One Night Bride by Marika Ray
3
Esme
“And then he told me he booked us first-class tickets to Paris for our honeymoon!” Ashley practically squealed, swinging her skinny little arm through the air and nearly clipping the server trying to deliver her fourth glass of wine. “Now, I know not all of us can be so lucky”—she looked me square in the eyes—“but let me be a shining example of what can be achieved if you just try.”
Chloe, her best friend, tried to pull her down to a chair with a suggestion to eat some food before the wine got the best of her. Emily, by far the quietest girl of the bunch and therefore my favorite, nudged me with her elbow.
“You just need to try harder, Esme,” she whispered, then giggled behind the hand pressed to her lips.
I snorted, trying unsuccessfully to cover it up with a cough. Ashley’s head whipped over in my direction and her lips thinned despite the injections meant to plump them up to superhuman proportions.
“What’s so funny over there, Esme?” she simpered. “Are you discussing your love life?” She let out a practiced laugh, Chloe and Olivia joining in because of course they’d follow her lead.
Rage, the kind that made me want to pull her row of extensions clean off her scalp, had me standing, the chair nearly tipping back in my wake. I pasted on a calm smile and told myself it would be bad form to kill a girl at her bachelorette party.
“I was just on my way to grab another drink since the server is taking so long.” It was true. The poor server was run ragged trying to bring Ashley all the various things she apparently needed to enjoy her meal. I stepped away from the table, ignoring Ashley’s mean smile and the way she whispered something to Chloe under her breath.
The “mean girl” vibes had escalated with each glass of wine she consumed.
As soon as I stepped out of the glassed-in private room, I made a beeline for the beefy cowboy sitting at the bar. I’d spotted him earlier when my eyes had threatened to glaze over with Ashley’s welcome speech. He wore a pair of Levi’s like nobody I’d seen before. Plus, his shoulders extended out past the back of the chair, and if I wasn’t mistaken, that watch on his wrist had to be worth a small sedan.
Time to implement my own plans for this weekend.
I wedged myself between him and some sales guy in a suit, making sure my breasts, the ones not currently strapped into a bra, pressed against the cowboy’s shoulder. I placed my clutch on the bar.
“Sorry, but all the chairs are taken,” I muttered, glancing down to confirm that the watch was in fact a Blancpain, an interesting and expensive choice. It wasn’t the pricey watch that was doing it for me, it was the combination of a guy who worked with his hands, yet appreciated fine jewelry that piqued my interest.
“You can squeeze in anytime,” I could have sworn he said, though the rumble of his voice was almost drowned out by the noises at the bar.
I smiled at him, locking eyes for the first time and nearly swallowing my tongue. His eyes were a startling blue, highlighted by tanned skin that you could tell came from being outdoors, not from a tanning bed.
My thighs wanted to clench together and my breath was coming faster just looking at this guy. I turned away to give my order to the bartender to give myself some time to settle down. I intended to take a guy to my hotel room tonight, but I shouldn’t appear too eager.
Just as I thought I could turn back to the guy without climbing onto his lap and begging him to take me right there on the bar, I saw him adjust the crotch of his jeans out of the corner of my eye. And there was a lot to adjust.
“Are you busy?” I sputtered out without thinking. Damn. I was bad at playing hard to get or even trying to be subtle.
The man glanced at his watch and then let those blue eyes trace up my torso before locking back on my face. I could practically feel the caress even though it was only my one leg touching him at the moment.
“Just heading into the restaurant for dinner. Why?”
I bit my lip and told my heart to slow down. It was no use. She was tripping all over herself from the deep rumble of his voice. This guy sounded like he could be on a radio station.
“This is going to sound crazy, but would you mind if I joined you?” Wow. Super subtle, Esme. “See that blonde in there? She bugs the ever-loving shit out of me.”
The guy looked over to Ashley, giving me a glance at his chiseled jawline that held a five o’clock shadow I wouldn’t mind feeling between my legs. When he looked back at me, his lips quirked up at the corners and his eyes danced with humor.
“I bet I can guess why,” he drawled.
My nipples felt like they were trying to cut their way out of this dress. “Guess.”
When he described Ashley so accurately I thought he might actually know her, it sealed the deal for me. I wanted this man. Badly. Which is why my hands went for it, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him toward me.
“Have dinner with me?” I begged, hoping he’d take the hint and skip dinner altogether.
His eyes had widened the tiniest bit, but his lips curved into a full-out smile, the sight of which cut off air from my lungs. Fuck, I needed to get laid. I was about to come just touching this guy’s shirt and seeing him smile at me. Granted, it was a damn good smile, the kind that made me feel like I was a tiny animal staring into the face of a predator intent on eating me in a way that I’d thoroughly enjoy.
