Having taken care of telling Brooke and Rafe to back off in the nicest way possible, as the waiter brought their main courses over, Adam had sent Kerry a couple of texts. One meant to reassure her that she shouldn't let his family throw them off.
He hadn't been able to see her expression after she received the first text, but fortunately she was well within sight by the time he sent the second.
And her reaction was so freaking hot--from the way her cheeks flushed to the little stumble she made in her heels--that if they'd been having dinner with anyone else, he would have blown off the rest of the meal and taken her upstairs right then and there.
Adam stood and held out her chair for her. Her voice was a little husky as she murmured her thanks, and he was rewarded with the faintest trembling of her muscles against his fingertips when his hand accidentally brushed the middle of her back.
Jesus. He hadn't been lying when he said he couldn't wait to strip off her gorgeous dress. Every remaining minute at the dinner table with his brother and Brooke was going to be pure torture.
Kerry, however, remained the consummate dinner conversationalist. "You know how much I love your chocolates, Brooke, and all of my friends are getting hooked, too. Especially now that you have stores in the city. You must be thrilled by how much your business has grown in the past year."
"I am," Brooke said with a huge smile. "I honestly never thought my chocolates would be anything more than a small business by the lake."
"I always knew," Rafe said, giving his fiancee another one of his adoring looks. "Your chocolates are the best I've ever tasted." He was full of pride as he turned back to Kerry. "Brooke and her business partner are going to be opening several more chocolate truffle stores throughout Oregon and California soon."
"Oh, that's wonderful! You deserve every bit of your success."
"So do you. Your weddings are legendary."
Kerry laughed. "Promise me you'll say that to my mother if you ever meet her. She was so brilliant at planning weddings that sometimes it feels hard to live up to the legend."
Brooke smiled in a commiserating way. "As long as you promise to tell my mother how much you love my chocolates at the wedding."
"When we spoke on the phone last week I mentioned it at least a half-dozen times. And she agreed with me every single time."
"She did?" Brooke looked a little stunned by this news.
"She's clearly as addicted to your chocolates as the rest of us," Kerry said, instinctively knowing exactly what the bride needed to hear before spending time with her mother at her wedding.
When the waiter came to clear away their plates, then left them with the dessert menu, Kerry licked her lips in a completely natural--and extremely sexy--way. "Am I the only one here who wants one of everything?"
Adam caught the waiter's eye and waved him back over. "We'll try them all."
"You want to order every dessert on the menu, sir?"
"Yes."
When Adam turned back to Kerry, she was staring at him as if he were crazy. "I didn't actually mean it."
He could barely keep from reaching out to run his thumb over her gorgeous lower lip, still damp from her tongue. "Yes, you did. One bite of each, Kerry. Think how good that's going to taste."
"So good," she said back, her voice low and husky as she stared into his eyes as if she'd completely forgotten that Rafe and Brooke were still at the table with them. "Too good."
All night--hell, all week--Adam had been on edge waiting for this night with Kerry. But in that moment when she forgot to hide her desire for him, he nearly hit his breaking point.
He wanted her naked and in his arms as soon as possible, but he also wanted her to have what she wanted. Sugar, he already knew, made her happy.
And tonight was all about making Kerry happy.
Really, really happy.
Thirty minutes later, the four of them ended up doing a pretty good job on the desserts, even if Kerry barely had more than a taste of each one. Kerry and Rafe both tried to pay for dinner, but Adam beat them both to it, having told the maitre d' to charge it to him when he'd made the reservation.
Finally, it was time to say their good-byes, and while Kerry and Brooke were hugging, Rafe asked him, "You heading home now?"
"Not quite yet."
"Still got that hot date?"
Guessing that Kerry had overheard Rafe's question because the restaurant happened to go quiet just in that moment, Adam made sure she could hear his response. "Crazy hot."
Her cheeks were flushed again as she turned to let him help her on with her coat. "It was nice to see you again, Kerry," he said.
And by the time she turned back to face him, her skin wasn't just flushed--her pupils had dilated, too, her breath coming just a little bit faster. "It was nice to see you, too. Thank you for dinner."
"It was my pleasure. I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon." He leaned close, pressed his lips to her cheek and whispered for her ears only, "Really soon."
With that, he waved good night to the three of them and headed toward the back of the hotel to the elevator that went up to the penthouse suites.
*
"I can't believe your brother is going on a date with someone else tonight!" Brooke was frowning as she and Rafe stood waiting outside the hotel for the valet to bring their car around. "The sparks jumping between the two of them were so hot I almost felt like a voyeur a few times during dinner. And he's already admitted that Kerry's perfect for him. So why won't he do anything about it?"
"Actually"--Rafe couldn't resist kissing her gorgeous mouth--"I wouldn't be so sure he's not doing something about it."
Brooke's eyebrows rose even as she moved closer to the man she loved and knew she'd never get enough of. "Wait, so even though he said all that stuff about hoping she finds some perfect guy one day, you think he's going after her anyway?"
