CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Half a dozen gowns in my closet would have sufficed, but I wanted to wear something new to the wedding. Jason had really thrown me for a loop. Not only had he proved to be my most avid defender in the workplace, but he’d surprised me with this invitation. It was sweet and somehow far more intimate than an ordinary night out. And if all that wasn’t enough to make me a little weak-kneed, he turned out to be the kind of guy who would escort a father he did not like to the doctor when he was needed. There were moments when I was beginning to wonder if I was actually starting to fall for Jason Roma.
After scouring the mall on Saturday morning, I returned to my apartment with only a few hours left before Jason was supposed to arrive. Once I’d showered and applied my makeup with care, I curled my hair, which was now past my shoulders, longer than I’d kept it in years. The floor-length black gown with a low neckline and a daring slit up the right leg felt sinful sliding over my body, and I stood in front of the mirror, pleased at the effect.
Jason was pleased too. I could tell as soon as I opened the door.
“Come in,” I said, stepping back.
He shook his head. “Hell no. If I take two steps right now, that dress will be on the floor and we won’t be going anywhere until tomorrow. Dom will never forgive me.”
I laughed and allowed my right leg to creep out of the side slit. Jason noticed and his hot gaze ran slowly up my leg. “You’re so beautiful,” he said in a husky voice.
The intensity of his gaze took my breath away for a few heartbeats.
“You look amazing too,” I said, drinking in the sight of him in his black tuxedo.
Jason crooked a finger, backing up. “Let’s go.”
I grabbed my clutch off the couch and followed him into the corridor, locking the door behind me. I’d known this man for six years and detested him for large swaths of that time. And then he held out his arm, flashed his incomparable smile, and my infatuation with Jason Roma kicked up a few notches.
Both the wedding and reception were being held in a historic downtown hotel that was built in the twenties. Jason explained to me in the car that even though Melanie wanted to have the wedding at Esposito’s, it was ultimately decided to be impractical.
“I have to ask you something,” I said.
“Ask away.”
“What did you really tell your friends about me?”
He focused on the traffic straight ahead. “We should have that conversation later.”
“Why?”
“Because I have a few ideas about how this night will go,” he said.
“What ideas?”
He nodded and zeroed in on me. “You’ll see.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but the possibilities sent my pulse racing. Every time Jason’s sexy dark eyes glanced in my direction, I was a little more excited to find out exactly what kind of so-called ideas Jason was keeping to himself.
The old hotel was classy and perfect and exactly the kind of place where I would have wanted to get married if I had ever thought about it. Normally I wasn’t a hopeless romantic, but my throat felt a little tight as I watched Dominic and Melanie exchange their vows. Melanie looked nothing short of dazzling in her sleeveless full-skirted dress, and Dominic was the second-hottest guy in the room, after Jason. Whenever my eyes strayed from the blissful couple, I focused on Jason standing there in his tux as he watched his friends make an enduring commitment. His broad shoulders projected strength, and his smoldering good looks set him apart from every other man in the room, at least in my eyes. At one point he turned my way, searching for my face among all the other guests. When he found me, he winked. My heart fluttered in response.
When Melanie and Dominic kissed for the first time as husband and wife, I was taken back with a jolt to another time, another wedding. My brother had been so in love with his bride the day he married Jennifer. Despite the bridesmaid tulle scratching my legs then, I remember being awed at the way William’s large hands trembled with emotion as he placed the ring on her finger. I’d already started to think of Jennifer as my sister, a permanent addition to the family. At the time I’d been sure they would be together forever. Some people were lucky enough to have that fate. But not them. Eight years and two kids later their love story was over.
I shook the melancholy off. It didn’t seem fair to obsess over sad endings at such a happy beginning. This was Melanie and Dominic’s day. I hoped with all my heart that they’d remain every bit as in love as they were right now.
After the short ceremony, we were all herded into an elegantly appointed ballroom. Jason returned to my side and slipped his arm possessively around my waist.
“I swear I didn’t hear half the ceremony,” he murmured in my ear. “I was too busy staring at you.”
I smiled as his arm tightened around my waist. “Likewise,” I whispered back.
