Breathless (12 page)

“I love you
too, sweetheart,” he said between kisses. “So damn much.”

She watched him
kiss her all over, worshipping her body in a way he never had
before. Perhaps time and distance had made them appreciate each
other in a new way. They finally understood how difficult it was to
live without the other.

His fingers
found her core and he watched her reaction. He forced her out of
her head and into the buzz building in her body. Jamie closed her
eyes and finally let go of the fear and angst. She felt as though
they’d been on a ship that nearly capsized with no hope of rescue.
But by some miracle, they had survived. They were safely docked,
with the promise of a future stretching out in front of them. The
life they’d almost lost.

By the time Eli
eased into her body, she was more than ready to take him. She was
so close to her climax, she had almost imploded. “I couldn’t let
you go without me,” he said. “I needed to be inside you for the
first one.”

Their eyes
locked, and he stopped moving long enough to kiss her. The kiss was
deep and intense, stoking their desire and carrying them away to a
place that surpassed their physical connection. Their union was
soul deep, and they both felt it.

He made love to
her with the force of a man who’d been in exile, separated from his
lover for too long. His body maintained a fierce rhythm she could
tell was beyond his control. He may have planned on slow and easy,
but his body had other ideas.

“Oh God,
Jamie…”

His jaw was
clenched tight and perspiration was beading on his forehead when
her body finally yielded to the orgasm that had been building since
he touched her. She felt a tremor move through him as she throbbed
around him, silently coaxing him to take the fall with her. She
held him tight as his body trembled with his release. His breathing
was as ragged as hers. Every attempt to draw air was an effort.
They held each other a long time as their heartbeats resumed their
normal rhythm.

He chuckled in
her ear. “I must be crushing you.”

Jamie smiled
and locked her ankles around his legs. “You can crush me
anytime.”

Rolling out of
bed, he got up and walked into the bathroom.

“Hey, where are
you going?”

“Be right
back.”

She watched him
lean over the sink and splash his face with cold water before
reaching for a towel. The play of muscles in his broad shoulders
got her fired up all over again. As a professional athlete, he
spent almost as much time in the gym as he did on the ice, and she
was grateful she got to admire all that hard work firsthand… for
the rest of their lives.

Eli took a
bottle of water out of the mini-fridge and took a long drink before
offering it to her. “You’re gonna kill me if we keep goin’ at it
like that, girl.”

“Awww…” She
pouted. “And I was just thinking that I was up for round two.”

He rolled his
eyes, climbed into bed beside her, and pulled her into his arms.
“I’m not eighteen anymore, sweetheart. I’m gonna need a little
recovery time before we gear up for round two.”

“Take all the
time you need,” she said, kissing his chest. “I’ve got you for the
rest of my life, right?” He didn’t answer. Her heart beat
frantically again as she waited. When she looked up, he was
grinning.

“You deserved
that for the years of hell you put me through,” he said.

She laughed and
slapped his chest. “I’m so gonna get you back for that.”

“You have the
rest of your life to try.”

Tara Collier would do
almost anything for her best friend, but planning the seating
arrangements for Ava’s upcoming wedding didn’t make the cut of
exciting ways to spend a Saturday night. Fortunately, fine wine was
flowing and Ava’s future brother-in-law, Keith, was providing the
comic relief.

“Man, I’m
telling ya, you put those two together and there’s gonna be a food
fight,” Keith said, grinning as he brought his long-neck to his
lips. Keith claimed his brother’s expensive vino gave him a
headache. He teased they could take the boy out of the slums and
put him in a fancy corner office, but he’d still embarrass them at
a fancy party if they left him alone at the buffet table.

Tara had loved
Keith’s self-deprecating sense of humor when they first met in
college almost fifteen years earlier. His older brother, Brent, had
always been a little too uptight, though she had to admit he had
loosened up since reuniting with Ava. Keith, on the other hand, had
no problem being the butt of his own joke if it earned him a laugh,
or better yet, a pretty girl’s phone number.

“The old bag’d
be picking caviar out of her blue hair for a week,” Keith
laughed.

Ava slapped
Keith’s leg. “Behave yourself.”

