Mend the Seams (25 page)

She stared down at the liquor sloshing around her glass, but paused with her brows drawn together before bringing up to her lips. “What should we drink to?”

“The bride to be?” I smirked. She rolled her eyes, but managed to crack a smile as she bit down on her lip. The light from the bathroom illuminated the blush that crept up her neck, staining her cheeks crimson, and my hand reached out of its own accord, begging to touch her. Her eyes grew wide, panic quickly setting in, but as I ran my thumb down her cheek and across her bottom lip, essentially tugging it free, her gaze softened. “Then to us, the hidden loners of the party.”

I lowered my hand, allowing her to toss the glass back and let the liquor flow freely down her throat. Her eyes never left mine until the very last second, at which point she squeezed them shut and released a hoarse cough.

“I take it you’re not used to shooting whiskey?” I crouched down in front of her, taking the glass from her hand.

“No.” She tried to stifle the cough, but based on the moisture pooling in her eyes, the burn had been more intense than she’d anticipated. “I’m more of a mixed drink kinda girl.”

“Ah.” I slowly stood, pulling her up with me. “Well, what do you say we head down to the bar and grab a drink? I promise we’ll start off easy before diving right into the hard stuff.” I traced a cross over my heart, eliciting a gorgeous smile from her pouty pink lips. A smile that in a matter of seconds I had grown to love and selfishly laid claim to. But she didn’t need to know that just yet.

Looking back towards the door, I chuckled under my breath. “I doubt they’ll miss us anyway. They seem a bit…
occupied
at the moment.”

“I guess you’re right. One more couldn’t hurt.” She shrugged indifferently.

I opened the door a crack and held my arm out in front of me. “Ladies first.”

She sat there unmoving, her eyes running up and down the length of me with an eyebrow raised. A playful smile graced her lips, and she let a soft giggle escape. “Um, aren’t you forgetting something?”

I quickly scanned the room and shook my head. “Other than your beautiful self? No.”

Her blush deepened, but it seemed that one shot of whiskey had given her a boost of confidence. She stepped closer, running her finger down my bare chest, and fluttered her long, dark lashes up at me. “Looks like you’re missing a few articles of clothing there, hon.”

She trailed her finger back up my chest, and in the wake of goose bumps scattering across my skin, I could feel my blood pumping through my veins and moving further south. It wasn’t until the erection I was currently sporting brushed up against her belly, that I realized I was still standing there half naked in front of her.
Fuck.

“Well…that would’ve caused a few awkward stares.” I smirked and began collecting my clothes that were strewn about the floor.

              Her hand flew up, covering her mouth as soft laughter filtered through. I didn’t know what it was, but something about her caused this warmth that I hadn’t experienced in such a long time to spread throughout my chest like wildfire. What had caused it, I couldn’t say, but being there with her in that very moment felt...
right.

              I finished buttoning my shirt and slipped my shoes on before placing my hand on her lower back and ushering her out of the bedroom.

              “Are you sure we should leave before the party is over? Don’t you think you should be out here helping him?” She looked over at Bryce and the bride to be still going at it before turning her attention back to me with a look of disgust on her face. “On second thought…”

              I nudged her forward as her words trailed off, and dipped down close to her ear. “I think he’s handling things just fine on his own. C’mon.”

              We slipped out of the room, not even registering on their radar as the door gently clicked behind us, and made our way down the hall toward the elevators. As soon as the doors shut and I pressed the button to take us down to the lobby, I realized I didn’t even know this gorgeous woman’s name.

              “I’m Reid by the way,” I introduced myself, breaking up the silence around us.

              She tilted her head back until her eyes finally settled on mine. “Wow, so apparently we skipped introductions before.” Her mouth spread wide, showing off a row of perfect white teeth, and I watched as her tongue traced over lips, wetting them before she spoke again. “I’m Mackenzie.”

             
Mackenzie.
I repeated the name over and over in my head until I had convinced myself that no other name could possibly be more fitting for her. It was perfect.
She
was perfect. I had yet to find one flaw, not a single imperfection to turn me away from her, and as we stood there taking one another in, no longer clouded in the darkness of the hotel room, I was able to finally drink in just how beautiful she was. Long, silky blonde hair, clear blue eyes, and buttery smooth skin that looked as though she’d spent her fair share of time soaking up the sun. She was simply stunning, and while I found myself comparing her to Brielle, there was something so different about her. Something drawing me to her like a moth to a flame, and I just had to get a closer look.

              The doors of the elevator flew open, releasing us from the foggy haze surrounding us, and we both blinked a few times before tearing our eyes away from one another.

              “Well, now that we have introductions out of the way…” I held the door of the hotel bar open for her, placing my hand once again on her lower back. At six-foot-one, my hand rested perfectly at the dimples just above her ass, and it took everything in me not to let it slip any lower. “…let’s get down to the most important question of the evening.”

              The place was packed, leaving only a few seats open right along the bar. I pulled a stool out for her and watched as she nervously tugged at the ends of her dress, attempting to cover herself the best she could. She had great legs, and they easily made up for her lack of height: tan, slender, and
fuck me
, I wanted to sit her atop that bar and wrap them around my waist while I fucked her into oblivion.

Shit.
Bringing her here might not have been the best idea because now my intentions were going way off course and alcohol would only fuel the burning need to be inside of her that much more. The plan had been to get us away from the bachelorette party that neither of us wanted to be a part of, but now that I had her here to myself, I couldn’t help but want to bury myself balls deep in her sweet pussy until she cried out my name.

             
Jesus, man, pull yourself together!

I ran my hands down my face, brushing the thought aside, and watched her angle her head slightly as though she were studying me. If she could read my thoughts right now, I was so fucked. I might as well turn myself around and walk right back out that door.

