The ceremony was beautiful. Even with my jaded heart, I can admit that much. There is no doubt in my mind that Izzy has lucked out and found one of the good ones. I know little about her past with her ex-husband, but what I do know makes me happy my friend has found this. And because of that, even I was wiping tears away by the time they said ‘I do’.
They keep the ceremony short and sweet, asking everyone to please join them for the reception to follow. When they reach the end of the aisle, Axel pulls her into his arms and crushes his lips to hers. When his fist thrusts into the air as a symbol of victory, and he pulls back to look into his wife’s eyes, Emmy reaches down and grabs my hand. She is a mess, crying and vibrating with extra hormones. I want nothing to do with that, but the lump in my throat is having fun calling me a liar. There is just no way to watch a love like that unite and not feel it.
I sit with Emmy, and talk about the reception to follow for at least ten minutes or so. We are waiting for the congestion in the parking lot to clear out before we head over to the reception. At the same time, I also try to avoid the look of contempt coming from the corner of the church lobby. I can literally feel the eyes on me this very second. Talk about creepy.
When a shadow falls over me, I am ready to turn around snapping, but when I look up and meet Greg’s blue eyes, I quickly snap my mouth shut. His already handsome face is taken over by a look that is pure peace and happiness. I can already feel the tingles of arousal coiling in my gut.
“Beauty, you need a ride?” He asks me, interrupting my inner slut. His eyes darken slightly, and there is no mistaking the real question behind those words.
“Depends on what kind of ride we’re talking about, stud.”
He laughs, and even that sounds like sex. “If I thought you were serious, I would tell you to jump on, babe.”
“You two really should just go lock yourselves in the confessional and get it over with.” Emmy interrupts.
I look over at her, begging her to shut the fuck up, before answering Greg’s question, “Well, babe, I don’t know what kind of ride you’re offering, but it looks like that position is already filled.”
“What?” I have to give him some credit. This man can play the game. He genuinely looks confused, clearly caught off guard by my reply.
“Your little friend from the other night?” I say, pointing over his shoulder to the little hooch in the corner. The look of shock on his face is almost comical. He really had no clue that she was standing there.
“Motherfucker,” he grumbles under his breath. “She is not with me. Come on, Beauty, run away with me.”
I look into his eyes a few seconds. I’m trying to decide if that really was a line or not, before bending over, and laughing so hard that the people left in the lobby all look over at me as if I have lost it.
“That was terrible. You want some of this, you’re going to have to try harder than some cheesy ass lines.”
I pick up my clutch before standing. Once again, I am reminded of how powerful and large this man is. In my heels, I come close to six feet tall but he still looks down on me.
“Come on, Beauty. Just a ride.”
“Maybe later, stud.”
“You crush me,” he says dramatically, clutching his hand to his heart.
“Does that work for you on the ladies?” I ask, a smile coming over my face. It’s been a while since I found myself enjoying a man’s company.
“Haven’t a clue. Never bothered enough to try. I’ll settle for a dance later, but only if you tell me your name.”
I hadn’t realized until this moment that I was a complete stranger to this man.
“I don’t know…” I trail off, looking down at Emmy, only to find her looking across the lobby where the other three Corps Security men stand. The lightheartedness has left her face. “Maybe later,” I throw out before grabbing her hand and pulling her through the lobby.
Right before we round the corner that will take us to my car, I turn around and lock eyes with Greg. He doesn’t look disappointed. No, he looks like I just handed him one hell of a challenge. One that he plans on being the victor of.
How the hell did I strike out with her again? I’ve been fighting the urge to throw her over my shoulder and run since I saw her down in Izzy’s dressing room. The whole time I was standing up there next to Axel, my eyes kept finding her in the crowd. Wasn’t hard, that red dress was like a waving flag, and I was the raging mad bull. There was no doubt in my mind now; I wanted her and I wouldn’t stop until I had her.
“You do realize that your little plaything is turning into a DEFCON 2 stalker, right?” Beck leans up against the wall beside where I stand watching Emmy and my mystery woman walk to an older model car. She turns and gives me another wicked, full of promise stare before dropping into the driver’s seat.
“That’s some serious shit you need to deal with, but if those tits look as good in person as they do from across the room, I’d be happy to help you out. You know, take one for the team.”
“Shut the fuck up, Coop.”
“Problem?” Locke asks, walking over. His date for the evening, an attractive looking redhead, stands off to the side looking clearly bored.