Nancy Warren - Best Man...with Benefits

Lauren wasn’t sure what woke her. Her eyes felt heavy, her body completely relaxed. When she opened her eyes it took her a split second to recognize where she was and another split second for memory to flood her.

She turned and discovered what had woken her. Jackson was dressing. A glance at the bedside clock told her it was 6:00 a.m.

In the dawn light he seemed like a shadow, this man who had shared her bed and brought her so much pleasure. They’d gone through all three condoms and each time she’d thought nothing could ever feel as good. And then the next time it had been even better.

She realized that, from the time she’d opened her eyes long after midnight to find him naked beside her, until now, they hadn’t exchanged one word.

As though feeling her gaze on him, he looked over at her, his Irish blue eyes questioning.

“What happened last night...?” he began in a husky voice that petered out as though he had no idea how to finish the sentence.

“Nothing happened last night,” she said. And as the words came out of her mouth she understood that was exactly the way they needed to play this.

Somehow he’d ended up in her room and she recalled the expression on his face when he’d realized he was in her bed. He’d looked as shocked as she’d felt. She strongly suspected their night together had been orchestrated by the frat boys.

The best way to spoil their juvenile fun was to let them think their schoolboy antics had failed.

Nothing about last night had been a prank, or a joke.

It had been a sexual fantasy come true. If the man who’d rocked her world answered to anything other than Jackson Monaghan, she could imagine hoping this was the beginning of something.

But the man was Jackson Monaghan.

“Nothing. Happened.” She repeated the words, knowing he understood exactly what she was saying.

To her relief, he nodded, and after opening the door carefully and glancing up and down the hallway, he sent her a wave, and was gone.

4 Contents Cover Back Cover Text May the best man sin... Lauren Sanger is practically the perfect maid of honor, except for one tiny flaw. She hates the best man. Jackson Monaghan is beyond hot—his body is the stuff of sexy lady dreams—but he’s just such a jerk. So when a prank lands them in the same bed, Lauren should have flipped out...instead of having the best sex of her life with the best man! Jackson can’t figure out how two people with anti-chemistry during the day can have such a wickedly hot sexual chemistry at night. Worse still, he wants more. Enough to dare Lauren into doing the last thing she should be doing—him. But friends with benefits is one thing...enemies with benefits is quite another. Introduction He found himself touching warm, soft female skin... What? Oh, she smelled good. Jackson eased closer. The curving line of her shoulder captivated him. He couldn’t resist—he put his lips where her shoulder met her throat. A pulse beat there, slow and steady. His hand moved downward to capture her breast. And then she made a sound like a purr and turned to him. He raised his head to look at her more carefully in the darkness of the hotel room and at the same time she opened her eyes. His heart stopped. Her eyes opened wide. Holy hell... He knew this woman’s name perfectly. And most of the time wished he didn’t. What was Lauren doing in his bed? Dear Reader Title Page Best Man...with Benefits USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR Nancy Warren www.millsandboon.co.uk About the Author USA TODAY bestselling author NANCY WARREN lives in the Pacific Northwest, where her hobbies include skiing, hiking and snowshoeing. She’s the author of more than forty books and novellas for Mills & Boon and has won several awards. Visit her website at nancywarren.net . Dedication For Elizabeth Jennings and the Matera Brainstormers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Extract Copyright

LAUREN SHOWERED, DID her hair and makeup with more care than usual and then dressed in the outfit she’d brought with her, knowing that she’d be seeing most of the wedding party and quite a few of the guests at breakfast.

There was no formal meal, but since checkout was at eleven, she imagined most of the guests would wander in and out before then.

She walked into the restaurant where the hotel served breakfast. She’d agreed to meet Amy’s parents here for breakfast and she had a feeling that Amy and Seth would make an appearance, too. Then they’d be heading off the island and driving to LA for their evening flight to Italy, where they were spending their honeymoon.

Amy’s parents were giving her a lift back to the mainland, where she’d left her car.

She quelled the cowardly impulse to hide in her room until ten fifty-five and then dash down to drop her key at the front desk and claim her ride with Amy’s folks. But, she told her reflection in the mirror as she swiped a confident berry shade on her lips, that might give Jackson the idea that he’d rocked her world or something and that she was too shy to face him this morning.

That thought was enough to get her out the door with her head held high.

When she got to the restaurant it was all very unexciting. No gales of laughter or crude jokes from the frat boys greeted her. Not one of them had made it down yet. She suspected hangovers to be the cause and was only too happy to be spared.

A swift glance told her that Jackson wasn’t here, either, so she was able to relax and join Amy’s parents, who welcomed her with big smiles and a hug from June, Amy’s mom, who was very much a second mother to Lauren.

Looking at June was like looking into the future and seeing how Amy would look in a quarter of a century. June was still an attractive woman who dressed well and never let a week go by without a trip to the hairdresser. Amy struggled with her weight, and with June you got the feeling that she’d given up the fight years ago.

“Thank you, Lauren, for doing such a fabulous job yesterday. You were the perfect maid of honor. You know we’ve always thought of you as a second daughter.”

June got a little misty-eyed, which of course made Lauren get misty, too. “I feel like part of your family, too. It was a lovely wedding.”

“It was. I was just saying to Ted that I can’t wait to see the photographs. I think we got some good ones yesterday.”

They settled at the table for eight, which Ted had grabbed, hoping Amy and Seth would join them as well as Seth’s parents.

“Did you sleep well, dear?” June asked as she poured coffee for Lauren from the big carafe on the table. They’d known each other so long she didn’t have to ask.

The more appropriate question would’ve been, “Did you sleep at all?” But because she tried never to lie if she could help it, she answered with a truth. “I never spent a better night.”

“That’s good. The beds are so comfortable that I’m going to find out where they get them and think about ordering one for home. Ted usually wakes up with a sore back, but you didn’t this morning, did you, darling?”

“No. Only sore feet from dancing so much last night.”

“Try it in high heels,” his wife murmured.

Their waitress came by for their breakfast order, but they decided to wait a few minutes to see if anyone else would show.

“And when you see your daughter, for God’s sake don’t ask her how she slept,” Ted said to his wife.

“But I always ask—” Then her expression changed as she realized what he was referring to. “Yes, of course not. Their wedding night.” She leaned across the table to Lauren. “Sometimes I can be tactless. I never mean to be, I simply say things without thinking them through. Ted gets embarrassed by me.”

“She’s known you for twenty years, June. I think she’s noticed.”