3
ELLIS
Brayden answered the phone. “Hello.” The minute I heard his voice, my heart started pounding. Same old Brayden.
“Hey, man. It’s me. It’s Ellis.”
He exploded on the other end. “Ellis! Hey, man! Dang, it’s good to hear from you.”
I struggled to keep my voice calm, but I couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear. “I had to call to congratulate you, man. It’s wonderful news, and I will definitely be coming to the wedding.”
“You will? Wow, that’s great. I wasn’t sure if you would make it.”
“Of course, I’ll make it. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m just sorry I’ve sort of fallen off the face of the Earth these last few years. I’m a putz.”
“Forget it, man. You’re coming. That’s the important thing. You’re still in town, aren’t you?”
“Yep, I’m here.”
“Good. Then you can come to our engagement party next Saturday.”
“I’d love to. Where is it?”
“At my uncle’s house in Silver Lake. You remember the place?”
“I remember.”
“Be there at two, and since you’re in town, I know its bit out of the blue, but I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind being one of my groomsmen. What do you say?”
You could have knocked me over with a feather. I picked my jaw up off the floor, and my voice wouldn’t work right. “Man! I’m stunned. I never thought....”
“You never thought what? You never thought you would still be my best friend after you’ve been a stranger all these years? I never stopped caring about you, man. You should know that. The clan…”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Takes care of it’s own. I never stopped caring about you, either, man. I would be honored to be your groomsman, and I will definitely come to your engagement party. Thanks. I mean, really, thank you. You don’t know what this means to me.”
If he got as choked up as I did, his voice gave nothing away. “Great, and we’re having the bachelor party in Vegas, so I’m definitely going to need a good man in my corner for that.”
I burst out laughing. “Jesus! Tell me you don’t have strippers and beer kegs and all that fraternity stuff lined up.”
He laughed, too. “I don’t know what’s lined up. My older cousin Sam is my best man, and he’s got the whole thing planned out in secret. Him and his buddies are gonna pick me up at my house and drive there. I have to be blindfolded, and they’re taking me off to their underground dungeon. All human stuff, you know how they are.”
I couldn’t stop laughing. “Then you definitely need a shifter in your corner. I’ll make sure you get down the aisle.”
“Thanks. I knew I could count on you.”
I got serious. “I’m really happy for you, man. I can’t wait to meet your girl.”
“You’re gonna love her. Everybody loves her, and she and Mckenna have had their heads stuck together for six weeks. I’m also not allowed to see the dress or the cake, and I’m not allowed to see Julia for forty-eight hours before the ceremony.”
My bear began to prowl when he mentioned Mckenna, but I couldn’t come right out and ask about her. She would be at the engagement party. I would see her there.
I would definitely not love Julia as much as I loved Mckenna. Who wouldn’t love a girl as sexy and feisty and smart as her? Of course, I couldn’t tell Brayden that, though.
“I’ll see you Saturday,” Brayden was saying. “We’ll catch up on everything. It’s gonna be great to see you. It’s gonna be just like old times, like you never left.”
“I can’t wait. Talk to you soon.”
I hung up, and that was the end of my workday. I spent the rest of the daydreaming about over Mckenna.
What would it be like to see her again? She would flash me her bright eyes across the table. Her eyes would wander down to my mouth and neck. My eyes would wander down to her bright red lips and her cleavage rising and falling with her breath.
That body, those eyes, those lips—I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I had to see her. I had to get her alone just one more time. Once I saw her, the chemistry would take over. I never had any doubts about that.
I was glad I lived in the same town as this wedding. I had my own place to take Mckenna once I got my hands on her. I needed a quiet room overlooking the city. I needed a nice clean white bed to undress her on.
I felt my pants tighten as thoughts about bending her over on the bed raced through my mind. Fuck. There I went getting hard thinking about her again. Nothing would satisfy me but her. Come to think of it, nothing ever had. No woman ever captivated me since the last time I saw her. When was the last time I saw her? I couldn’t even remember.
I didn’t know how to appreciate her back then. All I cared about was my bear and my cocky attitude. I didn’t know how to savor every inch of her glorious self. I didn’t know how to enjoy the ache of needing her or dreaming about her, or that tightness in my balls only she could satisfy.
Man, I needed her right this minute. I needed her on her knees in front of my office chair. I needed to see her immaculate breasts hanging over when she crawled towards me. I needed to see her eyes burning with erotic fire when she unbuckled my pants; her lips pouting and her nostrils flaring with pent-up desire.
I needed to feel her hands gliding up my legs to my crotch. I needed to feel her warm flesh all over my chest and her white arms around my middle. That woman made me weak in the knees, but she never used her power. She cuddled close and made herself tiny and vulnerable to me. She always let me overpower her and collapsed into me like vanilla ice cream dissolving on my tongue.
Why did I let her slip away? I should have kept her in the first place. Now I had to go through several weeks of wondering what she would be like. She might be married to some other lucky bastard by now. Fuck. That would be my worst nightmare.
I had to have her. I had to get her for myself. No torture could be worse than seeing her with somebody else. I don’t think I could live in a world knowing some other guy was touching her skin and worshiping her curves when I couldn’t.
I wasted too many years with my head in the sand when I could have been enjoying myself with her. I shouldn’t have run the risk of her changing into something any less attractive and desirable. I nursed too many fevered dreams about her. I couldn’t cope if the reality didn’t match my fantasies.
How would I get through a whole weekend of wedding and family get-togethers with her and not let Brayden know there was ever anything between us? Messing around with Mckenna in high school or around the college dorms was one thing. This was going to be a whole different kettle of fish. Brayden wouldn’t let me out of his sight. I’d be chained to his side for the whole weekend.
Thank God, he didn’t ask me to be his best man. Being his best friend and trying to sneak off with his sister at the same time was already more than I could handle.