Page 5 of Wrecked
He pulled his arm out from beneath hers and glanced out the window. “I know what you were doing…distracting me.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
Then he climbed out and limped to her side of the car to open her door.
The ceremony was beautiful and went off without a hitch. Alex and Deacon had written their own vows, and since Alex was Alex, this meant lots of laughter and an equal amount of tears from the guests—and the bride and groom.
She’d glanced over at Cole several times, and every time she’d found his penetrating gaze trained on her. She didn’t know what his problem was, why he kept looking at her, but it had taken all her concentration to stay in place and not shuffle around under his intense scrutiny. Then again, he was probably horrified by the smudged mascara running down her face from all the crying she’d been doing.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the cherry on the top of her mortification was when one of the straps on her dress snapped at the back during the ceremony, the tension so tight, it flicked over her shoulder with force, whipping her nipple hard before dangling uselessly. The other one held, but she’d squeaked in surprised pain.
She hadn’t looked at him after that.
They’d done a quick fix, using a safety pin, for the photos, then made their way to the reception venue. Rusty had driven with Reid, and Piper had tagged along. After their moment in Cole’s car, she thought it best to keep her distance. The man drew her like a bear to honey. It would be so easy to get caught up, to let her feelings for him run away all over again. Which would be a huge mistake, because it didn’t matter how much she wanted him. He didn’t feel the same way.
He’d made that clear time and again.
Piper sat forward in her seat and lifted her glass of champagne, smiling as one of Deke’s friends toasted the happy couple, ending the speeches.
“May I have the bride and groom on the floor for their first dance?” the MC said into his microphone.
Everyone cheered as her brother took his new bride’s hand and led her to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife. Deke spun Alex around, making her laugh, then dipped her for a long, slow, intimate kiss. They were so wrapped up in each other Piper didn’t think they were aware of anyone else, let alone the cat calls and whistles filling the room.
God, she wanted that. Would she ever find that one special person? Someone to spend the rest of her life with? With Rusty moving out to shack up with Reid, she’d been all on her own for the first time in her life. But as bad as it sounded, she was enjoying it. Her big brother and sister had made it their mission to look out for her over the years. Closely. Ever since their mother took off when they were kids. And they’d never stopped, even as she grew older. Her brother especially. When their father died, it just got worse. She understood Deke’s need to take care of them, but he didn’t seem to realize she’d grown up, that it was time to let go. Their overprotectiveness made her feel as though they thought she couldn’t be trusted to make a decision on her own. She was over it.
Okay, yeah, she could admit she’d made a couple of bad choices where men were concerned, but that was only because she’d spent half her life trying to get over Cole freaking Black. Which was ridiculous, and more than a little pathetic, since he hadn’t ever seen her that way.
Well, she was over him. Okay, almost over him. But the best way to get over someone was to find someone else, right? It was a well-known fact. It was also a theory she had every intention of testing. This was her time to get crazy, to have fun. And she planned to enjoy every minute of it.
“May I have the rest of the bridal party on the dance floor?” the MC called.
Rusty and the other groomsman hit the floor, which left just her and Cole sitting at the table. The guy had visibly paled, lips thinned, expression grim, back and shoulders so stiff he looked cut from stone.
That excited to dance with me, huh?
It looked like they were just going to sit at opposite ends of the table and pretend they weren’t the only ones in the bridal party not dancing. Neat-o. That wasn’t embarrassing at all.
But then she felt rather than saw him turn to her, tingles dancing across her bare shoulders. She twisted in her seat to face him. Cole stared back, then stood suddenly and started toward her. In that moment his limp became more obvious, and she realized what his hesitation had been about. It had nothing to do with her. Why would it?
He was worried about dancing in front of all these people. Sympathy churned inside her, but she kept her expression wiped clean. That was the last thing he wanted.
When he reached her, he extended his hand. The urge to tell him not to worry, that they could sit this one out was on the tip of her tongue. But she somehow knew her refusal would batter his damaged pride more than struggling through the dance with him would. So she took his outstretched hand and smiled up at him.
Despite their currently strained relationship, she’d do anything for Cole. He was a good man. A man who’d been through hell and back. He was also her brother’s best friend, someone she’d known most of her life. He needed her support, not her petty feelings of rejection—not when those feelings were hers alone. He hadn’t actually done anything. His biggest crime against her was not wanting her back.
As they walked out the song ended, changing to one with a slightly faster tempo. Piper inwardly winced as the other guys started spinning their partners around the floor. She glanced up at Cole. Her tough ex-cop looked stricken, cheeks darkening.
Shit.
With her only thought to ease his embarrassment, she stepped in close and wrapped her arms around his neck, so her body was flush with his, like they were a couple and this was the most natural thing in the world. He stiffened, staring down at her, gaze searching hers for several painful seconds. She couldn’t read his expression, but for a split-second she thought he might actually push her away.
But then he lifted his arms, sliding them around her waist, causing a delicious tingling sensation wherever he touched.
They didn’t speak, just held each other and began to sway to the music.
She tried to disconnect, tried not to think about how good it felt to be pressed up against him, but the heat of his palms penetrated the thin fabric of her gown, and whenever he moved his hand she could feel the roughness of his skin snagging on the delicate material. It sent a tremor across the surface of her skin, making her acutely aware of every move he made—the way his fingers flexed almost restlessly against her back, the way his chest expanded with every inhale, how for just a second it forced them even closer.
The man felt amazing, hard all over, and the more she focused on the parts of their bodies that touched, the faster her pulse raced, and the hotter her skin became.
His breathing had grown heavy, and then his arms tightened, pulling her closer. Without thinking, she rested her head against the hard planes of his chest and listened to the rhythmic beat of his heart picking up speed.
