One of the Guys (10 page)

Her hair fell into her face as she smiled down at him. She tucked it back behind her ear, forgetting about her sticky fingers. She touched them to his lips and he reached up, caught her wrist and held it as he sucked her finger into his mouth. His lids drooped low. Staring at him, she felt her heart melt a little.

Brian couldn’t stand Dean. He’d never liked him and as often as possible, he had avoided contact with the other man. “Does that mean you’re going to wear a suit?” She 70

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pulled her hand away from him and rolled out of bed before she ended up doing something really stupid. Like letting him see just how sappy he was making her feel.

Still lying on the bed, Brian scowled. “Do I have to?”

“It’s a wedding,” she answered. “You can’t go in your jeans or your scrubs.”

“What are you wearing?”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m not going in my scrubs either.” She jerked a thumb toward the closet door and the peach dress that was hanging on the outside of it.

“That.”

He glanced at the dress and then at her, a hot, wicked grin on his lips. “Tell you what. I’ll wear a suit
if
you wear that…without panties.”

“You want me to go to a wedding without panties?” Jaynie spun on her heel and made her way into the bathroom, shaking her head.

“There’s no way I’m going to a wedding without panties.” Brian smiled. “Relax. You got a week or two to get used to the idea.” 71

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Chapter Five

“I can’t believe I’m going to this damn wedding without panties,” Jaynie swore, glaring at Brian’s reflection in the mirror.

He’d shown up at her door wearing a shirt that was only a few shades darker than her dress, a tie with an abstract print that had shades of jade and peach in it, and the jacket to one very nice suit thrown over his shoulder. He had left the jacket on the couch as he led her back into the bedroom and slid his hands under the skirt.

“Get used to it,” he murmured, resting his chin on her shoulder and holding her gaze as he slid his hands over her hips. They continued to stare at each other as he lifted her skirt, gathering the loose material in his hands, lifting it higher and higher until he had bared the skimpy swath of silk held together at each hip by a skinny string.

“Hmmmm…pretty,” he whispered. He trailed his fingers down over the silk. Brian hooked his thumbs under the strings at her hips and tugged the panties down until they fell to her feet. Jaynie stepped out of them and Brian bent over, grabbed the underwear and straightened, holding her gaze as he tucked them inside his pocket.

She swallowed, her mouth almost painfully dry. “Uh, can I have my panties?” Brian smoothed her skirt back down her hips and then offered her his arm. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I want them.”

She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Oh, well now, that’s a perfectly good reason why I can’t have my panties back.” She lagged along behind him, glancing back over her shoulder at her reflection. “You can’t tell, can you?” He stopped to get his jacket and then he slid a hand over her butt. “Relax. Nobody is going to know that you aren’t wearing anything under that dress except a bra.” He kissed her shoulder and added, “Nobody except me.” 72

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* * * * *

As far as weddings went, Jaynie decided it was overdone, overblown. Kit was wearing a dress that seemed more appropriate for the royal family instead of the small Episcopal church off Highway 59. She had five bridesmaids and there was barely room for the entire wedding party at the front of the church.

Jaynie decided that Dean looked very
GQ
in his tuxedo and she wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Landon as the best man. The vows the happy couple wrote were suitably sappy. Dean looked ridiculously happy and Jaynie hardly cared a bit.

By the time the ceremony was over, she was shifting uncomfortably on the church pew. Her butt was numb from the hard wooden bench and she was acutely aware of the fact that she was buck naked under her skirt. Not that those panties had really covered much.

Along with the rest of the guests, Brian and Jaynie were being herded toward the back of the church and out the doors. The wedding party would be busy for the next hour, easily, getting two hundred pictures taken and smiling for the camera. “I suppose you are going to insist on hitting the reception,” Brian asked. He had his hand in his pocket and she blushed. Every so often he did that. Some friend of the bride had sung

“Ave Maria” and during the chorus, Brian had pulled the panties out. He had kept his hand closed around them but Jaynie had seen them.

