The Wedding Hoax Read online

  He said nothing as he used his key card to open their door, then held it for her. She glanced up as she passed in front of him. His expression was unreadable.

  She walked into the living-room area of the suite and kicked off her shoes, annoyed at herself for letting the tequila go to her head. Now her emotions were running wild, and she was never going to live down the humiliation of another one of his rejections.

  Her mind went back to before she’d asked for more in their relationship—before she’d been rejected by him and everything had changed. Back when their nights were filled with good food, great conversation, and mind-blowing hours wrapped in each other’s arms. Back when it was okay to flirt with the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on, because he planned to ravish her body until she came undone in his arms. Back when life with him was simple and made sense. Back when she had it all and never realized it.

  Daisy went to her room and closed the door. Perched on the edge of her bed, she drained a bottle of water and took some deep breaths until she felt her clouded judgment dissipate.

  She needed to stop thinking about what used to be and simply focus on what was—a business arrangement with Cole. Nothing more.

  She headed back out to the living room, knowing she needed to apologize to him for her behavior tonight. Although, given the opportunity, she’d still pounce on him. Being clearheaded hadn’t stopped the ache of longing she had for him tonight. It didn’t change her wishing she could be with him again, in that way. In every way.

  Unable to look him in the eye, she made a beeline for a new bottle of water, cracking the seal and drinking deeply, hoping it would buy her a few seconds to figure out what to say.

  “You made me promise, Daisy. You made me swear to keep my hands off you. And then you have the nerve to come on to me tonight. This isn’t right.” His voice was stern behind her, and she wanted to do anything but deal with this moment. But she had to. Everything he said was true.

  “I’m sorry. I got carried away thinking about how things used to be between us,” she said, turning around to face him.

  He strode toward her, pulling his now unbuttoned shirt from his body and tossing it to the floor. He pressed her back against the wall. His thigh forced her legs apart, anchoring her in place. Her chest heaved against his as she struggled for air. Cole, half naked and between her legs, made it hard to breathe, to think, to focus on anything but his body.

  Wow. More. Now.

  “You tell me one thing, then send me signals for another. Tell me honestly, are you still feeling tipsy?”

  She shook her head, unable to respond verbally.

  “Good.” He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, stroking his thumb along her jaw. His lips found hers. He took what he wanted, tasting her, tangling his tongue with hers. After what felt like far too soon, he broke away. “We shouldn’t do this.”

  “You’re right. About everything,” she whispered. She ran her fingers up his chest, settling on the tattoo of an anchor entwined with rope over his left pectoral muscle, tracing the lines of ink.

  He sighed and rested his forehead against hers. “Then stop touching me, Dee. I can’t resist you much longer. You’re making this so damn hard.”

  “You don’t have to tell me that. I can feel it for myself.” She wiggled against his thigh.

  He groaned as she moved. He really was holding back for her. Because she’d made him promise he would. She ran her finger down his chest and abs to his waist. A second later, one of his strong hands was wrapped around both of her wrists, pinning them above her head.

  “Tell me what you want,” he demanded, his voice hard and edgy.

  “You,” she whispered, tilting her chin up to give him a better angle. She knew getting involved with him was a bad idea. The very thing she’d swore she wouldn’t do. And yet she couldn’t stop herself. Right now she needed him more than she’d ever needed anything else.

  “This won’t change anything between us, you know?” he said, meeting her gaze. “I haven’t changed. I’m still the same guy I was last year.”

  “And I’m still the same woman, only I don’t want forever with you anymore. But I do want right now. So are you going to stand here talking, or are you going to take me to bed?”

  “Promise me this won’t change things between us. Promise me you won’t start wanting more from me like last time. More than just a business arrangement.”

  “I’m over you, Cole. But tonight I want to be under you. Now stop talking and take your fake fiancée to bed.”

