Elemental Enchantment (4 page)

She snorted. “You coerced me into dancing with you to make sure I’m okay?”

“No.” He raised an eyebrow. “I have other, far-less noble motives.”

That admission startled a laugh out of her, and he was reminded of the girl she’d been. Christ, she was beautiful. And he was apparently just as hot for her as he’d ever been. At least, he wasn’t as painfully shy and tongue-tied this time around.

Still smiling, she tilted her head to the side. “And those motives are?”

“First things first. You didn’t answer the question.”

She waved away his concern. “I’m fine.”

“And the kitten?”

Her eyes softened. “He’s fine, too.”

“Good.” He couldn’t help staring at her lips.

As he returned his gaze to hers, amusement danced in her eyes. She’d caught him staring and probably knew exactly what he wanted. “What now, Boy Scout?”

He lifted his hand from the small of her back and slid it over her shoulder and along the bare, warm flesh of her arm until his fingers circled her wrist. He loved the way her eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise. Did she even know how much she’d given away with her reaction? “You know…I actually was a Boy Scout.”

Her breath hitched as she opened her mouth to speak. “Somehow, I’m not surprised.”

“I excelled at knot tying.” He squeezed her wrist slightly before returning his hand to her back.

“You don’t say. Get a badge for it and everything?”

Her almost husky whisper went straight to his cock.

“Believe it or not, they don’t give a badge specifically for that.” He shrugged. “But I’ve made do.”

Her lips quirked. “Also not surprised.”

She didn’t resist when he drew her closer and spun her in a slow circle. He didn’t think she’d resist if he kissed her either, but he wasn’t about to do that—not with her not knowing the truth about their past. “You don’t even remember me, do you?”

She pulled back a little and looked at him as if he were crazy. “Uh…yeah. You’re the guy who rear-ended me yesterday. Pretty sure I remember that.”

“Think back a little further.”

“Did you hit your head, Boy Scout?” She drew back a little. “Either that or you’ve got me confused with someone else.”

He shook his head. Just because he’d had a massive crush on her didn’t mean he’d even registered in her memory. “Do you remember when you were in
Guys and Dolls
in high school…and failing math?”

Her head straightened, and her eyes narrowed.

“And you were in danger of losing your part unless your grade improved?”

Her eyes widened, and her lips dropped open. “Eli,” she murmured. “Elijah Jones.” Her gaze dropped to his chest before climbing back to his face. “Well, holy shit.”

Elijah Jones. Elijah Fucking Jones.
Meaghan shook her head. Yeah, there had been something familiar about the unearthly blue of his eyes, but never in a million years would she have guessed that the adorable, nerdy little boy who’d tried so patiently to teach her Algebra in high school would turn out to be panty-dropping gorgeous as an adult.

She shook her head. “Wow. Just…wow.”

His lips quirked. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t recognize you at first—not until you opened your mouth.”

Her cheeks heated as she tried to remember what she’d said.

“Don’t worry. It wasn’t anything I didn’t deserve.”

“You did open by being a bit of an ass.”

Someone touched her shoulder, and she startled, whipping her head around. Toby stood there smirking. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to put my memory cards in your case. Will you be able to sort through them this weekend so we can work on getting them edited next week?”

Meaghan nodded. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’ll see you Monday, then.” Waving, Toby walked away, still smirking.

“Does this mean you’re going to be busy all weekend?”

The heat of Eli’s body seeped through the thin fabric of her dress, and she moved a little closer. It felt so good to be held, even if they were only dancing. She kept reminding herself he wasn’t the guy for her, but her body seemed less inclined to listen as the song went on.

“Why do you ask?” she finally managed.

“I’d still like to take you out. Get to know you better. Maybe catch up on the last ten years.”

This was a terrible idea—the getting to know her part, anyway—but she had to admit she wouldn’t mind getting to know his body better. At least for a night. If he was interested in more than that—and he seemed to be—she didn’t want to lead him on.

