Chapter 3

Bridget set off down the hall toward her room. Around the corner, she spotted Larissa and the other bridesmaids with their heads together. Sheila looked up and waved to Bridget. “Bridget! Come here. We’re taking pictures of just us bridesmaids for Larissa’s scrap book.”

Bridget slouched over to them. “All right.”

She sat still for the picture, but when she got up to leave, Sheila yanked her back. “Where have you been? We’re going down to Tommy’s room to play spin the bottle.”

Bridget tugged her arm free. “I don’t want to play spin the bottle, and it sounds like it’s just you and Tommy playing, anyway. I saw you dancing with him downstairs. You go ahead and have a good time.”

Sheila wouldn’t let her go. “Why are you being such a killjoy? We’re here to have a rocking good time, not sit in our rooms and watch late-night movies while we sob into our tequilas. You’re coming with me. Tommy won’t be the only guy there. Maybe Roy will even be there.” Sheila ended with a wicked laugh.

“Are you trying to make Tommy jealous by kissing Roy? Which one of them are you going after anyway?”

“All of them!” Sheila shrieked. “Come on. You’re my responsibility, and I’m here to make sure you have a good time, too.”

She wouldn’t hear any more protest but hauled Bridget back the other way down the hall. She shoved Bridget into the room and slammed the door behind her. Sure enough, most of the groom’s party mingled around the room. The guys turned to look at Bridget when she walked in.

Bridget froze. “What’s going on here—the bachelor party?”

Ben came over to her side. “Bridget! Good, you’re here. We need a few more girls to play spin the bottle.”

“I’m not playing spin the bottle, and neither are you. You’re getting married in the morning.”

“No, I’m not playing,” Ben replied. “I’m the referee. I arbitrate disputes and make sure everybody plays fair.”

Bridget migrated to the side of the room. “Good. Then you can make sure nobody includes me in the game, either.”

Sheila stuck a glass in Bridget’s hand. “Stop talking and start drinking. We’re here to have a good time, not flap our jaws.”

Bridget found a seat for herself on the dresser top. Guys occupied every other seat in the room except Sheila on the couch arm and Betsy sitting on the floor next to her boyfriend Jason’s knee.

Bridget sipped her drink. It was a cheap screwdriver of orange juice and vodka, but it did the trick of making her head buzz with make-believe excitement. She spotted Roy tucked into a corner, but she kept her eyes turned away from him. He wasn’t drinking anything and he kept quiet.

Ben held up his arms. “Well, we’ll just have to get started and hope some more girls come soon.” He laid an empty bottle in the center of the room. Everybody backed up to form a circle. “Now you all know the rules. If you spin, you have to kiss whoever it points at. No excuses, or I will have no choice but to administer corporal punishment.”

Raucous laughter and wolf whistles answered him from every side. He stepped back. “Now, I’ll spin the bottle just to see who gets to go first. I’m not going to kiss anybody. Understand? This is just to get the game started.”

The crowd shouted racy insults and offers of sexual favors at him. Ben laughed and bent down to spin the bottle. Bridget took another sip of her screwdriver. She thanked her lucky stars she wasn’t getting involved in this stupid party gag.

The bottle spun and stopped pointing at Sheila. The room erupted in wild conversation. Guys shouted suggestions and propositions if she spun to land on them. Sheila bolted a shot of gin and moved forward. She squatted down in the ring.

“Spin it to me, baby,” Tommy called.

Jason elbowed him. “She can make it spin anywhere she wants. Don’t you know that by now?”

“Spin, Sheila,” Ben told her.

“And no cheating,” Tommy called.

Sheila laughed, lurched sideways, and steadied herself. She took hold of the bottle and gave it a spin. It stopped pointing somewhere between Jason and Tommy. Jason held up his hands. “I’m not kissing her. I’m taken, man.”

Tommy held out his arms. “Come on, baby. Take your medicine.”

Another voice interrupted from somewhere. “Referee! Referee!”

Ben stepped forward. “In a situation like this, since Jason isn’t willing, I have no choice but to declare Tommy the winner.” He bowed and swept his hand across his stomach. “You may now kiss the bride.”

The guys screamed and chanted. “Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!”

Tommy stood up and moved in on Sheila. She pretended to resist, but in the end, she lunged into his arms and planted a sloppy kiss on his mouth. They resumed their seats, and the bottle passed to Bridget’s cousin Rex. He spun the bottle, and it wound up pointing at Ben himself.

“As referee, I can make an exception just this once.” Ben opened his arms to his cousin. “Come on, Lover Boy. Give us a big kiss.”

The two cousins embraced and kissed each other on the lips in front of everybody. Even Bridget cheered. The vodka softened her so she started to enjoy the spectacle.