  He didn’t hesitate. He claimed her mouth with his. His hand snuck under the edge of her blouse and cupped her breast. She arched into him, squirming when his thumb brushed against the hard bud beneath her bra.

  He let go of her wrists and scooped her into his arms. Wrapping her arms and legs around him, she kissed his neck and shoulder. He started walking toward his bedroom but then she tugged on his ear with her teeth.

  He stumbled, pinning her against the wall again for balance. She kept her legs firmly locked around him when his hands left her waist and pulled her shirt over her head. A moment later, her bra joined it in a pile of fabric on the floor. She shivered as the cool air tickled her naked breasts. He kneaded her flesh, eliciting a moan from her lips when he pinched her aching peak between his fingers. Heat flowed to her core, and she wiggled against him, eager to feel every inch of what he had to offer.

  “Bed. Now,” she said against his lips.

  “No. Too far.” He sank to his knees, taking her with him.

  She lay prone on the plush carpet as Cole hovered over her, covering her with kisses along her breasts and belly. When he got to her pants, he paused long enough to undo them and pull them from her body. Then he went back to leaving a trail of heat along her skin in the wake of his kisses.

  When he reached the junction of her thighs, she called out his name, arching her back and clawing at his shoulders while his tongue did things to her she’d forgotten were even possible. Within minutes, she quivered beneath him, a puddle of endorphins while aftershocks rippled through her body.

  As soon as she regained her breath, she pushed him off her and straddled his thighs. “My turn,” she said, pulling down the zipper of his pants.

  “If you insist.” He laughed, folding his hands beneath his head as if he were lounging around on a beach somewhere soaking up the sun. “I won’t stop you.”

  “No? Just going to lie there and take it easy while I do all the work? Nice.” She added his pants and boxers to the growing pile of clothes and paused a moment to appreciate his fully naked form.

  He was nothing short of spectacular.

  “You going to take in the scenery all night?” he asked, his voice teasing and a little abrupt.

  She crawled over to his side and sat back on her heels, her legs tucked under her. She traced the lines of ink on his chest. He’d told her before that the anchor stood for strength and loyalty. At the time she’d thought it meant he would always be loyal to a person, like her. But she’d been wrong about that. If he was loyal, it didn’t apply to his personal life. He was loyal to work first and foremost. Nothing else would ever hold his attention the same way. A strong reminder of what she was getting herself into again.

  Sure, they had a relationship now, but after the fake wedding, it would all end. His loyalty to her would end, too.

  Forcing the thought from her mind, she pressed her lips to his tattoo. At least she knew what she was signing up for this time. It would be different. She would go into this with her eyes open and not make the same mistakes she had last time. This was a one-time thing. An itch that needed scratching.

  It wasn’t the start to a long-term relationship.

  When she flicked her tongue over his chest, tasting his salty skin, he shuddered, and every other thought left her mind. The only thing she could focus on now was the man beneath her.

  She stroked the length of him before dipping her head and taking him into her mouth. He groaned—a
deep, guttural groan that sent her insides quaking. With every stroke of her hand and tongue, his sounds grew louder, deeper, more intense. His muscles twitched as she ran her hands along his inner thighs as if he were trying his hardest not to thrust his hips.

  Without warning, Cole flipped her onto her back. He kissed her breasts again, taking turns to suck each tight bud into his mouth while his fingers slipped between her thighs. She trembled as he brought her close to the edge again so easily, so quickly.

  “Cole, I need you now,” she whimpered, arching her back involuntarily. He was good with his hands, great with his mouth, but together they were nothing short of unbelievable.

  “There’s no rush,” he said, casually. “We have all night, Dee.”

  She quivered at the sound of her nickname while he touched her in the ways that only he could. But she wanted more, all of him. Snaking her hand down his chest and abdomen, she found his length and gripped him firmly. If he wouldn’t give her what she wanted, she’d find a way to change his mind.

  His hands and mouth stilled as he groaned. “You win.”

