonder. I’d reached a point with women where I didn’t even think attraction meant all that much.
Although Dee hadn’t broken my heart, she’d certainly contributed to my natural tendency to be cynical. My parents had loved each other, and my mother still hadn’t recovered from my dad passing away. That was something I didn’t want to experience. Between that and a few years in the military where I’d gotten up close and personal with how fast life could be snatched away, I figured I was better off alone.
All that said, meaningless sex was tiring. However, the way I felt with Jade was weighted with meaning. Jade lit a fire in me. I didn’t think the fire burning for her was going to be extinguished by ignoring her. Especially not now, after she’d gone and kissed me. Hell, it had been bad enough last night when I woke up with her curled up against me.
My attention was on Jade when a flower landed on my shoulder as Jenny tossed her bouquet into the crowd. Lifting the white rose, I spun it in my fingers. Dave’s laugh drew my eyes sideways. I was standing beside him at the top of the steps where he’d stepped back to give his new wife space for this ritual.
“Good luck,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder.
I looked into the crowd to see one of the bridesmaids clutching the remainder of the flower bouquet in her hands. “Whoever caught it is up next. Or something like that, if you believe in this kind of thing,” I said, my tone dry as chalk.
Dave chuckled. “You believe I love Jenny?”
Although there was laughter around us and a giddy sense of celebration, the moment felt suddenly serious. Holding Dave’s gaze, I nodded. Because I wasn’t going to lie to him. “I know you love her,” I said quietly. “And I don’t doubt y’all will be happy. I’ve threatened to kick her ass if she dares to break your heart.”