Shaken Not Stirred (Mixology) (17 page)

I reached my hand into his briefs so I could
grab him.

He groaned again. “Tonight is turning out so
much better than I expected.”

“You didn’t expect anything when you invited
me to spend the weekend in a hotel room with you?”

“I tried to give you your own room.”

“I appreciate the gentleman act, but it’s
time to lose it.”

“Yeah? I know of a few ways to do that.”

I ran a hand down his chest. “Something tells
me I’m going to enjoy finding out what those are.”

“You will. I’ll make sure of it.” His lips
moved down from my breasts.

I exhaled sharply. “Good, but Colin?”

“Yeah?”

“I want you now.”

“You’ll want me even more later.”

I did. Twenty minutes later I was begging to
have him.

He didn’t make me wait any longer. He bit
down on my lip as he thrust into me, and the combination of
sensations drove me wild. I dug my nails into his back.

“You feel so good, Maddy.” He breathed the
words into my ear, as I struggled to keep my eyes open. I wanted to
close them and slip into the ecstasy he was giving me, but I needed
to see his face. I needed to see that he was into it as much as I
was.

He wasn’t gentle, but he wasn’t rough. It was
the perfect medium that we both needed. I reached my climax,
finally giving in and closing my eyes to enjoy it. He found his
release and stayed on top of me. Once again I enjoyed the feel.
Sweaty and exhausted, we separated when he rolled on his side next
to me.

Eventually, I regained speech. I hadn’t had
sex that good in…well, never. “That was worth waiting for.”

“Yeah? I agree. Better than lighthouse sex
would have been.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. I wanted things traditional the first
time, and I didn’t want it to be too early on. I needed to know you
were into us.”

“And I somehow convinced you of that?” I
rested my head on his chest.

“You came to this wedding and hung out with
my sister. You get this isn’t a fling.

“We couldn’t have sex if it was a fling?”

“We could, and it would be fun, but it’s not
what I’m looking for.”

“Oh?”

“No. I knew there was something real between
us, tonight proved it.”

“Does this mean we get to have sex a lot
then?” Waiting had been hard, but now that I knew how good it could
be, I wanted more.

He laughed. “Yeah. How about now?”

“Now? You can’t be ready for more yet.”

“Oh yeah?” He moved my hand down from where
it rested on his chest.

“Um, okay, I guess I believe you.”

“In that case. Want to be on top this
time?”

Without bothering with words, I moved out of
his arms and climbed on top of him.

***

“Morning.” Colin placed tiny kisses all the
way down my body as I tried to wake up.

I fought through the haze, remembering little
details from the night before. We’d barely slept, and I didn’t mind
at all. “I don’t remember ordering a wake-up call.”

He removed his lips from their descent long
enough to respond. “You don’t have to order it.”

“Mmm, if I have to wake up, this is the way
to do it.”

“I’m glad you think so.” He kissed my lips
gently, wrapping me in his arms.

“That was an interesting night.”

“Interesting? I’d probably describe it as
mind-blowingly good.”

“Oh yeah? I didn’t know ‘mind-blowingly’ was
a word.”

“If it isn’t, it should be.”

I laughed. “You’re cute in the morning.”

“You’re cute when you’re naked.”

I pulled the sheet up higher. “Only
cute?”

“Gorgeous,” he whispered, his breath warm on
my ear.

“I’m glad I knocked over that lamp.”

“It saved me from making up an excuse to come
in here.”

“Like you would have done that.”

“Oh I would have. I was brainstorming when
you came out.”

“You were sleeping when I came out.”

“Not at all. How could I sleep knowing you
were in the next room? If I’d known what you were wearing… Forget
it, I would have been in bed with you, excuse or not.”

“Is that so?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What excuse had you come up with when I came
out?”

“Some great ones. I needed to remind you to
set an alarm.” He ran a hand through my hair. “I wanted to see if
you were cold, because I’d turned the AC up. My personal favorite
was that I wanted to see if you’d mind if I left the TV on.”

“But the TV was off.”

