More Than Friends (7 page)

Her heart was so grieved, and she
was so tired that all she wanted to do was cry and sleep—in that order. At
least she’d be able to give into her misery. She’d made a monumental mistake
when she threw away Justin’s offer and now she was regretting not standing up
to Mel sooner. Mel had easily moved on. Claimed she was in love. Had she
stopped, for even a nanosecond, to consider how shredded Lily’s heart must have
been? That she might actually be in love with Justin rather than in lust? No,
she hadn’t, she’d accepted Lily sacrificing her happiness as if it was her due.
She didn’t even seem to notice that Lily was miserable.

Yeah, she’d truly love to
strangle that goofy love-struck expression off Mel’s face. Then she’d go to
Justin and—  

Not going to think about him.
She lost her chance with her Mr. Right and she had only herself to blame.

She reached into the car for her
tote, closed the door, and rounded to the boot. She pulled out her weekend case
and dropped it at her feet. Yanking up the handle, she rolled the pink case
behind her toward reception. She was going to check in, sneak to her room, and
stay there until someone dragged her out. Sadly, Lily hadn’t considered Perky
Penelope. When the energetic twenty-something descended on her, clipboard in
hand, Lily’s instinct was to run fast in the opposite direction.

“Elizabeth!” She bounded across
the plush tropically decorated reception to intercept Lily with a huge,
welcoming grin, her short dark hair bouncing around her head. No one should
have the right to sound so enthusiastic all of the time. It was just plain
wrong. Especially when Lily felt as though she was walking under a colossal
dark cloud.

“You’re here. I can check you off
the list.” Penelope ran her pen along the list she had clipped to her board
until she found what she was hunting for. The ballpoint made a
cha
sound
as P.P, Lily’s nickname for her, made a tick on the paper. “You are the fifth
one of the group to arrive. Everyone is gathered in that room.” She pointed her
pen behind Lily.

No way was Lily going to traipse
off to some room to make nice. She needed time on her own. She didn’t want to
see another soul for at least several hours. She forced a smile, rested a hand
on P.P’s arm, and tried to look apologetic.

“Do you mind if I pop off to my
room for a bit? I’m not feeling up to meeting with everyone just now.”

Penelope frowned. The gesture appeared
at odds with her pixie face. “You do look a bit peaky. You aren’t sick, are
you? You don’t look at all your usual self.” The horrified expression on P.P’s
face said she expected to hear the worse.

“I’m fine, just tired.”

“You should eat something. Your
clothes are hanging a bit.”

Nothing like telling a girl she
looks like a hanger to make her feel terrific about herself. “I’ll do that.” As
soon as she got an appetite.

Penelope focused her attention
over Lily’s right shoulder. “Fantastic! Mark and Rebecca have arrived.”

Grasping the opportunity to exit
while P.P’s attention had shifted, Lily headed to the reception desk to check
in before proceeding to her room.

*
* * *

“If I didn’t
know better, I’d think you allowed me to win that last round.” Tom Chambers gave
Justin a hearty slap on the back as they strolled through reception after their
round of golf. They both had met back in reception after hitting the showers
and dressing for dinner.

When he’d
arrived this afternoon, Justin had been anxious to get out on the course, and
Tom was happy to join him. They’d planned to do business tomorrow, opting for a
friendly game to get more acquainted this afternoon. They’d ended up playing a
couple of eighteen hole rounds, and closing the deal, which was why they were
now about to stroll into dinner after ten p.m.

Since the
deal was done, Justin was free to find a gorgeous blonde, hook up with her, and
spend all night making love to her without worrying about sleep deprivation and
not being at the peak of his game. He was meeting Tom and his partner, Wilson,
for an afternoon round tomorrow, when they’d probably finalise the details of
the deal.

For tonight,
Justin was going to work hard to forget Lily. How was it possible to miss her
so much after only one night? A night that still haunted him with vivid
memories of each kiss, every touch and caress. Of how good she felt in his arms—around
him. She was the best he ever had. However, that fact didn’t mean he couldn’t
spend some time looking for the next best thing.

His stomach
hollowed out. Something told him that he could go on a perpetual quest and he’d
never find another woman who stole his heart the way Lily had. And for a
handful of moments he’d thought she was his.

