Intoxicated

The woman took it first, giving him a name he immediately forgot, and then after a heavy pause the man followed suit. “Ward Harris,” he said with a curt nod.

“A pleasure.” Keeping his smile on high-voltage, James turned toward Laina and circled his other arm around her, and then he reached up to stroke her hair. It was as soft as he’d imagined, taking his mind to thoughts of it trailing down his torso toward his cock. As her eyes met his, he felt another electric bolt to his groin. In his arms she felt amazing, firm and taut. And furious, like a cobra waiting to strike.

“I missed you,” he said in a voice just loud enough for the couple to hear. “Ten minutes away from you...how is that even possible? I swear to God, I am the luckiest man on earth.” He tipped her chin up toward his face and gazed into her eyes. “You. Are. So. Beautiful.”

“Um...” she stammered, “thanks.” Her cheeks were burning hot, but he could tell she was enjoying this. And was it his imagination, or was her body relaxing slightly in his arms? In any case, hipster dude looked like he wanted to kill—perfect. Mission accomplished. Even though he knew he should pull away from her now and sweep her toward the boat as a final touch, leaving the guy fuming in their wake, he didn’t want to stop touching her. But he had to do something before his barely restrained cock made her think he was some goddamned pervert. He stepped away from her slightly to put the brakes on his arousal, but then she surprised him by yanking him back toward her.

“We should really get on the boat, darling,” she said, finally falling into the role. “I can’t wait to see what the staterooms look like.” She nodded at the couple. “Have a wonderful evening.” James released his grip on her, but not before her hand slid down to give his rear end a playful squeeze. Then she took his hand and pulled him down the gangway into the yacht.

“What the fuck?” Laina sputtered at him the second they were on the boat, ripping her hand out of his. Her question was directed at the man who’d just manhandled her in front of her ex—the same guy she’d blown a fuse at on the cliff, no less—but it might have been directed at herself. Her entire body had gone to mush the second his arm had gone around her. After she got over the initial shock of both who he was and what he was doing, all she’d been able to think was that she wanted more of him. Considering both of her encounters with the man, it made absolutely zero sense. And of course the whole thing had been nothing but a role play anyway.

He was looking at her with that teasing grin again. “Listen, do you think we could talk somewhere a little more private?” he said in a loud whisper. “You’re going to blow our cover.” Without giving her a chance to answer, he took her arm and steered her toward a bathroom.

Laina had been so distracted that she’d barely had time to glance around, but as they cruised through the saloon, she had a moment to absorb her surroundings.

She’d seen plenty of luxury in her life, but she’d never been on a boat like this before. This room alone was as big as her entire Castleberry Hill condo back in Atlanta, and everything about it screamed opulence. The room was circular, laid with blond wood flooring. The furniture was all white leather and sparkling glass. Tuxedoed staff circulated among the guests with platters of gourmet appetizers. The stern side of the saloon opened onto a huge deck, where guests were lounging on outdoor beds or streaming toward the bar, which was framed in billowing fabric that fluttered in the wind. Above the bar was a silver sign with Kiki and Dev spelled out in pink lights. Laina took a quick glance around for the happy couple, not wanting to miss their entrance—she hadn’t even talked to Kiki since she’d arrived on Moretta—but they were nowhere to be seen.

“In here,” James said, pushing her gently through the bathroom door and shutting it behind him. She took in the large room quickly—polished ebony vanity, ornate gold mirror over a waterfall sink and a chaise longue sitting alongside a table displaying every toiletry imaginable. The word head just didn’t seem right for luxury like this.

Laina crossed her arms over her chest and fixed her eyes on his. “Really nice way to introduce yourself,” she said testily. “You might have told me who you were today when you had the chance.”

“Chance? Is that what you call that nanosecond between telling me to get the hell off your cliff and dressing me down for taking photos on it?”

“Well, excuse me!” she said, throwing her hands up. “You could have, I don’t know, gotten in touch with me afterward—”

“Exactly how? You wouldn’t let Kiki give me your number, remember?”

“—or at least introduced yourself like a normal person just now, instead of...pawing me in front of my ex—” She was advancing on him now, hands waving wildly, but he wasn’t budging.

“Aha! So it was him—I knew it!” He gave a self-satisfied grin.