“Exactly. It would have been pretty lame,
huh?”

“I wouldn’t have minded once I figured out
what you were up to.”

He laughed. “At least we can forget about
excuses tonight.”

“Oh yeah, we have another whole night.” I
snuggled into him.

“But Maddy.”

“Yeah?”

“The morning isn’t over yet.”

“It isn’t, is it?” I let my hands roam his
body, and his lips moved to my neck. “Do you think we can make the
morning better than last night?”

“I’m not sure, but there’s only one way to
find out.”

“Luckily, it’s a really fun way.” I closed my
eyes as Colin’s hand moved between my legs.

“What a beautiful ceremony,” Carly sniffled
as we watched the bride and groom share their first kiss as husband
and wife.

I glanced at her. “Are you crying?”

“Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No…” Wow. Was this the same girl getting
wasted in her hotel room the night before?

“Good.” She clasped her hands together as the
justice announced the couple.

Colin winked at me as he walked back down the
aisle with a bridesmaid on his arm. I wondered if the night
before—and morning—were running through his head the way they were
running through mine. He had to have been at least twenty minutes
late to meet his friends. He couldn’t drag himself out of bed. I
was kind of proud of myself for having the effect on him. Or okay,
very proud.

“You two are kind of cute.” Carly linked her
arm with mine as we moved with the crowd toward the reception.

“Colin and I?”

“Yeah. I don’t want a single detail, but you
two obviously had a busy night.”

“How’d you know?”

“You’re glowing and Colin winked.” She pulled
me through an opening in the crowd. “Colin doesn’t wink.”

I laughed. “Good to know I’m glowing.”

“And that’s it for that conversation. I don’t
want to hear another word more.”

“You’re the one who brought it up.”

“I know, but I’m sure you want to dish, and
I’m not the girl to dish to.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Kissing and
telling wasn’t my thing. I avoided gossip like the plague. And
telling his sister? Gross.

We each grabbed a champagne flute and watched
the champagne toast. The happy couple each held out their own
flutes for the other to drink. The action was sickeningly cute,
especially considering the information I had. See, that’s why
gossip sucks. It ruins even the nicest moments. I suppose instead I
could have viewed it as even cuter, because it showed that they’d
gotten over their differences—or not. Maybe this was one of those
marriages fated to last about a month.

The cocktail hour was outside, and we
searched for an empty table to hang out at. Evidently, the bride
loved peach, because that color was everywhere: on the tablecloths,
the flowers, and on fabric strung across the outdoor patio. Most of
the peach-covered tables were already half full, and Carly must
have felt as antisocial as I did because she didn’t move to take a
seat at any of them.

We were about to settle for a high-top table
without chairs when we were blocked in our path.

“Hello, Carly. Who’s your friend?” The older
man watching us with interest had to be family. He had the same
intense hazel eyes as Colin.

“Maddy was actually Colin’s friend first, but
you know me. I just love stealing things.” She challenged the man
with her gaze.

“Maddy? You’re Colin’s Maddy?” The man’s eyes
moved to me, completely ignoring Carly’s comment.

Why did people talk that way? It made it
sound like you only existed as your significant other’s other
half.

“Yes, I’m here as Colin’s date.”

He studied me for a moment before holding out
a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maddy. I’m Colin’s father,
George.” His father. I wondered if that was how Colin would look in
thirty years. He was in great shape.

“Hi.” I wasn’t surprised to learn of their
father-son relationship, but I was surprised he was so cold with
his own daughter.

“Are you enjoying yourself so far? I know
Colin is so glad you could join him.”

I was positive he had no clue how Colin felt
about it. I was surprised he’d even heard of me. My guess was they
weren’t particularly close.

“There you are, George.” Miranda put a hand
on her husband’s shoulder. “Well, hello again, Maddy. You left
before we had a chance to talk more last night.”

If I wasn’t imagining things, there was an
edge to her voice. Did she have a problem with me leaving? I
shrugged off my annoyance when I realized she was ignoring her
daughter. What was wrong with these people?

