Gen was in the bathroom, getting dressed for bed. He’d shown her around the spacious hotel room that was bigger than most apartments in the city. He’d expected her to be impressed, but her impassive face and the roll of her eyes said she’d cared very little for the opulence. He reminded himself that he’d asked for that. If Gen was to be trusted regarding her application with the bridal agency, she’d written down the exact traits he’d been looking for in a bride, and the agency had matched them accordingly. Perfectly. He couldn’t quite get over that.

The agency had also provided her—with the extensive funds he’d paid—with a whole new wardrobe that would please him. She’d gone to change for bed, and he had to wonder just what kind of clothes she’d be wearing when she finally came out of the bathroom. His imagination had been working overtime. It had been more than twenty minutes already, and she hadn’t even showered. If she took much longer, he’d need a shower. A cold one.

Gen LaMont. He’d been woken from a fair number of amazing dreams about her over the years. Curvy, sassy, lips and hips that went on forever. But she was also a friend. In school, he wouldn’t have made a move on her, because it might have wrecked what they had. Then Maddie had done that anyway. He’d been stupid to tell Maddie who had ratted her out, but it was too late to take it back. Maddie had confronted Gen in front of everyone and Gen had retreated into herself. It was his fault. After he’d graduated, she’d still been in school, so he let himself stop thinking about her. Then he’d left.

The bathroom door opened a crack and her long fingers wrapped around the door as she peered out. Her golden hair caught the light, long and curly past her shoulders, tempting him. She was wearing a white silky negligée that only covered her to the very tops of her milky thighs, the lace on top showcasing her breasts. His dreams hadn’t done her justice. Instantly, his whole body responded, and he shifted in his seat to hide it. How was he going to ever stay away from her when she was right there … and his wife.

“I’ll take the bed in the other room.” She glanced nervously to the separate, smaller bedroom in one corner, taking measured steps away from him.

That would never happen. He knew it as surely as he knew the clock would never turn back. He knew Gen better than any woman alive and there was only one way to know her even better. As much as he wanted her to be happy, that meant she would have to be with someone else. He’d never been good at giving anything up once it was his.

“Oh, no. I think you’ll be with me in the suite,” he replied. How had he ever stayed away from her? Now that she was here, he couldn’t. The agency had somehow known exactly what he wanted, and that was Gen. No woman had affected him that much, that fast. His breath came a little faster as his heart sped.

“It’ll be difficult to maintain the separation you want if I’m right there with you. It would be best if I just went to bed.” She backed away, the tips of her fingers trailed the hem of her short nightgown and he strode up to her, the pull irresistible. He’d wanted Gen for years, she’d been the closest thing he’d ever come to loving a woman.

“There are times when I’ll expect separation. This isn’t one of them.” He thrust his hand into her silken hair, unable to wait a second longer, and kissed her, just like he’d wanted to all those years ago. She was hot, and his kiss soon pulled a groan from her throat as she pressed against him and held tight. Her quick response only fired him further.

“Does that mean I’m to stay with you?” She pressed closer.

He trailed his hand down her neck and over one breast, watching it tighten under his gentle caress.

“I didn’t want this. I didn’t want a woman who would take my mind away from my job. I don’t know how I’m going to manage to do this. But I do know that I wanted you to be with me.” He slid his hand down the back of her leg and up her thigh, the skin softer than he’d ever dreamed. He cupped her rear and pulled her tight to him, and it wasn’t close enough.

“I think the agency forgot one important bit of clothing.” His one hand remained firmly on the heavenly curve of her rear as the other slid farther up to her waist.

She hid her head in his chest. “They didn’t provide panties for this day, and all my other clothes are in my luggage, still out in the car.”