“Why don’t we skip dinner and have a drink together?” he offered.
I lifted a shoulder, aware of the strap of my dress slipping down my arm. “There’s not an open chair.”
His hands lifted and found my hips, his thumbs almost touching in the middle they were so big. “Pretty sure my lap will work fine.”
I couldn’t help it. My core gushed and the tiny thong I was wearing couldn’t contain that kind of desire. The juncture of my thighs felt wet, and that was just from conversation in a public bar. He lifted me, which wasn’t easy considering I was close to six feet in these heels, depositing me on his lap, an arm snaking around my middle to hold me there. A waft of his cologne had me shifting.
His arm tightened, and he practically growled in my ear. “Sit still or we’ll have to forgo the drink too.”
I instantly stilled, my brain wanting more conversation and playful banter, even though my body would have been happy with a sprint to the elevator to head upstairs in the next five seconds.
“I should probably ask for your name,” I said much more calmly than I felt.
His thumb, the one that lay on my stomach, below the swell of my breast, swept up and down. “Remington. Yours?”
Jesus, even his name was hot. “Esme. And yes, I know it’s a weird one.”
His head gave a quick shake. “Not weird. Unique and beautiful, just like the woman.”
The bartender slid my wine across the bar top and another amber-colored glass toward Remington. He lifted his and waited until I’d clinked our glasses together.
“To a much better night than I envisioned,” he rumbled.
“Amen to that,” I answered, hearing Ashley’s high-pitched laugh even through the glass walls.
I took a sip of my wine and set it back down. Remington tossed the whiskey back in one swallow. There was an awkward pause as we both wondered what to say to the other. I was pretty sure we were on the same page with the sex thing, but I hadn’t done this in a long time, so maybe I was wrong.
“I, uh, need to head to the restroom.” I tilted my head to the restrooms located outside the bar in the hotel's lobby.
Without even a moment of hesitation, he lifted me again and set me on my feet. “I’ll walk you over.”
I gave him a smile and grabbed my clutch. “What a gentleman.”
He put his big hand on my back and was about to steer us out of the bar when Ashley’s voice rang out behind me. I swiveled my head in dread, having forgotten altogether why I was even in Tahoe. The girls were heading out of the private dining room, looking for a cluster of seats at the bar. Ashley’s gaze caught mine in a double take before she eye fucked the cowboy next to me.
“Let’s go,” Remington rumbled, walking us out of the bar.
I gave Ashley a wink and a little finger wave, enjoying how her mouth fell open rather unattractively.
When we hit the door to the ladies’ restroom, I felt happier and bolder than I had in years. I poked my head in the restroom, not hearing or seeing anyone else in the two stalls, and then swiveled back to Remington.
“Looks like it’s empty.”
Remington’s eyes heated and he walked inside with one stride. I shuffled back and hit the far wall of the restroom. He shut the door and flipped the lock, crowding me with his broad shoulders. I didn’t know what he did for a living, but it was clearly physical. I didn’t think I’d ever seen a man that large and muscled before.
His hand swept under my hair and cupped my jaw, gentle despite the calluses I felt against my skin. He paused, his lips a breath away from mine, waiting for something. All I knew was that if he didn’t kiss me in the next second, I might combust and burn out right there in the restroom of the hotel lobby. I went up on tiptoe and pressed my lips to his, which ended up being the last time he let me take the lead.
His lips parted mine and his tongue plunged in to taste while his hips pinned me to the wall. He positioned my head to the side so he could plunge in deeper, his other hand finding the hem of my skirt and skimming his way up my thigh. He tasted like whiskey and the way the midnight air clung to you when stargazing. His fingers zeroed in between my legs and a single finger skimmed beneath my panties.
He straight-up growled, the sound swallowed in our kiss. His thumb found my clit, and I gasped. He broke away from my mouth and kissed his way along my neck, tugging the strap of my dress down with his goddamn teeth. A single thick finger found my opening and surged inside. A mad scramble of nerve endings lit up deep in my core, pooling there as if to wait for more directions from this stranger.
I felt the draft on my breast from my dress gaping down a second before his mouth found my nipple, sucking it into his heat. I gasped again, the pull on my nipple talking right to the clit he flicked over and over with his thumb. Remington didn’t miss a beat, his mouth and his fingers working me over with a level of expertise that had me dangling right on the edge in the space of a minute.
“Oh my God,” I mumbled, squeezing my eyes shut, almost embarrassed that I could come any second.
“Let me feel you, Esme,” he said against my breast.
It was my name that did it. The name I’d had my whole life sounded completely different on Remington’s lips. It sounded forbidden, sexy, feminine. He sucked my nipple into his mouth and flicked the tip at the same time he shoved two fingers inside of me, curling them to touch that elusive spot most men didn’t even know existed.
