The Best Man by Ella Ardent

ceremony. It was so strange.
Christine couldn’t figure it out. How could two people who loved each other as
much as Jess and Ryan did have their relationship reduced to this by a wedding?
    And
Mom—the sweetest person in the world—was a wreck. Christine had
tried to console her and help everything move ahead, but it was a lost cause.
    It
hadn’t made anything easier that Jake had ignored Christine all evening. He’d been
gone all day, and even during the rehearsal, when they were supposed to be
together, he’d been distracted. She could have been a complete stranger for all
the attention he’d given her. He’d been busy talking with the other guys in the
wedding party at dinner, as if she didn’t even exist.
    How
could she have been so wrong about her fantasy lover?
    About
Jake?
    Christine
returned to her room early, exhausted by the day.
    Thank
goodness Fiona had said she was going to party late. Christine was glad to have
the room to herself. She peeled off her dress and kicked off her shoes, then
headed for the shower. While there, she thought about the thorough loving she’d
had on the beach the day before and wondered whether Jake was as hungry for
more as she was.
    After
all, only she had had satisfaction.
    Not
enough, though. When it came to Jake, she was always ready for more.
    Christine
came back into the bedroom, toweling off her hair, and froze. A man wearing
only a black domino mask stood in the middle of the room, watching her. The
room was awash in candlelight, a dozen fat candles in glass casting their
flickering golden light over the scene. His eyes gleamed and he smiled at her
surprise. He was tall and buff, hard and ready.
    “A
thief in the night comes to claim his due,” he said in his fake French accent.
He tugged on a pair of long black leather gloves, the sight of them thrilling
Christine. He arched a brow and Christine’s heart stopped cold. “Better late
than not at all.”
    “Hard
and fast from behind?” Christine asked, liking how he chuckled. She dropped the
towel and he strode closer, catching her around the waist.
    “Lady’s
choice,” he murmured, his gaze searching hers, then he kissed her.
    He
was demanding as he had been gentle before, as if he was a different man.
    A
rogue come to possess her in the night.
    A
thief who would leave no fingerprints.
    A
man with nothing to lose—and only pleasure to gain.
    Christine
loved the difference in his touch. His kiss was wild and sexy and forbidden
this way. Dangerous. Delicious. Irresistible.
    She
kissed him back with hunger, pushing her tongue between his teeth and sliding
her hands around his neck. She loved the feel of his hands on her, the leather
gloves gliding over her skin. He felt powerful and seductive both, and when he
groaned at her abandon, she knew they both were loving the game.
    He
caught her up in his arms and carried her across the room, pillaging her mouth
with his as he went. Christine surrendered to the moment, kissing him with an
abandon she hadn’t known she possessed. He cast her on to the bed, then spun
her around before she could catch her breath. She was kneeling in front of him,
her butt against his erection, and she rolled her hips to rub against him. He
chuckled and wrapped one arm around her waist, trapping her arms against her
body. He closed his other hand over her mouth, silencing her beneath his
leather-clad palm.
    It
was thrilling to be his captive, especially as Christine knew he would never
hurt her. She was so wet she was nearly dripping. He pushed her legs apart with
one knee, then lifted her against him, easing his shaft between the lips of her
labia. He was so hard and so thick. Christine moaned at the thought of him
being inside her and writhed against him. His arms could have been steel bands
locked around her, and the fact that he held her so tightly meant that she
could completely let go.
    She
did. She struggled and tried to shake off his grip. She screamed, but made