He laughed, but couldn’t believe the agency had somehow knew that would turn his blood to fire. If he’d slipped his hand up her leg, as he’d wanted to earlier, he’d have discovered that fact on the plane…

He deepened the kiss, only separating to bunch her nightgown up and yank it over her head to toss it on the other side of the room where it belonged. She was glorious, all curves, cream and pink. He stood, unable to catch his breath, staring down at her, his heart pounding in his chest. She stood, staring at him, taking him in with a hunger to match his own. She unbuttoned his shirt, and he jerked it over his head, needing to feel her skin against his and unbuttoning would take too much time. Once started, he couldn’t get undressed fast enough and he’d wished he’d done it while she’d been in the bathroom.

“Gen,” he kissed her again, then explored her neck. Her skin was soft and warm. “I’m going to take you unless you tell me no.” He slowed the kiss to wait for her.

She reached around him, her fingertips grazing his skin. “I agreed to marry whoever was at the airport waiting for me. If you want this to stop, you’re asking the wrong person.” She stepped away from him. “If you want to stop, it will have to be your choice.”

When he stood before her, bare to her wide gaze, he finally saw the appreciation in her eyes that he’d been waiting to see all day, maybe for years. Her silence had hurt back then. His money didn’t impress her, but he did, and that was all that mattered now. She stepped forward, bolder than he expected, and he took her lips again, letting his hands wander over every soft curve he could reach, memorizing every inch of her with his hands.

He found the soft folds between her thighs, the secret place that would make her his forever, and gently circled the apex with his thumb. Gen broke their kiss and threw her head back, a groan escaping he.

“If I only have you once, I want to make sure you never forget it.” He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed, he laid her down on his side. She stared up at him, her eyes hot and lips swollen with his kiss. He climbed over her, finding that hot, swollen place once again, continuing her pleasure. She rocked under him to the rhythm of his hand. Her body arched up. She was so close, too close.

“I can’t have this over so quickly.” He stopped the movement and made his way up her body, taking one rose nipple in his mouth, teasing and tempting until she was begging his name.

“Please, Will. I can’t take any more.”

But she would. “That’s what you think.” He chuckled and directed her hand to cover him, showing her just how to return the pleasure.

“And what do I do next?” She asked, breathless. He had no doubt that she knew about sex, the general mechanics of it, but he’d teach her just what to do for him. His hunger for her burned, she would be perfect for him, and only for him.

“I’d rather show you than tell you.” He smiled. She gasped as he took her other supple nipple in his mouth. She shuddered and her hold on him tightened. He had to hurry, or he would miss her.

“Do I do that to you?” She was so breathless, he struggled to hear her.

Gen took charge, sliding her hands up his torso and then around him, tugging him over her. She nibbled tentatively at his nipple and his need tensed, hard, urgent.

She arched her hips, allowing him to glide inside. He couldn’t stop the momentum if he’d tried, and the beat of the music in their minds soon built to a pitch, and they both collapsed on the bed as it squeezed to its height, then ebbed.

Gen in the flesh was better than any teenage dream, and she was his for life if he wasn’t stupid enough to send her away. He moved off her and tucked her close to his chest, her breathing still ragged and she clung to him. Her hair lay in silken ribbons over his chest, and he gently moved them away, kissing her temple, her cheek, the side of her lips. His lips felt her blush before he could see it.

“I’m sorry. I had nothing else to wear. That’s what the agency sent… Please, don’t hate me.” Her voice quivered.

He tipped her chin to look at him. He didn’t want her embarrassed, he wanted her languid with her pleasure. “You don’t have to apologize. You’re too tempting by far.”

She slid away from him and sat up, her back facing him. “Then I’ve failed already.”

He rested his head on his hand, watching her. She had yet to do anything he’d expected. No one in his life had made him think so hard about his next move, his next word. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

“You wanted a wife who didn’t affect you. That’s why you didn’t want me, because our shared history means I affect you.”

It certainly did, and he wasn’t about to give it up now. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Let’s get some sleep. We’ll worry about what comes next in the morning.”

She stood to retrieve her nightgown. While she was more beautiful to him physically than he could say, it was Gen, the fun friend who was always up for an adventure that wouldn’t allow him to let her go. Had Gen been as interested back then as he’d been? Was this part of their destiny? Maybe he was starting to believe in chance.