Playing for Keeps (Texas Scoundrels) (24 page)

He didn’t know if he could hold on for much longer. His dick throbbed and just the thought of her naked had his temperature spiking.

“Okay,” she said. “This is crazy.”

She didn’t know the half of it. But he’d started them down this path, he wasn’t about to stop now.
 
“Close your eyes,” he told her again. “And imagine my hands sliding over your body.”

“Hmm...” she murmured.

He imagined her touching herself, of her own hands gliding purposefully over her curves as she envisioned them together. “Cup your breasts. Are they heavy?”

“Yes.”
 

“Now drag your thumb over your nipples. Imagine my mouth closing over them, licking, sucking. I bet you taste so sweet.”
 

“Oh, Jed...”

“Are you hot?”

“Yes,” she said in a throaty whisper. “Hot and wet. I can feel my clit throbbing for you.”

He dragged his hand down his face. At least the woman was honest.
 

This was dangerous. He was playing with fire, but not even that thought could stop him from continuing with the reckless, shameless game he’d started. “I want to taste you. Would you like that?”

“Oh, yes,” she said, her voice coalesced into a soft moan of pleasure that caused him bodily harm. “Yes.”
 

His erection pressed insistently against his shorts. He should hang up the phone and stop this insanity. Hadn’t he spent enough sleepless nights remembering the way her eyes darkened when she came, the way she’d sounded, the way her body came alive under his touch?
 

“I—” She moaned again, sweet and heaven-filled. He nearly came out of his skin at the coil-tight sound of her voice. “I need...”

“I know you do, baby,” he said. “Go ahead. Tell me how wet you are for me.”

Her startled cry as she followed his instructions was too much. He took matters into his own hands and urged her to do the same. “Come for me, babe.” his voice strained as he neared his own satisfaction. “Let me hear you come.”

It didn’t take long before the tempo of her breathing increased, followed by her keening moan as she came, sending him over the edge. His own ragged breathing rang in his ears, along with the thudding of his heart.
 

“Griff? You still there?” he said once his wits returned.

She let out a long, slow breath. “I can’t believe you.”
 

He chuckled at the hint of embarrassment evident in her breathy whisper. “That was nothing,” he said. “Because when we do make love—baby, I’m gonna set you on fire.”

*

Mattie stood on the round dais before a half circle of strategically placed mirrors and made a face, causing Griffen to chuckle. “Would you look at this mess?” Mattie swatted at the feathers on the bodice of the wedding gown. “This isn’t me. I look ridiculous.”

“No, it’s not you,” Griffen agreed, although she didn’t believe for a second her sister looked ridiculous. “It’s just too much dress for you.” They were in their third and last bridal boutique of the day. So far, Mattie hadn’t come close to finding a dress she deemed suitable enough for her wedding to Trenton Avery. Her sister was petite and curvy, she needed something to accentuate her curves, not bury them in a stark white, frilly confection of satin, lace and tulle.

“Help me out of this thing...” Mattie swatted at more feathers as she stepped down from the dais, “...before I start clucking.”
 

The sales associate, Ellen, hurried back into the dressing room with more traditional white gowns. She hung them on individual stands designed to allow an unobstructed, three-sixty view of the bridal wear. “We have a fairly large selection,” she said. “Perhaps one of these will be
the
dress.”
 

Griffen gave the gowns a quick once-over and shook her head. “I don’t think they’ll work for her,” she said to Ellen. “They’re just as overpowering as the last four she’s tried on.” She looked to Mattie. “Have you considered something tea length?”
 

Mattie’s eyebrows shot up. “Simple.”

“Elegant,” Griffen said.
 

“Classic,” the sales woman added.

Mattie swatted at the feathers. “And not so...this. Or white.”

Ellen nodded in agreement. “Ivory, perhaps.”

“I’m thinking a little darker. But not beige,” Griffen said.
 

“I might have just the thing,” Ellen said with a smile. “Excuse me a moment, please.”