"I think he believes every single word he said to us. Not just about how great she is, but about how he still isn't looking for anything serious." Rafe ran a hand over Brooke's hair. "But if you ask me, the way he looks at her says exactly the opposite."
"She was looking at him the same way, wasn't she?"
Rafe nodded. "She was."
"How long do you think they're going to fight the inevitable?"
"It didn't look like either of them was fighting too hard--at least when it came to the heat they were generating."
In fact, Rafe now had a pretty good idea about the identity of Adam's "crazy hot" date. He'd been able to read his brother's lips when he'd told Kerry he was looking forward to seeing her really soon. But just in case he was wrong, he didn't want to get Brooke's hopes all the way up quite yet.
"That's a good first step, I guess." Brooke bit her lip as she mulled over the situation some more. "But do you think there's anything else we can do to give them both a bigger push in the right direction?"
"I'm pretty sure we've done more than enough already by sending him in for that meeting with her this week and then getting them together for dinner tonight."
Looking a little guilty about their machinations, Brooke said, "I just want Adam to be happy."
"I know, sweetheart. We all do. But the truth is, there's only one thing that will do that for sure."
Brooke scrunched up her face. "No more matchmaking."
"No more matchmaking."
She sighed. "You're no fun."
"You sure about that? Because I have some pretty fun ideas about what we should do tonight when we get home." And when he leaned in even closer and began to whisper those wicked ideas to her, Brooke finally forgot about anyone but the man she couldn't wait to marry.
CHAPTER SIX
Kerry's heart pounded faster with every floor the elevator rose. Though she'd never done anything like this before, she'd still convinced herself that she could be cool. That she could walk into a hotel suite knowing she was going to have hot sex with a man she barely knew without blinking an eye.
Who had she been k
idding?
Kerry could feel Adam's intense gaze on her the moment she stepped out of the elevator onto the penthouse level. They each already had their keys, but he hadn't waited for her in the room. She wondered if it was because he'd known how close she'd be to going back on her vow not to run. Not because she didn't want him. On the contrary, she'd never wanted anyone or anything this much. But simply because she was so far out of her comfort zone right now that she almost felt as if she were watching herself from a distance.
One step, and then one more, and then another--that was all it took to meet him in the middle of the hall, in front of the door to their suite. But when he didn't open the door with his key, she realized he was waiting for her to decide whether or not she truly wanted to do it.
Being a wedding planner meant Kerry dealt with people making big decisions all day long. She always told them that while it was great to take the time to consider all the options, they shouldn't worry about making the wrong choice. Because whichever way they went, she could absolutely promise them she would do whatever it took to make sure they were happy.
Happy. Kerry so badly wanted to be happy, too. If only just for one night with a beautiful man who set her every nerve alight.
Because the truth was that Adam Sullivan had made her smile more than any man ever had before. Remembering the way he'd ordered every dessert on the menu so that she could have a taste of each one made her smile through the nerves that were riding her. So, for tonight, she told herself as she lifted the key to the electronic pad, she wouldn't let herself worry about making the wrong choice.
She'd simply let herself be happy.
The door clicked open and she stepped inside first, with Adam locking the door behind him.
Unfortunately, the sound of the bolt clicking into place--echoing loudly in her head as she realized they were now locked into the suite together--had her smile falling away as if it had never been there at all. She spun around and blurted, "Maybe this is a mistake."
Adam slid his hand through hers, and somehow, instead of it feeling as if he were trying to hold her down, it was more like he was trying to share his warmth.
"It isn't."
There were so many things she should already have done, all of them starting and ending with keeping her distance from him. But just as she hadn't been able to pull that off thus far, yet again she couldn't make herself pull her hand away from his. Still, she needed to ask, "How can you be so sure?"
"I was sure the first moment I set eyes on you that this is exactly where you and I are meant to be. Together." His eyes heated even further. "About to get naked."
She couldn't stop her next breath from catching in her throat. She wasn't used to playing this kind of sexy game. Wasn't used to any of this.
"I don't know what you're expecting from me."
Her words were almost a whisper, the opposite of the image of strength she'd hoped to give him. All her life Kerry had tried so hard to get everything right, but tonight, she just didn't know up from down. Right from wrong. All she knew was that some crazy longing, some fiery desire had sent her to this hotel to meet Adam tonight.
But what if that longing, that desire, fizzled into disappointment and regret?
"I'm only expecting one thing from you tonight, Kerry." Adam's words weren't much louder than hers had been. But they were completely steady. And utterly certain. "For you to let me give you pleasure." He used their connected hands to tug her just the slightest bit closer, close enough that she could feel the heat of his body. "More pleasure than you've ever had before." He took her other hand in his and rubbed each thumb in a circle over the palms of her hands. "More pleasure than you ever thought was possible."
Did he know that his words--and just the barest touch of his hands on hers--were already getting her more than halfway there?
And yet, the still barely rational part of her needed to know, "What about your pleasure?"
He smiled then, a smile with so much heat behind it that she lost what was left of her breath. "Making you feel good is what's going to give me pleasure."
