Rent a Millionaire Groom (16 page)

“Naw, there’s a hockey game on ESPN at two. We’re going to watch that. You like hockey, don’t you?”

“Yeah, sure. That’ll be great.”

Chance stepped closer. “What are you two talking about?” He carried a plate loaded with food.

“I was telling James we’re going to watch a hockey game later.” Sam moved to the table, grabbing a clean plate.

Chance studied James. “You worried about something?”

“No, of course not. I’m having a great time.”

Chance grinned. “I would think so. You must’ve won almost every hand.”

“Not because I’m a great poker player, I can assure you,” James said, shrugging.

“I know. Like I said, you’re just plain lucky.” Then he nodded toward the table. “If you don’t fill a plate soon, though, you’ll be out of luck…and extremely hungry.”

James took the hint.

J
AMES WAS FINALLY
reunited with Elise when he returned to the room at a quarter to six. Since the rehearsal began at six-thirty, there wasn’t a lot of time for chitchat. Especially since Elise was in the shower.

By the time she emerged, in a slinky green dress that clung in all the right places and exposed a great deal of leg, he was thankful for his time in the shower.

The rehearsal was standard fare, though there was a great deal of laughter when Michael stuttered through his part as he and Elise played the roles of bride and groom. Sharon had said it was unlucky for her, as bride-to-be, to participate in the rehearsal.

Elise had protested being the chosen one, but all her sisters had pointed out that she’d need the practice for her own wedding. Everyone turned to grin at James. Someone even suggested he stand in for Michael.

Sharon, however, refused that offer.

James sat two rows from the altar and watched Elise walk down the aisle, carrying some plastic flowers to simulate the bridal bouquet. It didn’t take much imagination to visualize her coming to meet him as his bride. He’d thought never to marry again. Now it not only seemed plausible but a foregone conclusion. Someday.

He sat beside her at the rehearsal dinner back at
the hotel, his gaze drawn to the low V-neck of her dress. When Sam addressed him, his head snapped up and he felt his face flush. He only hoped the man couldn’t read minds.

“Yes, Sam?”

“What do you think of the Coyotes’ chances this season?”

James stared at him. The man wanted to talk hockey now? With Elise sitting beside him?

“Elise said you’re a hockey fan,” Sam said, looking puzzled.

“Uh, I go occasionally,” he muttered. “But I’m not an expert.”

“I’d like to know how you get tickets,” Chance said, leaning forward. He sat across from them, without a date.

“I have a friend who has season tickets,” he muttered, not wanting to get into a discussion about
that
again.

“You’d love them, Chance,” Elise said. “They’re right down on the ice. It almost feels like you’re playing with the team.”

“You got to go?”

“Yes, last Tuesday night.”

Chance turned back to James. “I’m going to have to get to know your friends, James.”

Fortunately, the subject of the conversation changed. Until dinner was over and the dancing began.

Before he knew it, James was holding Elise against him, barely moving to the slow, romantic music that filled the room.

“Are you doing all right?” Elise whispered.

Hell, no, he wasn’t doing all right. He wanted her so badly, he could hardly move. “Uh, yeah.”

“Did you meet Michael’s parents? They seem very nice.”

He gathered her a little closer to him. “Yeah. I didn’t know his father was a senator.”

“Yes. I hope Sharon’s prepared for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“The man draws a lot of publicity. So does his family. We’ve had several reporters here at the hotel, wanting to interview the senator, but they also requested an interview with the happy couple. I think that might get tiring after a while.”

James was distracted from his hunger for Elise. “Did they go away?”

“No, I don’t think so. But I’m sure they won’t be a problem.”

James had so many problems to deal with, what were a few scoop-hungry reporters? His major difficulty centered on the beautiful woman in his arms.

By the time they retired to their hotel room, he’d made up his mind. He immediately gathered up jeans and a sweater. He intended to wander the hotel lobby until much later, when he knew Elise would be asleep. It was the only way he could get through the night.

“What are you doing?” Elise asked, her gaze puzzled.

“I’m getting out of here.”

“You’re leaving?”

