He smiled against her lips and kissed her again, taking his time and savoring the taste of her. She let him lead, following contentedly along behind him as he explored her mouth, his tongue running along her lips, across her teeth, and sliding silkily against her tongue. He pulled away from her mouth and trailed soft kisses along her jaw, exulting in the shiver of her body as his beard brushed against the tender skin of her throat. His hand wandered down her spine and she arched her back in response. He moved his mouth down her exposed throat, open-mouthed kisses, soft nips, and gently sucks until he’d made his way across her chest and down the plump globes of her breast, finally taking an engorged nipple between his lips and suckling. She mewled in the back of her throat, her hands holding his head in place while he loved on her breast. She pushed her body towards him, urging him to take more of her into his mouth, but he nipped the tight bud with his teeth instead, causing her t

“Brian,” the other man said with a smile, “good to see you.” Cassie stood back as the two shared a man-hug and a few slaps on the back. “Jonathon, I’d like to introduce you to Cassie Smith. Cassie, this is Jonathon Ashby.” Cassie had been beginning to smile and had started to extend her hand to shake the other man’s when his name registered and she froze. “Jonathon Ashby?” she whispered. Jonathon laughed and Brian rolled his eyes. “You’ve heard of me then,” he said with a wink. He took her extended hand and brought it to his lips. “Lay off,” Brian growled, but Jonathon just smiled as he let her hand go. Jonathon was a really attractive guy, but Cassie could tell that he was a player. His dark hair and grey eyes would have most women swooning at his feet. Cassie cleared her throat and snuck her hand through the crook of Brian’s elbow. “It’s nice to meet you,” she replied and his eyes twinkled with mischief. “So you’re the one,” he murmured, giving her a once-over.

“Exactly,” Cassie said. “Who would be tacky enough to put something that expensive on their bridal shower gift registry? They’re tacky, not the vase. I refuse to indulge their tackiness.” She sniffed and moved on. She couldn’t believe some of the stuff that Ainsley had included on her list and it made her even more determined to get something that wasn’t on the list and wasn’t returnable. “There’s nothing here,” she complained turning to Brian with a pout. He leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss on her mouth and she let her eyelids fall shut. She loved his unabashed public displays of affection. After being with Nathan in a secret love affair, it felt nice to be shown off in public. “All right then,” he said, slinging an arm around her shoulder and directing her towards the exit. “Then where do you want to go?” They walked out of the department store and into the shopping mall. Crowds moved around them as they stood and took in the rows of shops. Cassie saw a Body Shop and sudde

He laughed and shook his head. “It’s a buck’s night,” he said, “of course it’s going to get out of hand.” “I know,” she said, “but, well, I know Nathan and his friends and I’d just feel better if I knew that you were keeping an eye on them, you know, to make sure they don’t do anything stupid.” “You want me to babysit Nathan?” he asked, incredulous. She nodded and he swore under his breath. “Okay, fine,” he said with a sigh, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll keep an eye on things.”Cassie rushed over to the gazebo where the other bridesmaids were stacking the presents. She desperately looked for the distinctive shape of the gift basket she’d put together, hoping to grab it and stash it inside somewhere so they could find it later. She didn’t mind embarrassing Ainsley in the privacy of her own bedroom, but she was not the kind of person to make her feel uncomfortable in public…not without copious amounts of alcohol, anyway. Ah, there it was! Cassie grabbed the parcel

She looked up at him with her big doe eyes and it took everything he had in him not to pull her into his body and remove every memory of Nathan from her brain with his lips, teeth, and tongue. “I don’t care about that,” she said, her eyes pleading with him. “But she’s been a right royal cow to me since I arrived and I am just enough of a spiteful bitch in return to not want to warn her about what a stupid asshole Nathan is.” She said it with such venom that he was tempted to believe her, but he held himself in check. He couldn’t help wondering how much of that anger was because Nathan had hurt her and how much of it was because of Ainsley. Maybe it was too much to ask of her to be completely over Nathan, maybe he had jumped the gun. She took a step towards him and he let her come. She ran her hands up his chest and over his shoulders, pushing his shirt off. He let it drop to the floor. She laid her head on his chest and he was unable to resist his hand moving up to thread throug