10
THE KISS WAS BAD ENOUGH. Now what were they doing?
No longer trying to conceal his presence, Justin watched his former friend press Hayley’s leather-clad body against his.
Something in him snapped.
He did not want Hayley pressing her body against another man and he did not want to press another woman’s body against his. Just Hayley. For now and for all time, Justin wanted to be the only man entitled to hold her against him and kiss her and hear that little moan in the back of her throat.
As far as he was concerned, nothing else mattered.
He walked toward the embracing couple. “Hey, you two!” He tried for a hearty style that fooled no one. “Bryant, I thought you’d be long gone by now.”
They pulled apart, but not completely, Justin noticed.
Bryant kept a protective arm around Hayley’s shoulders. “Hello, there, Justin, ole buddy.”
“Justin. what are you doing here?” Hayley’s voice sounded flat and weary.
What was he doing here? “I—I—”
Pounding footsteps echoed in the concrete corridor. “Justin, don’t hit him!” Gasping and clutching his chest, Ross arrived on the scene. “She’s not worth it. I beg you—stop this madness now!”
“You were going to hit him?” Hayley’s jaw dropped.
“What do you mean ‘She’s not worth it’?” Justin stared at Ross—now also a former friend. “If I have to pound the living daylights out of him, she’d be worth it. She’s worth euerything to me!”
“Hang on, Justin. If you start throwing punches, you’re only gonna hurt yourself,” Bryant said, flexing a well-muscled arm for emphasis.
“Nobody is going to hit anybody until I hear more about being worth everything to him,” Hayley said.
“That was a very interesting comment, Justin.” Ross crossed his arms and stepped back. “Do feel free to elaborate.”
“I’d kinda like to hear your intentions myself.” Bryant crossed his arms, as well, but it had a more threatening effect.
“I—I—” Justin was trapped-trapped by a theatrical weasel and a former all-state linebacker.
- Trapped by his feelings for the goddess in leather.
“I—I love her, damn it!” He glared at the men, then looked at Hayley. “I love you!”
She smiled her wide Hayley smile and cold settled in the pit of his stomach when he realized how close he’d come to losing her.
And then she was in his arms, where she belonged and where she was going to stay.
“And love triumphs at last,” Ross murmured. “But how exhausting until it did.”
“Hey, you know, you’re pretty good,” Bryant said.
“I am, aren’t I?” Ross was obviously pleased with himself. “And I must compliment you on your excellent grasp of the situation and your keen improvisational abilities.”
A chuckle rumbled deep within Bryant “You don’t take a team to the state finals three out of five years without learning how to size up a situation and make adjustments.”
“Good point.” Ross rubbed his hands together. “Well, our work here is done, but I’d like to hear more on the years after Elvis left the army, if you’ve got time.”
“I always have time for the King,” Bryant said.
They walked off together, snatches of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” serenading Justin and Hayley.
“Did you hear that?” Justin murmured to her. They still stood outside Hayley’s apartment, but he was afraid to let her out of his arms.
“Our song. You have wonderful friends.”
“Including one who now has such a big head, his Elvis wig won’t fit”
Hayley laughed, her body vibrating against him.
Justin kissed her.
“Um, Justin?” she asked, coming up for air. “What are we doing?”
Justin didn’t even hesitate. “I’ve thrown my grand plan out the window and I’m improvising.”
Her smile was even more luminous than usual
He’d missed her smile. “Unlock the door. We have a wedding night to finish.”
LOLA’S RAINBOW OF LOVE lecture hadn’t covered “faux wedding night, part two.”
By now, the rules were probably out the window anyway, Hayley thought.
She fumbled with the key because Justin was kissing her neck. She couldn’t think because his hands were stroking her thighs. She didn’t move because her door wouldn’t unlock.
“Want me to kick it in?”
He meant it. She could hear the determination in his voice.
Fortunately the key turned and the door swung open.
Justin kicked it shut. “Take off your jacket.”
His voice was harsh, his gaze hard and intent. Hayley hesitated. Was he angry?
“Please. You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
Wonder stole over Hayley as she realized it was desire he felt, not anger. Desire for her. The intense desire of a man at the limit of his control. Desire not diluted by second thoughts or misgivings or regret. A desire that needed no more time to be sure.
She’d never seen undiluted desire before and hadn’t recognized it. And now that she did, an answering desire unfurled within her.
He’d claimed her. He wanted her. Now.
And she wanted him.
Slowly she let her jacket fall off her shoulders and then to the floor.
Justin’s gaze grew hotter and bluer.
“Shall I keep going?”
His lips parted, but he didn’t say anything, so Hayley took that as a “yes.”
The front lacing on the bustier was more decorative than functional, with a zipper- up the back for convenience. Hayley wasn’t after convenience at this particular moment.
Ever so slowly, she walked toward Justin, took his hand and put the end of the bow in his fingers. She stepped backward as he held the lacing and the bow came loose.
He dropped it as though it burned his fingers.
Hayley smiled to herself. He thought that was hot? Just wait until he touched her. She was steaming. Sizzling.
Through the metal grommets, she pulled first one lace, then the other, feeling the edges of the leather part.
Justin watched the movements of her fingers as though hypnotized.
When she got midway down, he licked his lips and swallowed, his nakedly longing gaze darting once to her face before helplessly following the inward and outward path of the laces.
What Hayley saw in his expression erased all the insidious doubts she’d had about her desirability since he’d left her. He wanted her so much, he could barely control himself. He was completely in her power and wasn’t afraid to let her know it.
As a result, Hayley had never felt as supremely confident or as irresistible as she did at this moment.