He hadn’t been too tactful. He tried again. “Sweetheart, if I don’t leave for a while, let you get to sleep, I’m going to— I’ve been holding you close
all evening. I even drank a little champagne. I don’t think my self-control is at its best.”

There. He’d explained his problem clearly. She’d let him leave now. She wouldn’t protest.

“James, I don’t want you to leave.”

The words popped out before Elise actually acknowledged the truth of them.

“Elise, I can’t—” James began, scowling at her. Then he sighed and put down the clothes he had gathered up. “I’ll try, if that’s what you want.”

“It is,” she whispered, then licked her dry lips.

He groaned and turned his back.

“James, I don’t think you understand.” Either that or he didn’t want to make love to her. She prayed he didn’t understand.

“Sure, I do, honey, but you’re the one who doesn’t understand. It’s not easy for me to resist making love to you.”

“I don’t want you to.”

He spun around quickly, almost losing his balance. “What did you say?”

“You said you and Sandra weren’t—”

“What does Sandra have to do with anything?” he demanded.

“I don’t want you to betray any—any promises you’ve made.” She took a step toward him.

“The only promise I’ll betray is the one when I
promised not to touch you.” He moved closer, too, and she could hardly breathe.

“I don’t want you to keep that promise.” She reached out, and he swept her into his embrace.

She drew a deep breath, taking in his aftershave, his maleness. His essence. Now that she knew he wasn’t involved with Sandra, she could no longer resist him. Her arms slid around his neck as his lips covered hers.

She became lost in the magic, the fire, that swept through her, as it always did when he kissed her. But this time, having admitted her hunger, the effect was even greater. She never wanted to leave his arms.

She didn’t know how long it took for them to move toward the bed. She hadn’t thought she was in any hurry, but tension was building in her, a craving for the ultimate joining. A hunger for this one man.

Even as he moved her nearer to the bed, even as he struggled with the zipper to her dress, even as he kissed her senseless, it was James who tried to talk.

“Elise—” he began.

Was he going to call a halt to what they were doing? She tightened her hold on him, returning her mouth to his. She wanted this moment, this loving, more than she’d ever wanted anything or anyone.

“I have to tell you—” he muttered, pulling back.

He did want to talk. She couldn’t believe it. As his arms left her, she reached for the zipper he’d been working on and slid it down.

Then she dropped her dress to the floor. The lacy bra beneath the dress had a front clasp and she snapped it open, letting the bra follow the dress.

She’d had no idea she could be so shameless.

James inspired her.

As she did him. With a gasp, he closed the distance between them, and his hands cupped her breasts. “You’re so beautiful!” he whispered.

But his reluctance had irked her. She let his hands rest there a moment before she backed closer to the bed. “You wanted to talk?” She’d tried to sound cool, sophisticated. Instead, she sounded as if she’d just run a marathon.

James stepped closer. “Uh, yeah— I have to tell you—” He stopped talking when his mouth descended to her breasts and his arms pressed her to him.

“What do you have to tell me?” She was suffering. Why shouldn’t
he?

He raised his head and stared at her, a frantic look in his eyes. “I’m James!” he exclaimed before his lips covered hers.

The fact that his words didn’t make sense didn’t disturb Elise. She’d worry about that later. Now she had to strip a certain, delectable male. One she was crazy about. She reached for his starched white shirt.

By the time they actually landed on the bed, his shirt was gone and his pants weren’t defying gravity any longer. And neither of them wanted to talk.

With all their clothing removed, James pulled her against him and his hands roamed her heated flesh, learning every curve and dip.

She returned the favor, finding the male physique more fascinating than she remembered. In between explorations, their lips clung together as they tasted of passion, desire…love.

When she urged him to complete their loving, he
slid from the bed and she thought she was going to die. He was refusing? He’d taken her this close to the edge but refused to show her paradise?

Her anger disappeared when she realized he was searching frantically for a condom. She hadn’t thought of that. She was grateful he’d come prepared, because she didn’t think she could bear it if they had to stop now.

When he came back to her, she welcomed him with fiery kisses and frantic urgings. He slipped between her legs, and he and Elise were swept up in a tide of passion.

