Falling for the Groomsman (Wedding Dare #1)(7)
Author: Diane Alberts

Her smile slipped a little, but she forced it back into place. What game was she playing? “I remember it all, you know. Do you?”

Did she remember all of those details? It had been eight years. Sure, he remembered them, too, but that was different. He’d been older and completely sober. “Weren’t you too drunk to remember your name, let alone what we did?”

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he wanted to take them back. He felt like an ass for having sex with her when she was under the influence in the first place. The last thing he needed was to remind her he’d done it. Stupid ass**le.

She laughed, tossing her head back. “Actually, I wasn’t drunk at all.”

“You had three drinks.” He looked her up and down. “At your age and your size, you would have been at an approximately 0.28 percent blood alcohol concentration, which is way beyond drunk. I was a jerk for taking advantage of you, and I’m sorry.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and averted her eyes. “That’s an awfully detailed calculation. Thought about it much over the years?”

“You could say that.” He clenched his jaw. “Like I said, I’m sorry.”

“Well, save your apologies for someone else.” She lifted a shoulder. “You had three drinks. I was too distracted watching you to drink, so there’s no guilt needed. I didn’t even drink that night.”

How had he missed her not finishing her drinks? Maybe he’d just been that taken in by her. She was more fun to watch than a f**king cup. “Oh.”

“I had sex with you because I wanted to. Because you made me feel good. Not because I was drunk and out of my head.” She cocked her head. “Can you say the same? Why did you do it?”

Heat swept through him, taking away some of the guilt that had been his companion for way too long. She’d been fully sober and still f**ked him? Well, that changed a few things. It meant she’d wanted him as much as he’d wanted her.

Also, he couldn’t believe how much she’d grown up. Last time he’d been this close to her, she’d needed him. Needed his help. She didn’t need him anymore…

But he might just need her.

He watched her, his fingers flexing. “You’ve changed. You’re bolder.”

Surprisingly, he found this version of Christine even hotter.

She raised her brows. “So have you, but I bet you’re still that same boy who runs away after sex—just all grown up.”

“I’ve outgrown that particular habit,” he said drily. “But I don’t take virgins to my bed anymore.”

“That might be so.” She stepped closer, uncrossing her arms. “But I bet you still leave afterward, even if it is for a different reason. Perhaps to avoid commitment? I’ve heard you’re not big on the whole long-term relationship stuff.”

He gritted his teeth. She was way too f**king spot-on for his liking. “And what do you know about me? It’s been eight years.”

She stepped even closer and ran a hand down his chest. His heart sped up at her featherlight touch. “I know you’ve avoided commitments and seem to love throwing yourself into your work. I know you feel more comfortable overseas in a jungle than you do here, in a hotel lobby. I know the last place you want to be right now is here, with me.” Her hand dropped. “Am I right?”

Damn it all to hell, she was too f**king good. He curled his hands into fists, refusing to touch her even though he couldn’t think of anything else he’d rather be doing right now. “Pretty damn close except for the last part. I’m finding this whole encounter enlightening, to say the least.”

She smiled and bit down on the corner of her lip as if she tried to stop it. It was adorable and sexy all in one. Just like her. “How so?”

“Like I said, you aren’t the same person you were in Mexico.”

Her smile widened. “But I bet you are.”

“Care to find out?” he asked, crossing his arms. “We could—”

“Yeah. I don’t know about that.” She crossed her arms and considered him. “The last performance wasn’t all that great for me to revisit it. Especially the ending.”

Wait. What? He hadn’t been talking about revisiting the bedroom, for God’s sake. He’d been talking about revisiting their friendship. But now she had to go and throw that insult out there? He growled. “The hell it wasn’t.”

“Don’t like the sound of that, Doctor?”

He stepped closer, his heart pounding. “Yeah, because I know you liked it. Don’t lie to me.”

She cocked a haughty brow at him, seeming completely and perfectly composed while he was about to flip his shit. “So now you presume to know my mind better than I do?”

She might get away with talking shit to other men she’d been with, but it wouldn’t fly with him. He backed her up to the wall, boxing her in. Leaning so close that their chests touched, he pressed his hands against the wall on either side of her head. Getting this close to her was dangerous and stupid and delicious all at once.

It felt f**king amazing.

She smelled like vanilla and some sort of flower perfume, just as he remembered. After all this time, she still smelled the same?

Now her scent would drive him insane.

He caught her gaze. “It might have been your first time, but it wasn’t mine. I know for a fact you enjoyed every single thing I did to you that night. Especially when I buried my head between those sweet legs of yours and made you scream my name so loudly you woke up the entire floor. There’s no faking the way your pu**y clamped down on my finger when you came, Red.”

She bit down hard on her lower lip, and pink suffused her cheeks. “You talk to your patients that way, Dr. Dresco? That’s not a very professional bedside manner.”

“No,” he said, leaning even closer. His gaze fell to her plump mouth, and his stomach lurched. “I save it all for you.”

“Lucky me,” she replied, her breath coming out unsteadily despite her smooth expression. “You’re going to have to do more than dirty-talk me to get me to fall back into your arms.”

He ran a finger down her cheek, caught her chin, and tipped it up to him. “I bet you’d love it if I kissed you right here. Maybe you’d even like me to take you against the wall, just like I did in Mexico. For old time’s sake.” He pressed his hips against hers, rolling them in a gentle circle, and she let out a tiny moan. The sound went straight to his cock. “You could wrap your legs around my waist, and I could bury myself deep inside of you where you need me. All you have to do is ask me nicely.”