Cherishing Grier (NSFW #5)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

I didn’t want to be myself tonight.

As I smoothed down my bridesmaid gown, I looked at the crowd milling around me. My skin felt as though it didn’t fit, as though something inside me was clawing to get out.

Actually, I did want to be me, but I wanted to be less of my usual responsible, tranquil self.

I wanted to drink too much, eat too much, laugh too loudly, and kick off my shoes and dance until I was exhausted.

I wanted to exist authentically for a night without worrying about the potential consequences.

What better time to cut loose than my best friend’s wedding day?

The newlyweds had their first dance, dinner had been consumed, the cake cut and served, and all that was left was the bouquet and garter toss.

I fully intended to be far away from the dance floor when those occurred.

I wanted to meet someone I could love and possibly get married, but I didn’t want to deal with the attention that came with the bouquet toss, especially if I caught it.

There was a tap on my shoulder, distracting me from my plans to hide before the singles awareness tradition.

I turned to face Marcus Flynn. My friend, Lucy, interned for him during college.

He was a famous photographer and gorgeous.

If he didn’t act just like an overprotective brother, I would have had a screaming crush on him.

Then again, maybe not, because he was always with Elijah.

He introduced him as his friend, but they were always together when I saw them.

It was none of my business, but I wondered if they were in a relationship.

And if they were, why weren’t they open about it?

God, I didn’t know why I cared, but I couldn’t stop myself from wondering.

Elijah was standing next to him as usual, a wide smile on his face and his bright blue eyes twinkling.

“Hi, Marcus. Hi, Elijah,” I greeted them.

“You look gorgeous,” Marcus said, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

“You both look handsome, too,” I replied.

Elijah stepped in front of me when Marcus released me and pulled me into a hug. His body was warm and hard, and I sighed to myself. It really was too bad because Elijah was even more gorgeous than Marcus.

“Hi, Grier,” he said, brushing his lips over my cheek.

“Hey.”

Someone called Marcus’s name. He glanced at Elijah. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

With that, he disappeared in the crowd heading toward the man who’d called his name. Elijah turned toward me, tucking his hands into his pockets.

“Hey, there,” he said. “Come here often?”

I laughed, shaking my head. The champagne I’d been drinking all afternoon had finally gone to my head making me dizzy.

He took a step toward me, his hand landing on my hip when I nearly lost my balance.

Our bodies swayed and moved with the beat of the music.

I was just tipsy enough not to care if I looked silly or graceless.

“Oh, sure,” I answered. “I crash weddings in this hotel all the time.”

His grin grew wider as he chuckled. “Sounds like fun. Can I come with next time?”

Before I could answer him, a firm hand clamped on my bicep.

“It’s time for Lucy to throw the bouquet,” my friend Chelsea stated, tugging at me. “Let’s go!”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Elijah gave me a little nudge until I stumbled behind her. Shooting him a narrow-eyed glare, which got me another chuckle, I caught my balance and almost jogged to keep up with Chelsea.

“I wasn’t going to—”

Chelsea didn’t let me finish. She dragged me behind her, even when I tried to dig my heels in. Unfortunately, the stilettos I wore gave me no traction.

With a clatter of my heels, I found myself in the open space on the dance floor, directly in front of the low stage where the DJ was set up. Lucy grinned at the small group of women in front of her.

“Ready?” she asked.

I tried to take a step back, to disappear back into the crowd, but Chelsea shoved me forward again.

Just as Chelsea pushed me, Lucy turned her back and launched the bouquet over her head.

I stared in horror, my jaw slack, as the cluster of roses soared in a high arc above us.

As though in slow motion, it started the downward trajectory, headed straight for me.

Panicked, I retreated a step as two of the women tried to grab it simultaneously.

The stems bounced off their grasping hands, sending the bouquet into a tailspin.

I gasped as the tightly clustered roses slammed into my face. Without thinking, my hands flew up and grabbed the stems. A roar of laughter and cheers went up behind me as I yanked the bouquet away from my mouth, spitting out a couple of rose petals as I did.

Still shocked, I looked up to find Lucy grinning at me. When our eyes met, she winked.

“Looks like love is going to smack one of the bridesmaids in the face!” the DJ chortled.

I was too busy rolling my eyes to notice the mixed reactions of the other women as I turned and walked straight into the firm body of Elijah.

“Looks like you’re next, Brown Eyes,” he said.

I blinked up at him. “I didn’t even want to catch it,” I mumbled.

“Then why were you out there?”

I shot a sideways glance to Chelsea, who was no longer next to me but headed over to one of the bar areas set up in the corner. “I’m pretty sure you saw exactly what happened with Chelsea, right? You were standing right there.”

He laughed, his light blue eyes sparkling. “Good point.”

“Okay, single guys. Time for y’all to catch the garter!” The wedding planner’s voice came over the speakers.

I arched my brows at Elijah. “Looks like it’s your turn.”

Before he could do more than shake his head, I called out, “I found one!”

Heads all around us turned toward Elijah. Lucy appeared next to us, latching onto the sleeve of his suit jacket. “Let’s go, buddy,” she said.

His expression promising retribution, Elijah let her drag him toward the dance floor.

Feeling smug, I gave him a little finger wave before I blew him a sassy kiss.

He shook his head at me as he turned to face Lucy.

I could see his mouth moving rapidly, but she just pointed to the group of men loitering on the dance floor in front of Chris, stomping her foot when he didn’t move fast enough.

Marcus somehow avoided being dragged into the fray.

I searched for him, but he was nowhere to be found.