When we reached the bride and groom, Jason presented me as “The gorgeous and incomparable Audrey Gordon, whom you’ve met before and hear me talk about all the time.”
Melanie embraced me with a friendly hug. “I’m so glad you came, Audrey.”
Her new husband, who was a little more reserved, settled for a handshake, but he did smile. I didn’t miss seeing how he also raised an eyebrow at his best friend.
Dominic’s brother and business partner, Gio, was the best man, and Gio’s very glamorous, very pregnant wife, Tara, served as a bridesmaid. They’d also obviously known Jason for a long time—Tara nudged her husband with amusement when she noticed how Jason kept his arm around me at all times.
A beautiful woman who could have been Melanie’s slightly taller twin was the maid of honor. She was the bride’s sister, Lucy, and she made the first toast after we all sat down. Then Gio got up and made a second heartfelt toast to “My big brother, my hero. And to Melanie, my new sister. May every happiness on earth belong to you. I love you guys.”
But it was Dominic’s toast that had everyone dabbing their eyes with their linen napkins. When he rose and held up his glass, he looked very grave, and I would guess that he wasn’t a man who enjoyed speaking in front of people.
“Melanie,” he said to his bride, “I’m going to steal a few words from William Shakespeare for this occasion. ‘My heart is ever at your service.’”
Then he bent down and kissed her gently. She closed her eyes as his lips lingered on hers. The room went utterly silent as Melanie and Dominic shared their perfect fairy tale moment.
With only around fifty wedding guests, the seating seemed somewhat informal. Jason and I had found a table with Dominic’s cousin, Steven, whom I had glimpsed briefly in the kitchen the night Jason took me to Esposito’s. His youngest daughter sat to my left.
“I like your dress,” she said shyly.
“Thank you,” I replied. I pointed to the silver unicorn that stood out against her light pink dress. “I like your necklace.”
“Alice,” her father prodded gently, “eat your vegetables, honey.”
The girl, whom I would guess to be around ten years old, wrinkled her nose as she popped a single pea in her mouth. It was the sort of thing my nephew Leo would have done.
I nudged Jason. “How’s your father? I kept meaning to ask.”
He looked up from his plate. “My father?”
“You mentioned taking him to the doctor the other day.”
He took a sip of wine, and I thought a shadow passed over his face. “Just a routine appointment,” he said, and I could tell from his voice that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
I touched his hand. “Thank you for inviting me tonight, Jason.”
He grinned. “It never occurred to me to invite anyone else.”
As soon as the music started, Jason grabbed my hand and tried to pull me to my feet. “Dance with me.”
“I’m still eating,” I objected, reluctant to leave the eclectic mix of delicious food that included pizza, tamales, and an assortment of side dishes. It was the strangest, and tastiest, wedding meal I’d ever been served.
But Jason wouldn’t be deterred. “If they take it away by the time you get back, I’ll get you more.”
I hadn’t danced with anyone in a long time, but Jason was a fantastic partner, whirling me around with expert precision, and I laughed as I tried to keep up. Yet as much as I enjoyed being spun around by him, I was glad when the music slowed. Jason pulled me close, and a brief shiver rolled through me as I thrilled to the feel of his hard muscles and relaxed into his arms.
I reached up to touch his smooth-shaven face. “I kind of liked the beginnings of that beard.”
“Then I’ll start growing a new one tomorrow,” he responded.
“I’ve never seen you with a full beard before.”
He shrugged. “I’ve never grown one before.”
“And now you will?” I couldn’t quite figure out if he was joking or not. “Yes, I think I would like to see that.”
“Then I’ll do it.”
“Just because I’d like it?”
He grinned. “Just because you’d like it.”
I slipped my arms around his shoulders and gazed into his eyes. Pure sincerity stared back at me.
“I can’t figure you out,” I admitted.
He tightened his arms around my waist. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Just ask.”
“Okay. What did you tell your friends about me?”
His expression grew mischievous. “I said you were a pain in the ass with nice tits.”
“Jason, if we weren’t at a wedding, I’d knee you in the balls.”