“Aww, that’s no
fun.”

Brent narrowed
his eyes at his brother. “By the way, I heard Jace talking about a
bachelor party. What the hell is that about? I told you I’m not
interested in some archaic ritual involving—”

Keith threw a
handful of popcorn at his brother. “Shut up already! How often do
you give me a good excuse to get drunk and party with hot,
half-naked women? Never. Think about me for once. You’ve found the
woman of your dreams. I’m still looking.”

“You think
you’re gonna find her swinging from a pole?” Brent asked, picking
up the popcorn and setting it on the glass table between them.

“You never know
where the future Mrs. Armstrong might be hiding.” Keith winked at
Tara. “Who knows, she could be closer than we think.”

Keith had
always been an insufferable flirt. While Brent was busy getting a
graduate degree, his younger brother passed time hitting on women.
Apparently old habits die hard. They’d gone out as a foursome
several times in the past few months, and Keith still attracted
women like moths to a flame. Whether his effortless good looks or
his sexy energy appealed to the opposite sex, Tara couldn’t be
sure, but she’d be lying if she claimed to be immune.

“Some people
aren’t cut out to do the whole ‘happily ever after’ thing, Keith,”
Tara said, taking a sip from her fourth, or was it fifth, glass of
wine? “Maybe you and I fall into that category.”

Keith nudged
her leg. “Come on now, you’re too young and beautiful to be so
cynical.”

After too many
years of dating, Tara was beginning to feel old and haggard. If Mr.
Right showed up on her doorstep, determined to whisk her off her
feet, she’d let him, but she didn’t intend to cry in her pillow if
it didn’t happen. If a string of bad relationships had taught her
one thing, it was that being alone wasn’t so bad.

“I’m not
cynical. I just happen to like my own company better than most of
the men I’ve dated.”

“Then you’re
dating the wrong men, sugar.” He grinned, flashing a combination of
dimples and white teeth that was hard to ignore. “Besides, a guy
can do some things that you just can’t do for yourself… no matter
how powerful the toy.”

Tara laughed,
Ava blushed, and Brent rolled his eyes.

“Do you have to
be so crude?” Brent asked.

“Come on, man.
We’re not fifteen. We’ve all been sexually active long enough to
talk about it openly. Am I right?” he asked Tara.

She shrugged.
The idea of talking sex with Keith after a few glasses of wine was
a daunting prospect. She might confess all of the naughty fantasies
she’d had about him.

Brent stood and
reached for Ava’s hand. “I’d much rather do it than talk about it.”
He kissed his fiancée. “Let’s go to bed, baby. We’ll leave them to
talk
about it.”

“Do you want us
to have the driver take you home?” Ava asked Tara. “Or do you just
wanna crash here?”

Since they had
several extra bedrooms, Tara knew it wouldn’t be an inconvenience.
“What time is that dress fitting?”

“Nine
thirty.”

Tara glanced at
her watch. It was already past one. “Maybe I’d better crash here.”
She looked at Brent. “If you’re sure you guys don’t mind?”

“You’re always
welcome here,” Brent said. “You know that.”

“How ‘bout me?”
Keith asked, lacing his hands behind his head. “Am I always
welcome?”

“I resigned
myself to the fact that I’m stuck with you a long time ago.” Brent
grinned at his younger brother. “But since you just live
downstairs, you can haul your butt back down there. Can I trust you
to help Tara get settled before you leave?”

Keith wiggled
his eyebrows. “That’d be my pleasure. There’s a big ol’ king-sized
bed in the guest room. We could always share.”

Ava looked
concerned. “Um, Tara, can I have a word with you before we turn
in?”

“Sure.” Tara
tried to stand, but Keith grabbed her waist and pulled her down on
his lap. “Stop it,” she said, laughing and reaching for Ava’s
hand.

Ava hustled her
down the hall to the master bedroom and closed the door. “I don’t
like this.”

“What?” Tara
blew her dark bangs out of her eyes. She looked in the mirror above
the dresser and fluffed her long, dark, wavy hair. She wasn’t
wearing much makeup, but her cheeks had a nice glow from the sun
and her eyes sparkled from the wine. All in all, not bad.

