And I couldn’t resist a taste.

  Pushing a greedy tongue against her clit, I held shaking thighs apart with a firm grip. She was having difficulty keeping them open for me.

  “Fuck me,” she gasped pushing her lower lips back to my mouth.

  I’d been teasing her with my tongue. I’d admit that. But I loved how she wanted me—how she needed me. I needed her too, and if tonight’s events at the shoot said anything at all it was that. I needed her to feel my need.

  So I rose up from my knees, feeling her body along the way, her thighs, her hips. I pushed my hand up her stomach, making her stand. My hands moving to cover her breasts, I made it to her neck, settling a single kiss and she turned her head to me. Her large eyes were open, her full lips plumped and bruised from my kisses.

  Crashing my lips to hers, I wanted them plumped more. She shrieked, whimpering in surprise, and her hands ventured behind, her hands fumbling over my shirt and jeans.

  “I want to feel you please.” Her breathy words managed to turn me on more, and I did as asked.

  Reaching behind my back, I pulled my shirt off. Roxie had managed to unbuckle my pants and so the rest became easy. Kicking them off, pushing my boxers down. Now, she was the only one clothed, her dress pushed up between us.

  Getting a handful, I ripped the material down her breasts, tears sounding through the air. I wanted to apologize but I honestly couldn’t feel sorry about that. I unclasped her bra and her breasts fell free, the pert dark nipples like sweet chocolate kisses.

  Lowering, I puckered one and tasted. I had to taste. But not for long, she wanted me inside her. I had to give her what she wanted.

  Grabbing her thigh, I spread her legs and pushed her up against the counter, her breast in my hand as I sunk inside her.

  The relief we both felt was instant.

  I rotated my hips, moving deeper. I had to go deeper. There wasn’t deep enough.

  She braced my hips from behind in her hands, guiding me inside, tearing her apart from the inside out as she was me.

  “Damn, baby. I’m trying to take this slow,” I told her, but her slick heat affected the control in both my voice and hips. Her walls gripped me so tightly, accommodating my size before releasing me out. We hadn’t used condoms since college as she’d gotten on birth control, and of course after we’d both been tested. Because of that, I felt everything. Every fuckin’ wonderful thing. Control was hard. So damn hard.

  Biting my lip, I tried, but when she told me to fuck her again there was no more testing my control.

  I sunk to the hilt inside her, balls deep, and I spread her cheeks, kneading them in my palms as I plowed inside her. Her breathless, “yes” kept me going and by the time I felt the evidence of her release, saw it coating me as I continued to dive in and out of her I couldn’t take anymore.

  I pushed, deep, and stayed there, letting it all go. She could have it all. My heart. My soul.

  It was hers for the taking.

  The breeze off the Atlantic worked its way into my lungs as he sunk deeper inside me, twilight making the sky a warm combination of orange and violet. Griffin reached ahead, extending his arm to the back of the chaise lounge we lain on the balcony. Many levels above the beach kept us in our own conclave of privacy.

  He gripped the back of the lounge, rolling his hips against mine, and I closed my eyes, my lips parting. He took advantage, kissing me both fully and deeply. His tongue peaked out and I took advantage too, dueling mine with his. He tasted like a combination of me and him, and it was wonderful.

  I pushed my hands up the contours of a firm chest, strong like the rest of him. Moaning into my mouth, he rolled to his back, taking me with him. On top, I took control and he let me happily. His eyes rolled back, closing, as he grabbed my hip with one hand, reaching up to grab my breast with the other.

  I placed my hand there, over his on my breast, and glanced down at him inside me. He was so, so deep. I pressed my mouth to his and his mouth formed a smile the minute our lips touched. His hand glided up my side and he guided me to lie beside him. Our moans filled the air after that, hips moving as the crisp breeze of Miami flowed over our bodies. Miami was never quiet, but up here it seemed to be. The tall buildings gave us a brilliant backdrop with nothing but soft light around us.

  I closed my eyes in it, slipping my arms around Griffin’s neck to bring him closer. With his body, he took me to the edge and then some. Following a deep groan, my name escaped with his release, the relief shuddering throughout his entire body.

  His warmth filling me up fired off mine, my walls expanding and contracting around his length. We lay there for a while, spent, but even still, he didn’t stop kissing me. He pressed petal-soft kisses, breathing me in, and he didn’t let me go either. Our bodies remained connected under his gentle touch. His mouth moved, his hands over my body, and each touch remained as delicate as they were passionate. Like he was trying to show me something, prove something to me. Threading his fingers into my hair, he pressed my body flushed against his, not stopping once for breath. Eventually, we both had to, breathe. And when he pulled back, I placed my hands on his cheeks, smiling on his lips.

  “Hey,” I told him, kissing once, twice. “I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to kiss me like I will be.”

  My words turned a frown on those full lips, a breath to leave next. His hands gripping my shoulders, he touched his forehead to mine. “I know,” he breathed. “I know.”

