Tempting the Best Man - By J. Lynn Page 0,18

personal items open on the sink.

Toothpaste, hairbrush, a few items of makeup. Little stuff, but all hers. He reached out, running his fingers over the handle of the brush. A weird, totally inappropriate image of her stuff spread across the sink in his condo filled his head. An ache sprung in his chest, tight and familiar.

Man, he needed meds or something. It was a nice fantasy, but it was only a fantasy.

When enough time had passed, he went back into the main room. Maddie was still on the bed where he’d left her, staring at the bear rug on the floor.

He sighed. “Maddie, what are you doing?”

“That rug is really creepy, don’t you think?”

Moving to the center of the room, he folded his arms over his chest. “It’s not something I’d put in my place.”

She winced. “I’m going to have nightmares about the thing coming alive and gnawing on my foot while I sleep. Totally ruin my pedi.”

His gaze dropped to her dainty feet. He wouldn’t mind gnawing on one himself. “Maddie, you should get changed for bed.”

Standing up, she picked at the edge of her dress. When he’d seen her earlier, he had thought that shade of the blue had been the perfect color on her.

Maddie sighed. “I sleep naked, so I didn’t bring any night clothes. Didn’t think it would be a problem…”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

Images of her glistening skin, flushed and smooth like satin, sliding under the sheets, filled his head. His body had been strung taut as a bow all night, but now his cock was throbbing. He hungered for her on a primitive, raw level. The things he’d do to her…

And that was why he wouldn’t do anything. Not to Maddie. She was too good.

Turning away from her, he frantically searched for a resolution. “I have some shirts that will be long enough for you to wear.” He started toward his luggage, the swollen member between his thighs making it hard to concentrate on anything other than what it wanted, which was to spread those pretty thighs and plunge deep inside her, over and over again. Not gonna happen, boy, so just settle down. He grabbed a dark shirt and turned.

Maddie stood behind him. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what? Getting a little tipsy?” Chase shook out the shirt. “Hold your arms up.”

She obeyed, lifting them into the air. “I’m sorry about all of this.” Her voice muffled as the cotton shirt got stuck for a moment over her head, and he couldn’t help but grin as he tugged it down. “You must hate this,” she said as her head popped through.

“Hate what?” He yanked the shirt down, and thank God, it was just as long as the dress. Sneaking his arms under the shirt, he fumbled for the zipper in the back. The sides of his arms brushed the swell of her breasts, and he stepped closer without realizing it.

“Being stuck with me,” she said, tipping her head back to meet his stare.

He frowned. “I’m not stuck with you, Maddie.”

She didn’t say anything.

His fingers found the zipper and he pulled. The dress eased down, pooling around her feet, and his hands… God damn it, his hands were on the bare skin of her back. Like he remembered, her skin was as soft as satin.

Chase needed to remove his hands pronto and step back, but she swayed forward, placing her smaller palms on his waist, her bare thighs brushing his. Then she placed her cheek against his chest and sighed.

“I’ve missed you,” she murmured.

He felt something in his chest lurch. “Baby, how can you miss me? We see each other every day.”

“I know.” A tiny sigh leaked out. “But it’s not the same. We’re not the same. And I miss you.”

God, wasn’t that the truth? Ever since that night in his club, things had been different. And right now, he was frozen, caught between knowing he needed to put distance between them and wanting to hold her in his arms. And how many times had he held her like this? Not in recent years, but when she was younger, many times.

The odd, empty spot in his chest he usually ignored warmed. As a kid, he and his brothers couldn’t stand to be in their cold house, surrounded by their mother’s crushed dreams of marriage and their father’s absence, so being around Mitch, Maddie, and their family had always eased that loneliness.

Especially Maddie. She had this way of hers, wiggling herself around his heart. Even during the times