Chapter 2 #2
“I’ll go out and bring in your bags after I show you to the bathroom.
” He grabbed her hand and started leading her toward the bedrooms. He hoped that what he planned on doing wouldn’t spook her too much, but there was no way that he was putting her into the guest bedroom.
His bedroom was on the right, and he entered and turned on the light.
She blinked against the brightness and then seemed to understand what room she was in.
“If this isn’t okay, tell me now,” he said.
“Otherwise, I want you with me, in my bed. If you don’t want that, now is the time to tell me.
I have other rooms, and you can have one of them.
” He waited. He could almost see her thinking, like she was discussing the pros and cons with herself.
To be truthful, she looked a little spooked.
He chuckled and pulled her up against his body, realizing that he had laughed more with her in the past hour than he had in the past 6 months.
“Baby, I can see you thinking.” He rubbed the skin at the bridge of her nose between her eyes, smoothing out the wrinkles.
“It’s okay. I want you, and I think you want me.
” She nodded hard and fast, causing him to chuckle again.
“Then, just stay with me for the weekend.” She nodded again, this time much more cautiously.
He kissed the side of her mouth and led her back to his en-suite.
She gasped, “It’s so spacious and beautiful.” She ran her fingers along the clawfoot tub. “I wish I had time for a bath!” she gushed.
“Later, baby. I’ll run you a bubble bath, and you can relax and unwind after the rehearsal dinner.
You’ll probably need that.” He shrugged, “For now, the shower’s there and you can help yourself to the towels and toiletries in the closet.
I’ll be right back with your bags.” He gave her mouth a quick peck and playfully squeezed a handful of her ass, needing to touch her.
Karlie squealed and teasingly slapped his arm, giggling as she shoved him out of the bathroom to get ready.
∞
Karlie knew that she was going against her new mantra, but she couldn’t tell Drew no.
She wanted him so much that not being with him wasn’t even a thought she wanted to entertain.
At least he distracted her from having to think about seeing Jenna and Jake for the first time since she found them in bed together.
No, that couldn’t be the only reason that she had agreed to all of this—this train wreck.
That’s the only way that she saw this ending with Drew, in a wreck.
Unfortunately, that was the way her life had been going since that night she found her boyfriend in bed with her sister.
Drew would run the other way when he realized that she was a train wreck from start to finish.
Her new apartment in Georgia was great, but as for the rest of starting over, her life wasn’t going quite as planned.
She had only one real friend in Atlanta, and her job was a complete dead end.
She worked at an accounting firm, but she was more of a secretary than an accountant.
She was hoping that she would be able to work her way up, but that plan was also going down the toilet.
Nothing seemed to be working out in Atlanta other than the fact that it gave her a safe place to be alone to figure things out.
A place where she didn’t have to see Jenna or Jake.
“You gonna get into the water or just stand there staring off?”
Drew had startled her so badly that she screamed and jumped, hitting her knee on the vanity. He smirked at her and handed her the bag. “Sorry,” he breathed. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“Well, I was letting it heat up. And it seems that if I wanted any privacy, I’d need to lock the bathroom door.” She giggled and started ushering him to the door.
“But, I am excellent at washing backs,” he drawled, pretending to be affronted that she wasn’t letting him help.
“We need to get out of here so you can go do your best man thing,” she teased. “I can get a shower and get dressed much faster without you distracting me.”
“So, I distract you?” He turned and pulled her into his arms, kissing down her neck. “Does this distract you?” he asked, nibbling her collarbone.
“Y-Yes,” she stuttered. “You need to stop that, or I’ll run out of hot water.
” He growled, literally growled in frustration, and it was her turn to giggle at him.
She swatted him away, shooing him out the bathroom door.
Karlie thought about locking the door but decided against it, turning to start stripping out of her shorts and T-shirt.
She stepped into the steamy spray and washed away the dirt and grime from the road trip.
She was determined to look her best tonight and tomorrow.