“And what question might that be?”

I grinned down at her, thankful she couldn’t see into the realm of my dirty mind, and returned my attention to the question at hand. Tucking a loose strand behind her ear, I leaned in close, soaking in the fruity scent of her hair. “What’s your poison, sweetheart?”

She drew her bottom lip between her teeth, deep in thought, and it just made me want to bite down on the soft pink flesh even more. “What would you recommend?”

I pondered that for a moment, but considering how she handled just the one shot of whiskey, I had a pretty good feeling she was a lightweight. “You don’t get out much do you?”

She smiled bashfully and shook her head. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to be honest with me, even after having just met. Women like that didn’t come around very often, and I could already sense that there was something different about her. Something special.

“Let’s start you off with something sweet. Maybe an Alabama Slammer?”

She nodded in agreement, and I grabbed the bartender’s attention, ordering her drink along with a Long Island iced tea for myself. From that point on, the drinks kept flowing, as did the conversations between the two of us. We talked about everything under the sun, from likes and dislikes, to favorite music and movies, to places we had traveled and even embarrassing stories. We probably should have halted the topics there, but the more we drank the more comfortable and at ease we became with one another. As the bartender dropped off more drinks, this time a whiskey sour for her and a scotch on the rocks for me, she laughed so hard that her hand latched on to my knee, nearly causing us both to face-plant on the floor.

“You mean to tell me,” she hiccupped, “that when he pulled out, there was…” She waved her hands toward my crotch in a gesture I couldn’t quite comprehend.

I threw my head back laughing, not at the story I was re-telling about Bryce’s infamous first experience with anal sex, but at Mackenzie’s uninhibited and animated amusement. God, she was so vivacious and full of life. This wasn’t the girl I’d caught hiding in the hotel room only hours earlier. It was as if something had ignited inside of her to incinerate the shell encasing the real Mackenzie…and I fucking loved it.

“Let’s just say, if you plan on letting someone fuck you up the ass, make sure you don’t eat corn beforehand, otherwise you’re meal could make an unwelcomed reappearance!” I chuckled under my breath before finishing off the last of my scotch.

“Oh that’s disgusting!” She bellowed out and doubled over in my lap, her laughter reverberating throughout my entire body. I loved hearing that sweet sound pour out of her, and if she only moved her head a few inches to right…
Fuck.
If I didn’t have that sexy little body writhing beneath me in the next thirty seconds I was going to explode.

I lifted her by her shoulders until she was once again seated upright and giggling drunkenly. She was so damn cute, the way she reached up and threaded her fingers through my hair with a dreamy look in her eyes, and as she scooted forward on the bar stool, her dress rode up a little further, giving me a better look of her smooth tan thighs. She made no move to adjust it, just continued to brush her fingers through my hair, this time sweeping her thumb over the scar right beside my eyebrow. It was then that something dark and primal washed over me. Memories of how I’d gotten that scar came flooding back to me, and I wanted nothing more than to block them out the only way I knew how.

I pulled out my wallet and threw a few bills on the bar before standing up and tugging Mackenzie along with me.

“Where are we going? I didn’t get to finish my drink.” She pouted, barely able to keep a straight face, and I made a mental note never to play poker with her.

“Do you have anywhere else to be tonight?” I looked her dead in the eyes, begging her to say no, and her back straightened up a bit.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because once I get you upstairs, there’s no turning back. I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you.”

I watched the delicate flesh of her throat bob up and down as she swallowed hard, a hint of hesitation lurking in her eyes, but she slowly shook her head, giving me the answer I so desperately needed.

Next thing I knew, I was at the front desk slipping the concierge my credit card. He handed me back two key cards, and with a knowing look on his face, told us to enjoy the rest of our night.
Oh I planned on enjoying every fucking minute of it.

We stood side by side in complete silence, waiting for the elevator to come down, and the second the doors flew open and I saw that it was empty, I pulled her inside and slammed my mouth against hers. That was when the last shred of my self-restraint had obliterated.

Pushing her up against the mirrored wall with her leg lifted around my hip, I allowed myself to get lost in everything that was Mackenzie. She tasted sweet and sour, the last drop of her drink lingering on her lips, and as she met my kisses with just as much urgency, I knew that I had made the right decision. Even if it meant only one night with her, I needed this. I needed to erase the tainted memory she had sparked in my mind and bury it, just as I needed to bury myself in her.

“Reid,” she breathed against my lips. “Wh-what are we doing?”

Her eyes fluttered open, and I was afraid she’d changed her mind, but she only pressed herself harder against me. With her dress hiked up, I could feel the heat of her lace-covered mound on my leg, and it only spurred me on even more. I dragged my lips along the slope of her jaw and the curve of her neck, nuzzling against the shell of her ear as I spoke. “Tell me what you want. I won’t take it any further unless I know you want this, too.”

I buried my fingers in her hair and gave it a gentle tug, allowing me to look into her eyes and see that I wasn’t in this alone. See that she craved it. Thirsted for it. Would do just about anything to prevent this night from ending.

              It was there. Her eyes so clear, hungry with lust, there was no missing it. She was practically begging to be fucked.

              “I…I…” She whispered breathlessly.

              “You need this just as much as I do, don’t you, baby?”

              She slipped her hand around my neck, pulling me down so that she could suck on my lip in response. “Yes.”

             
That
was what I’d been waiting to hear. I held her leg around my hip, lifting the other off the floor, and ground my erection against her heat. The elevator came to a halt all too quickly, and I carried her down the hall to our room. With her fully in my grasp, I struggled to reach for the keycard in my back pocket, but she took it upon herself to go digging for it. She slid it into the door, and we were once again blanketed with darkness.