When I look over at the two wedding crashers, the air whooshes out of my chest, and I almost melt into a pile of goo on the tile floor. The man on the right is gorgeous. Like, dirty, manly, potently gorgeous. I’ve never seen such raw masculinity embodied before—his eyes are a rich hazel, and his dirty blond hair is mussed in that sexy way that makes me want to run my fingers through it. His lips are full, curled in a smirk. And he’s covered in tattoos.

He’s a bad boy, one hundred percent.

My lower belly throbs in response to his virility, and I fight the immediate, vivid reaction I have to him, pressing my hands to my stomach in an effort to calm myself. “Um. Hi. I’m Kendra.”

Bastian snorts from beside me, a quiet sound that doesn’t go unnoticed by the hot guy’s friend, who narrows his eyes and him then gives a wide smile. I never really liked Bastian much, though he’s Georgianna’s new husband’s best friend. So when she asked me to be maid of honor, I couldn’t turn it down, despite the discomfort of having to be by his side most of the night.

“I’m Axel,” the guy says. “Very pleased to meet you.”

The way he says it makes my stomach do a backwards somersault and I feel goose bumps erupt over my entire body.

“Kendra, we’re in the middle of something,” Bastian says in a gruff tone. “Let me handle this.”

I want to tell Bastian that as far as I’m concerned, he can go right ahead and handle it, and then gleefully watch this tattooed bad boy whip Bastian’s arrogant butt in front of the entire wedding reception.

However, Axel doesn’t even bother to look at him now. He keeps that hot, hard gaze on me, and I fight the urge to squirm. Something about that intensity is unreal. Have I ever been looked at this way in my entire life? Like I’m about to be devoured bite by bite? “We’ll leave,” he says to me, “if you come have one drink with me at the hotel bar.”

As insane as it sounds, I’m tempted. This guy is absolutely not my type…which just makes him even more appealing for some crazy reason.

“She isn’t going anywhere with you,” Bastian says, resting a hand on my lower back. Like he has a right to touch me. I stiffen and inch away.

“One drink,” Axel reiterates, taking a solid step toward me. “Then you can come back and do the chicken dance and watch all these boring fucks get white-girl wasted.”

I can’t help the laugh that bursts out of me. “You’re blunt, aren’t you.”

By the knowing look in his eyes, he can tell I’m weakening. I can’t help it. I’ve never been so instantly attracted to someone in my entire life. He’s dangerous, I can tell that much. My daddy would have a fit. Is that part of the appeal? I don’t know.

“Yes, I am blunt,” he answers. “Especially when I want something.”

“Don’t do it,” Bastian warns me. “These guys are trouble. You know better than to engage with someone like him, Kendra.”

I turn to Bastian, steeling my jaw. Who the hell does he think he is? “Excuse me? I think I can make my own decisions just fine. Tell Georgianna I’ll be back in a little bit. I’m going to have a drink.” With that, I step toward Axel.

He slides his hand to cup my upper arm, and the contact sends bolts of heat throughout me. Once we reach the bar, the other troublemaker leans in close to Axel, says something under his breath, and then heads to the far end of the bar.

Axel leads me to a stool and helps me get on it. Despite his rough exterior, he’s got a charm about him, an attentiveness I wouldn’t have expected. It’s hard enough walking in these high heels, much less adding a slim-fitting bridesmaid dress in the mix. He assisted me without a second thought. “What’s your poison?” he asks.

I can tell he’s the kind of man who will scrutinize me based on what I’m having, just guessing by the way he asks me that. Like it’ll give him a clue about who I am. I adjust in my seat and say, “Lagavulin, twelve-year, with one ice cube.”

His eyebrow raises in surprise, and he gives me a nod of respect. “Scotch kinda girl. I can dig that.” He orders my drink and a Bulleit bourbon, neat, for himself. When our drinks arrive, we clink them together and sip in silence, each scrutinizing each other.

“So do you always crash wedding parties on Saturday nights, or was this a special event for you?” I ask dryly, enjoying the flavor of the drink. Georgianna only had champagne, wine, and select snobby beers at the open bar, and while I enjoy those sometimes, I prefer a good scotch much more. Daddy taught me the value of quality liquor, that’s for sure.