He was trying to drive her nuts. She knew it. He’d been acting like this for the past two weeks, teasing, flirtatious. People at work were noticing. He had taken her out to lunch three times and he had hovered over her, so attentive and sweet. By the time the wedding came around, she felt more than a little dazed.

“No answer? Why don’t we head back to my house and…” He slid a hand down her hip, his touch slow and lingering. The soft, suggestive tone sent a shiver down her spine. She covered his hand and pressed it flat. It didn’t help much. The stroking stopped but now she could feel the heat of his hand and she couldn’t help but remember how it had felt stroking over her body.

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They hadn’t been together since he’d left her apartment Sunday night two weeks ago, though she hadn’t spent a single evening alone. Her body was aching and she really,
really
wanted to tell him,
Yes
,
screw the reception
.
Let
’
s go back to the house and go at
each other like bunnies
.

Instead, she craned her head around and whispered into his ear, “Later.” He covered her lips with his, sighing into her mouth. “You sure?” She pulled away and wagged her brows at him. “So you don’t want to dance with me at the reception?” They finally made their way through the crush of people at the entrance and she hooked her arm through his. “I don’t wear dresses too often and I’m pretty sure this will be the first time I’ve done any slow dancing while I’m naked under the dress.”

He slid her a hot look. “Okay. You win. But we’re going to dance later too. And you’ll be completely naked.”

Jaynie opened her mouth to tell him there was no way she was going to dance naked. But the words wouldn’t come. After all, she had thought that she wouldn’t go panty-less and here she was, the hot summer breeze blowing around her legs and caressing the naked skin under her dress.

* * * * *

“Jaynie?”

She was proud of herself. When she heard Dean speak behind her, she didn’t jump, didn’t flinch, and ignoring him only briefly occurred to her. Yes, she had been tempted.

Ignoring him might have been petty but Jaynie figured she was entitled to be a little petty when it came to him.

Brian had gone to get her drink refilled, which was seriously excellent, she had to admit. She hardly ever drank more than a glass of wine at home now and then—she’d learned the hard way how important it was to be careful.

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But she felt safe with Brian, safe enough to enjoy one glass and when he offered her another, she hadn’t refused. Spiked with rum and packing a punch, the concoction already had several people acting like idiots.

She had just now finished her first glass and when she turned to face Dean with a faint smile, she was glad she’d had that one glass, and only that one. At least for now.

Her head was clear and when she studied Dean, she saw him with a clarity she’d never had before.

He’d always been a little vain. Jaynie had known that. But she hadn’t realized just how self-absorbed he was. But now? She saw it now. He stood just a few feet away, his head cocked so that his hair fell charmingly onto his forehead, a slight, puzzled smile on his sexy mouth. As though he was on some kind of stage, he had placed his body so he stood close enough for them to speak, but far enough away that she could admire him unobstructed. Unable to stop it, Jaynie smirked a little.

“Hello, Dean. Congratulations.”

He slid his gaze over her, from the top of her hair to her feet. Kate had gathered Jaynie’s hair into a loose twist and secured it with a sparkly clip the same color as Jaynie’s dress, teasing a few strands loose and then curling them. Jaynie had done her own makeup and had to admit that she looked pretty good.

The dress looked absolutely fantastic on her. Jaynie hadn’t been able to quite believe just how fantastic. It had been worth every last penny and every fricking second she’d sat still while Kate fussed with her hair, spritzed her perfume and generally acted as if it was prom night or something.

Dean’s lips curled in a warm, intimate smile and he murmured, “You look gorgeous, baby.”

She cocked a brow at the
baby
but she didn’t say anything other than “Thank you”.

Then she made a pointed effort to find Kit. “Where is the new bride?” They found her standing by the ice sculpture of two entwined dolphins. It sat in the middle of the huge table of food and made the perfect backdrop for Kit as she stood 75

Shiloh Walker

talking with her bridesmaids and flashing her ring at every opportunity. “Ah, there she is,” Jaynie said with a grin. “So nice to see that she can’t leave your side on this happy, happy day. Well, except to show her ring off to her dear, dear friends.” Dean shrugged. “Kit’s the social type,” he said, his voice unconcerned. “I know you never had much use for it, but Kit likes being surrounded by people.”
Kit likes attention
, Jaynie thought. “Yeah, I know. A minimum of two admirers at all times, right?” Jaynie asked.