He tightened
his jaw against the anger that drove his blood each time he thought of how damn
stubborn she was.

“Hey, look at
that,” Tom’s cheerful tone, and the elbow nudge, interrupted his thoughts.
“Looks like a cocktail party. Fancy crashing?”

Justin
followed the direction of Tom’s gaze to the room they were passing, and nearly
tripped over his own feet. Lily stood at an angle facing away from the door so
she didn’t notice him. She was in a group of three other people—two men and a woman—less
than ten feet from him. Her honey-blonde curls piled up in a sophisticated
hairdo, she carried an air of class, and the long, red evening gown she wore caressed
her body in the way he longed to. The back dipped, and the waist curved in to
hug her figure. She turned a little, and he saw that the front offered a
mouth-watering glimpse of the swells of her breasts.

He lost his
breath. He’d never seen a woman so stunning in his entire life.

His heart
kicked hard in his chest. Without answering Tom, he headed directly for Lily,
his feet closing the space between them before he registered what he was about
to do. Right there, in front of him, was the blonde he was going to hook up
with. The woman with whom he was in love—the only woman he would
ever
love.

He pushed his
way through the guests, keeping his focus on Lily. The way one of the guys kept
touching her sent Justin’s temper on a quick boil. Ever since Lily had walked
away from him, his temper had been on a hair-trigger. He knew if he kept it up,
he’d soon need to check himself into anger management.

Music played
at a comfortable level, allowing easy conversation. Stopping behind her, he
leaned close to her ear. Her light perfume teased his senses and did strange
things to his already starved libido. “Hello, Lily.”

First she
froze, then she shivered and spun around, eyes wide in stunned disbelief, colour
flushed her cheeks. “Justin!”

“Lily.” He
clasped her free hand, leaving the other clutching her wine glass as if it was
a lifeline. Heat zinged from her fingers to his. “Fancy bumping into you here.”

“Fancy that.”
But she didn’t look all that pleased to see him.

He smiled.
“Almost like fate.”

She eased her
fingers from his hold. “Yes. I hear it likes to play cruel games.”

What did he
think? That she was going to leap into his arms, overjoyed to see him?
Sap!

The guy who
had been all over Lily cleared his throat, dragging Lily’s attention back to
her group. “Sorry.” She gestured to her companions with the hand Justin had
been holding before she took it back. “This is William, Mark, and his wife
Rebecca who I work with. Guys, this is Justin Knight... a friend.”

“Hi.” Justin
nodded his greeting to the group, noticing how William sized him up.  He turned
to Tom who stood slightly behind him. “Lily, I’d like you to meet Tom, a
business associate.”

“Hello, Tom.”
Lily proffered her right hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Tom took it, but
instead of shaking her hand, he raised it to his lips and planted a kiss on her
knuckles. “You’re very fetching, Lily.”
If he punched out Tom’s lights right
now, would it ruin their deal?
“I think I might like to steal you away.”

Justin
gritted his teeth and forced himself not to snatch Lily’s hand from Tom.

“I think you
might have to get in line, Tom.” Rebecca chuckled, giving the men crowding Lily
an astute glance.

“So what line
of business are you in?” William asked, staring at Justin.

“Sport.”
Justin didn’t like William any more than the other man liked him and he wasn’t
in the mood to chat with these people. The only reason he was here was for
Lily. “Tell them what you do, Tom.” He shifted the spotlight onto his
associate.

As they began
to talk lines of business, Justin pulled Lily aside. “Dance with me.”

“I don’t
think that would be a good idea.”

“Why not?” He
wanted to touch her so badly, and dancing would give him the perfect opportunity.

She gnawed
her bottom lip, chewing off her crimson gloss. “Because we both know where it
will lead.”

Memories of
how her lips had felt against his, how she tasted, fogged his mind.  The way
she had trailed kisses over his chest and abs, the sensation of that mouth
stroking him was a constant memory.

“Where do you
think it’ll lead, Lil?” He held her gaze, fascinated by the reflection of
lights in the green depths. “I’m only asking you to dance with me. Nothing
else.”
What a lie!
He wanted her in the worse way. He’d have to be dead
below the waist to resist the sexy strip-me-naked-dress and do-me red heels. “Come
on, Lil. It’s just a dance...just one.”