“I’d definitely say this is a special event.” He pulls a face and has another sip, then rests the glass on the bar and spins in his stool so he’s facing me. His gaze makes me feel like I’m naked, and my body tightens and heats in response. My breath grows shallow. One hand reaches over to brush a lock of hair from my face. “I should kiss you right now, Red.”

He’s not bothering to hide his desire for me, and I find that incredibly sexy. “You barely know me,” I breathe, finding my face turning toward his hand as his finger caresses the sensitive flesh right under my jaw.

“I don’t have to know you to know that I want you.” There’s a heaviness in his words, the weight of promises. His thumb moves to stroke down the column of my neck, a slow, deliberate sweep that lets me know what kind of attention he’d pay to the rest of my body if I let him.

I’ve never had sex before. Never really felt tempted by anyone I was dating in college to let that happen. But Axel is pushing me beyond anything I’ve experienced. My belly is tightening with every stroke, and I belatedly realize that at some point, my hand has reached over and is touching his knee.

He groans, leans forward, and his lips brush across mine, a mere fleeting touch. Sparks fire in me, my pulse throbs in my ears, and I want more. “Please,” I find myself whispering, not sure what I’m asking for, just that I need…more.

“Mmm you’re so fucking responsive, aren’t you? I can tell that already,” he murmurs close to my mouth, and then we’re kissing in earnest, his hands weaving through my expensive hairdo that suddenly I don’t give a crap about. I’m sucking in shallow breaths and tasting him, and he’s opened me to him and takes my mouth like he owns me.

When he pulls back far too soon, his pupils are huge and his eyes hard on mine. “I want to fuck you tonight. Tell me yes, Kendra.”

“This is insane,” I breathe. “We literally just met.” Am I really considering this? I didn’t say no.

“But that’s what makes it so fucking exciting, isn’t it?” One corner of his mouth raises in a knowing smirk. “Bucking the system. Taking pleasure when and where we want it. Fuck what everyone else tells you to do. What do you want to do, Kendra? I won’t push you. I want you to come to me willingly.”

And even though I know he wants me to come to bed with him, I also know that he genuinely is curious about what I desire. My chest gives a funny tug; I’m unprepared for someone like him. “I…” I reach over and with a drawn-in breath, swallow down the full glass of scotch like it’s a shot. My chest erupts in a delicious hot burn as the alcohol slides into my stomach. “I want that too. I…uh…have a room here.” Daddy insisted I be safe and stay onsite.

Axel swigs down his bourbon, plops the empty glass on the bar, unfolds a couple of bills, then slaps them on the bar top. “Lead the way.” His hand slides into mine as I walk toward the elevator, not looking over to the wedding party, knowing that everyone in there would have words to say about what I’m doing.

Somehow, right now, I don’t care. I’m a tiny bit buzzed, and I’m extremely turned on. My panties are wrecked, soaked from just the little bit of touching and kissing he and I have done.

We get in the elevator, and after the door dings, I’m suddenly against the wall and he’s on me, his hands kneading my flesh over the dress, and I’m arching and gasping and writhing from his expert touch.

“God,” I whisper, “oh, God.” I’m overwhelmed.

“I’ll be whatever deity you want me to be tonight,” he says as he bites my collar bone, “just as long as you let me fuck that soaked pussy of yours. I can smell how turned on you are.”

My face burns in mortification. Is it that evident? I feel myself freeze.

“Oh, fuck no,” Axel says, lifting his head and drawing my chin between his fingers, forcing me to look at him. “Don’t you dare be embarrassed. Do you realize how insanely sexy it is that you want me too? My cock is about to burst out of my jeans at just the thought, much less how fucking good you feel in my hands. I’m just glad I’m not the only one.”

His words warm me, and I find myself relaxing again. “I’m not used to…someone being so bold in what they say,” I admit. It’s heady but also intimidating.

The door dings, and a couple walks inside with us. He doesn’t move, doesn’t look at them, just stares at me in silence as we go up the floors. My heart is hammering so hard I’m sure everyone in the elevator can hear it. And the way the couple seems to be looking between us and themselves, the tension must be crackling.

When it gets to our floor, the door opens, and they get out first. I suck in a shallow breath and take his hand, leading him left toward my room. Dig the key card out from inside my little pocket and swipe.