Was he for real? None of the men she'd slept with before had considered her pleasure to be theirs, too. Was he just saying it to make sure she stayed long enough to take off her clothes?
He looked deep into her eyes. "Will you trust me, Kerry? I'm not asking for forever, just for tonight."
They were exactly the words that should have sent her running. After all, she'd been waiting her whole life for forever.
But, amazingly, it was the knowledge that one hot night didn't have to turn into a lifetime that had her shoulders finally relaxing.
Fun. She could just have fun tonight without it ruining the rest of her life. And pleasure, too. More pleasure than she'd ever had before. More pleasure than she'd ever thought was possible.
She didn't need to keep doubting, didn't need to keep worrying.
For one night she could just let go and feel.
"I will."
The words were barely out when he lowered his mouth only a breath from hers to seal the deal. And if somewhere in the back of her head her I will sounded a little too close to the marriage vows she'd heard countless brides say to their grooms, she forced the recognition away.
Adam Sullivan would never be her forever and she could never let herself forget it. No matter how good he might be able to make her feel.
Starting with a first kiss she wanted more than she'd ever wanted anything in her entire life.
*
Adam swore he could taste Kerry's lips already, even though he hadn't kissed her yet. So sweet, but surprisingly spicy, too. And hot. So hot that he already knew their first kiss would blow every other one out of the water.
Lord, he wanted her. Wanted to strip off her clothes and have her naked beneath him. Right here in the suite's entry, and then again in the bathtub, and then in the enormous bed--all in a desperate attempt to try to sate his appetite for her. But at the same time, a part of him wanted to draw out the anticipation as long as possible. He'd always known anticipation was hot, but he hadn't had a clue it could be this hot.
And maybe he would have kept them just like that, their lips a breath away from touching, their bodies just as far apart, had it not been for the desperate little sound Kerry made. One that demanded his kiss as much as it begged for it.
As his lips finally touched hers, he found out that she truly did taste better than anything else ever had. The urge to devour nearly broke him, but he somehow managed to rein it in. Again and again he deliberately brushed his mouth so gently, so softly against hers that he knew she couldn't possibly be thinking about anything other than his next kiss. And with every brush of his lips against hers, she not only relaxed more and more, she also began to press her sweet curves closer and closer to him, her hands moving from his to come around his neck.
He cupped her hips with his hands at the same moment that he slicked his tongue over her lower lip. When she gasped with obvious pleasure, he couldn't resist taking the kiss deeper. Thankfully, she was right there with him, her tongue tangling with his as gentle-and-soft gave way to raw desire. He was a heartbeat from pressing her up against the door, tearing off her clothes, wrapping her legs around his waist, and driving into her when he forced himself to drag his mouth away from hers.
Her usually perfect lipstick was gone and her eyes were beautifully fuzzy as she looked up at him. "Adam?"
He now knew that her gorgeous mouth could strip his control away like nothing else ever had, but just hearing his name on her lips in that slightly breathless voice meant he had to tangle his hands in her hair and kiss her again.
There wasn't even a pretense of slow and soft this time as they jumped straight into the middle of the hottest kiss of his life. A kiss made even hotter by the way Kerry was rubbing against him as though she couldn't get close enough.
Just as he'd known it would be, it was even harder to pull away this time, and he groaned at the effort it took to hold himself in check
, at least long enough to take off her clothes.
"The first time I looked at you, I wondered what you'd look like with your hair tangled from my hands, your mouth swollen from my kisses, your skin flushed from the heat between us." He took her hands in his and slowly moved them from his neck so that he could take a step back and look at her in her pretty dress with her hair falling over her shoulders. "I want to remember this, want both of us to remember the first time I stripped you bare."
Her breath caught again as he let her hands go and brushed her long hair back from her shoulders, then ran his hands down her back to her waist. Neither of them looked away from each other as he slowly untied the sash that held her dress closed. He could feel how hot her skin was beneath the thin silk and how sensitive she was to even the slightest touch as his fingertips brushed over the skin he was baring.
He slid open the fabric, pushed it all the way off so that it pooled around her feet, and stared, awestruck, at Kerry wearing nothing but sheer lace and heels.
"My God, you're beautiful." He'd known it all along, of course, but the contrast between the way she looked when she was almost nude and her previous buttoned-up elegance absolutely blew his mind.
Tracing the straps of her bra down from her shoulders to the soft flesh rising up out of the lace, he loved feeling her heartbeat skip as he cupped her fully in his hands. Her nipples beaded hard and needy against his palms, and there wasn't a man alive who would have had the self-control not to lower his mouth to them, lace and all.
Kerry reached for him and gripped his shoulders tightly as she arched into him. But he couldn't get enough of her like this, and without even the patience to unhook her bra, he yanked the sheer fabric down so that her breasts spilled out of the lace and into his hands and mouth.
Over and over again, she said his name as he loved first one breast and then the other and then both together when his greed for her overtook him. She was rocking her hips against his now, and it no longer mattered what he'd planned for tonight, how slowly he'd meant to strip her clothes away, how desperate he'd intended her to be before he finally put his hands, his mouth, on her.