Sister of the Bride (Fool's Gold #2.5)(14)

He swore again, even as he pushed into her, then withdrew. "You were incredible. So sexy. I could feel you getting close, and then you were coming and I couldn't get enough of it. I don't know how long I can hold back."

He spoke with wonder, but there was also a guttural need. She felt it and saw it. Any lingering doubt faded. She absorbed the feel of him filling her over and over, shifted so she could wrap her legs around his hips and keep him in place.

"You don't have to hold back," she whispered, reveling in his urgency. "I want you."

She moved her hips in time with him, drawing him in deeper. She noticed his gaze kept dropping to her full br**sts, moving with every thrust. Acting on instinct, she cupped them in her hands and ran her fingers across the ni**les. Instantly he shuddered inside her and groaned out his release.

Later, when they were under the covers in her bed, tangled up together, he kissed the top of her head.

"I'm an idiot," he murmured.

"Why?"

"My mother has been trying to get me to ask you out for years. If I'd listened, we could have been doing this for a whole lot longer."

"I've resisted, too," she admitted, looking at him and smiling. "So we're both stupid. We could send small but tasteful gifts."

"Then they'd know we had sex."

"Based on what I know about my parents' sex life, I don't think that's a problem," she told him.

He laughed, then shifted so she was on her back and he was leaning over her. "Katie," he whispered, right before his mouth claimed hers.

They spent the night together, then woke early, showered and discovered a whole new level of fun with hot water and soap. Katie found herself leaning forward, arms braced against the tile walls, the water pounding on her back, while Jackson knelt between her thighs and used his lips and tongue to reduce her to a quivery mass. She returned the favor. By the time they stepped out of the steamy bathroom, she was hungry, achy and feeling better than she had in years. Maybe ever.

A quick glance at the bedside clock showed her that it was already past nine.

"Much as I would like to play with you all day, I have to get dressed," she told Jackson. "I have family stuff to take care of. The rehearsal is this afternoon and the dinner is tonight."

He kissed her nose. "I'll come with you."

She blinked at him. "To the family stuff?"

"Sure. I'll distract them with my wit and charm."

She touched his bare chest. "Or you could just take your shirt off. That will distract the women."

"I don't want Aunt Tully getting any ideas."

She pressed her mouth to his shoulder. "Me, either. I suspect a man is never the same after knowing Aunt Tully."

They were both still laughing when someone knocked on her door.

"Katie? Are you still in there?"

Katie winced. "My mom."

He grabbed his clothes and ducked into the bathroom. "I'll be quiet," he promised.

"Thanks."

Katie tossed her towel on the bed and slipped into her robe, then crossed the room.

"Hi, Mom," she said as she opened the door.

Her mother frowned. "You're still not dressed?"

"I, ah, didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Me, either. All this stress. Swear to me you won't have a huge four-day event like this when you get married."

"I promise. It's not my style."

Her mother collapsed onto the chair in the corner and rubbed her temples. "It's a nightmare. In no particular order, Aunt Tully made a pass at Bruce and no one is sure if he took her up on it or not, Alex is missing and Courtney is having second thoughts. I've never been someone who medicates her way through life, but I'm thinking this is a good day to start."

Katie stared at her mother. Bruce was Alex's dad. And married. "You think Aunt Tully slept with the groom's father?"

"Honestly, I'm trying not to think about it."

"His wife can't be happy."

"She's not. Let's just say I asked the kitchen staff to inventory the knives until this is all cleared up. There was quite the shouting match this morning over breakfast. You should have been there."

Katie thought about what she and Jackson had been doing instead. "Yes, it's a shame," she murmured, trying not to smile at the memory. Just remembering was enough to get her body tingling. The aching parts of her might be sore but they sure weren't done.

She shook off the memories and focused on the problems at hand. "Is Alex really missing?"

"No one has seen him since the party. Apparently he was drunk."

Katie remembered his visit to her room. "Um, Mom?"

"What?"

"He came by here. He said he loved Courtney but he wanted to have sex with me."

Katie expected shrieking, but her mother only closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair.

"Mom?"

"I'm imagining myself in another place. A quiet place with running water and the sounds of happy birds. I am one with the universe."

"Can you be one with the universe and look for the groom?"

Her mother opened her eyes. "No, but you're right. Wedding first, breakdown second." She drew in a breath. "I know those two really care about each other. I've seen it and heard it and believe it. It's just they're both so dramatic. His car is still here, so he has to be somewhere. Maybe he went into the woods to sleep it off."