  He sheathed himself with a condom and hovered over her. “I’ve been dreaming about doing this since I saw you in the coffee shop. You have no idea how crazy it drove me to know I couldn’t take you home with me that day.”

  “Then what are you waiting for? Take me.”

  Inch by agonizing inch, he drew out her torment until he finally plunged in, filling her completely. He moved inside her, bringing her closer and closer to the edge. Just as she thought she couldn’t last any longer, he withdrew to the tip, paused for her to catch her breath, then thrust in again. He repeated the pattern until she clawed at his chest and shoulders, begging him to never stop. She was tortured and pleasured all at the same time.

  When he picked up her hips and thrust deep, filling her to the point she thought she couldn’t take anymore, he swiveled his hips and sent her spiraling in a haze of euphoria. It was as if she could feel every nerve ending in her body as she clenched around him, riding the wave he’d built to cresting inside of her. When he finally called out his own release and collapsed on top of her, his breathing was hot on her neck.

  She rubbed her fingertips against his back, following the valleys between mounds of muscles. He settled next to her, encircling her in his arms while he nuzzled the side of her neck. She felt protected in his embrace.

  His heartbeat calmed beneath her palm. The twinkle of her diamond ring caught her attention. It seemed such an unlikely combination—naked in his arms except for the ring he’d put on her finger.

  The pain of the commitment she’d been denied last year flooded her chest. Her ribs ached with need and longing for something she already knew she’d never have—Cole, a diamond, and a real future together.

  She’d been wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong.

  Being with Cole, letting him in, both figuratively and literally, had changed everything. And she didn’t have any idea what to do about it.

  Chapter Eleven

  Cole woke in the middle of the night, still on the living room floor, naked and alone. Falling asleep after sex, with a woman still wrapped in his arms, wasn’t something he did. Ever.

  Where was Daisy?

  He rose and crept to Daisy’s room, peeking inside. In the dark he could make out a lump in the shape of a human under the blankets. She had gone to bed and left him on the living room floor to wake up cold and alone?

  Harsh.

  The least she could have done was give him a blanket, if not a pillow as well. He would never have left her in the middle of the floor if she’d fallen asleep.

  Or would he?

  Hadn’t he had more encounters than he cared to admit where he’d left in the night without so much as a good-bye and a phone number where he could be reached? Hadn’t he slept with a woman and then not thought about how she would feel after he left?

  He might be the playboy in this relationship, but Daisy had just done a pretty stellar job of playing him. As much as he wanted to be annoyed with her tactic, he couldn’t be. They’d agreed that being intimate wouldn’t change anything between them, so did she really owe him a wake-up call or a blanket?

  Nope. If he admitted the truth to himself, he was more annoyed that she’d been the one to get up and leave before he could.

  He collected his clothes from the floor and returned to his own room, then tossed and turned for what felt like hours. Here he was in a soft bed unable to sleep, but earlier he’d practically been in a coma on the carpet.

  Why could he sleep better on the floor with Daisy tucked into his side than he could on a bed alone?

  …

  Daisy sat beside Cole, facing the stage. Today was the second and last day of the Chicago bridal expo and the day they would be a part of the bridal-fashion show dedicated to showcasing the possible wedding gowns the public could vote on for Daisy to wear on their big day.

  They’d both slept late and had barely managed to make it down to the bridal expo in time for the event to start. Now they nursed the strongest coffees he could find. Aside from being tired, he wasn’t feeling too bad. Daisy, on the other hand, looked as if she were ready to crawl back into bed at any moment.

  “You doing okay?” he asked, whispering in her ear. His arm rested on the back of her chair as if they were a real couple, cuddling in public.

  “Never better.”

  “Good to hear it. I thought you might be a little hungover from last night.”

  “I’m fine. Just a little sore.” She took a sip of her coffee, scowling at the taste.

  “Sorry about that.” He winked. “I’ll try to be more gentle next time. We never were good at making it to a comfortable bed, were we?”