The pool of desire in my gut turned to liquid fire, shooting fireworks up my torso and through the top of my head. My whole body shook like a leaf, my pussy clenching around his fingers as I rode out the orgasm. Remington’s mouth was on me again, his lips swallowing whatever was coming out of my mouth. His thumb finally stilled long moments later. I sagged against his chest, trying to control my breathing and keep my legs from collapsing.
“Please tell me you have a condom on you,” he muttered.
It was at that moment I realized the steel pipe digging into my stomach had to have been painful. I’d just met this man and yet he’d made sure I orgasmed before he even took his dick out of his pants. Hell yes, I’d give him a condom, just to see what else he could do to me.
“In my clutch.” I held it up in the air, surprised to see I still held it in my hand.
He grinned, though it looked tight around the edges. I flipped open the tiny purse and pulled out a bright pink condom.
His eyebrow quirked. “Watermelon flavored?”
Thank God for Vee and her foresight. “My sister picked them out.”
Remington plucked it from my fingers, reaching down to unzip his pants. “Thank her for me.”
My gaze dropped and I was hyperventilating again. The longest, thickest cock I’d ever had the good fortune to see aimed right at me. Remington rolled on the condom which frankly looked kid sized stretched around that beast. It didn’t even cover half his length. He might not be twelve inches like Vee and I teased about, but he was definitely in the double digits.
“I feel like I should taste test it,” I mumbled, not even sure what I was saying.
Remington lifted my chin with his finger, his eyes half hooded. “Maybe next time.”
And then he hoisted me up, my legs naturally coming around his thick waist. My back remained against the wall, but I felt positively tiny up against his huge body. He notched himself between my legs and slowly let me slide down onto his length.
“Wait,” I gasped. He stopped instantly, holding me there and clenching his jaw. “Just…give me a second,” I managed to squeeze out, needing a breath or two to adjust to his size. I sucked in a breath through my nose and forced my muscles to relax.
When I gave him a nod, he tipped his hips and slid another few inches inside. Dear God, I felt like he might split me in two. And like the predator I’d seen in his smile, I did enjoy him destroying me.
“Fuck, Esme,” he muttered, his hands gripping my hips so tight I’d probably have bruises in the morning.
He buried his face in my neck, his hot breath fanning across my chest. I wrapped my arms around his massive shoulders, wishing I could see them without the stupid shirt between us. My hands wove into his hair and pulled his head back so I could see his expression. His light blue eyes had darkened and the muscle in his jaw twitched. I pressed a kiss against his lips, wanting to see him lose some of that control.
“I’m good now,” I whispered against his lips.
The second the words left my mouth, his hips pulled back and then slammed back into me, the tile wall behind me the only thing keeping me in one piece. He kept pistoning his hips in a mad rush, his cock dragging against my walls, in and out, so forcefully I felt my eyes roll back in my head. A renewed ribbon of desire in my gut stemmed off into twenty, all swirling around in a frenzy while he pulled back to look into my eyes.
“I want to feel your pussy milk my cock. Can you do that for me, Esme?” he asked, all growly and dark.
He didn’t have to ask me twice. I nodded, the back of my head knocking against the wall, but I didn’t even notice. All I could feel was his cock filling me so completely I didn’t know where my body ended and his began. He broke our gaze and looked down at where we connected, my own gaze following. His hand left my hip to move my skirt out of the way. He thrust in slowly and we both watched his cock slide inside me, the edge of the condom disappearing. He pulled out all the way, the tip of him barely still in contact with my quivering flesh.
“Please, Remy,” I begged.
He slid back in, each inch filling my vision and filling my body. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt myself clenching around his length, somewhere in the back of my brain, stunned that I could orgasm again so soon. I sucked in a gasp and I screamed, unable to contain the sensations coursing up and down my body, releasing and tightening all at the same delicious time.
Remington growled, slamming into me two more times before stilling, his cock twitching inside of me, spilling into the condom. His grunt vibrated through me as he buried his face against my neck and his body shook. I held on to his shoulders and welcomed his release. To make a man that big and strong come so hard he trembled, made me feel like the most powerful woman in the universe.
Ashley and her minions couldn’t reach me here. The occasional online haters didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but me and Remington and this connection we’d made in the bathroom of the hotel lobby.
Bang, bang, bang.
Remington and I both lifted our heads, our skin covered in sweat and his cock still inside me. His harsh breathing echoed in the quiet of the empty bathroom.
“Hello? Esme, are you in there?” Ashley’s voice asked from the other side of the locked door.
Well, fuck. Guess she could reach me.