“Can you two please stop that?” Jenna hissed. “You are making a spectacle of yourselves with your out-of-control libidos. Get a room for God’s sake.”
Drew chuckled in Karlie’s ear and kissed the top of her head. If she didn’t get him in bed soon, she was going to combust. “Baby, I can read your mind, and I feel the same,” Drew whispered. “Let’s eat so we can leave. Sound good?” She nodded and smiled. Knowing that Drew could read her was comforting. She didn’t know how she would get through Jenna’s wedding without him, and one thing was for sure: she needed him by her side to get through this weekend.
∞
Drew fought back a groan every time someone wanted a picture of Jake and his “best man”. The rest of the night seemed to drag on, and the perpetual boner that he sported didn’t help much. He couldn’t help it—Karlie in that dress made him crazy. He couldn’t keep his hands off her. Tonight, she was his drug of choice. If she wasn’t ready to leave soon, he’d haul her over his shoulder and carry her the hell out of there. He needed her in his home and his bed.
“You look way too serious,” she teased, walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. God, he loved it when she touched him. He needed her to touch him skin on skin. He needed them alone. A moan escaped his chest at the dirty thought that just ran through his mind, and she chuckled. “What are you thinking about?”
He turned and gathered her in his arms, swaying slightly to the band in the background. He bent down to whisper, so only she could hear. “I’m thinking about taking you home and getting you naked. I want to kiss you and touch you from head to toe, baby. Then, I want to sink into your body and fuck you all night long,” he rasped, desire making his voice sound like sandpaper. He sounded desperate, and hell, maybe he was after waiting for so long to have his chance with Karlie.
She moaned and cuddled in closer, wiggling her ass in his hands. The little minx knew exactly what she was doing to him. She had to be able to feel his erection pushing into her belly. “Baby, you wiggle that cute little ass again, and you and I are going to have to find a closet somewhere. We need to go.” He turned with her hand in his and started for the door. She would see these people tomorrow. She didn’t need to go through the long formalities of “goodbyes” tonight. He’d just about made it to the door, so close to escaping, when her mother stopped them.
“Karlie, dear, where are you two running off to so quickly?” Mrs. Angel asked.
Karlie turned bright red, silently telling everyone still left at the party exactly what they were headed to do. “Make it fast, baby,” Drew pleaded in a hoarse whisper, “I can’t take too much more.”
“Mom, we are just heading back to Drew’s house to figure out what to do about my car.” Geez—another lie. She seemed to be getting good at lying to her family, but Drew didn’t care if that’s what it took to get them out of there and back to his place.
“Okay, honey, you two have a good time figuring out your car,” her mother said with a wink. God, everyone knew that he wanted to get her naked. Jenna, Mrs. Angel, and yep, even Mr. Angel were giving him the stink eye. He knew what Drew had plannedfor his daughter.
Finally, the cool air hit them as they left the restaurant. It wasn’t as good as a cold shower, not by a long shot, but he’d take it. He all but ran to his truck with Karlie trotting along beside him.
“Hey, heels here,” she squawked. “Slow down, we’ll get there.”
“Not soon enough,” Drew growled. Her laugh was magical. He could get used to that sound. Just one weekend—his ass. He had plans for Karlie, the first being to show her just how good they’d be together. The second would be to tie her to him—somehow, but one way or the other, he was going to keep her.
∞
Potential fistfight aside, Karlie was counting the rehearsal dinner as a win. She’d made it through the entire evening and hadn’t ended up in tears. Now, if she could do that well tomorrow, she’d be golden. She felt nothing but anger towards Jake. Tonight had sealed her feelings about how disgusting he had become. How could she ever have fallen in love with him? Maybe it was because he was the first boy who had ever paid her any attention. Jake was the first boy who had wanted her, and the boy she’d given her virginity to. She’d been mistaken about him, though, because tonight had proven that Jake had never loved her. Finding him in bed with her sister had hurt, but her sister’s betrayal hurt more than losing Jake. Karlie blew out a breath. Maybe she didn’t know what love was. But now, thanks to Drew, she knew what lust was, and she never wanted Jake as much as she wanted Drew.
Sure, she’d dated a few guys after she moved to Atlanta, but she’d never wanted to take the relationships to the next level.Jake had been the only person she had been with, and that was a one-sided relationship. Jake always seemed to take. She didn’t even know what an orgasm was until she had given herself one. She always thought it was her fault. Jake had told her that some girls just didn’t get off every time and that there was something wrong with her that she just couldn’t have an orgasm. He was wrong. She now knew, after a very long shower in her new apartment, that she could have an orgasm. She’d felt elated and ashamed all at once, but she didn’t have anyone she could ask about it. Karlie couldn’t imagine that phone conversation with her mom and her best friend, her sister, was all but lost to her, or so she’d thought. Tonight had given her hope in more ways than one. Jenna had seemed angry with her, but at least she was open to talking to her. Karlie wanted to tell Jenna what a snake Jake was, but was afraid that such a revelation would only drive her sister further away. She still felt hurt by her sister’s choice to sleep with Jake, but she only wanted her friend back. She wanted a chance to get to know her niece or nephew. She wanted her family back, and tonight only confirmed that for her. But accepting Jenna and her child meant that she would also have to accept Jake.
“You with me, baby?” Drew asked, rubbing her knuckles, lifting her hand to kiss her fingers. Yeah, she could get used to him touching and kissing her so much. God, she’d all but had an orgasm when they were out on the road together today. Still, she was unsure about how she would respond to him, although wanting him wasn’t a problem.
“Yeah, I’m with you. Just thinking about my sister and Jake,” she admitted.
He frowned at her words. “If you’re upset, we can just talk about it. We don’t have to do anything.”
“No,” she said quickly.
“Baby, we can do whatever you want tonight. So, why were you thinking about your sister and Jake?” Drew grimaced when he said Jake’s name, and that made her smile. He seemed so protective of her tonight. He thought that she was mad about the fight, but she was the opposite. She was grateful for the way that he stuck up for her. He made her feel worthy, even important, and no one had done that for her in a long time.
“I was thinking that I need to thank you for the way you stood up for me,” she said.
“Baby, you never have to thank me. That will always be what happens when anyone talks to you the way Jake did,” Drew said. “I would take on the entire fucking world to protect you.”
She just stared at him and shook her head. She believed him. He would take on all her demons, but why?
“I was also thinking that I want a relationship with my sister again, but I don’t know how to make that happen because Jake is now a part of her life. I’ve decided that I want to know my niece or nephew. That means that I have no choice but to play nicely with Jake.”
A growl rose from Drew’s throat. “I don’t want you playing anything with that jerk, baby. I want you to stay away from him.” He was squeezing her fingers just a bit too tightly.
“Yeah, I get that. Ease up on the fingers, Brutus. I have no choice in the matter. That baby is his, too, and I plan to be a part of his or her life. Making nice with Jenna’s baby daddy isn’t the part of the plan that I like, but I have no choice.”
“Brutus?” he asked, faking a face. “Really, baby, it’s like you don’t even know my name,” he teased, giving her back her words from earlier.
“Yeah, that’s the other thing, what’s up with you calling me ‘baby’ now?” She could give as good as she got. He was unusually still. She bit her bottom lip, worrying she’d overstepped with him. “Don’t get me wrong,” she said quickly, “I like my new name.”
