Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme) (13 page)

Tommy to touch her, not after what had happened.

Didn’t she want it all to go back to normal?

Yeah, she did.

“Sure. What do you want me to do?”

He motioned for her to follow him on the mat. After he lay down on his back, he beckoned her

closer with his fingers and gave her a cocky smile. “Climb on.”

“W-What?”

“I’m having a problem with full mounts. So I need for you to mount me.”

He said it like it was everyday business for him, which, okay, it was, but straddling that man’s

hips was an erotic escapade for her.

You can do this.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped over him with one foot, then lowered to her knees until her

very feminine center met his very manly front. Air whooshed from Tommy, and with almost

lightning speed, he yanked her up by the ass to the middle of his torso.

“I thought I needed to be lower than this.”

“No. You’re shorter. Got to be here.” The strain in his voice was evident.

Had she hurt him when she sat on him? Judging by his clenched jaw, she must have.

“What do I do now?” she asked.

“Brace your hands on either side of my head.”

As she leaned forward to do as he instructed, he scooted his body farther underneath her.

“What are you doing?”

Green eyes jumped to hers. “What?”

“All this shifting?” At least his moving was keeping her from focusing on the fact she had his

body between her legs.

“I’m trying to compensate for the fact you’re not a six-foot dude, okay?”

She scowled. “You don’t have to get all snippy. Jeez.”

Two large hands grabbed two handfuls of butt cheek and hauled her even farther up his chest.

If he brought her much higher, she’d be sitting on his face.

Ah, hell.

Tingles erupted low in her belly. Why, oh, why had she gone and thought that?

He whacked down one of the arms she had braced beside his head, and she squealed in

surprise. Next thing she knew, she’d been rolled onto her back and was looking up at the

darkening sky instead of Tommy. Why? Because his face was lower. So much lower. Belly button

lower. She was having a very difficult time catching her breath because the weight of his upper

chest was pressing very intimately against her, between her legs. And he wasn’t moving.

Why wasn’t he moving?

Oh, wait. Now he was. Scrambling, actually. As though he couldn’t get off her fast enough.

Once he’d turned his back to her, he said, “Thanks. That helped,” as he yanked on a pair of

gloves, then went to town on the bag.

Sadness lay heavy in her chest. She was watching, helpless, as he slipped away from her.

And it was all because of that damn kiss that never should have happened.

Chapter 7

Julie twisted to look at herself from every angle in the mirror. The coral handkerchief dress

she’d put on fit her perfectly. Trimmed with faux diamond rhinestones, the strapless bodice

hugged her breasts, while the empire waistline made the fabric drape loosely around her waist and

thighs. She’d twisted her hair up in a loose updo, leaving a few strands to curl around her face.

Everything was perfect. Down to the silver-studded peep-toe pumps she’d bought specifically

for the wedding.

She could hear Tommy moving around. Pacing. Muttering. A curse here, a curse there. She

didn’t go investigate. He’d been on edge all morning. After she’d asked him about it, he’d barked

out that he wasn’t looking forward to the wedding. Then she understood. It would be the first time

he’d been around most of the guys, including Mike, in months. After that realization, she’d given

him space to deal with the stress of it.

She glanced at the clock. The wedding started in less than an hour. Brody should arrive at any

minute to pick her up. When she went into the living room, she froze. Tommy stood in front of the

window with his back toward her, wearing a black suit.

As he turned to face her, her stomach twisted. The blazer hugged broad shoulders and was

unbuttoned to reveal the tight button-down black shirt underneath. His red tie lay flat against his

chest, and it made her gaze zero in on the way the fabric hugged his torso and trim waist.

“Wow,” he said.

She searched for a word to describe how he looked. She found many: sinful, delicious,

forbidden…a walking wet dream. But she couldn’t use those, so she decided against returning the

sentiment and instead fanned out her dress and went with, “Not too shabby, huh?”

“God, Julie, you’re breathtaking.”

A pleased flush warmed her skin. Tommy had complimented her many times over the years,

but breathtaking was a new one, and she loved hearing it come out of his mouth.

As he walked toward her, his hand outstretched, time slowed. The sexy lift of one corner of his

lips and the appreciative shine in his eyes as he took her hand held her captivated.

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t turn away. Couldn’t stop her body from willingly going forward

as he tugged her against his chest, his other arm slipping around her waist to hold her close.

As he swayed them, he whispered, “Save a dance for me?”

Words refused to squeeze past her tight throat, so she simply nodded. Then he lowered his

head and she thought her lungs would explode from the air trapped inside them. When his lips

brushed her cheek, scorching her skin, she closed her eyes, a stuttered exhale finally shooting past

her lips.

She instinctively rubbed her face against his as he drew her closer, his cheek resting against

hers. The heat of his skin felt so good. She absorbed the feeling, wanting to press her body closer

to his. Without thought, she slipped her fingers from his and slid both hands up his arms to wind

around his neck.

He skimmed his palm over her waist, then her hip, to join his other hand resting above the

curve of her butt. He’d never held her like this before, like a lover, hands touching areas never

touched before. It was enthralling. Enticing. And, heaven help her, she couldn’t get enough.

When he pulled his head back, she tilted hers up to look at him. Their eyes locked, mouths

slightly parted, mere inches apart. Her breath hitched, her body frozen, waiting for him to close

the distance between their lips—to really kiss her.

But he never moved, just gazed down at her.

The doorbell rang.

He blinked, cursing under his breath as his arms tightened around her waist for a brief moment

before he stepped back. “Your date is here.”

