Tangled Vows(14)

Everett let out a low groan and nibbled her neck. Bailey closed her eyes  and fought the sensations swirling through her. Maybe she was letting  this get out of hand. She pulled back a little and took a deep breath,  trying to control her bodily reactions. She reached for the wristlet  hanging from her arm and, holding it between them, popped it open so he  could see her gun nestled inside.

He chuckled and brushed a curl over her shoulder. "You always surprise me."

She shrugged. "Where else was I supposed to put it?"

His blue eyes darkened, and he raised an eyebrow. "I can think of a few  places." He glanced down at her chest, which looked fuller than usual  due to the style of the dress.

"Eyes up here, buddy," she said sternly.

Dutifully, he raised his eyes back to hers. Before either could speak,  they were interrupted by the DJ clearing the floor for the tossing of  the bouquet.

Bailey moved with Everett to the side of the room. "Shouldn't you go out  there?" he asked her, indicating the few single women crowd each other  in the center.

"Oh hell no," she whispered back. "I am not getting in the middle of that."

Sarah stood in front of the group of women, craning her neck to look  around the room. When she spotted Bailey, she waved her hand for her to  join them. "Shit," Bay said, trying to keep a smile on her face. When  she shook her head at Sarah, Sarah frowned before marching over to her  and grabbing her hand, trying to pull her onto the floor.

Bay dug in her feet. "Sarah, no," she tried to argue.

Sarah dropped her hand and put her fists on her hips. "Bailey Lennox,"  she threatened in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "you get  your ass out here, or you ruin my wedding!"

Bailey's eyes widened, and she glanced around to see everyone staring at  them. She heard Everett coughing behind her in an attempt to hide his  laughter. Reluctantly, she stepped forward, following Sarah, but she  glared over her shoulder at Everett, who held up his hands and shrugged.

She would be polite, she decided, but she was not going to play this  game. She stood behind the other five women, wishing this would end  soon. As Sarah tossed the bouquet over her shoulder, all the other women  stepped to one side or the other, leaving Bailey as the only person in  the path of the bouquet.

Too surprised to move, the bouquet hit Bailey in the arm and fell to the  floor. She stared at it for a moment before bending down to pick it up  amid laughter and cheers.

Bay made her way back to Everett as Toby made a show of taking the  garter off Sarah's leg. Instead of gathering the bachelors, Toby walked  straight to Everett and stuffed the garter in his handkerchief pocket  with a big grin.

Everett stood there with a look of disbelief on his face as the guests  whooped and clamored for them to kiss. He turned to Bailey and held her  loosely in his arms. "I had nothing to do with this, I swear," he said  under his breath.

"Your sister set this up?" she asked.

"Most definitely." He leaned down and pressed his lips lightly against  hers for the briefest of moments. Several people booed and someone  shouted, "Give us a real kiss!"

Everett let a quick grin slide across his face. Right before his lips  touched hers again, he murmured, "Sorry, not sorry." This time his kiss  was anything but brief or light. His mouth demanded of hers, and she  responded without question. His tongue pried her lips apart and snaked  inside to taste of her sweetness. It wasn't until Bailey's hand buried  itself into the hair at the nape of his neck that she realized she must  have dropped the flowers as she lost herself in his kiss. Her skin  warmed, and tingles spread along her limbs.

It could have been a moment or it could have been an hour later when  Everett reluctantly lifted his head from hers. The noise of the guests  filtered back to Bailey's awareness, and embarrassment flooded her at  what had transpired. So much for acting, she thought to herself.





Chapter 12




‡


Bailey should have been tired. With her emotions swinging back and forth  and trying to stay alert with all the people around, she should be  looking forward to sleep. Instead, she stared out at the darkness  wide-awake as Everett drove them back to his parents' house.

She shifted in her seat, and she could feel Everett's eyes on her. "It  was a beautiful wedding," she said, still staring out the window. "It  was really nice of you to do all that for your sister. I can tell you  love her."                       
       
           



       

"Mmm. Right now I just want to choke her though," he grumbled.

Bay glanced at him. "Why?"

He gave her an incredulous look as he jerked the sports car to a stop in  the driveway. "You were doing just fine testing my willpower as it was.  She only made it worse with that trick she pulled." He ran a hand down  his face. "God, Bailey, it's all I can do not to touch you right now."  He gripped the steering wheel as if to show how serious he was.

Stunned, Bailey sat staring at her hands for a moment. "Maybe we should go in," she suggested.

"Sure," he said, resigned. "Like that will help."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Everett. It's not like we can sit out here all night."

"I know, I know."

He opened his door and stepped out. Bailey did the same and followed him  to the front door. When he closed the door behind them, she said, "I'll  change and come back down to the couch again tonight." After her  reaction to his kiss, she no longer trusted herself to be alone with him  at all.

"Bailey." He grabbed her hand as she started for the stairs. "You can't. Not tonight."

"Why not?"

He ran his free hand through his hair. "No one will believe we're still  fighting after what happened earlier. Besides, I really don't want to  hear another lecture from my mother about it." He grinned.

In spite of the situation, Bay laughed. "She lectured you?"

"You should've heard it, the names she called me. I couldn't believe  those things were coming out of my own mother's mouth." He stepped  closer and got serious. "It sounded an awful lot like things you'd say  to me."

She searched his eyes and found it hard to speak. "You mean things like  calling you a spoiled rich billionaire who's not used to hearing the  word no?"

"Something like that, yes." His free hand came up to brush her hair  back. "I didn't have the urge to kiss her into submission like I do you  though."

"Like I'd ever submit to you," Bay joked. She stepped back, trying to  put space between them and break the tension pulling her tight. Her heel  caught on the bottom stair step and she fell backwards.

Everett caught her with an arm around her waist and pulled her to him,  and Bay gasped and the sudden contact. "You can't get away from me that  easily," he said.

"I wasn't trying."

He raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you?"

She raised her own eyebrows at the challenge in his voice. "No. If I  wanted to get away, I'd do this," she said, and she went limp, letting  herself slide out from his arm before she ducked around him, laughing.

"I admit, you're good at running away," Everett said, turning to face  her again. He stalked toward her until she backed against the closed  front door. "But can you stay and take the heat?"

His dark blue eyes burned into her, and she sucked in a breath. "I can't-" she started.

"Is it really because you can't, Bailey, or is it really because you're afraid?"

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Afraid? Was she afraid?  Memories flew through her mind-every time she'd cared about someone and  been hurt, with her father, with Lee, with her sister. She didn't want  to hurt anymore. But afraid of Everett?

She lifted her chin in defiance. "I'm not afraid of you," she spat.

"Then prove it."

The spark of challenge in his eyes was all it took. Bailey was never one  to turn down a good dare. She lifted her hands and tangled them in his  long hair before pulling his head down to hers. Her mouth demanded of  his, and he willingly gave her that and more. She maneuvered them until  he was the one pinned against the door by her body.

Bailey broke the kiss and glared at him. "One night, Everett. That's it," she demanded.

"Thirty-six hours," he countered. "Until we get back to Chicago."

"And you will never, ever, say a word to anyone," she said back.

"Deal," he agreed before gathering her to him and claiming her mouth in triumph.

*

Suddenly, Everett lifted her and tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Everett, what are you doing?" Bailey choked out between gasps for air as he jogged up the steps.

"Not giving you a chance to change your mind," he answered. He kicked  the door to his bedroom closed with the heel of a foot and tossed her on  the bed, his own body following her down to keep her there. "My balls  couldn't survive it," he finished.