*
* * *

Just a dance?
Ha!

The manner in
which Justin tugged her against him said it was a whole lot more, and the
medicine ball that had landed in her stomach the moment his deep, sexy voice
had rumbled in her ear grew heavier. Her pulse drummed in time to the rapid
beat of her heart. All of her senses seemed to have skyrocketed the moment he closed
his arms around her. He moved with finesse, a subtle grace that left her
breathless and a little clumsy. And if his skill wasn’t dangerous enough on her
senses, he smelled yummy, too. Dressed in black bold striped shirt and black
trousers he oozed the kind of sex appeal that made it impossible for a woman to
say ‘no’.

“So.” He
jerked his chin over her head while she tried to concentrate on not stepping on
his toes. “You prefer that bozo to me?”

Since she had
no idea who he was referring to, she glanced behind her to find William glaring
at them over Rebecca’s shoulder.

Oh, that
bozo.

“He’s just a
colleague.” She was aware that William would have preferred them to be more,
but she barely liked the guy. He had a weakness for stabbing his colleagues in
the back if he saw it as a way to get a leg up.

“So why is it
he hasn’t taken his attention off you since we started to dance?”

Justin led
them in the slow dance and she followed, wanting nothing as much as she wanted
to be in his arms. “I have no idea.”

His freshly
shaven cheek brushed hers. She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent, a unique
blend of earthy citrus spice that she found irresistible. “I do. He’s jealous.”

It took a
moment to drag herself out of the lust haze Justin’s proximity wove around her.
“He has no reason to be.” That sounded as though she was goading him.

His hand on
her waist roamed to her hip, branding her with his heat. He angled his head so
his mouth was almost touching her ear. A current of excitement quivered through
her. She bit her lip to still her reaction.

“You don’t
think so?” The husk of his breath in her ear sent another current through her, and
she couldn’t prevent the resulting shiver this time.

Lily stepped
back, forcing a respectful distance between them. If she didn’t, she might do
something crazy-stupid... like jump him right here, in the middle of a cocktail
party hosted by the company she worked for, with all of her colleagues as
witnesses to her carnal breakdown.

“No.”

Their gazes
connected, locked. He gave her a slow, easy smile she didn’t trust. “Are you
challenging me, sweetheart?”

Her stomach
clenched around the heat that ballooned low in her abdomen. “I’m simply stating
a fact.”

His hand on
her hip drew her back to him. Her breasts pressed against his chest and the
sensation intoxicated her. If only she could spend forever right here in
Justin’s arms, life would be perfect. He lowered his mouth to her ear again, and
it was all she could do not to squirm from the sheer erotic tingle of his
breath on her.

“The fact of
the matter is—” he nuzzled her ear “—I’m going to kiss you and every guy in
this place is going to go wild with envy because I’m the lucky sod who gets to
do it.”

Lily sucked
in a breath, missed a step. He was making love to her, disguised as a dance. People
were beginning to take an interest.  He’d made her a spectacle.

“Justin,
people are watching.”

“Sweetheart,
that’s nothing new, they’ve been riveted from the moment you first walked in
the room.”

“Are you
sweet talking me?”

He pulled
back, his gaze darkening.  “Only if it’s working.” While his hand caressed her
back where the dressed dipped, he stroked his other thumb against her palm.

Goose bumps raised
her flesh. Oh, it was working. That and the off-the-wall chemistry between
them. Every part of her craved his touch.

He turned her,
dipped his head, and took the kiss he’d warned her he was going to take. It was
as if everything stood still, the room, the hum of conversation, the mellow
music, Lily’s heart—everything.

Her breath hitched, and she leaned
into his kiss, parting her lips to allow him full access, which he accepted
without hesitation. The kiss was hungry, his tongue caressing hers with slow strokes
that weakened her knees and set fire to her already cindering desire. She
clutched his shirt to keep upright, and heard herself sigh with pleasure. She
should pull away, demonstrate some pride, but she was powerless to resist the
fierce love in her heart and need raging in her body.