  Then why did it feel like that’s exactly what he was doing? Kissing me like I’d go? I feathered my fingers through lengthy blond strands, and eventually, he brought me into his arms. He spoke something into my hair, and the words made me look up at him. He’d said he was sorry for some reason.

  “For what?” I asked him. I had no idea why he was apologizing, but he quickly let me in.

  “For last night,” he said, scrubbing a hand down his face. And by that, he really did mean the night before. We had been out here pretty much all night as it was almost sunrise. He dampened his mouth. “I had no idea. About that model.”

  I made it into the place where his large shoulder met neck. “I know,” I answered, and I did. I knew Griffin. Had he known about Rose he would have said something.

  His large body sighed, his hand squeezing my shoulder. “I know you know. I just had to say that.”

  Surprisingly enough, I had to smile at that. He knew me too. He let me burrow further into his neck and settled a hand on the back of my head. “And thank you for that,” he paused, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “For staying despite the fact. For being there.”

  A tightness hit my chest that I had thought about sitting out and letting him handle things. I was glad I stayed, too. “I don’t get why they didn’t tell you. Why do you think that is?”

  He shrugged, moving a hand down my arm. “They probably didn’t think they had to. It’s business. They technically didn’t have to.”

  Yeah, but Mickey knew Griffin’s style. He knew Griffin. This had to be that new guy then. Rich. I sighed.

  “What’s that for?”

  I looked up seeing bright blue eyes.

  Griffin tilted his head to look at me, brushing his thumb along my lower lip. “That sigh. What’s it for?”

  “I just don’t like that you were put in that position. Make sure they let you know things like that next time.”

  His light laugher filtered through the air. “Okay, boss.”

  “Seriously, Griffin.”

  Placing a hand to the side of my face, he guided me to look up at him. “I know you are. Don’t worry. I’m fine. I guess I was more so bothered you were put in that position to have to watch. I won’t let that happened again and put you in that situation. I’ll make sure I know all the details before. That was my mistake.”

  I nodded, lowering my head, but it didn’t seem like he settled for that. He tipped my chin with a single finger. “Please don’t look like that. It hurts.”

  My breath warmed his chest with another sigh. “Don’t let people take advantage of you or make you do anything you don’t want to do. That hurts me.”

  Taking my hand he placed it over his heart, squeezing. “Noted,” he said, giving me that killer smile of his. That smile had swept me away in ways I wasn’t even ready for once upon a time and I couldn’t help being grateful for being unprepared. He did understand and that brought me so much relief.

  He squeezed me to him under firm arms. “How did your day end up going yesterday? Well, besides the shoot and all that stuff. Do anything more with the wedding?”

  Suddenly shy, I smiled into his neck. “Yeah, but I can’t tell you.”

  This made him laugh, the depth vibrating against my cheek. He wrapped a finger around my hair. “Really, now? Don’t tell me you’re keeping more sexy secrets from me?”

  An afternoon in a storm, I told him I’d never do that to him again, and his wide smile now told me he knew that today. Chewing my lip, I shook my head. “Nah, nothing so scandalous.”

  “Okay,” he paused, pushing a finger up and down my arm. “What’s up?”

  I fought myself from covering my face, feeling embarrassed to talk to him about all the girly things about the wedding. “Troy took me to look at wedding dresses.”

  Honestly, I had no idea what his reaction to that would be. Whether he’d be genuinely interested in hearing about this, or feigned it with glazed over eyes like many guys would in regards to his own wedding.

  But Griffin Chandler wasn’t like most guys.

  A grin on his lips flipped my stomach and the warmth in his clear blue eyes squeezed my heart. He kissed the back of my hand, keeping it there. “That’s great, baby,” he told me, lowering it. “Did you find anything you liked?”

  My smile left at that question. I had, but… things had gone so wrong in the end.

  Griffin noticed.

  He opened his mouth, possibly to ask me about why my smile had left, but I stopped him before he could say anything with a wide grin. I pressed a finger into his chest. “No more questions about that. It’s none of your business until that day.”

  His smile returned like I hoped it would. Nodding, he threaded our fingers together. “Fair enough. But I will say, what you wear will be the last thing on my mind.”

  I frowned. “Why?”

  He kissed my hand again. “Because all I’ll be thinking about is marrying you.”

  And just like that, he made me forget the turbulence of the day as well as reaffirming to me what was important. This wedding wasn’t about dresses and fittings.

  It was about him and me.

  The next week or so filled with acting classes. More of Rich’s doing. Apparently, he could book me commercials just fine, but the company wanted their product (me) to at least know his way around a few lines. I wasn’t really intimidated by this type of work. I’d done a handful since moving here and quite a few back in the Midwest when I was in college. Those were local, car dealerships and stuff that wanted a basketball player in their commercials. I did those fine so I didn’t think doing them here with bigger brands would be too big of a thing. Still, the people repping me said classes were needed, so with the help of Mickey, I had them neatly tucked away amongst my practice schedule. I did what Mickey and Rich said no matter how tired I felt and whatnot, and since it didn’t seem to be affecting my performance on the court, I had no problem with it. I really did want a successful career, and as marketing myself, my brand, was a part of that, I knew media work was a necessary evil. My jobs since Armani had been pretty cut and dry, and gratefully, very much single work. It didn’t take two people to hold up a tube of mint toothpaste and grin into the camera. And really, the acting classes did help a bit. I gave Rich that one. I wasn’t about confrontation, and since he had been booking me in things like the toothpaste commercial, I left Armani and all that business behind me.