Finally, Elijah rolled his eyes (much like I had) and joined the small group of men. Only a couple of them looked happy to be there, which made me suppress a smile especially since the ones who looked most annoyed had dates nearby calling encouragement.

Lucy sauntered over to her new husband and lifted the skirt of her wedding dress to reveal the garter on her leg.

The DJ began playing a raunchy tune, reminiscent of a burlesque song, as Chris slowly worked the garter down her leg, grinning lasciviously as he did.

Lucy smacked his shoulder, her mouth moving as she said something, but I couldn’t hear her over the music.

After she did, his movements became a little quicker and less titillating.

Once the garter was free, Chris straightened, twirling the satiny band around his index finger.

Then, he pulled it back and released it, sending it shooting straight toward the men.

Copying my strategy, Elijah was loitering at the back of the group.

It was petty as hell, but I hoped that it worked out as well for him as it had for me.

I bit back a laugh as the men all stepped to the side, parting like a pair of curtains and leaving Elijah standing alone at the rear, his mouth agape.

I couldn’t control my laugh as the garter smacked him between the eyes.

No wonder people laughed when the bouquet got me earlier.

It was damn funny to see the gobsmacked expression on his face.

Considering how amused he’d been by my predicament, I thought it was a fitting punishment that the same thing would happen to him.

“Well, that was unexpected. Seems the bachelors didn’t learn from the ladies at the bouquet toss,” the DJ said, his voice quivering with laughter.

I snorted, covering my mouth with my hand. As though he heard me, Elijah turned toward me, his eyes narrowed.

“Time for a picture with the lady and gentleman who caught the bouquet and garter!” the DJ announced.

That wiped the smile from my face. When he saw my expression, Elijah smirked and crooked a finger at me.

I shook my head. He took a step toward me, clearly threatening to come drag me across the room.

With a sigh, I lowered my hand and trudged in his direction.

It was clear he wasn’t going to let me out of this, and I didn’t want to cause a scene at Lucy’s wedding. Well, more of a scene.

As I passed one of the single ladies who’d almost caught the bouquet, I heard her murmur, “Lucky bitch.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to stop and ask her if she wanted me to introduce her to him, but Elijah was watching me expectantly, arching a brow when my steps slowed.

I could almost hear him say, Too chicken?

I squinted across the dance floor at him as I got closer, which made his smirk turn into a huge smile.

A flower wall had been set up near the dance floor so people could have pictures taken together by the photographer she’d hired.

It was a fun activity Lucy wanted for the guests and wedding party so she could look at the photos in the future to see all her friends and family enjoying themselves at her wedding.

The photographer was setting up a chair in front of the wall.

She smiled at both of them as they approached.

“Okay, gentleman, you’re going to sit in the chair.” Once Elijah was seated, she smiled at me. “And bridesmaid, you’ll sit in his lap.”

I opened my mouth to tell her no way when Elijah reached out and snagged my hand, tugging me forward. I tried to pull away, but he kept a firm grip on me and maneuvered me in front of him.

“Have a seat, Brown Eyes.”

I looked down at him, hesitating.

Chuckling, he released my hand and grabbed my hips, turning and positioning me until I settled on his thigh. I clutched the bouquet in one hand, keeping it close to my chest, as he wrapped an arm around my waist, letting his hand rest low on my hip.

The heat of his palm all but burned through the thin, satiny material of the bridesmaid dress, and I could feel each of his fingers against my body.

“Relax,” he murmured, his cheek brushing my bare shoulder.

I made the mistake of glancing back toward him, our eyes clashing and locking together, only a few inches apart. This close, I could see the striations of light blue in the indigo of his pupils.

“What?” I asked. I’d completely forgotten what he said because I was distracted by how pretty his eyes were.

His arm tightened around me. “Grier, you need to relax.”

“I’m too—”

“Just take a breath and lean against me,” he said, interrupting my statement that I was too heavy to sit on him for long.

Considering he wouldn’t release me when I tried to regain my feet, I decided to play along and get this over with faster.

I leaned back, trying to ignore the heat radiating off his body beneath the thin dress shirt he wore.

I also tried to ignore the faint scent of his cologne mingling with a hint of sweat.

I failed miserably at both those endeavors, my back stiff and my body tense.

Elijah reached up and tugged lightly on one of the curls framing my face. “You’re too tense, Brown Eyes.”.

I turned my head, my mouth open to say something, and found myself nose-to-nose with him.

“Relax,” he whispered, repeating the word again.

His warm breath puffed against my lips, and every thought in my brain vanished. I did as he demanded, all but melting against him as the photographer set up her shot. I didn’t even blink as the flash went off.

“All right, you two. Stay exactly like that, but turn your heads toward me,” she called.

I heard her voice, but her words didn’t register. Elijah released a quiet chuckle and cupped the back of my head, turning my head toward the photographer.

“Smile, Brown Eyes,” he whispered.

Somehow, I managed to focus enough to curve my lips into a semblance of a smile. The flash went off again, this time nearly blinding me.

“Great. You’re a lovely couple. Enjoy the rest of the reception!”

Before I could tell her that we weren’t dating, firm hands clasped my waist, and I was suddenly on my feet, swaying again. Elijah stood so close that our bodies brushed, like a tease.

“You need to cut loose,” he murmured, looking down at me.

I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his bright blue eyes, but no words came to me.

“Let’s get a drink.”

Without waiting for me to reply, Elijah released my waist, slipping a hand in mine, and tugging me along behind him as he headed toward one of the three bars set up in the room.

I followed in his wake without a single argument.