  “I meant from standing at the booth all day yesterday.” She rolled her eyes, but he could see the twinkle of flirtation in them. She was fighting it. Why?

  He pulled her close and spoke low, drawing out his words so he could linger by her ear. “And here I thought maybe it was from being between me and the wall. Or the very hard floor we fell to. Speaking of the floor, thanks for leaving me there to wake up cold and alone.”

  She shifted in her seat so she could whisper in his ear and placed her hand on his thigh. His skin burned beneath her touch as it mixed with the memory of the night before. “I thought we agreed it was nothing more than sex, and isn’t that what you love-’em-and-leave-’em types usually do? Ditch in the middle of the night without a word? I didn’t realize I would hurt your delicate feelings if I did the same to you.”

  She was right of course. She had only done to him what he usually did to other women. Did it sting like this for them, too? Until last night, he’d never given it all that much thought. Daisy made him think about a lot of things.

  “Oh, and for what it’s worth, you didn’t look cold.” Her gaze darted down to his lap, then back to his eyes.

  He imagined her staring at his naked form lying on the living room floor. “If you liked what you saw, you can see it again, anytime. I’m all yours for the next few months. Use me as you will.”

  Her breath came out in little puffs against his cheek, but she didn’t say anything for a moment. While he waited for her to digest his offer, he played with the loose strands of her hair that had fallen across her shoulder. Feeling her silky tresses brought him back to the feel of her hair on his bare chest while she kissed his tattoo. The thought made his groin ache to have her again.

  “I thought we agreed last night was a one-time thing,” she said.

  “I agreed to no such thing. What you did agree to was that your feelings wouldn’t change. Now I can’t speak for you, but my feelings haven’t changed, which includes wanting to be with you again the way we were last night.”

  “Oh,” she said quietly, but the word turned to something more when he kissed the soft patch of skin below her ear. She trembled. He loved feeling her reaction to his touch and his kisses. “I…I don’t know if I want to do that again.”

  �
�I think you do. It’s an awfully long time to go without.”

  “I think it’ll be longer for you than it will be for me.”

  “Don’t even try to tell me you don’t have a need I can fill. Besides, we’re engaged. Isn’t this something engaged couples do together?”

  “Oh sure. That part of engagement and marriage you’re okay with, but the rest of it is evil, right?” She pulled back from him to look him in the eye. He couldn’t tell if she was teasing or seriously annoyed this time.

  “You knew what you were signing on for when you agreed to this.”

  “And I haven’t forgotten. I agreed to a fake engagement with no sex involved. I broke that rule last night, but I won’t make that mistake again.”

  She was right. Nothing in their arrangement had changed, except his desire to get her into his bed again. Floor again. Wall again. Wherever again—he didn’t damn well care.

  “Welcome to our bridal-gown fashion show featuring the designs of Daisy Willows. I thought I’d start out by introducing our couple of honor. However, by the looks of things heating up between the bride and groom, maybe they plan on skipping the wedding altogether to go straight to the honeymoon!” Mason Bridgewater’s voice boomed over the sound system.

  Cole cursed under this breath. “We’ll discuss this later.”

  “There’s nothing to discuss.” She turned her attention to the stage and waved at Mason, looking bashful and embarrassed.

  “Now that I have their undivided attention, please give a warm welcome to Cole Benton and Daisy Willows. Why don’t you start us off with a kiss to get us in the mood to pick your wedding dress?”

  Cole eyed Daisy, letting his gaze fall to her lips. “With pleasure.”

  He wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her close. “Good thing we got a lot of practice last night, or this might have been awkward.” He didn’t give her a chance to respond. Her lips were soft and ready for him, parting without hesitation. His tongue met hers, the taste of coffee awakening his senses. She gripped his shirt in a fist, holding him tight as if he might try to escape. He wouldn’t go anywhere right now, not even if Mason offered him double the investment. She tasted too good…felt too good.