“Look,” she said. “You were always a nice kid. Like I said the other day, you seem like a really nice guy, but I’m still not looking for a nice guy.”

He tilted his head to the side and regarded her intently. A flutter of awareness shuddered through her middle as she found herself trapped by his gaze.

“What are you looking for?” he asked. “I don’t think you answered that question the last time I asked it.”

“Who says I’m looking for anything?”

He shrugged. “In my experience, everyone is looking for something whether they realize it or not.”

“Fine.” She trailed her fingers through the soft hair at the nape of his neck, loving the silky slide against her skin. Her gaze darted to his firm lips before meeting his eyes again. “Mark me down as looking for a good time.”

“So you’re not interested in meeting the right man? Settling down? Maybe having a family?”

Oh sure. She was plenty interested, but she knew what the chances of that were. Especially with a guy like Elijah. She shook her head. “It’s not for me.”

“Why not?”

She scowled. “I don’t remember you being this talkative when we were younger.”

Surprised laughter burst from him, and he grinned. “It’s hard to be talkative when you’re dealing with the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen and she has no clue that you’re alive.”

Color heated her cheeks, and she looked away. “I’m sorry if I made you feel bad.”

“You didn’t. I just felt like a loser because if there wasn’t an equation involved, I couldn’t think of a thing to say to you.”

He tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear, and she caught her breath at the feel of his callused fingertips dancing over her skin.

“But that was a long time ago. I’m more interested in right now. If you don’t want to settle down, what do you want?”

She moistened her suddenly dry lips and met his gaze. Deciding to just go for it, she said, “What I really want is for you to kiss me.”

Chapter Five

Meaghan watched as the already deep blue of Eli’s eyes darkened to nearly navy, and pure hunger replaced the earlier inquisitiveness. The fluttering in her stomach turned into a battering ram as he slid his fingers into her hair and tilted back her head. He held her gaze as he lowered his head, and his eyes dropped closed as his lips touched hers.

Soft and teasing, his kiss toyed with her, deepening almost imperceptibly then retreating over and over until she thought she’d go mad with the need for more. She opened her mouth against his, silently offering, but when he refused to give her more, she nipped slightly at his lower lip.

Eli lifted his head and stared down at her, amusement brightening his gaze and lifting his lips. “Haven’t you ever heard that good things come to those who wait?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I hate waiting.”

His smile turned positively wicked, and she felt it all the way down to her toes. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Still grinning, he swung her in a slow circle, drawing her close enough to feel the long lines of muscle through his clothes. Close enough to feel an impressive erection growing between them. Her breath caught in her throat as she pressed against him.

He lowered his head again, and this time, there was nothing slow or teasing about his kiss. His lips were hard against hers, and his hand tightened in her hair. So much for her carefully arranged up-do. The sensation of his fingertips on her scalp quickly convinced her that she didn’t care what her hair looked like when they were done. He didn’t wait for her to part her lips; he delved inside, stroking and tasting. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had kissed her like this. Like he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything.

Her nipples tightened beneath the flimsy fabric of her dress, and she half-wondered if he felt them against his chest. His mouth seduced all thought away until he finally broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers, panting slightly.

“That’s more like it,” she whispered.

Eli cupped her chin and brushed his thumb across her lips. “Has anyone ever told you you’re incredibly demanding?”

She smiled sweetly. “You haven’t seen anything yet.” Before he could respond, she caught the tip of his thumb between her teeth and swiped her tongue across it. His cock stiffened further against her, and he stared at her lips. She released her hold on him and met his heated gaze.

“I have a room upstairs.” The rough quality of his voice made it sound as if it was part invitation and part demand.

A shiver of need skated down her back, and she stood on her toes to whisper, “I was hoping you’d say that.”

He kissed her again before trailing his lips along her jaw line to her ear and sending goose bumps over her limbs. “Why don’t I help you pack up your equipment?”