Elise had never before experienced such a glorious blending of physical pleasure and emotion.

J
AMES AWOKE
some time later—he wasn’t sure how much later—because of his chilled flesh. At least, the parts of him that weren’t touching Elise. She slept beside him, a smile on her lips that filled him with pleasure. Their lovemaking had given him even more pleasure, but he’d feared she would regret what had happened.

He should have done a better job of explaining, he reminded himself. He’d tried, but Elise had been a little…distracting. He grinned as he remembered her striptease. Who would have thought conservative Elise would tempt him like that?

He only hoped she would do so again.

Even thinking about that moment made his groin stir. He shouldn’t wake her. She’d need her sleep. She had to be up early for a hair appointment, at the ungodly hour of seven.

Even as he argued with himself, his hands, seem
ingly independent of his brain, began stroking her soft skin. His lips quickly joined in, and he felt her respond beneath him.

“Elise,” he whispered.

She never spoke a word. Her hands and lips spoke for her. They told him she didn’t mind being wakened in the middle of the night.

W
HEN THE ALARM SOUNDED
at six-thirty, Elise struggled to wake up.

“Honey, you have to be at the beauty shop in half an hour,” that deep, delicious voice said. She couldn’t believe an alarm clock had been manufactured with that kind of wake-up call. She’d—

“James!” she exclaimed, sitting up.

“Easy. You’ve got time.”

“Yes.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.

He took matters out of her hands as his lips covered hers and she floated back to their activities during the night. But only for a moment. He shattered those wonderful thoughts when he quit kissing her and scooted her to the edge of the bed.

“I don’t like this any more than you do,” he said softly, “but I don’t want your mother mad at me when you don’t show.”

She smiled dreamily at him, wondering why her mother would be mad when Elise had just spent the most miraculous night of her life.

He prompted, “Sharon’s wedding, remember?”

Oh, yes. Her sister’s wedding. She got up and stumbled for the bathroom, hardly realizing she was nude until she saw herself in the bathroom mirror.

Reality slapped her in the face, and she gasped.
She’d slept with James. No, she decided, rephrasing that thought in her head. She’d made love with James. Wonderful love. Memories of what he’d done, what they’d both done, had her blushing, but not regretting her behavior. She’d learned a lot about herself last night. And about life.

Including the most exquisite pleasure that existed.

Making love to the man she loved.

With that thought singing through her brain, she stepped under the spray of hot water, delighted with the world.

When she came out of the bathroom just before seven, properly dressed but wishing she weren’t when she saw James sprawled across the bed, she thought about kissing him awake.

But then she wouldn’t want to leave.

Forcing herself to concentrate on the wedding preparations, Elise slipped out of the room, leaving her Prince Charming asleep.

She was the last of all her sisters to arrive. Opening her mouth to apologize, she was surprised when her mother sniffed at the air and turned her back on Elise.

“Mom, I’m not that late. They can’t do us all at the same time, anyway,” she assured her, laughing. Nothing could spoil her happiness this morning.

“Your being late isn’t the problem. But keeping the secret from me when your father knew! I can’t believe you wouldn’t trust me!” Margaret cried, spinning around to glare at her.

Elise stared at her mother and then her sisters and two aunts. All of them were staring back at her.

“What are you talking about?” Had James re
vealed the truth? Had she slipped up somehow? How ironic that now that she and James were together, they were about to be discovered. No one would believe her happiness.

“I’m talking about this—” her mother exclaimed, jabbing her finger at an article in the newspaper.

Elise stared at it. Their pretense was in the paper?

“I’m talking about hiding the fact that you’re engaged to one of the richest men in Arizona. I’m talking about James being the most eligible bachelor in the entire state! And you didn’t even tell me. I can keep a secret, you know!”

Elise grabbed the paper from her mother’s hands and stared at the printed words. It was all there. James’s advertising firm, his incredible success. His brother Bobby, an actor at ASU.