“Doubt you could pull it off in that dress. Anyway, you didn’t let me finish.”
“I’m afraid to hear the rest.”
Jason pressed his forehead to mine. “I also said you’re brilliant and dedicated, that you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met, and that even when you’re driving me nuts, I still want you so badly I can hardly concentrate.”
The sound of other people in the room faded. There was only Jason. I wanted to believe him. But I’d thought of him as an obnoxious adversary for so long. I figured he always thought of me the same way, no matter what went on in the bedroom.
“And you’ve felt this way all these years?” I said, my tone doubtful.
“No.” He shook his head emphatically. “I feel this way now, Audrey. After all these years. In all this time, I never would have turned down the chance to get you naked again, but that’s not all I want anymore. That’s not why I invited you to my best friend’s wedding. That’s not why you’re always on my mind. That’s not why I’d be tempted to savagely crush the windpipe of any fucker who might hurt you and why I won’t step aside when you insist you don’t need my help. And, dammit, I wish I’d had the balls to tell you all this before we went back to your apartment a few weeks ago.”
He tipped my chin up and stared into my eyes for a long, powerful moment before delivering his most important declaration. “There was a time when I was happy enough just to have your body for a little while. That’s not enough now. I want all of you.”
We had stopped dancing altogether. We were just standing there in the middle of the dance floor wrapped up in each other and probably attracting a few stares, but I didn’t care.
“You told me once you didn’t have girlfriends,” I reminded him.
He raised an eyebrow. “I think I was twenty-three at the time. I’m not twenty-three anymore.”
“No, you’re not.”
Jason’s hands slid down far past my waist, pressing me against him. “Audrey, I don’t want girlfriends. Just you.”
Most of the time he didn’t appear to take life seriously, and he could beat a person’s last nerve to death with his caustic commentary. But I also knew he was loyal and funny and wildly sexy. I didn’t have a great track record with relationships, and I was pretty sure Jason had an even less impressive history. But for the first time in a long while I really wanted to try—maybe I’d finally met someone worth the effort. It had just taken us six years to get this far.
“Well, Mr. Roma,” I told him, brushing my lips across his jaw, “tonight you’ve got me.”
Another man might have settled for a quick kiss in the midst of so much company, but not Jason. He cupped my face in his hands and didn’t think twice about sliding his tongue into my mouth. One hand tangled in my hair and the other pressed me closer. He wanted me to feel him, all of him, and I answered back by matching the hunger of his kiss.
“Get a room,” a nearby deep voice bellowed, and we broke the kiss long enough for Jason to throw Dominic a dirty look. He floated by with Melanie and merely laughed when Jason followed up the dirty look with an obscene gesture.
I giggled and buried my face in Jason’s collar, breathing the scent of his aftershave, enjoying the delicious pleasure of being so close to him. I nipped at his neck and felt his pulse quicken.
“It wasn’t bad advice,” I purred in his ear as my hand slid under the coat of his tuxedo and over the solid chest covered only by a thin shirt. Around Jason I felt more daring than I’d ever felt with anyone. At least while I was sober. There was a potent physical connection between us that couldn’t be denied. Who would want to deny it? I wanted to revel in it.
Jason’s hands moved to my hips. Through all our layers of clothes I could feel how hard he was. All of a sudden I was intensely eager to leave the party behind.
“I’m a step ahead of you,” Jason teased.
“What does that mean?”
“It means check the left pocket of my pants.”
I dipped my fingers down into his pocket and felt a sharp corner. “Is that a card key?”
“Yes.”
“To what?” I asked, although I already had a pretty good idea.
“To a room upstairs.”
“You were awfully confident coming into tonight.”
Jason disagreed, shaking his head. “I haven’t come at all yet, Audrey.”
I gave him a playful smile and a light shove. “Thought you didn’t just want me for my body.”
“I don’t,” he said. “But it’s definitely an appealing bonus.”
We couldn’t very well abandon the reception when it was barely half over, so instead we did the responsible thing. We returned to our table and made “fuck me” eyes at each other for the next two hours.
