Page 7 of Wrecked
Sighing, she pushed the door open and left the bathroom. It was just outside the main reception room, and someone coming the other way bumped into her as she rounded the corner. Her purse slipped from her fingers and skated across the floor. “Crap.”
She chased it, bending to pick it up, but as she leaned forward the tension over her shoulders from the gown’s thin straps pulled unbearably tight. She quickly stood, but it was too late. The straps suddenly gave, both of them, and the whole top half of her dress peeled down her body like a banana skin, only stopping when it caught on the flare of her hips.
Oh God! Noooo.
She tried to yank it back up, but the zipper was rolled up in the fabric at her back. There was no way she could get it back over her boobs without undoing the zipper first. Folding her arms over her bare chest, she made a dash for the bathroom, but when she tried the door handle it wouldn’t open. The person who bumped into her must have slipped in after her.
“Shit, shit, shit.” She couldn’t stay out here, where anyone could walk out and find her. She searched for somewhere to hide.
There was only one option.
Keeping her arms tight around herself, she made a dash for the men’s room.
Chapter Three
Cole reached for the door, only to have it crash open in front of him. The thing glanced his shoulder, knocking him back a step, then bounced against the wall. Piper, arms wrapped around herself, blond hair flying, came tearing into the room and collided with his chest.
His arms automatically came up, and he sucked in a breath when his hands met warm, smooth—bare skin?
What the fuck?
He tried to step back, but she buried her face against his chest and pressed closer. “Don’t move! Don’t you dare move, Cole Black.” Her voice was high, panicked.
Gripping her shoulders, he tried to pull back again, so he could see her face, but she clung on for dear life. Anger mixed with concern swelled inside him. “What the hell happened?” He shook her shoulders lightly. “Did someone do this to you?”
She lifted her chin, cheeks blazing, and shook her head. “No.”
“Then why are you…” He motioned at her chest, swallowing hard. “What happened to your dress?”
“Wardrobe malfunction.” She buried her face in his chest again, her warmth, her softness pressed against him. “The straps snapped,” she mumbled.
Cole reluctantly released her so he could slide his jacket off and drape it around her shoulders. She looked up at him, offering a wobbly smile. His chest tightened almost unbearably and, predictably, so did his groin. Now that he knew she was okay, he became painfully aware of the way she felt flush against him. “I’ll leave so you can fix it.”
She bit her lip. “I need your help.”
Is she trying to torture me?
“Can you undo the zipper at the back? I can’t pull the dress over my…” Her already flushed cheeks darkened, the wash of heat traveling lower, turning the tops of her full breasts a lovely shade of pink. “…ah, up without undoing it first.”
Yeah, this was definitely torture.
“Turn around, Pipe.” His voice sounded deeper, more wrecked than usual, and he cringed at the roughness of it.
Mumbling her thanks, she turned, giving him her back.
His heart went haywire in his chest, mouth dry, hands clammy. Cock like a fucking iron bar, straining toward her. Shit. He wiped his palms on his trousers and reached up, noticing how his fingers trembled. Thank fuck she had her back to him and couldn’t see how pathetic he was.
This woman tested his control, made him feel vulnerable. It wasn’t a feeling he liked. Not one fucking bit. Letting your emotions lead you only ended in disaster.
He’d learned that lesson the hard way.
Lifting the jacket from her shoulders, he laid it by the wash basin. Her skin looked smooth and creamy, silky, and his body responded with a fierceness he’d never experienced before, and not just with the need for sex. He wanted to touch her, possess her in every way.
Shit.
He wanted Piper. Period.
It was a long time since he’d touched a woman intimately—before he’d had his accident—and he realized he hadn’t let anyone but medical professionals get close to him. Until today, he hadn’t realized how much he missed human contact. When Piper had wrapped her arms around him on the dance floor, it’d taken all his strength not to bury his face in her hair and nuzzle the soft, sensitive skin between her neck and shoulder.