“Whoa, this is gorgeous,” he says after I flick on the lights.

“Yeah, it isn’t too bad.” I toss the card onto the side table and kick off my shoes. Now that we’re here, I’m feeling awkward, unsure. What do I say now? I brought him up here to have sex. To take my virginity. Am I supposed to tell him I’ve never done it before, or just let him figure it out? Did he bring condoms with him? I didn’t think I was even going to be going this far tonight with anyone. Kissing, maybe, if I got a good buzz on and found someone I was attracted to.

I’m way more than attracted to this man. My body is on fire for him.

“Doing an awful lot of hard thinking over there,” Axel says, coming over to me. His hand reaches out to stroke my forearm, and my skin becomes alive under his touch. How does he do this to me?

“I’m…unsure what to do,” I confess. “I’ve, uh…” The words won’t come out; they’re stuck in my throat.

Axel doesn’t say anything. Instead he reaches behind me, and I hear the rasp of the zipper as my dress is undone. It puddles at my feet. His eyes grow heavy with appreciation when he looks at me, clad in just my strapless bra and panties. And then the bra is off, and he’s bending down and has one nipple in his mouth.

I gasp. The sensation creates a strong tugging feeling down to my pussy, which becomes impossibly wet each time he suckles the tip. His big, warm hand cups my breasts, fondling, squeezing, and my body becomes molten for him, pliable, ready for him to touch me, take me.

One hand reaches down to my apex, and there’s a faint touch as a finger caresses my labia through the drenched fabric. I shudder.

Axel growls against my breast, still drawn into his mouth, and his hand cups me in a hot, insistent manner. He tugs my panties aside and plunges a finger straight inside me.

Oh God. It’s so… His finger is stroking my inner walls, curving, the heel of his palm rubbing my clit, and I’m gripping his hair and uttering nonsensical words, begging him to keep going, to not stop. I’m burning alive, and my orgasm is nearing hard and fast, way faster than I’ve ever been able to bring it before by myself, way stronger than I knew possible.

He releases my breast with a pop and when he looks at me, I swear I can see the devil’s glint in his eyes. “I want you to come all over my hand, Kendra. Give me that come. Right fucking now. Be a good girl for me.”

The tightness in my lower belly coils into a furious spiral that starts right at my core, and then I’m exploding and screaming, and I can feel my juices gushing on his fingers, and he’s growling his pleasure and biting my neck, his fingers relentless, even when I start to shake because of how sensitive I am.

As the orgasm ebbs, I sag a little, body exquisitely sated.

“I hope you don’t think I’m done with you,” Axel promises. He steps back and strips off his clothes, and it’s a sheer joy to watch the man undress. When he tugs off his shirt, I can see even more ink covering his torso, bold words and phrases and beautiful artwork that my fingers itch to reach out and explore. His body is cut, tight, so different than my curves.

But when boots and then his pants come off… Oh God, he isn’t even wearing boxers, his dick just boldly presented to me. And it is huge. Mouth-watering, frightening, massive. Veined and pulsing in between us. I want—no, I need—to touch it, feel it, even as it intimidates me a little.

My panties are ripped off me—literally, he grabs one side and yanks the fabric apart, then the other—and I’m tossed onto the bed on my back. I’m no longer feeling sated. I’m aching.

That orgasm was a warmup for the real thing. Him inside me.

Axel grabs a foil packet from his jeans pocket and rolls on the condom, and then he’s between my thighs, and we’re kissing again. His body is so firm and exquisite on mine, one hand gripping my hair to yank my head back and expose my throat. He bites my jaw, my neck, my breasts, and I shudder as I feel my pussy spasm in anticipation. The mix of the tiny flares of pain with the sensuality of our naked bodies aligned…it’s erotic.

I find my legs locking around his hips, my pelvis seeking to align with his. Instinct, nature, guiding us together.

His cock is hard and heavy as he presses against my entrance. He pauses, pulls back to look down at me, and in that moment I feel a strange connection with this man, a total stranger to me, but one who dared to look deep and recognize the girl I am on the inside. The person who aches for more in her life.

When he nudges his way in, his thickness filling me in a way that’s both amazing and uncomfortable, he groans. “My fucking God, you’re impossibly tight.”

