Page 82 of Wedding Crasher

‘And you’re boring!’

Ouch. The slur pierced right through to the heart of Marla’s biggest hang-up. She was mostly content with her life choices, with her decision to turn her back on love in order to protect her heart and her business, but it came at a cost. Life could be incredibly dull, and occasionally she battled with the urge to cut loose of her self-imposed rules and run amok for a few hours.

Evil twin sensed a chink in Marla’s resolve and pounced.

‘Come on! Where’s the harm? He’s handsome, he’s available, and he’s gagging for it.’

Marla closed her eyes, but she could still hear evil twin’s words just as clearly.

‘Just tell him up front that it’s a no-strings attached, one day only, never to be repeated or spoken about again, special birthday deal, and that it’s back to daggers at dawn in the morning.’

Marla’s eyes flew open and she gasped in shock at the flame-haired harlot’s outrageous suggestion.

‘Who’s to know, Marla? And aren’t you just dying to kiss him again?’

Marla all but whimpered.

‘Wouldn’t you love to feel him hard between your thighs? You would, wouldn’t you?’

‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘God, yes. I really, really would.’

Her reflection winked at her. ‘Why are you skulking around in the bathroom, then? Get out there!’ Marla swallowed hard, then opened the bathroom cabinet and shook a condom out of the box.

She found Gabe flat out on the stars and stripes with a contrite look on his face and two freshly opened bottles of Bud on the grass beside him. He sat up as she skirted the edge of the blanket. ‘Marla, look … I’m sorry about just now. It was a stupid thing to say.’

She appreciated his apology, and let his silence hang in the air for a second as she quickly hid the condom in the basket and settled down alongside him. She reached out for her beer and clinked the bottle against his, then took a long swig for Dutch courage and looked him square in the eyes.

‘I’ve been thinking, Gabe. Ifyouwere a sandwich, I’d say you were Marmite.’

He did the tiniest of double takes at her abrupt shift in gear. ‘Yeah?’

‘Uh-uh.’ Marla nodded gravely. ‘People either love you or hate you.’

Gabe stepped up to the mark without missing a beat. ‘I see. And you, Marla? What’s your position on Marmite?’

‘You know what? That’s the funny thing.’ She propped herself up on her elbow and gesticulated towards him with the neck of her beer bottle. ‘Most days I can’t stand the stuff, and then very occasionally, I have to have it.’ She licked her lips. ‘I crave it, in fact, and nothing else will do.’

Gabe leaned in just close enough for Marla to feel his breath on her cheek. ‘And is today one of those days?’

‘I’m not sure,’ she said, breathless and powerful. ‘I’d probably need a tiny taste to help me make my mind up.’

He laughed softly, closing the space between them. Marla glimpsed the sweep of his dark lashes against his cheekbone as his eyes closed a second before hers, another second before his lips found hers.

Gabe’s warm fingers bumped along her jaw, their bodies aligning hip to hip as he kissed her, long, slow and easy. He tasted of beer and sunshine, and the touch of his tongue against her lips turned Marla’s blood to liquid lust. She opened her mouth to welcome him in, but he nipped her bottom lip and pulled back. ‘So? Did you make your mind up?’ He soothed her lip with his thumb. ‘Istoday a Marmite kind of day?’

Marla lifted her eyelids and looked into his eyes, which, interestingly enough, were the exact colour of Marmite. She saw raw desire that he made no effort to hide, and an erotic intensity that shrank the world down to a bubble, just for them. The bottom dropped out of her stomach with need as she snagged her leg over his thigh and rolled him on top of her, her hands already beneath the edge of his T-shirt. She felt his stomach muscles jump with shock at the touch of her fingers. He felt like hard, warm silk. ‘This is one of those days when I want to eat the whole damn jar.’

Gabe’s appreciative groan rumbled through both of their bodies, and this time when he kissed her he held nothing back. His hands held her face steady as he branded her with his mouth, a crazy, hot kiss that left Marla reeling. More intimate than any sex she’d ever known, Gabe’s kiss laid him bare and vulnerable. His tongue stroked hers, learned her mouth inside and out until she dug her nails into his shoulders and murmured his name in shock. She’d waited forever to be kissed like that, and she hadn’t even known it. His skin was sun-warm beneath her fingers, and he snaked an impatient hand down between them to yank his T-shirt over his head, giving her unfettered access to his body.

Marla feasted her hands and her eyes. He was exquisite, all movie-star shoulders and firm, golden skin, with a fine smattering of dark hair that trailed down his chest. She dragged her dress straps down, desperate for the glide of his naked skin against her own. His mouth followed her hands, hot against her neck, damp across her collarbones.

Gabe caught hold of her wrist when she twisted an arm beneath herself. ‘I want to do that.’ He licked the dip between her breasts and unclipped her bra with one assured flick.

‘Jesus fucking Christ, Marla.’ He slid his thumbs over her nipples as he held her in the palms of his hands. Marla lost her head, caught up in him completely as he teased her with his mouth and his hands. She wound his hair around her fingers and held him against her, but he caught hold of her wrist for a second time when she moved to reach for the buttons on his jeans.

Heat gathered between her legs as he glanced up with his lazy, lopsided smile and shook his head. ‘Slow down. I’ve got one more birthday present for you first.’

She lifted her hips to help him as he tugged her rumpled white dress off and flung it aside, his tongue already on the curve of her stomach as he scooted down to kneel between her knees. He bent his head low, a silk ribbon of kisses along the edge of her knickers.

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