Her blood ran cold when the bottle passed to the next person sitting on the couch. A hush fell over the room when Roy took hold of it and moved forward. Someone broke the spell by murmuring to Ben, “Are you gonna kiss him, too?”

Snickers and snorts of laughter hummed around the room. Ben chuckled. “Larissa gave me a limit of kissing one guy per day. I can’t go over that.”

Roy shifted onto his knees in the middle of the floor. His eyes swept the circle of faces, and everyone held their breath to see what would happen. He gave the bottle a decided spin. It flashed in the dim light and stopped.

Every eye in the room turned on Bridget. Even Ben stared at her. His eyes shone wide as saucers. “That’s you, Bridget. You have to kiss him.”

She set her drink down and jumped off the dresser. “No, no, no. I told you I’m not playing. Make him spin again and get someone else.”

Roy stood up and faced Bridget. He towered over the game in all his magnificent power. Ben recovered in an instant. He stood up straighter, too. “You have to kiss him, Bridget. That’s the rules.”

She rounded on her brother. “I told you. I’m not playing, and I’m not kissing him. I never wanted to come to this stupid stag party anyway. I’m going back to my room.”

Ben’s hand shot out faster than lightning. He caught Bridget’s arm and spun her around to face the room. “If you don’t kiss him, I’ll have no choice but to punish you. Is that what you want? Do you want me to turn you over my knee and spank you in front of everybody?”

The guys guffawed with laughter. A hint of a smile touched Roy’s lips, but he didn’t say anything. Bridget glared at them all and growled through gritted teeth. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Ben waved his hand. “Maybe you’d like it better if Roy gave you a spanking. Maybe he would forgo the kiss in favor of that. What do you say?”

Bridget’s eyes darted to Roy. The slight smile vaporized off his face to become a hard mask of fixed determination. He glanced down at her body and back up to her face. In that moment, she never entertained any doubt what he was thinking. He would gladly exchange an innocent kiss for the chance to spank her over his knee. He would relish it.

Ben returned her gaze with the same direct expression. He wouldn’t back down. For just a second, she couldn’t recognize him. Roy’s magnetic force surrounded him. Nothing could stand against him when he faced the world like that. What did Roy teach him to overpower her with a simple glance? She looked at Roy. He waited for her. He could wait forever if he had to.

She rushed forward. “All right. Just this once, and then I’m leaving. You perverts can have an orgy in here for all I care.”

She only made it two steps into the ring when Ben’s voice sliced the air. “And make it a good kiss. No grandmother peck on the lips. Make sure you give him a good kiss.”

Bridget pulled up short, but she couldn’t see Ben or anyone else now. She couldn’t see anything but Roy. He stood right in front of her, all ready to kiss her. She searched his eyes for any sign of help, but he didn’t give it to her. She danced with him outside the dining room. She danced with him just for a lark, just for a moment. It didn’t mean anything.

She could kiss him the same way. She would give him a kiss and leave. It meant nothing and it never would. She crossed the last few inches, but when she took her place in front of him, her nerve failed. She stared up into his eyes. What was he thinking right now?

She took a look at his lips. Could she really kiss those lips? What would they taste like? What would his tongue taste like? Before she could make up her mind what to do next, his arm shot out. He planted his big hand on her back and yanked her in against his chest. Her breath caught on her lips, and she squeaked with surprise.

She didn’t hear the room go deadly quiet behind her. She didn’t hear anything but the thump of her pulse in her veins. His body quaked under her. She couldn’t lift her hands to push him away or even rest them on his shoulders. His eyes burned into her from inches away.

As suddenly as he pulled her in, he leaned forward and kissed her hard. He crushed her breasts against his chest, and his lips nudged her mouth open. His tongue snaked inside and touched hers.

Her whole being surged in sudden shock, but she couldn’t tear herself away. He held his mouth pressed against hers. His tongue explored and licked her fevered mind. His commanding hands, his masterful lips, his rock-hard nearness exploded through her in a million rocket blasts. He excited her. He attracted her. He had his arms around her and he was kissing her right now!

That fast, he let her go. His hand dropped away from her back. His lips vanished, and he became once again a regular man standing in front of her. Bridget could never be the same again, though. His chest smashing against her tits, his hand guiding her hips into his, his tongue sending wetness through her panting tissues—all created a whirlwind of tempestuous emotion she couldn’t ignore.

Titters and whispers went around the room and woke Bridget from her trance. Roy glanced sideways and smiled down at Ben. He turned back to Bridget with an innocent smile. He hadn’t done anything. He was just playing around.

Bridget couldn’t wait around anymore. She raced to the door and rushed down the hall to her room.