I try to stay relaxed, but a frisson of fear at what is happening works its way into me. I know this is going to hurt once he gets all the way inside, and I’m a little scared of the pain.

Axel, somehow able to sense all the minute changes in me, pauses. His hand relaxes, and he reaches over to stroke my face, long movements down my throat and chest. He doesn’t move his cock, just stays here and drops his mouth to mine.

This kiss isn’t a searing jolt of passion. It’s something oddly tender, and it takes away my breath. I find myself relaxing against him yet again, caught up in the sensations he’s making me experience, his hands, the way his tongue slides along mine, the smell of his musky scent. His body is hard but there’s more to him than that. I can feel it in how he is right now.

Still kissing me, stroking me, Axel withdraws, then slides in again, just partway. Does it again. Again. Each time, he nudges a little deeper. And I find myself parting my knees, spreading myself wider, wanting him in further. Oh, this feels amazing. How he fills me this way, the throbbing of his erratic heartbeat against my breast, the way his tight ass clenches under my hands as I grip him and start to urge him on harder. Faster.

His strokes become more intense, until he pulls out almost all the way, then plunges in me, as far as he can go. There’s a small flare of pain, but he keeps kissing me, keeps fucking me, and soon I’m caught up in what’s happening and I’m gasping and groaning in time with him.

“Kendra,” he whispers against my mouth. “You feel incredible.”

My whole body is flushed all over, and we’re getting slick with sweat. “I…I want it harder,” I ask him. “Please.”

He looks at me, a wicked gleam in his eyes that makes me afraid and turned on. “Oh, is that right, sweet girl? You need to be fucked thoroughly, don’t you.”

Then he’s hammering me, and his hand is in my hair, and I’m clinging to him, just trying to hold on as best as I can while I’m ravaged. His cock is rubbing my G-spot and I can feel another orgasm begging to come. I squirm to find the right angle, desperate.

“You’re not fucking coming yet,” he orders me. “You can get close, but you had better not come.”

I whimper in protest, but somewhere inside me, a little light sparks in response to his heated, dominant words. I want him to control me, to deny me until I’m a mess begging for release. Of course, somehow he can tell that about me.

It’s fine until he reaches his hand between us and his thumb brushes my clit. I arch beneath him, blindly seeking his touch, panting, and he captures my mouth and my breaths and takes them for his.

“Don’t. You. Fucking. Come,” Axel growls into my parted lips. That thumb is relentless, cruel, stroking my bud until it’s hard and I’m shuddering beneath him, about to cry because I’m so close, so painfully close.

When he removes his hand, it’s almost a blessing and a curse. Axel smacks my hip and grabs me by the back of the neck. “Up, sweet girl. On your hands and knees. I want to taste that cunt.”

I can’t deny him anything, even though part of me is mortified at the thought of being exposed so brazenly to him. I do as he commands, burying my face in the pillow. At the soft sounds of his approval, then the hard, firm swipe of his tongue along my entire slit, I jerk against his mouth.

His hands instantly grip my hips and lock me in place. “Don’t fucking move, or I’ll spank you.”

Part of me wants to be spanked, even though I never have before. But I’m more interested in the things he’s doing with his tongue, how he flattens it to slide along my clit, delves it into my pussy.

Licking, sucking, drinking my juices.

“You taste so incredible,” he whispers against me, and I’m getting closer again to the edge. “I could drink this beautiful pussy all night. So creamy and wet and lovely.” He spreads my ass apart so he can delve deeper, and I groan into the pillow from the sensations flooding my senses.

“Oh God,” I say, pushing my ass back toward him reflexively.

Whack! The sudden hot sting on my right ass cheek makes me freeze in place.

“I told you not to move,” he says, then kisses the hot flesh where he smacked my butt. “Move again, and I’ll make you wait even longer to come.”

Shit—caught up in the moment, I forgot his order. It takes everything I have, but I force myself to stay still, to let him eat me at his pleasure. I’m shaking with the effort after a few minutes, come dripping down my thighs. I’ve never been this turned on before in my entire life. Not even close. I want him to fuck me again. I need him to. He’s torturing me in the best and worst ways.

