Page 22 of Four Money (Ever and Always 1)

“I don’t want one.” She let the dress drop to the floor and stood before him in only black lace and extra-tall heels. She allowed herself to become his wife, shedding the young woman who’d been dragged to a party by her friends like she did the fancy clothes.

“You like to sleep naked?” he asked with a gulp.

It might have been funny if she wasn’t so artless. Instead of the gentleman he was being, she wanted the man from the bushes.

She shook her head no. “Not usually, but on my wedding night it seems like it would be advantageous.”

“You’re saying you want to sleep with me?” he asked point blank.

“I’m hoping we won’t be sleeping for a while.” She nodded and approached him. “You said it yourself. This has to be real. We’re married, and that’s what husbands and wives do, especially on their wedding night. Let’s consummate this bitch.”

“I’m not paying you for sex.” He held her at arm’s length, his elbows locked as if to keep him from caving to temptation.

“Nope. But if we do it anyway, then it will only help things, not hurt, right?” Holly didn’t want him to be logical or chivalrous now. She needed him, damn it. It was the one selfish benefit she might get from their arrangement, and she intended to take it.

But maybe that was callous given the night they’d had and how drastically his world had changed. Maybe he wasn’t into it, or her, after everything that had happened. Holly paused, staring up at him, reading the conflicting emotions in his gorgeous blue eyes. “No pressure. I get that tonight was…a lot. It seemed, though, like you might still be interested in seeing where we were about to end up after you finished ravishing me behind that potted palm.”

“I don’t know why what you’re saying is starting to make sense.” He shook his head. “I should know better. Except it’s been a hell of a night, and losing myself in you sounds like heaven. Look, maybe I just need this…needyou, right now.”

Funny how she’d thought the same thing. Holly hoped she could make them both feel better. She held her arms out. “Then come and get me.”

Trent’s mouth bent from a frown to a naughty smile, then he lunged, putting her over his shoulder. His hand landed on her ass a little harder than necessary to keep her stable as she dangled over his back. Oh yeah, gentle Trent was gone and his rakish twin had taken over.

Thank God.

“Did you just spank me?” she asked with a laugh.

“Why? Did you like it?”

Her legs shifted, her thighs brushing together as she realized she had. A little too much.

“Maybe,” she answered honestly as he laid her gently on the bed.

“Hmm.” He undid his belt, making her shiver. “We’ll come back to that. Later. Or some other time. Once I can read you better and understand your desires. Tonight, I want to be boring. Pretend that I’m normal, and enjoy the simple pleasure of making love to you for the first time. Is that okay with you?”

“Uh huh.” Holly nodded, reaching for him as he finished discarding his clothes. The six-pack he’d hidden under his navy button-down shirt begged her to touch him, to test the muscles flexing as he climbed into bed beside her.

Of course, her stare dipped between his legs. If she hadn’t been sure before, there was no mistaking his desire for her now. Trent was ready and more than capable of bringing her dirtiest dreams to life.

He didn’t rush, though, not even knowing she was a guaranteed thing. Instead, he ran his fingers along the edges of each piece of lace and silk wrapping her body like a present intended only for him. He brushed the pad of his thumb over her nipples, which were hard and clearly visible through the sheer material.

“It’s a shame to take this off of you.” He kissed her chest between the panels of the lingerie. “You’re gorgeous, Holly.”

“You can thank Andi and Kari. They did all this.” She winced. “I’m still the same boring girl next door when I’m not going to billionaires’ engagement parties. Sorry.”

He nipped her shoulder and growled. “I happen to like that Holly a lot. Never apologize for who you are. If it takes me the next eighty-nine nights to prove it to you, I guess we’re going to be spending a lot of time in here together.”

“Not complaining,” she murmured.

He chuckled at that, seeming truly amused by her awkward sense of humor. “Relax, Holly. I’m not going to bite unless you want me to.” His hands ran down her arms then all the way along her middle fingers. Her toes curled, making her realize she still had her heels on.

Not for long, as Trent scooted lower, caressing her thighs then her calves until he slipped the shoes from her feet and placed them lovingly on the ground. “Those make your legs and ass look even more incredible than I already knew they were.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” He crawled up her body, settling between her legs, then whispered against her mouth, “You wore jeans better than any woman on campus. I might have stared at you getting in Andi’s car a time or thirty from my window. Sorry, kind of…but not really.”

Holly hugged him with her knees against his hips. The weight of his cock on her mound made it impossible for her to call him a liar. And when he kissed her, with a little more spice than he had in the penthouse earlier, she believed him.

---