She stared at him. Seriously? She was so ready to forget Brody was standing right outside the

door, ready to forget the wedding altogether. So how could Tommy simply step away and let her

leave? With another man?

Oh God, he hadn’t felt it. The sizzle. The connection. The rightness of them in each other’s

arms.

It had all been a figment of her vivid imagination. While she’d formed an elaborate romantic

scenario that fed her forbidden desires, he’d simply been dancing with his best friend, completely

oblivious to her as a woman. He hadn’t closed the distance because it hadn’t occurred to him to do

so. And it never would.

At what point would that sink into her thick skull? What more did he have to do to prove he

didn’t see her that way? If giving her a passionless kiss wouldn’t do it, shouldn’t the horror on his

face when he’d seen her naked have done it?

It was as if she was desperate to find something…anything…that belied his words, because it

was simply pathetic for her to be so deeply in love with someone who couldn’t even see her as a

desirable woman. The truth of that thought hit her like a hundred pound Great Dane.

In one fell swoop, Tommy had blinked away all the years she’d spent accepting her platonic

role in his life. The years he’d always treated her as just his best friend. He had never tried

anything intimate with her. But with one horrible, lackluster kiss, she was back to being that

lovesick teenage girl, wanting desperately to be wrong about his feelings for her.

And it made her so furious she wanted to cry.

When the doorbell rang again, she spun and answered the door.

Brody stood there looking devastatingly handsome in a charcoal suit, but nothing could

compare to the devastating sight of Tommy his.

“Wow.”

He repeated Tommy’s words with the same appreciative tone, but she didn’t get the same

warm flush, and right now she needed that reaction more than anything. Needed any kind of

reaction from any man other than Tommy. She forced a smile. “Wow yourself.”

“You ready?”

As she grabbed her purse off the table by the door, she glanced toward Tommy standing in the

living room. Their eyes connected, and she was stunned by the anger she saw simmering in them.

Had he realized how much she’d wanted him to kiss her—really kiss her? Was he angry at her

for making things awkward between them? Was he finally putting together how she felt about

him?

God, she didn’t need that humiliation on top of everything else. Not because he’d changed the

rules and kissed her. She’d been fine. They’d been fine. And then she’d gone and messed it up.

“Have fun,” he said, his voice clipped.

Julie lowered her lashes, pursing her lips in a seductive manner. “Oh, I plan to.” As she slipped

the palm of one hand through Brody’s elbow, she waggled her fingers on the other at Tommy and

forced a giggle. “Good-bye, Tommy.”

And somehow she had to find a way to make that farewell stick. For good.

…

Julie sat beside Brody on a white folding chair inside the Great Hall of the Callenwolde Fine Arts

Center. Candlelight flickered around the inside of the Gothic-Tudor-style mansion, creating the

ideal romantic ambiance for a wedding.

When the bridal march pealed into the room, Julie stood and pivoted toward the grand

staircase at the back of the room. Cait came into view at the top of the landing in front of the wall-

length stained-glass window, dressed in a strapless, sweetheart, pick-up white ball gown, her veil

covering her face and red hair. As she took her father’s elbow and slowly descended the staircase,

the bride looked elegant and completely in love.

Envy shot through Julie and her gaze locked on the man standing three rows behind her, also

on his feet, his blond head turned toward the back like everyone else’s. She forced her attention

back to the bride. Tears stung Julie’s eyes as Cait made her way down the rose-petal-strewn white

runner toward the man she loved.

As the bride stopped in front of the groom, Julie took Brody’s hand and squeezed as she

watched Dante’s reaction. He looked handsome as always, his black tuxedo encasing his powerful

body. His brown hair was freshly trimmed and his cheeks cleanly shaven. But it was his blue eyes,

rimmed with tears, locked on Cait as she took her place by his side, that made Julie’s chest hurt.

What would it be like to be loved like that?

To feel complete confidence that the man beside you loved you as much as you loved him?

She wanted that so badly. Not a one-sided love, but a complete love. A true partner in life.

She glanced at Brody. If she gave him half a chance, could it be him?

Possibly. But like it or not, Tommy stood in her way. He’d seemed always to stand in her way

when it came to finding that type of love.

So as Dante and Cait vowed to love each other until death do they part, Julie made a vow to

herself.

She would have a wonderful loving husband who cherished her and amazing children to warm

her heart.

And Tommy Sparks would be the one who gave her away on her wedding day, and the man

her children called uncle. Just the way it was always supposed to be.

From this moment on, she would put away her foolish notions and accept that he didn’t love

her, and that he never would.

…

Tommy sipped a glass of wine as he scanned the enclosed courtyard. The dim lighting made

the bright blue holograph that read DANTE AND CAITLYN stand out on the herringbone-patterned

brick dance floor, where round tables covered in white tablecloths and simple daisy centerpieces

surrounded the perimeter.

Dinner was over. Though Tommy couldn’t have told anyone what he’d eaten, having been too

busy scowling at Julie, who had clung to Brody through the entire meal, laughing at his stupid

jokes, smiling up at the man like he hung the moon.

Tommy should have kissed her when he had the chance. But he’d known Brody would show at

any moment. When he kissed Julie again, he was really going to kiss her—a deep, thorough kiss of

discovery that he could lose himself in. Not one that would have been interrupted by that asshole

ringing the goddamn doorbell.

After tonight, Brody wouldn’t be interrupting anything ever again. She wouldn’t be seeing him

again.

It’d taken a damn week for Julie to finally come to him—one of the more frustrating decisions

he’d made, trying to prove to himself that he wouldn’t treat her like other women. He wanted to

let her take the lead, do things at her own speed, and if she wanted some space, then he was