He had the grace to look sheepish and she might have said something else, except Dean moved a little closer and lifted his hand to tug on one of the loose strands of hair that framed her face. “I can’t believe how wonderful you look,” he murmured. “I know how much you hate to take the time—”

At that she stepped back. Yeah, she had taken a lot of time on this, for this very reason. Yet, she hadn’t thought about what Dean would think, other than amazement hopefully. She’d wanted him to be amazed, all right. The way his eyes had slid over her and the shock, before he’d covered it, had done wonders for the still-healing wounds he’d inflicted on her pride.

But as the look in his eyes changed, Jaynie started to wonder why she’d needed this so badly. He had a familiar, intimate look in his eyes and his voice had dropped an octave or two, hitting that low, sexy rumble that had always driven her crazy. It wasn’t having the effect Dean had probably planned, though. Jaynie just wanted to hit him.

Hard, preferably right in his oh-so-perfect nose.

He eased a little closer, close enough now that she could feel his body heat and smell the scent of after shave. She’d always thought that cologne smelled so sexy, but now she found it a little pretentious.
The way Brian smelled, warm and male—like soap and shampoo and something that was uniquely him—now
that
was sexy.

Dean reached up and laid his hand at the small of her back, his fingers splayed wide, caressing the skin left bare by the low back of the dress. “We should talk sometime, catch up a little.”

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“I think you should move your hand off before I take it off at the wrist,” Jaynie said with a chilly smile. She shifted away from him and slanted a look in Kit’s direction. “We don’t have anything to catch up on, Dean.”

His charming smile took on a harder edge. “Don’t we? We have a lot of history between us, Jaynie. That history is why you’re here, right?” Jaynie smirked. “No. That history is why I didn’t torch your clothes when I came back to get my stuff. The reason I’m here now is because I wanted to see what I would feel.”

Cocking a brow at her, Dean smiled. “And what do you feel?”

“Nothing,” she replied and that realization had her grinning widely. “Not much of anything at all, Dean. Kit’s welcome to you.”

She turned to go and ended up walking into Brian’s arms. He smiled down at her, bent his head and brushed his lips across one bare shoulder. She accepted the drink from him and glanced back at Dean before smiling up at Brian. “Come on. I’m ready to go.”

But Brian slid a hand down her arm and linked their fingers, bringing their hands to his lips. He kissed the back of her knuckles and murmured, “You still owe me a dance, Jaynie.” He slid his other arm around her waist, pulling her up against him.

The feel of him through the thin layer of her dress and his suit reminded her of what she wasn’t wearing—that Brian still had her panties in his pants pocket. The hot look in his eyes turned her knees to putty and she realized, embarrassingly, that she was swaying toward him.

“Besides,” Brian added, “We haven’t really offered our congratulations to the happy couple, have we?”

“Our?” Dean interrupted. Jaynie glanced back and saw that Dean was studying them with narrowed eyes. His eyes lingered down low and she realized that he was staring at Brian’s hand on her lower back. She shifted in Brian’s embrace, to stand with her back pressed to his front.

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“Our,” Brian repeated. He kissed her shoulder and Jaynie shivered a little when he touched his tongue to her skin. Then he lifted his head and surveyed the crowded reception hall. “Pretty decent party, I guess. Me and Jaynie, though, we’re probably going to go for something a little quieter.”

It took a minute for his meaning to penetrate and by the time it did, Dean was staring at them with a flushed face and disbelieving eyes. “You and Jaynie?” he repeated.

Jaynie was thinking,
Me and Jaynie
…
what
? She turned her head to stare at Brian. He reached around, cupped her chin and angled it up to meet him as he brought his mouth down on hers. His kiss was deep, breath-stealing and when he pulled away, she couldn’t have said anything to save her life. It seemed as though her higher brain function had just shut down.