Take the Bride (The Knight Brothers 1.5)

He walked up behind her and she was immediately aware of him, the warmth of his body as he came close. “Lift your hair,” he said in a gruff voice.

She raised the heavy strands and pulled them over her shoulder, then felt his big hands come to the tiny buttons that began midway down her back. He struggled with the size of them, muttering as he worked, his breath warm as he leaned closer for a better look.

His scent was familiar and arousing, her imagination running away as his hands touched the buttons the way they’d once danced over her skin. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, awareness sizzling through her veins. Need pulsing inside her. Her thong panties were damp, her nipples hard, desire a living, breathing thing inside her . . .

In all her time with Jason, she’d never experienced passion like she had with Ryder, and the fact that just his nearness had her hyperaware of him put her on alert to the fact that her feelings for him hadn’t dissipated in the time they’d been apart.

“There. Finished.”

Ryder stepped back and she nearly sagged with relief. She’d come so close to turning around and plastering herself against him, reliving a past that she’d never quite gotten over.

It had been one thing for her to acknowledge to her brother that she didn’t share a passionate love with Jason, but to experience the difference now with Ryder was disconcerting. Just a few touches from Ryder made her truly realize exactly how much she’d been willing to give up in her marriage.

And on that thought… “I’m going to the bathroom and I’d like to climb into the bed without you watching.”

He frowned. “I just unbuttoned your dress lower than your ass. Besides, what I haven’t seen just now, I’ve seen before,” he reminded her.

“Not lately you haven’t.” She stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her, frustrated with herself for feeling anything for him at all.

Before she could even let the dress slide off her shoulders, a knock sounded on the bathroom door. “What?” she called out.

“Housekeeping brought some toiletries,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said, accepting the Paradise-Cove-labeled bag through the door and then shutting it quickly, luckily not catching his hand as she did.

A little while later, she’d brushed her teeth, washed her face, and cleaned up after the long day. After hanging her dress on the hook behind the door, she stepped back into the room to find he was already in bed. His bare chest peeked out from beneath the red satin comforter as he waited for her to join him, tanned and muscular and more appealing than she wanted him to be.

Those strong arms had once held her tight, given her comfort, and caused her arousal. She wished what she felt was only sexual, but this was the man she’d loved and had dreamed of spending the rest of her life with in a way much different than the plans she’d made with Jason.

After the breakup, she’d spent years seeing him with Sebastian, blocking out her feelings for him, and ignoring the pang of regret that inevitably came with him being near. She hadn’t been the one to end things, and despite being hurt by his actions, her feelings hadn’t turned off as easily as she’d wanted them to. Viewing him in that luxurious bed now was like a punch in the stomach, creating a yearning she’d tried to push away a long time ago.

“Shut your eyes,” she bit out, knowing she was being childish, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t ready to parade in front of him in the see-through bra and panties she’d bought to wear beneath her wedding gown, for her wedding night. With another man.

She shuddered at the thought, wondering why she hadn’t spent more time mourning Jason’s loss than she had thinking about being in a honeymoon suite with her first love. Ryder had ruined her wedding and the future she’d had planned… and yet she’d left the church with him willingly. She didn’t like herself very much right now.

“Come on,” Ryder said, placing his hand over his eyes. “They’re closed.” He’d shut off the overhead lights in the room, leaving the lamp on by the nightstand.

Having no choice but to trust him not to peek, she walked out and came to the bed, sliding into the satin sheets. She pulled the comforter up around her and sighed. “I’m good.”

He lowered his arm and met her gaze, his expression contrite. “It’s going to be okay,” he said, although he couldn’t know any such thing.

“So now you can read the future?”

“I wish,” he muttered. “No. I just have faith. For now, though, can we just get some sleep?”

“Yeah.” She knew they’d have plenty of time to talk tomorrow, although she wasn’t looking forward to a rehash of the past or the present. But maybe for both of their sakes, they needed to resolve their issues and her anger over the end of the relationship once and for all. So that she could figure out what she really wanted for her future, though she was beginning to suspect that it wasn’t with Jason, a man who’d so easily walked away from her at the first sign of trouble.