“Help me, Griff,” Mattie said, when the woman left. She turned, exposing the back of the dress. “I don’t know why they make these things so impossible to get out of.”

Griffen started working on the long line of pearl buttons. “They’re designed this way so your husband can undress you on your wedding night. It’s supposed build the anticipation.”
 

The thought of anticipation had Griffen immediately zeroing in on thoughts of Jed and wondering how much longer before they finally made love. Not much, if Thursday night’s conversation was any indication of just how far and how fast their relationship had changed.

Initially, she and Jed had planned to spend the day together at the auction, but when Mattie suggested she go with her to Dallas to shop for a wedding dress, Jed had encouraged her to go. Shopping with Mattie had turned out to be the perfect excuse to avoid having to suffer the indignity of watching strangers bid on her things, and for that she was grateful. For the first time in a very long time she’d given up control and had to admit, she kind of liked it.

Since Austin was grounded from participating in the basketball tournament, he was with Jed, who was hanging out with Trenton, her dad and Phoebe, who was no doubt running the men ragged. Which gave Griffen and Mattie all day to scour Dallas for the perfect dress.

As she slipped another pearl button out of the satin loop closure, Griffen let out a sigh.
 
She still couldn’t believe that she’d actually had phone sex with Jed. Never in her life had she ever done anything so brazen.

“What’s that about?” Mattie asked.

Griffen blinked and looked at her sister. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“That dreamy sigh.” Mattie looked over her shoulder at her. “Oh my God. You’re blushing.”
 

“Leave it alone, Matt.”

“Oh, yeah, like that’s gonna happen.” Mattie gasped suddenly. “You slept with him, didn’t you?”

Griffen winced. “Not exactly.”
 

“Either you did or you didn’t, Griff.” Mattie frowned. “There shouldn’t be any confusion about it.”

Griffen grasped Mattie’s shoulders and turned her sister back around so she could finish unfastening the dress. “I really don’t want to talk about this.”

“Too bad,” Mattie said, turning back around again so she faced Griffen. “And we are
so
talking about this.”

Griffen let out a short, impatient breath. “Fine. If you must know, we had phone sex the other night.”

“Oh.” Mattie’s eye rounded momentarily before a slow, sly grin spread across her face. “Way to go, Griff.”

“And, no, I won’t give you the details, so don’t ask.”

Mattie laughed, then turned back around. After a few moments, she said, “Ford and I used to have phone sex.”
 

The wistful quality, combined with the tinge of sadness in Mattie’s voice tugged at Griffen’s heart. Mattie and Ford had been a couple since high school, but Mattie had been crazy about Ford from the second she’d met him. When they’d finally started dating, there’d never been anyone else for either of them. They were supposed to have been the ones to beat the odds, to make a mockery of the so-called experts and their statistics claiming young love never lasted. Griffen didn’t doubt for a second that Mattie and Ford would’ve been together forever. In a way, she supposed they had. Only forever had showed up way too soon.

“He was away so much of the time.” Mattie stepped out of the dress. “First boot camp, then OSC, flight school, then SEAL training. It wasn’t the same, obviously, but it was fun. Goodness, he could be so wicked.”

“Do you and Trenton?” Griffen asked, curious. Trenton worked in Dallas and had a condo downtown. Since he was in line for a partnership, that meant putting in long hours, and she knew he rarely made it out to Hart on weeknights. “Have phone sex, I mean?”

“Heavens, no,” Mattie said and laughed. “I tried once, but it was a disaster. He just wasn’t comfortable with it.”

That surprised Griffen. “Is he a prude?” He didn’t seem like the buttoned-up-tight kind of guy, but who knew what went on behind closed doors.
 

“Oh, God, no.” Mattie slipped on the plain, white satin robe the boutique provided so she wouldn’t have to stand around in her bra and panties while waiting for the sales associate to return with more dresses. “Not at all. He’s just...proper.”