“You’re being such a good girl,” Axel finally says. He slides two fingers inside my pussy and curls them toward my G-spot, and I just barely stop the urge to grind against his hand. “You can move now, Kendra, and I want you to come for me.”

His tongue touches my other puckered hole as he fucks my pussy with his fingers, and when he swipes a long, intimate lick there, I’m lost. Gone. I shatter into pieces all over the bed, all over him, come pouring out of me, screams pouring out of me, my entire body trembling my need. And all the while he’s still finger-fucking me, licking me, praising me for being such a good girl for him, and it just keeps me turned on.

Then he pulls his fingers out and I feel him shift, and his cock is pushing back in me again.

“Yes, please, God please,” I find myself saying, thrusting my ass in the air as much as I can to encourage him to fuck me deeply. I don’t even recognize myself right now, the wanton girl who is begging for sex. Aching for it. “I need you to come for me too. Please, Axel.”

His fingers dig into my hips as he rides me from behind. His cock batters my inner walls, and I can hear his breathing grow more ragged, feel the tension in his body when his balls slap against me from the frantic thrusts. “I… Kendra, you…” The fact that he can barely articulate his thoughts pushes me into overdrive.

I meet him thrust for thrust, fucking him as hard as he’s fucking me. “Yes. Give it to me. Yes.” I keep the side of my face on the pillow and reach behind me to cup his hands over my hips, encourage him to hammer me.

“I… Christ, yes…” And then there’s a long groan as he stiffens and says my name, emptying his seed into the condom. His huge cock is pulsing in me, and I can feel as he orgasms, and I swear it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever experienced.

When he’s done, he pauses, his grip loosening, and he gives long, luxurious sweeps over my backside and ass, caressing the flesh he’d grabbed, spanked. A moment of intimacy in such a heated event.

Then Axel withdraws from me, discards the condom in the garbage, and curls up on his side, tugging me against him. His body is slightly sweaty, and the moisture warms where we’re pressed together. Neither of us speaks. I’m too overwhelmed by everything that just happened.

That wasn’t a mere fucking. I mean, it was fucking—crazy-hot and dirty. But there was more. A genuine connection. I am sure I felt it in the way he looked at me, how he took care to read my body, pay attention to me. Those moments of softness mixed in.

What does it mean? I don’t know.

“I can hear you thinking,” Axel says, a light laugh in his voice. “You do that a lot, don’t you?”

“My brain never shuts off,” I tell him. I’m languid now, satisfied, and I just want to melt against him and stay right here. I like how he feels, the length of his body stretched out behind mine. How he’s shifted so his foot is resting in between my two smaller feet, another tiny intimacy that surprises me.

He strokes my hair, which makes me grow heavy with sleep. “My brain doesn’t either,” he admits. The fatigue I’m feeling is echoed in his voice.

Before I realize it, I’m drifting off to unconsciousness.

* * *

I wake up disoriented, with a strange ache in my bones. Morning light is seeping through a crack in the massive window blinds. Then memory floods back, and my body rushes with a burst of heat.

I had sex last night. In this hotel bed. With the hottest guy I’ve literally ever met.

With slow, careful movements to accommodate the unexpected soreness in my body, I shift to my back and look over at the other side of the bed. It’s empty. There’s a pillow dent to indicate someone was there, that I didn’t just make it all up. But no note, no nothing else.

I draw my lip between my teeth as emotions tighten in my chest. I don’t know how to feel right now. Disappointed, yes. A little foolish as well. Did I really expect more from a one-night stand? What, did I stupidly think he was going to ask me to see him again or something?

It was what it was. Just sex.

And I’ll keep telling myself that until I believe it. Because yes, as silly as it sounds, I didn’t expect him to pull that on me.

I don’t really know anything about the guy except his first name, I remind myself. And the fact that he’s amazing in bed. Yes, there might have been something between us. But if I face facts, it’s also clear that he and I are from two different worlds. That much was evident in how he acted at the wedding.

Axel and I never had a chance. So I suppose he did me a favor by running out, no matter how much it stings.

I let myself lie in bed and try to not think about last night’s events, despite my desire to replay them over and over again, to savor the sensations I experienced at the hands of an expert lover. I can hear my cell phone vibrating in my little dress pocket of my bridesmaid gown. Probably someone wondering what the hell happened to me last night.