Once most of the guests began filtering out, Jason took my hand and led me on a round of farewells. Dominic had loaned his tuxedo jacket to Melanie, and from the looks they kept exchanging, it was obvious they couldn’t wait to be alone together either.
“Thanks for being here, man,” Dominic said to Jason, and gave his best friend a brotherly hug.
Melanie gave Jason a kiss on the cheek, offered me another friendly hug, and returned to the protective custody of Dominic’s arms.
“I hope you guys aren’t in the room next to ours,” Jason mused. “I have a feeling the walls are thin in this place.”
“Jason,” I hissed, nudging him, because even though I tended to lose my inhibitions in his presence, I wasn’t used to hearing my upcoming sexual activities broadcast in the company of near strangers.
“What?” Jason said innocently. “I just want to make sure the night doesn’t turn out awkwardly for everyone.”
Melanie and Dominic simply laughed.
“Good night, Jay,” Melanie called as she wrapped her arms around her new husband.
“Good night, Mr. and Mrs. Esposito,” Jason said as he led me away with a hand on the small of my back.
Finally, the doors of an impressive copper-faced elevator closed behind us.
Jason pressed the button for the fourth floor and slipped his arms around my waist. “So here we are,” he said, kissing my right shoulder.
I turned my head and kissed him, living in the moment. I didn’t stop until the elevator opened again.
“This is a nice place,” I said, checking out the Prohibition-era décor as Jason led me down the corridor. “Lots of vintage stuff. You know, I remember hearing about this hotel. There was a big legal battle a few years back between the city historical society and a developer who wanted to raze the property and build condos. What was the name again?”
“What name?” Jason asked as he swiped the card key in the door.
“Of the developer. I’m pretty sure it’s someone Lester & Brown has done business with. One of your projects, I think.”
“Audrey.” Jason backed me into the wall and peered down at me with a heated expression. “If you say the words Lester & Brown or anything remotely work-related at all for the rest of the night, I might have to punish you.”
I grinned up at him. “Lester & Brown.”
In a swift caveman move Jason heaved me over one shoulder. I didn’t even have time to yelp as he hauled me into the hotel room and deposited me on the huge bed.
“Don’t test my patience again,” he warned cheerfully as he shrugged out of his jacket, threw it on the floor, and started unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt.
I slipped my heels off and leaned back on the bed on my elbows, deliberately edging my leg out of the side slit. “I received good intel from the sales department that they’re going to be bidding on a new gigantic cancer hospital in Scottsdale. What do you think about that?”
He knelt at the foot of the bed and parted my legs. “I think you haven’t learned your lesson.”
I batted my lashes at him. “Perhaps I need to be trained.”
Jason thought about it as his hands dove under my gown. I closed my eyes and let my head roll back, smiling to myself as Jason sucked in a surprised breath.
“Fuck, no panties,” he groaned.
“Nope. The lines would be visible through the gown. Can’t have that.”
Jason pushed all the satin fabric above my waist and seized my hips in his hands. “You could have worn a thong,” he pointed out, offering a teasing flick of his tongue along the inside of my thigh.
“Let’s just say you’re not the only one who was nursing a few expectations about tonight.”
His hot tongue teased the other thigh. “Is that so?”
“Yes, in fact. Oh, shit, Jason!”
Words were now out of the question because Jason’s tongue had changed tactics and was now deep inside me. I clutched the thick bed comforter in my fists, sank all the way down to my back, and arched my body eagerly into his mouth. It didn’t take long for the first wave of convulsions to threaten me with oblivion, but Jason had other ideas. When I was mere seconds away from climax, he withdrew. Feeling slightly thwarted and frustrated, I opened my eyes to find him sliding on top of me, quick and sure as a panther. His pants were down and his face was an open book of desire and triumph mixed with tenderness that showed in his eyes when he gently uttered my name.
“Audrey,” he said, and a longing filled his voice like I’d never heard before.
I ran my hand over his cheek. “I meant it,” I whispered. “You’ve got me, Jason.”
“You’re perfect,” he said with gruffness, and I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant. I just knew that I loved hearing the words.
They echoed in my mind as I moaned at the feel of him entering my body, and kept me company in my dreams.