“Geeze, Matt. That sounds super sexy.” She gave her sister a look. “Not.” There wasn’t a proper bone in Jed’s body. The man was beyond sexy. In fact, she’d classify him as dangerous, shameless even. Without a doubt he would turn her world upside down when they finally made love. Just the thought had her nipples hardening and her inner thighs tingling.
 

“Trenton has plenty of sex appeal.” Mattie shrugged, but didn’t elaborate. “It is what it is.”

Griffen sat on one of the blue velvet benches and looked over at Mattie. “Okay, but is it enough?” she asked, concerned for her sister’s happiness. “I mean, I know how it feels to want something that just isn’t there.” Hindsight being so clear, she knew now her marriage to Ross had lacked passion. Her marriage had lacked a lot of things, but she’d settled. Ross had offered her stability and companionship. As far as she knew, he’d been faithful until he’d started banging his secretary. Shame on her for accepting the trade-off and never questioning if she’d been truly happy. The last thing she wanted was for Mattie to make that same mistake.
 

“I had crazy passionate once,” Mattie said, “and it nearly killed me. When I lost Ford, I honestly didn’t care if I lived or died. If it hadn’t been for Phoebe...”

The sadness banked in her sister’s eyes increased her concern. Could Mattie still be in love with Ford? He’d been dead for five years. Did a love that ran as deep as theirs ever truly die?
 

“Do you love Trenton?” Griffen asked. “Don’t settle, Matt. If you’re not in love with him, don’t marry him.”

The smile that canted Mattie’s mouth didn’t come close to reaching her eyes. “Of course, I love Trenton. And he loves me, and Phoebe. She’s even starting to get used to the idea of a man in my life. He’s patient with her, and that’s not so easy. You know what a little tyrant she can be.”
 

“I just want you to be happy,” Griffen said. “You deserve to be happy.”

Mattie smiled again, but that hint of sadness still lurked in her sister’s eyes. “I am happy,” she said as Ellen returned to the dressing room. “Oooh, and that dress looks like a good start.”

Ellen hung up a lovely tea length A-line wedding dress with an illusion neckline and beaded lace appliqués for their inspection. “The color is champagne,” Ellen explained as she fanned out the skirt. “Now, this is only a sample and it will be a little long on you, but we’ll order it in petite. If it’s still a little long, don’t worry. The seamstress I use works miracles.”

“The color is perfect,” Griffen said, tracing a lace appliqué with her finger. “What do you think, Matt?”

She plucked the dress from the stand. “Let’s find out.”
 

Ellen discretely disappeared as Mattie shrugged out of the robe and stepped into the tulle underskirt and then into the dress. Griffen fastened the back, then stood back as Mattie stepped up on the dais to study her reflection in the half circle of mirrors. When she caught Griffen’s gaze in the reflection, the smile on Mattie’s face was genuine.
 

Mattie laughed and twirled around. “It’s perfect.”

Ellen returned, her hands filled with head pieces. “I can get each of these in the same champagne color.” She placed four different pieces on the glass table, ranging in style from a short, traditional veil with a blusher, to a simple headband encrusted with rhinestones. “But this,” she said, holding up a bird-cage style veil, “is what I would suggest.”

Mattie tried on the veil Ellen handed to her. “What do you think?”
 

“Beautiful,” Griffen said around the lump that suddenly lodged itself in her throat.
 

“Don’t you dare cry,” Mattie said, her own eyes suspiciously moist. “Now we have to figure out what the bridal party is going to wear. Meaning you.”
 

Once Mattie changed back into her street clothes, they joined Ellen in the main salon. “We have a nice selection of dresses. If you don’t see anything you like, let me know. We have style books available and can order anything you need.”
 

Griffen cleared her throat. “I guess jeans are out of the question.”

Mattie shot her a tolerant look. “What do you think of teal?”

“Gangrene?” Griffen flipped through the row of dresses hanging on the rack along the back wall. “That sounds so appealing.”