She finally stopped in front of him, her toes inches from his. She could smell his aftershave now, woodsy, intoxicating...a smell that had her imagination going to places beneath his clothing. And the way he looked in his khaki pants and white linen shirt, sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular forearms...his eyes on her, those lips she longed to kiss—good God. Okay, so the guy was hot, but that was no excuse for such inappropriate thoughts. What was wrong with her?

“We put on a great show. Isn’t that what you wanted?” he continued. “He bought every word. Not that I didn’t mean them, by the way.”

Laina felt a flush that moved all the way from her toes up to her hair...and she could tell he was enjoying her discomfort. Shit, but he was unnerving. Men didn’t call her beautiful without an ulterior motive, and Laina was certain there was no way James could have one—she’d been too careful to hide her true identity. “Still,” she said, softening a bit. “That didn’t mean you had to get all handsy with me.”

James lifted a hand to his chin, as if he were pondering her words. “Hmm. Okay, so what you wanted was a ‘boyfriend’—” he added air quotes “—who politely stood at your side without touching you. Who made small talk with your ex instead of showering you with the attention you deserve.” He shook his head. “Maybe you need to raise your standards a bit, Ms. Rose.”

Laina could feel her face tighten with fury, and it wasn’t because he was wrong; what did she know about choosing a man? She’d almost married a guy who’d let her pay all the bills and then cheated on her. All she’d cared about was that he didn’t seem to care about her family fortune, unlike every other man she dated. She knew she had to hold out for more than that—but she wasn’t about to admit that to the person who’d just called her out on it. “You don’t know the first thing about me—or my standards,” she retorted hotly.

He stepped a little closer to her, removing the last inch of space between them. She could feel his shoes touching the tips of her toes, the heat radiating off his body. “Maybe not, but I’d sure like to.” His gaze was steady on her face, his lips within reach of hers. Her stomach flopped over. Did she want him to kiss her? What would she do if he did—pull away or kiss him back?

It depended on whether she listened to her brain or her body.

Do it, she thought. I dare you.

Just then, she heard a roar go up from the crowd outside; Kiki and Dev must have arrived. Reaching his arm past her, James put his hand on the doorknob. “That must be the happy couple. Enjoy your evening, Ms. Rose.”

And then he was gone.

CHAPTER FOUR

JAMES STOOD AT the edge of the saloon, trading how-do-you-know-the-bride-or-groom stories with a circle of guests. But his mind wasn’t on his cousin and her famous fiancé—it was on her.

He hadn’t made the progress that he’d hoped to so far, but if he knew anything about women, he knew that to a certain type, unavailability was the ultimate aphrodisiac. And judging by his interactions with Laina so far, she was that type. All he had to do was bide his time circulating among the crowd and avoiding eye contact with her, perhaps engage in some mild flirtation with another woman when he knew she was watching, and bang—before he knew it she’d be stammering an apology, shortly after which she’d be heading for his bed. It was a no-brainer...so why was he feeling reticent?

Because she’d already had her heart busted by some asshole. Or because he could tell she wasn’t a one-nighter kind of girl...in fact, judging by her refusal to play games and her discomfort with his flirting, she probably didn’t have much experience in that department at all.

The problem was that that made her all the more appealing. When he thought about the things he could teach her and the pleasure he could give her, it was enough to pump lust through every cell of his body. In fact, just the thought of it—

“Cuz!”

James turned to see Kiki rushing toward him. She was wearing a body-hugging fuchsia number that ended at her slender ankles, a cascading diamond pendant and the biggest smile he’d ever seen. “You look gorgeous.” He grinned, giving her a quick hug.

“Not bad yourself,” Kiki said. She stepped a little closer and lowered her voice. “So have you met Laina yet? Has Ward seen you together?”

“I did. He has.”

“And...?” she asked impatiently. “What did you think?”

“Bad haircut. And wearing jeans to an affair like this? Tasteless. Laina was smart to get out when she could.”

“Not him, dimwit—her!”

“Oh, her. Well...” He shook his head. “Does it really matter? No first moves, right?”

“Right. But if I know you...”

“Maybe I’m not as bad as you think. Has that ever occurred to you?”

“Yes, you are,” Kiki said. “And whatever happens this week, do not hurt her. I’ll break your fucking face if you do.”

Kiki scowled at him as Dev came up behind her. James watched as he slid a hand up Kiki’s front, stopping just shy of her breast. James had met Dev a few times, and watching him and Kiki together, he hadn’t been able to suppress the odd stab of envy. The couple had been together for two years, and it was obvious the heat between them was as searing as anything James had experienced during a one-nighter. To think that some people could sustain that kind of passion was both heartening and depressing, because James couldn’t imagine finding any woman who brought that out in him.