Well, whoever it is can wait. I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone right now. I’ll take a shower. Scrub this off. Get a strong cup of coffee and figure out how to deal with the ramifications of what happened later. I have other things I have to focus on, business that can’t wait. Working for my father means I have to work extra hard, because he won’t let me get away with anything—not in business, anyway.

I’ll always be his little girl. But he’s trying to help me become a competent woman. I won’t let him down.

With that in mind, I shove myself out of bed and pad to the shower, ready to wash away the amazing night I just had and pull myself together.

* * *

“This will be good experience for you, Kendra,” my dad says as he navigates his silver Benz down the road. “This is an unusual project for us, so it’ll be great for you to learn the business more and see the breadth of what we do at Rochester Development.”

My father hired me on with his company right after I finished my degree back in May. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by his retail developmental work. He never made me feel unwanted or weird about my curiosity; instead, he got me a small hard hat and took me along with him any time I desired, explaining with infinite patience how land is developed.

Watching him raze unwanted or abandoned buildings and homes and develop new shopping plazas that create jobs for local communities, plus bring in more tax money for schools and libraries, it was like watching a miracle worker in action by the time he finished with a particular project.

Places once forsaken would become vibrant centers of activity and community.

And, of course, my father would become slightly more wealthy, a point he never hesitated to mention to me.

“Hopefully the more hesitant homeowners will listen to us,” I say to him as I browse through the documentation he prepared. My father is nothing if not thorough—he has a list of all the homeowners who are resistant to the high-end mall he wants to develop in a run-down neighborhood in Rock Bridge. It will be positive growth, especially since that area of town is pretty shitty and in vastly in need of improvement.

The city wants to change that section of Rock Bridge and get rid of the negative stigma attached to it. Plus, the land is great, and the mall will be nicely located near a major thoroughfare. Perfect for not only local shoppers, but those traveling through Michigan on their way to other states. Not to mention Daddy said there are lots of abandoned properties that can be torn down around there, and empty lots that can be converted. Great area for future expansion.

Of course, those sites aren’t the problem. The issue will be the lived-in homes that need to be demolished for the project to get underway. Getting those homeowners to acquiesce to selling isn’t always as easy as it should be, given the compensation the residents receive for vacating.

It’s like Daddy is knowing what I’m thinking. “Thankfully, many of them are ready to sell and relocate,” he says. “But there are some stubborn people who won’t take the deal. Despite the terms we’re offering.”

I don’t understand people who would stay in an impoverished home when you could get the chance to get out and find a better place. “Well, hopefully we can get them to listen.”

We pull into the neighborhood, and I can see why my father thinks it would be a great place. The location is prime; once the neighborhood is turned around and value is added through a mall, it’ll bring the city a lot more revenue. And a better reputation, too. There are a number of abandoned houses on the street with wood haphazardly nailed across windows. Scattered in between them are run-down homes aplenty.

My father pulls into a driveway and kills the engine. “First stop. Here we go.” We get out and rap on the door.

An elderly lady in a mint-green bathrobe that’s seen better days answers for us. She instantly looks suspicious upon seeing me and my father in dressy clothes.

But Daddy is a professional. He greets her with a warm smile, and before we know it, we’ve been invited inside and given lemonade as we explain our goal with the land. By the end of the visit, she’s promising to think things over, and we schedule another appointment with her for a follow-up. Looking good.

We visit a few more homes like that. A couple of homeowners aren’t home, so we note that down on our log and plan to come back another time. In a methodical manner, we work our way up and down the streets in the neighborhood.

A lot of real estate developers would leave tasks like this to some flunkies, not wanting to take the time and effort to meet with the locals. But my father believes in getting your hands dirty and paying attention to the little details.

Days like this make me respect him even more than I did already.

Daddy pulls his car into a driveway of a home that actually looks decent—the yard is clean, the exterior freshly painted. When we get to the door and ring the bell, there’s a pause, then the door opens.

And my stomach drops clear to my feet as my face bursts into flames. Shit. Shit. Shit.

It’s him.

Oh my god.

Axel, sexy, shirtless, in low-slung jeans, can of beer in hand, looking like sin.