Meant for You (The Connor Family 3)

“That’s a first,” I said sheepishly.

“You never caught it before?” Hailey asked.

“Nope. Though I can’t say I caught this. More like it hit me straight on.”

I wondered if it was a sign. Ah, but the flowers were beautiful. I admired them as we rushed off to the side, leaving the dance floor for the men. I was surprised at how many showed up to catch the garter.

“Men usually aren’t so excited about this part,” I murmured to Val.

“In my opinion, the excitement is directly proportional to how beautiful the woman who caught the bouquet is.”

“Oh, oh!” Now I remembered. The guy who caught the garter was supposed to slide it up my leg. I looked at the crowd of men, trying to detect potential candidates to cheer for. Then I saw Will joining the crowd. He stood out among the dozen or so men. He was taller, and by far the best-looking one. And those arms... yummm. I wondered if he could lift me up with just one. He wasn’t wearing the suit jacket, and the white fabric of his shirt was stretched a little too tight over his biceps.

Oh, so now he was interested in catching the garter, was he?

I tried to catch his attention, but he was focusing on Graham. It looked like he was serious about winning.

Graham threw the garter up in the air in a swift move. The crowd of men lurched forward, but Will, being taller, had the advantage. Plus his reflexes seemed sharper. He caught the garter with little effort. One of the competing men literally bounced off him. I tried to contain my joy, but it wasn’t easy, especially when Will winked at me.

Oh, God. He was going to put his hands on me. In front of everyone. How high exactly did he have to push that garter? I’d never bothered to find out, and asking the Connor girls would be too embarrassing. In any case, I congratulated myself on choosing to shave all the way up today. I’d thought about cheating and only shaving to the top of the split, then decided not to be a lazy ass.

Graham took the microphone, asking me to step forward and explaining the tradition of the garter for the guests. I heard only half of it. Will was looking straight at me, and by the way his gaze traveled up and down my body, I knew he was going to make me squirm. Damn, I already was squirming.

After Graham lowered the microphone, Will brought a chair on the dance floor, motioning for me to sit on it.

I did that and crossed my legs before realizing it was counterproductive. Will followed my every move, taking stock of the leg where the split was. He chose the other leg to slide the garter up.

“Thought you didn’t want to catch the garter,” I teased. Will was close enough to hear me, but no one else could. A catchy song was playing.

“You thought I’d let some other guy put his hands all over you?”

My God, had he somehow become sexier in the past half hour since we’d danced? Something was different....

“Ah, I see. Well, I was rooting for the guy next to you.”

Will cuffed my ankle. I was reminded of our kiss and the way he’d held my hands behind my back.

“You’re a bad girl, Paige. And I am going to make you pay for every button you’ve pushed today.” His voice was low and seductive, and I knew I was toast. I was at his mercy again, only now we had a crowd watching and clapping.

He moved his hand up to my ankle then higher, drawing small circles with his middle finger on the back of my calf. A sizzle went up my spine. Yep, the sizzles were starting already, and he wasn’t even at my knee. He trailed the finger up to my knee, then let the garter drop.

He turned to the crowd, shrugging as if to say, “What can you do?”

Then he started the whole ordeal from the beginning, starting with my ankle. I was clasping the edges of the seat with both hands, willing myself not to squirm.

But when he moved past my knee, I lost the battle. He smiled, as if he knew exactly the effect he was having on me, watching me intently. He’d trapped me with those sinful brown eyes. I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to.

“How do you like this, Paige?” Will whispered.

“You’re driving me crazy,” I whispered back. My entire body was tingling, even though he was only touching my leg. And the pressure between my thighs was intensifying. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I felt every callus on his fingers.

“Good, that’s exactly what I’m going for.”

I inhaled deeply through my mouth, exhaling through my nose. If Will Connor thought I couldn’t push his buttons even when I was at his mercy, he was in for a surprise.

“If you continue to go so slow, you’ll never reach high enough to check if I’m wearing any panties.”

Victory! Oh, yeah. Will clenched his jaw, his hand tightening on my thigh.