“Keith’s been
flirting with you all night.”

Tara looked at
her friend’s reflection, trying to gauge whether Ava was serious.
Apparently she was. “So? What’s the big deal? Keith flirts with
everybody. He’s harmless.”

“You can’t deny
he’s hot, Tara.”

No, she
couldn’t deny that.

“I mean, I
think of him like a brother, but I can see how a woman might
succumb to his charm, especially if she’d had a few drinks.”

Tara frowned at
Ava. “You’ve known me forever. You know I don’t jump into bed with
a guy just because I’ve had a few drinks.”

“That’s not
what I meant, hon. Please don’t be offended. I just meant…” She
sighed. “I love you, and I love Keith. You guys are gonna be a part
of our lives forever. We want you to be our baby’s godparents.”

Tara’s eyes
fell to her friend’s flat stomach. She was wearing drawstring track
pants that could easily hide a small bump. “Is there something
you’re not telling me?”

“No!” Ava sat
on the bench at the end of the enormous four-poster bed. “I just
meant that you and Keith are going to cross paths a lot in the
future. I wouldn’t want it to be awkward because of some silly
one-night stand.”

“I’m not going
to sleep with Keith!” Not that she hadn’t thought about it a time
or two.

“Are you sure?”
Ava stared into Tara’s eyes, daring her to try to hide the truth.
“I’ve seen you two together too many times to deny there’s
chemistry.”

There was
definitely chemistry, but that didn’t mean they had to act on it.
Tara and Keith were mature adults, not randy teenagers ruled by
their hormones. “I’m positive. Nothing’s going to happen between me
and Keith.” She turned back to the mirror and smoothed her hand
over her tight cotton tank top. “Tonight or any other night.”

“If I thought
you guys had a shot, I wouldn’t discourage you. But this is Keith
we’re talking about. He’s a nightmare when it comes to
relationships. Remember what he was like in college? He moved from
one girl to another like he had to try them on for size.”

Tara wrinkled
her nose in disgust. They had no proof he’d actually slept with all
of the women he dated, but the rumors that spread about him said it
all. “I hear what you’re saying, and you don’t have to worry about
me.” Tara brushed a kiss across her friend’s cheek. “I
promise.”

“I love you. I
just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Tara paused at
the door to look back at the woman who’d been her best friend since
middle school. “I love you too, babe. Hey, have I told you how
happy I am you finally found a guy who deserves you?”

Ava smiled.
“You’ll find someone worthy of you too. I just know it.”

Tara loved that
about Ava. She was an eternal optimist who never lost faith in the
power of love. “If you say so.”

***

“You lay one
hand on her, and I’ll kill you,” Brent warned Keith.

Keith was used
to his brother issuing orders, and he’d gotten pretty good at
ignoring them. “Mind your own business.”

“I’m serious,”
Brent said, kicking Keith’s feet off the coffee table. “Tara’s
important to Ava, and that means she’s important to me too.” Brent
had always looked out for their family, and apparently that
protective instinct extended to his fiancée’s friends and family as
well.

“What makes you
think I’m even interested in Tara?” Any man with a pulse would be
interested in Tara. She was a knockout, and they both knew it.

“Spare me the
B.S.” Brent crossed his arms. “It’s not a question of whether you
think she’s hot. I already know you do. But I’m asking you, just
this once, to consider my perspective.”

Brent had bent
over backward to make sure Keith had the kind of life their father
could never provide. He owed Brent everything. Keith couldn’t, in
good conscience, ignore his request. He raised his hands. “Fine.
Hands off. I promise.”

Brent looked
him in the eye. “You’ve always kept your word to me, little
brother. I trust you.”

“Don’t worry,
man. You can count on me.” Brent was more than just his brother. He
was his best friend and the last person on Earth, outside of their
father, Keith wanted to disappoint.

“Excuse me,”
Tara said, stepping into the room. “If you guys need a few more
minutes, I can come back.”

“No, that’s
okay,” Brent said, looking at his brother. “We’re good. Right?”

Keith knew
Brent was asking him whether he intended to cross him. “Yeah, we’re
good.”