“I was about to tell your husband how I’m
having a lovely time thanks to your daughter.” If Colin’s parents
were going to play that game, I’d play it even harder.

“Oh. How nice.” The anger in her words was
undeniable.

That was it. There was seriously something
going on there. I knew this wasn’t the place to find out. “Nice
meeting you.” I smiled before taking Carly’s arm and walking
away.

“Aren’t my parents the greatest?” she said
sarcastically as soon as we were out of earshot.

“And I thought mine were bad.”

“I’m sure they don’t compare to mine.” She
downed the rest of her champagne.

I wanted to know what the hell was going on,
but I forced myself to keep my mouth shut. “Let’s get some
appetizers. They’re always better than the rest of the food.”

“I agree. I mean, what does filet mignon have
on coconut shrimp and mini crab cakes?”

“Exactly. And the cake is never even
good.”

Carly popped up on her toes. “I know! At my
wedding I’m having all appetizers and non-wedding cake
desserts.”

“That’s a great idea. Do you mind if I steal
it when I get married?”

“No, I think it should be the new thing. We
should start the trend.” She laughed.

“Exactly. It could be the next big thing.” I
happily accepted a stuffed mushroom from a server.

“I think I found our calling. We should open
our own event planning business. We obviously have good taste.”

I laughed. “And I also have the bartending
expertise.”

“What should we call it?”

“Mad C Events.”

“Haha, I like it.”

“Why does it look like you two are plotting
something?” Colin slipped an arm around my waist.

I leaned into him. “Because we are.”

“Does it involve me?”

“Why would it involve you? You are not the
center of the universe, Colin.” Carly leaned over and tousled his
hair.

“I am what you two have in common.”

“Because that’s not conceited. We have a lot
more than you in common.” I slipped out of his arm.

“Oh yeah? I’m listening.”

“We’re both cool.” The way Carly said it made
me break into a fit of giggles. That somehow got Carly laughing
too.

Colin stood there watching us like we had two
heads. “Okay… How much have you girls had to drink so far?”

“Just a glass of champagne each.” I held up
my empty flute.

“I know who I should be hanging out with
then. You two know how to have a good time.”

“Did you doubt that?” Carly asked.

“He shouldn’t have.”

Colin shook his head. “Okay. No way. This is
not happening.”

“What isn’t?” Carly and I said in unison.
This got us laughing again.

“That. This. You guys can’t be friends.”

“Umm, why not?” I put a hand on my hip.

“Because then you’ll gang up on me or
something. I don’t like it.”

I glared at him. “You had better be
kidding.”

“I am…kind of. It makes me nervous.”

“That’s not a bad thing. It will keep him on
his toes, Mad.”

“Good point, C.”

“Mad? C? You have nicknames for each
other?”

“It comes from the name of our new company,”
I explained with the straightest face I could muster.

Colin groaned. “I don’t want to know what
kind of business this is, do I?”

“Just an event planning one. Nothing to worry
about.”

“Event planning?”

“Yes, and if you want to contribute the
initial capital, you can get in on it.” Carly held out her hand
like she was waiting for him to give her money.

“All of this sounds great and all, but can I
borrow your business partner, Carly? I want to introduce her to
some more people.”

“Sure, sure. I see how it is.” Carly did a
combination of rolling her eyes and shaking her head that had me
laughing again.

I waved goodbye to Carly as Colin led me
away. “Your sister’s really cool.”

“I know. I’m glad you two hit it off. She
could use a friend right now.”

“I kind of had a feeling something was going
on.”

“Yeah, it’s been a rough month or so.” He
didn’t elaborate, and it only left me wanting to know more.

“I’ll have to get her number from you.”

“Sure, I bet she’ll ask for yours.” He led me
over to a group of guys. I recognized Mark and Jamie from the night
before.

“And we meet again.” Jamie smiled.

“You guys have met?” Colin looked between
us.

“Yes, I kicked him out of your sister’s room
last night.”

“Oh.” Colin stiffened. Damn it. Why had I
said that?

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Mark quickly jumped
in. “We were just hanging out.”