Raking her fingertips through his hair, she scraped her teeth over his earlobe, loving the way his arms tightened around her. “Why don’t you make sure you have condoms, and I’ll meet you up there?”

He stared at her a moment then nodded sharply and murmured, “Room four-oh-five.”

As soon as he pulled away, she felt the loss of his warmth. He took a few backward steps, keeping his eyes on her as if he thought she might vanish. One of the other groomsmen intercepted him as he headed for the door. She wondered if he’d have to do some other wedding-related task. She shrugged inwardly and tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. If he was there when she went upstairs, he was there. If he wasn’t, this wasn’t meant to be. Turning away, she found her bag and slid her camera inside.

A few seconds ago, she’d been positive that a one-night stand was exactly what she needed—no
Get Meaghan Laid
spell required. Now that she was more than a couple inches away from him, she began to have her doubts.

Oh, she was sure the sex would be fantastic. There was a sharp sense of urgency coiled beneath his neatly pressed tux, ready to pounce…ready to devour. And she needed that. She needed to feel desired, if only for a night. She was far lonelier than she wanted to admit, and while this wasn’t a long-term solution, it would at least solve the immediate problem. Maybe once she’d scratched this particular itch, she could go back to being the spinster sister of the family.

She supposed there was the possibility sex with Eli would make the subsequent loneliness more acute. But how often did opportunities like this present themselves? No, she’d regret it if she bailed now.

Grabbing her phone from the inside pocket of her camera bag, she texted Rowan, with her location, Eli’s name and his room number—just as they used to do when they were in college. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Eli—she did—but old habits died hard. Rowan responded, and Meaghan promised to fill her in on all of the details later. Now, she was heading upstairs before she lost her nerve.

With her camera bag slung over her shoulder, she stepped into the elevator. The doors whooshed shut behind her, blocking out the sounds of the wedding reception and locking her into a cocoon of silence. Her nervousness increased as she traveled upward. When the doors opened, she stepped out onto the nearly deserted fourth floor. Eli’s room was right around the corner from the elevator.

She’d barely finished knocking when the door swung open. The room was nearly dark except for a small table lamp on the far side of the room. Eli stood silhouetted in the doorway, his tie hanging loose around his neck and the top few buttons of his shirt open. His jacket had been tossed across the foot end of the bed.

He stared at her for a long moment. “I wasn’t sure you would come.”

Her remaining nerves were replaced by a sudden rush of arousal and bravado. She grabbed the ends of his tie and pulled his head to hers.

“I haven’t yet,” she whispered against his lips.

“Let’s fix that.”

In a move so fast, she barely had time to register it, he pulled her into the room, flush against him, shutting the door behind her. Trailing his fingers up her bare arm to her shoulder, he gently slipped the strap of her camera bag off and set it on the floor before pressing her against the wall.

His lips traced the line of her nearly bare shoulder, skipping over the dress’ strap as he followed the path to her neck. She shuddered as his teeth scraped the overly sensitive curve before he kissed his way to her ear, his stubble roughened cheek grazing her skin. “When I was a kid,” he murmured against her ear, “I was convinced you were the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Lifting his head, he held her motionless with his gaze. His expression was intense. Even in the dim light, the blue of his irises mesmerized her. “For what it’s worth…I was right.”

She caught her breath as he lowered his head and captured her lips, sliding his fingers up her spine and tangling in the hair at her nape. He tugged her head back, baring the line of her throat, and dragged his lips along the exposed flesh.

Meaghan choked back a groan as he nipped at a particularly sensitive spot. Grabbing his waist, she lifted her hips, rocking against him, gasping when he thrust back, pinning her against the wall. Her pussy flooded with moisture at the sensation of his stiff cock pressing against her. When he dropped his hands to drag them up her thighs, hiking up the short skirt of her dress as he went, she bit her lip to keep from whimpering.

The rough calluses on his hands teased her tender skin, and she wondered briefly what he did for a living. She pushed that thought out of her head since she didn’t plan on sticking around long enough to find out.