Paige Tyler: Mr. Right-now

“Kate!” she called. “Where are you, girl? Get over here!”

Kate groaned inwardly. Damn. She’d forgotten all about catching the bouquet. Considering the man she was in love with wanted nothing to do with her after their little weekend fling was over, she wasn’t really in the mood to take part in the silly tradition. But now that Rachel had singled her out, there was no way she could get out of it. Not that it mattered, she supposed. She never caught the stupid thing anyway.

She got to her feet. “I’m coming, I’m coming!”

As Kate made her way to the center of the dance floor to join the other single women, the other bridesmaids clapped and cheered, as did the rest of the guests.

At all her other friends’ weddings, Kate always made sure she was front and center for the bouquet toss, desperate to get her hands on the darn thing, but this time, she purposely positioned herself at the back of the group, figuring there was less chance of catching it there. However, when Rachel threw the bouquet over her shoulder, it sailed over all the other women to land right in her hands like it was guided by GPS. How was that for ironic?

Around her, everyone clapped and cheered again, more loudly this time. Though her heart really wasn’t in it, she picked up her gown and gave the room a small smile and a curtsy all the same. As she straightened up, Rachel hurried over to wrap her in a big hug.

“Congratulations, future Mrs. McKenna,” her friend whispered in her ear.

Tears stung Kate’s eyes and she quickly blinked them back, not wanting the other girl to see. She even managed to give Rachel a smile when her friend pulled back to look at her. This was Rachel’s wedding day and she wasn’t going to do anything to bring her down. Luckily, Bob swooped in and whisked his wife away before Kate could reply.

“I think someone’s impatient to get his bride up to the honeymoon suite,” Dawson whispered in her ear.

Kate shivered as his warm breath tickled her cheek. She’d been so caught up in her own thoughts she hadn’t heard Dawson come up behind her. She took a deep breath, then turned to smile at him. “I think you’re right.”

“You know what that means.”

“What?”

He flashed her a sexy grin. “That you and I can finally be alone.”

Kate’s pulse fluttered at the promise in his eyes and she went up on tiptoe to give him a kiss. “And you can ravish me just like you promised.”

As it turned out, it was another hour before Rachel and Bob left the reception, but once the bride and groom were gone, Kate and Dawson said good night to the rest of the wedding party and hurried upstairs. In his room, he took her in his arms and covered her mouth with his. She closed her eyes and melted against him, shutting out everything else as she kissed him back. If this was going to be her last night with Dawson, she wanted it to be perfect.

Letting out a groan, Dawson tore his mouth away to kiss his way down her neck to the curve of her shoulder as he reached around to undo the zipper on her dress. With his help, the straps slipped over her shoulders and the gown landed in a puddle of peach satin at her feet to leave her standing in nothing but a lacy bra and matching panties of the same color. He took a step back to slowly look her up and down before he bent his head to kiss her again.

His mouth was hot and demanding on hers and Kate parted her lips with a moan as his fingers found the pins holding up her long hair and began removing them one by one. When he’d gotten all of them out and the tresses tumbled down her back, he slid his hand in her hair and tilted her head back, plunging his tongue into her mouth to take sweet possession of hers.

Still kissing her, Dawson ran his hands down her back to find the clasp of her bra. Opening it deftly, he slid the straps off her shoulders and down her arms, releasing her breasts from their confines. Kate waited breathlessly for him to cup them in his hands, but instead he hooked his fingers inside her panties and slowly pushed them down, then slipped off her high-heeled sandals. As he straightened, he ran his hands up her bare legs and over her hips to bury his hands in her hair and close his mouth over hers once again.

Kate grabbed onto the lapels of his tux, pulling him closer. Her nipples tingled where they brushed against his jacket, and she slid her hands inside to push it off his shoulders. She reached for his bowtie next, giving it a little tug before undoing the buttons on his shirt. She eagerly yanked it out of his waistband and would have reached for the zipper on his pants when he swung her up in his arms and gently set her down on the bed.

He stood gazing down at her, his gaze caressing her naked body with an intensity that made Kate catch her breath. No matter how many other men she took her clothes off for, she would never forget the way Dawson McKenna looked at her.

That thought brought a pang with it and tears suddenly clogged her throat. She swallowed hard, wondering how she was going to keep from losing it. Dammit. She didn’t want to spend their remaining night together crying. But Dawson didn’t seem to notice and she was relieved when he finally stripped off his shirt and pants so she could focus on his magnificent body instead of how much she was hurting inside.

Tossing the last of his clothes on the floor, Dawson climbed onto the bed and settled himself between her legs. He braced himself on his forearms and teasingly rubbed the head of his cock up and down the lips of her pussy for one long delicious moment before slowly sliding inside.

Kate gasped, her arms and legs going around him to pull him in even deeper. Dawson mumbled something she couldn’t make out and before she could ask what it was, he bent his head to claim her lips in a searing kiss. She moaned against his mouth and tightened her arms around him, instinctively lifting her hips to meet his when he gently began to thrust.

Unlike the other times they’d made love, she didn’t beg him to go faster or take her harder. This time, she wanted to make it last all night if she could.

Dawson seemed to want the same thing, because he kept his thrusts slow and steady, sliding out until just the tip of his cock was inside her before sliding back in to completely bury his length in her pussy again. Then he would hold himself there, pressing so firmly she swore she was going to come just from the fullness of it.

But as much as she wanted it to, there was no way they could last all night. It just felt too good. When neither of them could hold off coming any longer and Dawson buried his face in the curve of her neck and exploded inside her, the orgasm that coursed through Kate was so powerful and so beautiful that it brought tears to her eyes. This time she didn’t try to stop them, but let them roll silently down her cheeks, hoping Dawson wouldn’t see them in the semi-darkness of the room.

Kate lost count of how many times she and Dawson made love after that first time. All she knew was that whenever they came down from their passionate high, they would reach for each other and do it all over again until they finally both fell into an exhausted sleep.

Leaving Dawson the next morning was the hardest thing Kate ever did in her life. Which was why she took the coward’s way out and decided to leave before he woke up. No matter how much she hated herself for doing it, she simply couldn’t trust herself to say goodbye to him without bursting into tears. She was on the verge even now. And that would completely ruin everything.

Swallowing hard, she tore her gaze away from the handsome man sleeping soundly beside her and carefully slipped out of bed. Tiptoeing across the room, she picked up her bra and panties from where they lay on top of her dress and put them on, then stepped into the satin gown and zipped it up as quietly as she could. She bent down to pick up her shoes next, but then hesitated as a twinge of guilt assailed her. While this thing she had with Dawson might just be a weekend fling, it wasn’t right to just leave without a word. She should at least leave him a note.