Seducing the Bride

God, I’m an idiot.

“When we walked in, I saw they still have that Tempest machine in the arcade,” she remarked with a challenging smile. “Bet I can beat you again.”

“You wish. This time will be different.”

She raises that dark arch of a brow at me. “Because you’ve been practicing?”

“Because I’m determined,” I lied.

I’m actually relieved she’s found something else for us to do in public. As long as we’re not alone, I can’t be too reckless about putting my hands on her.

“Here it comes!” Her smile brightens as the man-made wave spouts from the edge of the pool and swells across the water before crashing over us.

The force of the water tugs at me and threatens to drag her under. Sputtering and gasping, she flings herself against me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and her legs around my middle. She’s petite, but her curves feel so fucking seductive and lush.

Our eyes meet. Her lips part. She blinks, water droplets clinging to her long black lashes. She’s mere inches away. All I’d have to do to kiss her is grab a fistful of her lush brown hair, pull her against me, and crush her lips under my own.

Could I talk her into my bed and out of her virginity?

Other than my conscience, every part of me salutes that idea, especially the overeager appendage between my legs. But if I let her near my cock, she’ll realize how badly I want her.

To avert that crisis, I tickle her ribs and get the expected squeal in return before I carefully set her aside.

She sends me a little pout. “Pushing me away already? You’ll be rid of me soon enough.”

That softens my heart…if not the rest of my body. “I never want to be rid of you, princess.”

“It still doesn’t seem real that I’m leaving. I’ve done all the paperwork and packed up everything, got my plane ticket …” She frowns. “Tell me I’m making the right decision.”

“It’s a great school. You’re going to love it there and amazing things will happen for you.” That’s what I tell myself. “You’ll learn new things, gain independence…” Meet boys. Have sex.

I try not to think about that. Sure, it would be better for her if she found some lucky guy who made her happy. But she doesn’t even know him yet, and I already want to punch him.

“That’s what Dad says.”

“What do you think?”

She sighs. “It all sounded great…before I was hours away from leaving.”

“You’re just nervous, and it’s totally understandable. Give it at least a semester. Then, if you hate it, talk to your dad. Dan will understand, and you two can come up with a plan.”

“Can’t I call you instead? You know he’s not much for giving me advice.”

I can’t argue with her there. Dan is a great guy, just seemingly ill-equipped to handle a teenage daughter on his own.

“You can always call me,” I tell her. “But once you get there and settled, you’re not going to want to.”

“Of course I will. I’ll miss you.”

Her whisper spreads sparks through my blood. It seems like she’s saying so much with those three words. That’s got to be my wishful thinking.

“I’ll miss you, too, princess.”

After another few hours under the sweltering summer sun and a Tempest marathon in the arcade, I guide an exhausted Perrie through the dark parking lot.

As I start my truck, she smiles over at me, holding up one of the arcade’s tokens. “One left over!”

“Save it for next time we’re together. We’ll play again then, okay?”

“Sure.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. You know I never break those.”

She doesn’t. I can always count on Perrie.

Her little smile turns wistful. “Today was great. Thanks for everything.”

“Always a pleasure. Ice cream?” I offer simply to prolong our last few minutes together. If she’d let me eat it off her body, I’d love it even more.

For the first time ever, she turns down her favorite dessert. “Would you mind just taking me home? I…need to talk to you about something.”

“Sure.”

I wrack my brain to figure out what’s bothering her and why she hasn’t already told me. It doesn’t help that she’s unusually silent or that the closer we get to her house, the more pensive she becomes.

When I pull into the driveway and park the truck, I turn to her with a frown. “Perrie?”

She looks toward the house. All the windows are dark. Dan still isn’t home. Since he’s a workaholic, it’s no surprise.

“Can you come in? I might need help getting my suitcases down the stairs.”

“No problem.”

I jump out of my vehicle and usher her through the front door. Inside the house, lots of Perrie’s things are already missing, like her ever-present Bluetooth speaker, her car keys, the random bottle of nail polish… Somehow, the place already seems emptier and she’s not even gone.

Her leaving is going to be rough.