Setting her hand in mine, the smile she gives me is brilliant and blinding. I want to drop to my knees and beg her to marry me, to bind herself to me forever. Right here. Right now. Instead I lead her out to the dance floor and twirl her in my arms before pulling her close, enjoying her laugh.
With her left arm around my neck, I place our twined hands against my heart and my forehead against hers, swaying gently to the music. There are so many things I want to say, but none of them seem adequate to express what I’m actually feeling.
Watching my brother marry Livia—the woman he spent five years pining away for—was surreal. It made me believe that love really can conquer all. Despite all the odds, they found each other again. The love that filled that small chapel was pure and rare and tangible, and you’d have to be dead inside for it not to choke you up.
I want that. I want her. I want her in my arms every single day. I want marriage. Children. Grandchildren. I want an entire lifetime with her by my side. And I want it yesterday. I’m happy for Gray and I can honestly say I haven’t been jealous of any of my brothers a day in my life. Until today. He now has everything I want. I won’t rest until I get it, too.
Not caring that my entire family may be looking on, I lean down and capture her mouth. She’s tentative at first, but quickly gives in to the chemistry that always draws us tightly together. I kiss her softly, teasing her closed lips with my tongue until she allows me entry.
“You’re very good at this,” she says quietly after I break away and nuzzle her ear, nibbling her lobe lightly.
“At what? Kissing?”
“Kissing. Dancing. Seducing. Everything.”
“Alyse,” I whisper hoarsely, pulling her as tight to me as I can. “God, I am madly in love with you.”
“Show me,” she implores breathlessly, her words teasing, pleading.
Don’t have to ask me twice.
Grabbing her hand, I walk us the short distance to where Gray and Livia are dancing, completely lost to each other.
“We’re heading out,” I tell Gray, bringing him in for a quick hug. Turning to Livia, I squeeze her tightly as Alyse talks to Gray. “I’m so happy for you and Gray, Livia. You’ve made him a very happy man.”
“Thanks, Asher. That means a lot.”
I look away briefly, embarrassed for how I’ve treated her. “I have a different perspective on things now.”
“I know.” She winks knowingly. “Take care of Alyse. She’s…fragile.”
“She’s stronger than you think,” I reply.
She drops her voice so only we can hear. “I don’t want to see her hurt.”
“It won’t be by me,” I promise her. “Enjoy your honeymoon.” In about twenty-four hours, they’ll be basking on the sunny beaches of the Maltese Islands. “Talk to you guys when you get back in two weeks.”
Taking Alyse’s hand in mine, I lead her silently to the elevator bank and impatiently wait for a car to open. When it does, I pull her inside and push the button for the seventeenth floor, wishing there were sixty floors in this hotel so I could have more time alone with her. I want to fuck her against the cherry wood paneling until her voice is raw and her body is a twisted mass of want and need.
I stand on the opposite side of the steel compartment once the doors close, not wasting any time.
“Take off your panties,” I demand, locking eyes with her.
She doesn’t hesitate, dropping a very damp nude thong on the elevator floor beside her.
“Pull up your dress, not quite all the way, and spread your legs.” Within seconds I can see her nether lips. Fuck. They’re already glistening. “Show me how much you want me, Alyse,” I growl. I fist my hand to my side to keep from stroking myself.
When I see a finger disappear into her slick folds and come out coated, I close the distance between us. In a flash I’m kneeling in front of her, my mouth sucking her finger clean before latching onto her pussy. She moans loudly, digging her hands into my hair, as I feast on her with single-minded intent—to make her come before we reach our floor. She’s so damn responsive. In record time she reaches the peak, crying out my name as her thighs clamp my head tightly, her body convulsing in pleasure.
“Asher, God,” she sobs.
She’s floating down, her body still trembling when the elevator slow to a stop right before I hear the ding. Placing a smattering of kisses on her inner thighs, I reluctantly rise, pull down her dress and tug her into me with an arm around her waist just as the doors open.
Two college-age boys stand right outside waiting to go down. By the looks on their faces and their gaze at Alyse’s panties lying on the tile floor, they know exactly what happened in the forty-five second ride to the top.