slid
along my skin, and the hand-beading and embroidery on the hem were to
die for.
Also, any outfit with which you get to
wear a hat with an ostrich feather in it is a win.
Arms encircled me from behind. “Well,
don’t you look scrumptious.”
I jumped before the fact that it was
Hunter’s voice penetrated my brain. “You asshole! You
scared me half to death!” Despite my harsh words, I relaxed
back into his arms, savored the feel of him. God, I hadn’t
realized how much I’d missed him until this very moment. “What
are you doing here? I thought you needed to get ready—”
“I couldn’t stay away,”
he murmured.
And then he kissed me.
It was everything I’d frantically
imagined every night of his absence; his lips hot and demanding, his
hands fisting in the back of my dress, starting to pull it higher—
I twisted out of his grip, panting,
trying desperately to keep a lid on both my emotions and my hormones.
“Oh no you don’t. You are not wrinkling this dress five
minutes before I have to go out there.”
Hunter raised his hands like a suspect
surrendering to the police, then leaned in, his tongue tracing a lazy
figure eight on my neck, the sensitive skin there tingling under his
touch.
“What if I say ‘please?’”
he whispered against my hammering pulse.
It just might be worth it… no!
I pulled away again, shaking my finger
at him. “You, Hunter Knox, are the devil himself.”
“I’ll take that as a
compliment,” he said, tucking his hands into his trouser
pockets with a satisfied smile. Then his face went serious. “I
would never ruin your big day for you.”
“I appreciate that,” I
said, and I meant it.
We grinned at each other like fools for
a few seconds. Damn, but that man looked good in a tux, even an
old-school one.
“You nervous?”
“And excited,” I said. “But
yeah, nervous too, for the big unveiling of the new branding and
film. My boss is in from D.C., his boss is in from New York;
everything’s riding on this.”
Hunter took my hand and squeezed it.
“It’s going to be great.”
And looking into his eyes, seeing his
belief in me, I believed that too.
#
We joined the party with a discreet
distance between us, trying to make it less obvious that we
were…whatever we were. But how could it not be obvious?
Couldn’t everyone see the electricity crackling between us? I
felt like a little girl trying to hide a broken cookie jar behind her
back.
Paige swooped in out of nowhere for a
quick hug. “Oh Ally, I’m so glad I caught you! Best of
luck, I know you’re going to be brilliant!” Then her gaze
caught on something else, and she was off again: “Martin, I
told you and I told you, that shade of mauve is completely period-inappropriate—”
I spotted Martha over by the bar and
gave her a wave. She gave me a friendly wave back before zeroing in
on a hot guy and moving in for the kill. The guy didn’t look
like he minded being her metaphorical prey one little bit.
And then I saw the Douchebros, palling
around with what looked like most of the board.
Well, not everything could be all
roses.
“Nice outfit, Ally,” Chad
sneered. “Did you spend half as much time on your rebranding as
your make-up?”
Hunter growled, and not in the sexy
way. I held up a hand in a barely perceptible signal, restraining
him.
I could see the Douchebros jockeying
each other, eager to see my reaction. They wanted me to explode, to
look emotional and unstable in front of the board members.
Instead, I gave Chad a look as blank as
a wiped whiteboard. “I don’t get it. Why is that funny?
Explain it to me.”
Chad sniggered. “You know.”
“I do not,” I said in my
best robot monotone. “Explain why that joke is funny. Spell it
out.”
“Uh, er…” Chad
floundered, seeming to realize for the first time that over half of
the board members surrounding him were women. “Uh…”
One of the board members, Ms. Standish,
interrupted with a tight smile.
along my skin, and the hand-beading and embroidery on the hem were to
die for.
Also, any outfit with which you get to
wear a hat with an ostrich feather in it is a win.
Arms encircled me from behind. “Well,
don’t you look scrumptious.”
I jumped before the fact that it was
Hunter’s voice penetrated my brain. “You asshole! You
scared me half to death!” Despite my harsh words, I relaxed
back into his arms, savored the feel of him. God, I hadn’t
realized how much I’d missed him until this very moment. “What
are you doing here? I thought you needed to get ready—”
“I couldn’t stay away,”
he murmured.
And then he kissed me.
It was everything I’d frantically
imagined every night of his absence; his lips hot and demanding, his
hands fisting in the back of my dress, starting to pull it higher—
I twisted out of his grip, panting,
trying desperately to keep a lid on both my emotions and my hormones.
“Oh no you don’t. You are not wrinkling this dress five
minutes before I have to go out there.”
Hunter raised his hands like a suspect
surrendering to the police, then leaned in, his tongue tracing a lazy
figure eight on my neck, the sensitive skin there tingling under his
touch.
“What if I say ‘please?’”
he whispered against my hammering pulse.
It just might be worth it… no!
I pulled away again, shaking my finger
at him. “You, Hunter Knox, are the devil himself.”
“I’ll take that as a
compliment,” he said, tucking his hands into his trouser
pockets with a satisfied smile. Then his face went serious. “I
would never ruin your big day for you.”
“I appreciate that,” I
said, and I meant it.
We grinned at each other like fools for
a few seconds. Damn, but that man looked good in a tux, even an
old-school one.
“You nervous?”
“And excited,” I said. “But
yeah, nervous too, for the big unveiling of the new branding and
film. My boss is in from D.C., his boss is in from New York;
everything’s riding on this.”
Hunter took my hand and squeezed it.
“It’s going to be great.”
And looking into his eyes, seeing his
belief in me, I believed that too.
#
We joined the party with a discreet
distance between us, trying to make it less obvious that we
were…whatever we were. But how could it not be obvious?
Couldn’t everyone see the electricity crackling between us? I
felt like a little girl trying to hide a broken cookie jar behind her
back.
Paige swooped in out of nowhere for a
quick hug. “Oh Ally, I’m so glad I caught you! Best of
luck, I know you’re going to be brilliant!” Then her gaze
caught on something else, and she was off again: “Martin, I
told you and I told you, that shade of mauve is completely period-inappropriate—”
I spotted Martha over by the bar and
gave her a wave. She gave me a friendly wave back before zeroing in
on a hot guy and moving in for the kill. The guy didn’t look
like he minded being her metaphorical prey one little bit.
And then I saw the Douchebros, palling
around with what looked like most of the board.
Well, not everything could be all
roses.
“Nice outfit, Ally,” Chad
sneered. “Did you spend half as much time on your rebranding as
your make-up?”
Hunter growled, and not in the sexy
way. I held up a hand in a barely perceptible signal, restraining
him.
I could see the Douchebros jockeying
each other, eager to see my reaction. They wanted me to explode, to
look emotional and unstable in front of the board members.
Instead, I gave Chad a look as blank as
a wiped whiteboard. “I don’t get it. Why is that funny?
Explain it to me.”
Chad sniggered. “You know.”
“I do not,” I said in my
best robot monotone. “Explain why that joke is funny. Spell it
out.”
“Uh, er…” Chad
floundered, seeming to realize for the first time that over half of
the board members surrounding him were women. “Uh…”
One of the board members, Ms. Standish,
interrupted with a tight smile.
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