“Hey, man.” Dev stepped forward to give James a quick embrace, but not before landing a kiss on the back of Kiki’s neck.

“Hey.” James grinned, clapping Dev on the back. “Congratulations, my man. You’ve landed the sweetest girl in the western hemisphere.” He shook his head at Kiki affectionately. “I hear a vodka soda calling.”

Yes, getting some air would be good. He walked out to the deck and stepped up to the bar, scanning the crowd for her face, but she was nowhere to be seen. The boat was a good distance from Moretta by now, cruising at a comfortable speed past a few smaller islands that looked straight out of Cast Away. The entire boat had been strung with white lights, lighting up its frame to a magical effect. With the sun having dropped behind the horizon, leaving behind an indigo sky and a crescent of moon, the setting was pure romance.

James accepted his drink and turned away from the bar—and came face-to-face with Laina. Her eyes widened slightly before she spun on her heel. That’s when James noticed she had company; standing beside her was a man with thinning hair who gave him a challenging look and then hurried after her like a puppy dog. What was that all about? James wondered, and then he remembered that he and Laina were supposed to be together. The guy had probably had his eye on her on the pier and seen them embracing, and now that she was giving James the cold shoulder he considered her fair game.

Which she was, of course, because she obviously wanted nothing to do with him. Clearly he had been wrong—Laina Rose was not going to apologize to him and then beg him to drag her off to his bed.

He sighed and went after her, pushing past the man in hot pursuit. “Listen,” he said when he reached her, touching her lightly on the arm. “Can we start over?”

She stopped walking and faced him as the man caught up to them. He stood looking at the couple uncertainly until Laina gave him a smile. “Would you excuse us for a minute?”

The man shrugged and left them reluctantly.

“Thank you,” James said. He smiled at her. “I’m James Ellison. Pleased to meet you.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, clearly still annoyed with him. “The pleasure’s mine,” she said with touch of sarcasm.

“Let’s get to know each other. What’s your favorite color? Mine was blue until about an hour ago. Now I think it’s yellow,” he said, letting his eyes drop to her dress.

There it was, that blush again as her eyes flitted away. He may have gotten a few things about her wrong, but he would put money on her inexperience. Which equaled the very best kind of sex—the type where he was completely in control, where she would discover exactly how much pleasure her body could give her through his touch.

Anticipation burned hotly in his groin. He couldn’t wait to hear her moan when he slid his hard cock into her...but not before he teased her nipples and licked her sweet clit until she came, burying her hands in his hair as she pressed his mouth into the best climax of her life. It was going to be amazing.

But of course he had to get her there first, and she wasn’t an easy one to reel in. He was formulating his next move when she suddenly stepped toward him and put her arms around him, and then brought her mouth up to his for a passionate kiss.

What am I doing? Laina’s brain screamed at her as James’s mouth yielded to hers. She never did things this impulsive, but it was all because of Ward. When she’d seen him looking at her across the deck, she’d remembered exactly what James was supposed to be there for and decided to take advantage of it.

But wasn’t that just an excuse to kiss him? Hadn’t she been sorely disappointed that he hadn’t done it when he’d had the chance earlier? And didn’t she want him more than she’d ever thought it was possible to want anyone?

This was no time for self-analysis. All she cared about right now was the feel of his lips; as they parted and his tongue met hers, her knees went weak. She kissed him back urgently, wanting more and more...it was insanity. She could feel her nipples hardening, wetness between her legs—she wanted him to fuck her, she realized. Not make love to her; for the first time in her life, she wanted to be fucked. She wanted nothing to matter but the connection of their two bodies, the heat of the moment...the thing she’d heard friends talk about but had never experienced for herself.

And he wanted her too. His hands were on her ass, pulling her hard against his groin. As their lips finally broke apart and they looked at each other breathlessly, she could feel him at her waist—long, thick, hard, and just for her.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I saw you on that cliff,” James said in a thick voice. “God, I wish we could get off this boat.”

She looked at him coyly. “Who says we have to?”

The sight of his surprised face gave her a bolt of satisfaction. He wasn’t expecting that from her, either, and for once in her life she was being a little bit wild. For the first time ever, it occurred to her maybe she’d been boring in bed because the men she’d been with had bored her.

She was about to find out.

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