From his tight grip on my waist to the way he’d pulled my head back, I expected his kiss to be rough and demanding, but my assumption was wrong. So wrong.
When his lips brushed mine the first time, they were feather light, as soft as the wind that shifted around us. I inhaled, smelling the clean scent of his skin and the sharp tang of whiskey.
His mouth covered mine again, remaining closed and gentle as he learned the shape of my lips. I sighed and ran the tip of my tongue over his bottom lip, curious what it tasted like.
His grip on me tightened further, bringing me up onto my toes, as I licked his lips. Landen groaned and opened his mouth and my entire world flipped upside down in a split second.
My body was plastered to his from chest to thigh and I could feel the length of his erection against my belly. I pressed closer, marveling at how hard he was and how heat seemed to emanate from his entire body.
Then I could only focus on the way his mouth felt on mine and how he tasted like the whiskey he’d obviously been drinking and the mints that had been in a little bag on the bridal table. His tongue spiked into my mouth and I lost the ability to think. I met the caress with one of my own, my hands lifting from his shoulders to his hair. I fisted the strands and tried to pull him closer, but we were as close as we could get without being naked.
He lifted me a bit higher and then pinned me against the tree but I barely felt the rough scrape of bark against my bare shoulder. I was too focused on what his mouth was doing to me.
He released my hair and cupped the back of my neck, stroking the side of my throat with his thumb. I arched into him, desperate for something else. Something more.
Which he gave me. His palm moved from the back of my neck, over my collarbone and down to my breast. Landen cupped me through the thin material of my dress, his thumb flicking over my nipple in a way that made my breath catch. Then his fingers delved beneath the fabric and under the cup of my strapless bra and I felt the same flick of his thumb again, this time on my bare nipple.
Shocked, I sank my teeth lightly into his bottom lip, unable to help myself.
He pulled back slightly and cursed, “Fuck.”
I nearly apologized. I didn’t think I’d bitten him that hard, but he buried his face in my neck and returned the favor, sinking his teeth lightly into the muscle that ran between my shoulder and throat and his index finger joined his thumb beneath my bra and tugged at the tip of my breast.
The hint of pain was enough to have me hissing, not because I wanted him to stop but because it only brought me more pleasure. Something Landen seemed to understand instinctually because his head dropped lower and he did it again, pinching my nipple lightly as he nipped me. Only this time his teeth sank into the top of my breast.
I couldn’t take this. I needed more, even though I was sure it would break me. I opened my mouth to tell him I wanted more, that I wanted him to fuck me up against that tree when the sound of soft whispers and a woman’s giggle reached my ears.
I stiffened, which got his attention. He straightened, looking down at me with his hand still inside my bra. Then he heard the voices and his body grew tight as well. Moving slowly, he removed his fingers from my breast but kept his body against mine.
The voices were coming closer and I knew that in a few moments they would see us. I realized that my hands were still clutching his hair and I forced myself to unfurl my fingers and drop my palms to his chest. Pushing gently, I straightened and winced at the feel of the bark against my skin. I hoped I wasn’t bleeding. That would bring about questions that I didn’t want to answer.
He glanced around the tree and then sighed, taking a single step back. Without his body heat, the night suddenly felt downright chilly.
“It’s a couple and they’re headed this way,” he whispered, his voice nearly soundless.
I nodded, licking my lips and found that I could still taste him on my skin. “We should go back inside.”
Because of the shadows I couldn’t read the look he was giving me and I was glad. I also hoped he couldn’t see my expression. Otherwise, he would know exactly what he did to me. Though the way I’d tried to climb him like a spider monkey moments ago probably gave me away.
Moving quietly, he wrapped on arm around my waist and brought me up against his side. As the couple came around one side of the huge tree, we walked around the other, in silent agreement that we didn’t want to run into the tipsy man and woman.
As we moved quickly across the grass, a woman’s low moan drifted back to us and I knew they were doing exactly what we’d been doing only moments ago. Only I doubted they would stop at just a few kisses and groping.
Once we were inside, I risked a glance up at Landen and found him staring down at me with an unreadable expression on his face.
Then Amanda called my name and I looked away, unsure if I was grateful or pissed that the wedding planner had interrupted the strange, fraught moment between us.
“Where have you been?” she asked. “It’s time to cut the cake and then throw the bouquet and garter.”
Landen’s arm fell from my waist as I stepped away and moved toward Amanda. Though I could feel his eyes on me, I didn’t look back.
If I had, I would have seen more than either of us was ready to admit.
