Before she could say another word, I turned, following the same path Eloise had taken out of the ballroom.
My shoes clicked on the marble as I hustled to the elevator, stepping in with another gentleman on his way to the third floor. Then I strode down the carpeted hallway, pulling the other key from my pocket, glad I’d snagged both on the way out tonight.
Eloise was in the bathroom smoothing her hair, and when I appeared in the mirror, she gasped, slapping a hand to her heart. “You scared me. Warn a girl.”
“Sorry.” I closed the distance between us, spinning her from the mirror to haul her into my arms. Then I slammed my mouth onto hers.
She moaned as I slid my tongue inside, stealing that sweet taste. Then she put her hands on my chest, gently pulling away. “You’re going to ruin my makeup.”
“Can’t have that.” I picked her up at the waist, setting her on the counter.
The travel-sized plastic bottles of toiletries she’d lined up beside the sink scattered, two rolling to the floor as my hand skated up that sexy as fuck slit in her dress, pushing the fabric aside.
“Jas.” Her breath hitched as I stroked along the gusset of her lace panties.
“Shimmy out of these,” I ordered, tugging at the fabric.
She shifted from side to side as I pulled the panties down. Then she pulled the skirt of her gown away, until she was bared to me, her ass perched on the edge of the counter as she spread wide.
My cock throbbed, aching behind the zipper of my slacks. I freed myself, fisted the shaft and dragged the tip through her entrance, spreading that first pearl drop through her slit.
Eloise hummed, her head lolling to the side. Her legs spread wider as her hands came to my shoulders.
I hooked a hand under her knee, holding it high, stretching that toned leg until I felt resistance. Then I slid into her tight sheath with a single thrust.
“Yes,” she hissed. “I missed you.”
She’d had me three times last night and once this morning. But sex since we’d come here had held an edge. Her nerves. Mine.
They were gone now. All that was left was us.
I rocked us together, slowly, keeping that leg pinned, her knee pressed up toward her chest.
“Oh God.” She whimpered when I drove to the hilt.
“So fucking deep.” I looked down to where we were connected, a surge of lust spiking as her body stretched around mine. “Look at us, angel.”
Eloise dropped her gaze, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Then she met my gaze, her cheeks flushed.
Did she see how perfect we were together? Did she realize that it didn’t matter if I wore a ring? If she had my last name?
Eloise Eden was mine.
And I was hers.
Until the end.
Her makeup was flawless. But since she looked as beautiful with it as she did without, I crushed my lips to hers, my tongue delving inside as I moved. Faster and faster I pistoned my hips. When her thigh muscles trembled, I eased her leg down, letting it dangle off the counter like the other.
Then I gripped her by the hips, holding her tight, as the sound of our sex echoed off the bathroom walls.
Eloise tore her mouth away, panting for breath. Her hands fumbled with the hem of my tux shirt, hauling it up high enough so she could drag her palms up my abs. Then she slid her hands around my back, dipping them lower until she had my ass in her grip.
Her nails dug into my flesh, her fingertips pressing hard into my muscles. The bite only spurred me on.
“I love how you fuck me.” She clawed her nails harder.
“You’d better love it.” As far as I was concerned, my cock was the only one she’d be getting from here on out.
Her inner walls began to pulse, her limbs shaking. Her grip on my ass never let up, so neither did I.
This woman got everything I had—heart, body and soul.
“Jas.” She held me tighter.
“Come, El.”
That was all it took. One command and she shattered.
On a roar, I followed her over the edge, lost in this woman.
Lost in what we might become.
If she’d have me.
As the climax faded, we leaned on each other, our skin sticky where we were still connected, our breaths mingled as our hearts raced. Until slowly we pulled apart. I tucked myself into my boxers and ran a cloth under warm water to clean Eloise.
“You don’t need to do that,” she whispered.
“Let me do it anyway.” I kissed her cheek.
She twisted, taking in her face in the mirror. A giggle burst from her lips. “I look like I was just thoroughly fucked.”
I met her gaze in the glass.
This was my chance. A chance to tell her I wanted more. To stay in Montana. To see if we could make this fake marriage into something real. But the words clogged in my throat.
It would be better to wait until we were home, right? To talk about this after the wedding when we were home at the A-frame?
“Want to skip the rest of the party?” I asked.
“No way. I want more champagne, and those snacks they were carrying around looked yummy.”
I took her hand, helping her off the counter. Returning to that wedding was the last place on earth I wanted to be, but if she wanted a snack, I’d be her escort. “Then let’s get you some food.”
“And cake,” she said, smoothing down her dress. “I didn’t get cake. I need to test it and make sure it’s not as good as Lyla’s. Do you eat cake?”
“Sometimes.” I nuzzled my nose against her throat, drawing in that perfect scent. “But I’m going to eat something else for dessert later.”
My wife.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ELOISE
“You’re a good dancer,” I told Jasper as he led me around the floor. “We should dance more. Do you know the two-step? Or the jitterbug?”
“No,” he said, twirling us in a circle.
“Oh. Want to learn? I just know the girl part, but Griffin or Knox or Mateo could teach you. They’re all good dancers. We could all go dancing at Willie’s one night.”
Jasper spun us again, his low hum the only acknowledgment of my idea.
“Was that a yes?”
He chuckled.
“I’m taking that as a yes.” I smiled, following his footsteps.
His cheek was pressed against my temple. One hand held mine while the other cupped my ass, unabashedly feeling me up. Jasper’s grip was a not-so-subtle reminder of the claw marks I’d left on his own delicious behind.
From the moment we’d returned to the wedding reception, there’d been a bubble around us. Jasper and I had been in our own world, ignored by the other guests. Ignoring the other guests.
We’d found fresh flutes of champagne. We’d raided the food trays, sampling the post-dinner fare. And even Jasper had indulged in the cake—definitely not as good as Lyla’s—before he’d swept me onto the dance floor.
I’d been in his arms ever since. My head was perfectly buzzed from the champagne. I was still riding the high from sex upstairs earlier. My limbs felt loose. And even though his icky parents and his infuriatingly beautiful ex-wife were in the room, somehow, I’d managed to block them out.
No one had better try to pop my happy bubble.