They’d gotten confused, that was all, she assured herself. They hadn’t— Her gaze moved to a picture of James, standing beside a young man who looked a great deal like him, only a few years younger. A young man she even recognized. He’d been in her class one semester. She couldn’t have told anyone his name, until now, but she remembered his charm.

Quite similar to James’s.

Humiliation washed through her, rinsing away the happiness that had filled her until that moment.

Melanie leaned forward. “You did know, didn’t you, Elise?”

She gritted her teeth and lied as hard and fast as she could. “Yes, of course I knew. James— It was James’s fault, Mom. He gets upset when he thinks someone likes him just for his money. He wanted
you all to get to know him for himself before—before he told you the truth.”

Let James take the blame. Why not? He’s the one who had lied. He’s the one who had shattered her heart, making passionate love to her last night while he laughed about her naive proposition.

Making her believe in Prince Charming.

Phoebe was right. There was no such thing as Prince Charming. There was no such thing as perfect. There was no such thing as the man of her dreams.

James Dillon existed.

But who
was
he—this imposter she’d slept with?

J
AMES SLEPT
until eleven o’clock. When he finally stirred enough to look at the bedside clock, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He hadn’t slept that late in years.

But then, he hadn’t ever spent the night making wild love to Elise.

He smiled, remembering their nighttime activities. Immediately, the idea of making love to her again…and again and again filled him. He would never grow tired of holding her in his arms.

Which led him to the next step.

He would marry her.

Even though he’d told himself he shouldn’t hurry the relationship, should take time to get to know her, he knew that wasn’t going to work. He didn’t want time. He wanted Elise.

He was lying there, making plans, drifting into the future, when the phone rang.

“James, it’s Chance. The females in this grand
production, including Elise, are all going to the church in the limo. Want to ride with me?”

James wanted to get to know Chance better. He’d rather be with Elise, but since that didn’t appear to be an option, he agreed. “When do I need to be ready?”

“I thought we’d leave in about ten minutes, to give ourselves plenty of time.”

“Right,” James said, and slammed down the receiver. He had no time to waste.

In the end he was only a couple of minutes late; he was tying his tie in the elevator coming down.

“Sorry I’m late,” he muttered as he reached Chance’s side. He suddenly realized the man was dressed in a tux. “Was I supposed to wear one of those?” he asked, gesturing to Chance’s outfit.

“Nope. I’m a damn usher,” Chance said with a groan. “I’m so good at it by now, I think I should rent myself out.”

James grinned. “Don’t worry, you only have one more sister to marry off, and that will happen soon. Then you’ll be out of business.”

“You two have set a date?”

“No, but I don’t intend to wait long.” Once again, thoughts of Elise and last night filled his head.

“Well, I’ll welcome you to the family,” Chance said, grabbing his arm. “At least you’re not wet behind the ears like Michael. Getting married at twenty-two. Can you believe it?” He dragged James after him as he headed for the exit.

J
AMES WAITED
for Elise’s appearance.

He’d tried to see her before the ceremony, but her
mother had said they were keeping the gowns secret. She’d sent him on into the church. The dresses were all in lavender. Nice dresses, he admitted, as another sister came down the aisle. But he couldn’t see any reason he should have been kept from seeing Elise.

She moved to the top of the aisle, and he caught his breath. He was sitting on the end of the pew so she couldn’t miss seeing him. He eagerly watched her approach. She was so cute, taking her duties seriously, keeping her gaze fixed on the groom standing by the clergyman.

When she passed him, not looking in his direction at all, he frowned. She seemed—tense. It must have been because she was afraid of making a mistake. When she’d left him that morning, she hadn’t had any regrets. He knew that. There couldn’t be anything wrong between them.

Nope, everything was gloriously right. And as soon as he could get her alone, he’d make sure they had their own wedding as soon as possible. But he’d ask her to move into his house immediately.

As soon as he explained about his little lie.

E
LISE HAD A PLAN
. She didn’t want a confrontation with James. Not here, where some of her family members might overhear. She intended to hold to her original plan, only instead of using Hollywood as her excuse for dumping him, she’d tell her family he worked too many hours, was too driven. She wanted a man who would concentrate on her.