Karlie planned on plastering on some makeup and a smile to show everyone how well she was doing, even if most of it was a lie.
At least she didn’t have to go through the next couple of days alone.
Thinking about having Drew with her made her feel safe and very hopeful about the weekend.
∞
Drew had a very cold shower in the guest bathroom and dressed in his suit.
It took everything in him not to think about Karlie in his bathroom, rubbing his soap all over her sexy body.
God, he wished she would have taken him up on his offer to help her shower.
Unfortunately, she was right; they needed to get to the rehearsal dinner and get it over with.
Agreeing to stand in for his brother might have been the right thing to do, but he didn’t want to stand up for Jake.
He was such a slimy bastard, the way he’d treated Karlie and used her sister.
He’d overheard Ryan talking before he shipped out, saying that Jake had slept with Jenna on a bet.
Some guys at the local dive in town bet he couldn’t get both sisters in the same bed together.
After Karlie had dumped Jake’s ass after finding them in bed together, he just started up with Jenna.
Then, the buzz around town was that Jenna was pregnant.
Jake had no choice but to marry Jenna; Mr. Angel had made that crystal clear.
He also promised to put a nice down payment on a house for the “happy couple,” and he promised Jake a good position at his engineering firm.
For a guy with no education and no money in the bank, Jake had sure made out for knocking up his girlfriend.
The sick part about it was that Drew had heard Jake bragging about his good fortune all around town.
Thank God Jenna didn’t seem to notice what a sleaze the guy was.
Or maybe that was the problem. Maybe if she knew what kind of guy Jake was, she’d have second thoughts about marrying him.
Drew needed to remember that Jake and the Angel family weren’t his circus, and they weren’t his clowns.
He would do as he promised and stand in for his brother, but beyond that, he didn’t give a shit what Jake and Jenna did.
All he knew was that he didn’t want Karlie hurt.
That meant keeping Jake away from her as much as possible and trying to keep her from hearing the gossip that was flying around town about her.
Drew checked his watch and studied his reflection in the mirror one last time.
He wished he could just wear jeans and a baseball cap.
No, scratch that. He wished he could be naked and in bed with Karlie, but that would have to wait until this entire fiasco was over.
Tonight, if Karlie was willing, he’d have his way with her, finally.
“Um—” she squeaked from the doorway of the guest bedroom.
He turned to find her standing there in an almost-too-short light-blue cocktail dress that showed off her every last curve.
Lord did the girl have some beautiful curves in all the right places.
She smiled and twirled when he whistled.
And her ass—God, he loved her ass, looked perfect in that dress.
Her shoes were sexy as sin—silver strappy heels that made her legs look a mile long.
“Fuck, baby,” he growled. “Those shoes and that dress—you look amazing,” he drawled.
He walked toward the door where she stood, soaking up his praise.
As soon as he got his hands on her, she leaned into him.
“Wear those shoes tonight, baby, after we get back here. In fact, wear those shoes and nothing else.” He nibbled her exposed neck and loved the way her skin turned pink.
He loved her blush—found it sexy as hell.
Drew cupped her ass in his big hands. “Baby, your ass looks amazing in this dress.” She sighed and wiggled her butt in his hands, causing him to chuckle.
Drew nibbled back up her neck and saw that she was only wearing light gloss on her lips.
He wanted to lick the gloss off those lips.
He kissed her, soft nibbles at first, and when she cuddled into him tighter, he couldn’t hold back.
He devoured her lips, licking into her mouth.
He left her lips swollen and sexy from his kiss, making him want more.
“We are already so late,” she whispered. “We need to get you to the rehearsal dinner. I don’t want anyone to think that I was the one keeping you from your best man duties.” Karlie looked so unsure. Drew worried that she was getting herself into something she wasn’t ready for.
“Are you sure that you want to do this? No one would blame you for missing this whole wedding, baby. No one would think less of you,” he promised, rubbing his knuckles down her soft cheek.