But no amount of logic dislodged the cold weight in her gut. Instead it spread to her chest. She sank down to the kitchen floor and sat there, waiting for the pain to subside while a little voice in her head diagnosed the cause.
You haven’t guarded your heart at all. You handed it to Booker a long time ago, and even when this arrangement ends, there’s no getting it back.
Dammit, she really hated that little voice. Pressing her forehead to her knees, she drew in a deep breath. Her heart might choose to ignore reality, but her head couldn’t. And her head was still in charge. This arrangement would come to an end—it had to, for both their sakes. She came with baggage she couldn’t share. Not with anybody, and especially not with him.
…
Booker stretched his legs and tugged his tie off. The back compartment of the limousine looked a little worse for wear now that four other tipsy couples no longer shared the space. Empty glasses and crumpled cocktail napkins littered the consoles, along with a bunch of credit card receipts—wine clubs Kate had joined after a few too many tastings. Beside him, Lauralie looked into a compact mirror and applied lipstick with a little wand.
Watching her do it stirred up an urge to mess up all her careful work. Slide his tongue between those plush, wet lips…or his fingers…or whatever part of him she was game for, and feel them close and swell around him.
“Did you have fun?” he asked, still watching her. She’d gotten a little tipsy tonight, too, which wasn’t like her. He hadn’t seen her drunk since she’d been sixteen. Yet despite the extra cheer from the wine and the party, she seemed subdued. Also not like her.
Blue eyes cut his way. She paused mid-swipe when she caught him looking at her. “Yes.”
“Nothing’s wrong?”
She clicked the compact shut, screwed the wand back into the thing, and dropped both into her small purse. Then she turned to him. Her inspiring mouth stretched into a slow smile—a slow, slightly off-center smile, completely at odds with the smooth, sophisticated twist of her hair, her elegantly bare shoulders, and the sleek white dress he’d longed to strip off her the minute she’d walked down his stairs. “What could be wrong?”
He reached over and ran his thumb over her chin. “You tell me.”
She lowered her eyelashes. The smile wavered for a second, then recovered. “I might have had a little too much fun.” Her words didn’t slur, but had the husky traces of a long night.
Okay. She was tired. He punched the window down an inch and breathed in the brisk, head-clearing air. Everything he had in mind could wait until tomorrow morning. “I’ll let you in on a secret.”
“What’s your secret, Sheriff?” Oblivious to his gentlemanly resolve, she snuggled into him and eased her feet out of her sandals.
Thinking she was looking for a comfortable spot to relax and close her eyes, he tucked her under his arm. The weight of her breast pressed against his torso and teased him to a pleasant, semi-hard state. “Making sure you ladies had too much fun was the plan.”
“I’ve never been wine tasting before.” She tipped her head so her breath licked along the underside of his jaw. Her hand came to rest on his thigh, and his semi surged to something more urgent. “I didn’t realize it was just a fancy way of getting loaded.”
He dipped his chin to his chest to look at her. “Are you loaded?”
“I’m loose. The best man was loaded. That girl Mandy was loaded.” Her smile widened. “Kate was looooaded.”
He smiled, too, in part at her observation, and in part from the memory of Kate staggering into Aaron as they left the forth winery, looping her arms around his neck, and saying in a voice nowhere close to a whisper, Hey, les elope. Ditch everyone and take the limo to Vegas, baby!
“She attempted to drunk interrogate me twice tonight.”
He tightened his arm and gave her a squeeze. “About what?”
“You. Us. Not in a mean way,” she added, and then gave a dry laugh. “More like a ‘Should I throw the bouquet your way?’ way. I think we’ve got your family convinced we’re a couple.”
What would it take to convince her? “Are you basing that on tonight, or on the fact that my mom gave you a bag of sex toys?” Yeah, he’d gotten curious and peeked. And immediately wished he hadn’t, but some things couldn’t be unseen.
“That was unexpected, to say the least. Then again, I’ve never played the girlfriend role before. I wouldn’t know what to expect.”
“You’re a natural.” And he was stuck in a trap of his own making. He leaned his head back and stared at the leather-upholstered ceiling.
Her hand slid up his leg, and his hard-on throbbed. “You know what else I’ve never done?”
“Made a guy pass out from lack of blood flow to the brain?”
Her low laugh bounced her tits against his chest. Was she braless tonight?
She dropped her voice to a whisper even though the raised privacy panel ensured the driver couldn’t overhear. “I’ve never done it in a limo. You?”
“Not since prom, Jailbait, but my house is all of five minutes away. We don’t have time, unless you want to send this guy on a detour— Christ…” Her hand slipped inside the pocket of his pants, and he engaged the intercom.