Alexander #2
McKinley dances over to us, his auburn curls bouncing as his hips shake. “Why are you standing all the way over here? Go dance with your wife.”
“Just having a heart-to-heart with my brother here.” Trenton wraps one arm around my shoulders and the other around McKinley. “Hey, Stamos! Get over here.”
Jason pries himself away from his wife and heads over to us, closing off our huddle. “What’s up?”
“I just want to say thank you for being here for me, and not just tonight. I really love you guys.”
Jason leans closer to me. “How many beers has he had so far?”
I stifle a chuckle. “Not enough to be having this talk right now.”
“Hey.” Trenton cuts us off. “I’m not drunk, but it’s my wedding night and I’m allowed to be all up in my feels.”
“Amen to that.” McKinley breaks away first and drags him onto the dance floor. “Let’s party, bro. Cassidy has some hot friends I need you to introduce me to.”
“You okay?”
Aarya waves me away, squinting one eye as she tries to clasp her shoe strap around her ankle. “I’ve got this.”
By the looks of her on the floor in the empty ballroom, and knowing how much she’s had to drink tonight, she most certainly doesn’t got this.
I crouch down on the floor beside her. “You sure about that? Because your shoe is on the wrong foot.”
She leans back and slumps against the wall. “Fuck it. I don’t need shoes.”
“Come on.” I slide my hands around her and lift her into my arms, scooping up her shoes with me as I stand. “I’ve got you.”
Immediately, her arms wrap around the back of my neck and she rests her head on my shoulder, nuzzling against the crook of my neck.
She’s not blackout drunk, but I’m not confident she’d make it to her room without taking a tumble. I’ll sleep better knowing she’s safe in her bed.
I carry her to the elevators in the lobby, and step inside the first empty one that opens.
“You smell good,” she slurs.
The elevator door closes and I glance at the buttons on the panel. “What floor are you on?”
“Seven-oh-seven. Or maybe it’s seven-oh-eight. The key is in my purse.” She pauses and lifts her head. “Where’s my purse?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see it with you while you were attempting to get your shoes on.”
She groans and lets her head fall back against my shoulder, muttering something incoherent.
“I’ll look for it for you, don’t worry. Let’s just get you to bed first.” I slap the button for the eleventh floor.
“How am I getting to bed if I don’t have my key?”
“You’ll sleep in my room.”
She hums against my neck, sending a delicious tingle down my spine. “You going to sleep with me after all, Big Man?”
I bite back a smile. “While you’re drunk? Never.”
“You’re better than me. I’d totally take advantage of you if you were drunk.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
The door slides open and I carry Aarya down the hall to my suite.
Her head pops up as I step inside. “Your room is a hell of a lot nicer than mine.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing you lost your room key.” I lower her onto the foot of the bed. “Let me get you something comfortable to change into, and then I’ll grab a water bottle and some Tylenol from the lobby while I look for your purse.”
She groans as she struggles with the zipper behind her back. “Just get me out of this dress.”
I toss a pair of my sweats and a T-shirt onto the bed beside her, then pull her up until she’s standing in front of me.
She shuffles in a circle and I tug the zipper down her spine until it reaches her tailbone, exposing her smooth skin.
My fingers tremble as I let them linger there, ghosting my knuckles along the dip of her lower back.
She shivers under my touch, pushing her ass back against me.
Then she pulls down the top of her strapless dress, shimmying it down past her waist until it pools at her feet.
She’s standing before me in nothing but a black satin bra and a matching thong.
Our eyes catch in the mirror across the room, and she lets her head fall back against my chest, every part of her bare skin pressed against my body as she watches me, waiting for me in silent invitation.
“You’re flawless,” I whisper, my lips brushing against the cusp of her ear. “Absolutely stunning.”
She pushes her ass against my growing erection over my slacks. “I want you. And you want me too.”
I grip her shoulders and step back, needing to put distance between us.
She pouts with an adorable whine. “Why do you keep pushing me away?”
I spin her around and cup her face so she’s looking into my eyes.
“Aarya, you have no idea how much I want to give in to you. And you have no idea how difficult it is to restrain myself whenever I’m around you, because the only thing I can think about is tasting your lips, and all the ways I wish I could make you come. ”
Her eyes widen and her lips part.
“But I need something more. More than just one night of passion. I want to be part of something bigger, something meaningful. And I’d love to see if we could have something like that, but you’ve made it clear that you only want one night from me.
” I shake my head. “I’m worth more than one night, and I think you are too. I just wish you could realize that.”
Her eyes turn glossy as she blinks up at me. “Marry me.”
My throat goes dry. “What?”
She’s drunk. There’s no way she just said—
“You need someone to marry, and I need a hundred thousand in my bank account. Why don’t you fake marry me instead of a stranger?”
“I...you can’t.”
“You’ve done nothing but reject me since the day we met. I’m putting myself in a vulnerable position right now, so please don’t make me regret it because I won’t beg for this more than once.” She takes my hands and squeezes them. “We can help each other.”
On one hand, it sounds perfect. But then Giuliana’s innocent face fills my mind. How would someone like Aarya fit into my home? Could I really bring her into my daughter’s life, knowing it’s all a lie? I thought this was what I wanted, but now that it’s real, I’m not so sure this is a good idea.
I tug Aarya into me, engulfing her in a sincere hug. “You’ve had a lot to drink. Why don’t you sleep on it, and we’ll talk about it in the morning.”
“Fine, but I already told you: I’m not that drunk.” She presses her palm against my chest and pushes out of my hold. “Also, you should know that I don’t like hugs.”
I chuckle. “Just think about it, please. For me.”
“Okay, Big Man. We’ll talk in the morning.”
I slip my T-shirt over her head, and she pulls out her strapless bra from underneath before tossing it onto the floor. Then she crawls into bed, forgoing the sweatpants, and tucks her legs under the covers.
I lean over and examine her hair. “Let me take these pins out of your hair.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Let me. You’ll have a headache if you sleep in them.”
I don’t tell her how I know, that Giuliana complains about her head hurting if she falls asleep with clips in her hair.
I lower myself onto the mattress beside her and pull out each bobby pin one by one, setting them down on the nightstand beside her.
Then I massage her scalp, shaking out her hair to relieve the pressure.
“God, you have the best hands,” she murmurs.
I let out a small chuckle. “Let me go find your purse, and then you need to drink some water.”
“Forget the purse.” She tugs my arm. “Snuggle me.”
With those big brown eyes looking up at me, there’s not much I’d say no to.
“The spitfire likes to snuggle?”
She grunts. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
I climb onto the bed behind her and pull her body close, wrapping my arm around her midsection. She fits perfectly against me, and I let out a long breath as she groans, mumbling nonsensical things into the pillow.
I feel her body drift off to sleep within seconds, and all I can think in the stillness of the room is...
This could be the perfect solution, or an absolute disaster.