Deliberately varying the rhythm she set, Hayley snapped one of the laces through the grommet.
Justin flinched, his hands balling into fists at his sides.
Hayley thrust out her chest to push the edges farther apart. The bustier wouldn’t fall down until the waist was loosened.
All this tension made her long to stretch her muscles. Why not now? Straightening her shoulders, she moved her head from side to side, then back and around. Reaching high, she stretched, feeling her breasts pull out of the top of the bustier.
Justin made a sound she’d never heard a human being make before. In two steps he crossed the space between them and swept her into his arms.
In that moment, she realized that while her mother was chiffon and lace, Hayley was leather and skin. Not that chiffon didn’t have its moments.
But this was a leather-and-skin moment, and Hayley reveled in the knowledge that she’d driven Justin insane with lust.
He carried her across her living room and into the bedroom.
Hayley was prepared to be flung onto the bed, but when Justin reached the bed, he stopped and stared at her.
“We have to talk,” he said, letting her slide down the length of his body.
Hayley knew they had to talk, but she didn’t want to talk now. “Later?”
He gave her a smile that liquefied her bones. “You’ll be too tired to talk later.”
She started unbuttoning his shirt. “Then talk fast.”
“Hayley, I’m about to veer off a course I set for myself when I was fourteen, because I’m in love with you. I have to know if you feel the same way.”
She looked at him in astonishment. “You know I love you. How could you even question it?”
“Because you’ve never said the words.”
She tugged his shirttail out of his jeans. “I guess I’ve loved you for so long, I thought you knew.”
“Yeah?” Justin had a huge smile on his face. “When did you know you loved me?”
“You really got my attention when you kissed me at the Peabody.” Hayley worked his shirt off his shoulders. “But I think I was hooked when you ignored my sisters. No man has ever done that for me.”
“Lucky for me.”
“But I really knew I loved you when you said, ‘Whatever was I thinking?’ after one of my sisters mentioned our long engagement.”
“I don’t like long engagements,” Justin said.
Hayley arched an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
“Because we’re engaged now, and I don’t like it.”
“Are we engaged?”
“Aren’t we?”
“You never said the words.”
“We’re getting married, aren’t we?”
“Are those the words?”
“Hayley, nothing about our relationship has been by the books, so don’t get technical on me now.”
“You were technical. You wouldn’t believe I loved you until I said the words.”
He was quiet, then he spoke softly. “Actually, you haven’t said the words.”
“I have!”
“No, you said you loved me. You haven’t said, 1 love you. off
She rolled her eyes. “I love you.”
“Thank you. Will you marry me?”
“You’re welcome. Yes.”
“Good. Now that all the technicalities have been satisfied...” Bending his head and using his teeth, he slowly finished unlacing the bustier.
By the time he finished, Hayley’s mouth was dry and her heart was hammering.
The bustier fell open.
Justin drew a deep breath, his intent blue gaze roaming over her. “You are the perfect woman. Why didn’t you wear a sign telling me so?”
“I thought you’d get the idea more from what I wasn’t wearing.” She tossed the bustier onto a chair.
“Good point.” Justin then proceeded to set a new world’s record for unpeeling leather from a woman.
“Why am I always naked and you’re always dressed?” Hayley complained and looped her arms around his neck.
“Yet another good point.” He kissed her, impressing her with his ability to undress at the same time.
“You have excellent hand-and-mouth coordination,” she murmured. “A very useful talent in a man.”
“Talent is nothing without practice,” he murmured, running his hands over her in long leisurely strokes. He bent to kiss her.
Hayley turned her head so his kiss landed on her jaw. “Just a minute. There are a few more tiny details to work out here. How exactly do I tell my mother I’m not Mrs. Sloane Devereaux?”
“You’re asking me to think up something now?”
“I’m not the only one who’ll be too tired later.”
“Okay. I’ll think of something.” Justin nuzzled her neck.
“Are you thinking?”
“Hmm.” He pressed close against her.
“You’re thinking with the wrong part of your body.”
“It has a mind of its own.”
“Justin!”
“Okay, tell your mother that you broke up with Sloane before the wedding, and you were going to call everything off, but you met me. Since we hadn’t known each other long, you were afraid she wouldn’t approve, so you didn’t tell her.”
“Do you think she’ll believe that?”
“It’s the truth.”
Hayley thought about it. It wasn’t the entire truth, but it would be enough for her mother. She smiled. “You think well under pressure.”
“Good. Stop talking so I can kiss you.”
“Wait a minute. What about your plan? You know I have a huge tax bill and you still have Ross’s loan to repay.”
Justin’s face turned serious. “I have more than that. You might want to wait awhile to get married.”
“I don’t want to wait. We both know we’ve got to pay off debts. We might as well be together while we do. I’m more worried about you feeling that you’ve missed something.”
“I’ll still experience everything, but now I’ll experience it with you.”
Hayley studied his face, seeing nothing but sincerity. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Do you still have the gift basket?”
“By the bed. But one more thing.”
Justin groaned.
“I want our wedding to be small, memorable and unweddinglike. Just us and the minister or judge.”
“No,” he said quietly.
Hayley’s eyes widened, but he was serious. “Justin, II can’t go through a production like that again.”
“I’m not asking you to, but I am asking that my mother and stepfather be there. And probably Ross, too.”
“Oh! Of course!” Hayley felt an overwhelming relief along with guilt. She’d been selfish about this wedding stuff.
Justin ran a hand along her thigh. “Anything else?”
“Yes,” Hayley purred. “Get the gift basket.”