Page 52 of Best Man Speaking
“What would you call it, then?”
“I’d call it sealing the deal.”
“Sealing the deal? How very high school of you,” she replies drily.
“There isn’t a single thing that’s high school about this, Hallie. Personally, while I enjoyed hearing you moan over the phone, it’s not the type of sex I’d had in mind.”
I know I’m being blunt, but I cannot find it within myself to care.
“You just expect I’m willing and ready because you feel like it?” she asks, as if I’d assumed she’d make this easy for either of us.
“No, but for someone who sounded as wet as you did during our last call, I’d like to think you might give me the chance to coax you to the point of being willing and ready.”
A delicate pink stain flushes her cheeks.
Hallie is mulling, no longer in the tipsy mindset of the weekend past.
I can only imagine she’s reassessing this agreement and the rules we made. Considering the last time we slept together—the only time we’d slept together—and the fallout that occurred not all that long after, I don’t think I blame her.
But I also don’t care.
I pull the cocktail napkin out of my pocket—I’ve been carrying it around like a fool—and wave it like a white flag.
She smiles, shaking her head as she snatches the small, folded square from me. “You’re a terrible influence…but okay.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, some remnant of gentlemanly behavior inside me compelling me to double-check.
Hallie’s eyes light up as she replies, “I should say no, but I’m up for a compare-and-contrast experiment from the last time wedid this. Let’s see if you can manage to get me off with a part of your anatomy that’s not your fingers or mouth.”
My face warms, and I wonder if the flush that’s stained her cheeks is now present on mine. “That’s a challenge if I’ve ever heard one.”
“Are you sure you’re up for it?” she teases, and it’s all the incentive I need to bring my mouth to hers, finally closing the space between us.
Her tongue meets mine, warm and unafraid. She nips at my lower lip, and, unwilling to be outdone, I gently bite down on the fullness of hers. Each and every one of her actions is a tease, and I can’t help but want to be closer, to consume her further.
It takes no time at all to unclip the buckles on her overalls, the fabric covering her chest falling away with ease. I’m a layer closer to skin but take my time shaping my hands over the curves of her body as I move slowly down the cotton of her T-shirt.
Our kiss continues as I splay my hands over the warm skin of her stomach, my fingertips curving around the softness of her hips, before stroking up toward her breasts. I brush my thumbs over her pointed nipples just once before I sit back, disentangling myself from her. It physically pains me to do it, but somehow I manage, moving to stand myself.
“Take your clothes off.” The words are a gruff demand, and although she raises her brows, for once in her life, she doesn’t question me.
I know my eyes are hot on her, unblinking and utterly focused as she stands, then gives her overalls a delicate push down so they spill around her feet. She steps out of them and kicks them to the side.
“If you think I’m getting naked in the middle of the day, with you standing here fully dressed, you’re kidding yourself.”
I grin. “Here I was hoping that might be something you’re into.”
“Get naked or get out, Marcus.”
“Brave words from a woman who’s not wearing pants.”
Her cocked brows are answer enough.
I lift my T-shirt from its hem, pulling it straight up and over my head before toeing off my shoes and socks.
Hallie lifts her peach T-shirt off the same way, baring her fabulous body to my greedy eyes. Her bra is some insubstantial fabric, which, with a magical flick behind her back and a shimmy of her shoulders, drops to the ground. My eyes don’t know where to look first, so they look everywhere all at once, from her dusky-colored nipples to the small tattoo between her breasts.
My hands are on my belt buckle when her brain seems to kick in. “Do you have a condom? Generally speaking, I like to make good decisions.”