  Early one morning, I sat with Mickey in his office thumbing over various contracts. It was game day and he wanted to get some ink on a few things before my day filled with the fun part of my job; basketball. We were busy at work when Rich barreled into his office. This had become the norm since we started working together so I stopped being surprised. Usually, I sat back and let him ramble about whatever he needed from Mickey and me, or feigned interest if he gushed over an accomplishment he got for me or another player. After he finished, I got back to business with my agent but today I didn’t have to front about my interest in his presence. He had something with him. Something that had my face plastered all over it.

  “The new face of Armani,” he said, placing down the legs of an easel that had a poster board on it. After adjusting it, he came from behind the set up, rubbing his hands together with that signature grin on his face. “Well? What do you think, fellas? Am I good or am I good?”

  He certainly didn’t lack humility was my sarcastic thought as I stood from my chair, Mickey behind me. Rich gushed like it wasn’t me having to work at a shoot, sweating and posing for over three hours. I had to say though as I finally caught the image of myself in a three-piece suit: I looked pretty all right. Standing tall, I gazed over my shoulder, a sunset lowering in the horizon the special effects team must have put in.

  “Damn,” I said, shocked at the magic these people worked. There was definitely some retouching done on my normally scruffy mug, and I rarely saw myself in something other than sweats or had a beer stain on it.

  “Eh. Eh,” Rich prodded, nudging me with his elbows. “Told you I was good.”

  “Uh, yeah,” I agreed, still awed. I rubbed the back of my neck with a small laugh. “Roxie will get a kick out of this.”

  “Of course she will.” An arm went around my shoulder. It was Mickey’s. “You clean up nice, my friend.”

  Rich nudged me again. “Internet campaign is already up and spreads are hitting the major men’s lifestyle magazines as we speak.”

  Wow. This really was happening. My previous portfolio of print and commercial work hadn’t stretched far past a few smaller brands and nothing of this caliber. Being a rookie didn’t get me much interest. Rich definitely knew his stuff as far as negotiations. Mickey and I were just going over endorsements with major soft drink companies and sports apparel Rich had gotten for me before he came in. The opportunities were rising for this country boy.

  “And this one,” Rich paused, slipping the ad behind another on the easel, “will be up on Sunset Drive, a staple as people shop and party. You’re in the big leagues now, my friend.”

  I got another nudge from him that caused me to blink and I realized something with my dry eyes. I wasn’t blinking before.

  Yeah, they retouched the hell out of this one too, me in a pair of boxers, my body golden with a tan I knew I didn’t have. The kicker was my abs. Shit. They didn’t look like that in the mirror every day. I mean, I had them but Christ. They got me with an eight pack. Talk about Photoshop. And call me naive, but I believed this particular ad would have been tucked away in a magazine somewhere or lost in the sea of the Internet. Not in one of the busiest shopping and nightlife districts of Miami on a billboard.

  I swallowed all of the sudden. God, I hoped Gram didn’t see this. I’d never hear the end of it. And my brothers… they’d laugh their asses off. I would if I were them. I rubbed my neck again.

  Mickey’s arm moved from around me to Rich. “And the choice of the model was great. Really amped up the ad.”

  My gaze drifted that way. So distracted with myself, I didn’t take notice of Rose. Sure enough, she was there, hanging all over me half naked like she’d been instructed to at the shoot.

  The pair must have mistaken my silence for something else because congratulations and back pats ensued. Afterwards, Rich gave me a strong handshake, telling me he’d see me later before taking his boards and exiting the room.

  “I’ll tell ya what, Griff,” Mickey said, retaking his seat behind his desk. I joined him sitting in front. “Now that these doors are open, it will only get bigger for you from here.”

  I let out a breath. True, I was happy for these opportunities but these surprises were starting to irk me a bit. I didn’t mind the ad being placed where it was, but it would have been nice to have been told first. The whole thing made me think of what Roxie said to me the day of the actual shoot.

  “Don’t let people take advantage of you or make you do anything you don’t want to do. That hurts me.”

  I tapped my pen on the desk. “Hey, um, Mick—”

  “By the way, Griff,” Mickey said staring down at the document he was writing something on. We’d spoken at the same time. He looked up casually, unaware of the fact, and I decided to let him go first. “Did you get to that paperwork? The lawyers are bugging me about them.”

  I closed my lips, forgoing what I was going to say entirely, but then frowned, not understanding what he meant. I placed my hands on his desk. “What papers?”

  He jotted something down on a page in front of him. After flipping it behind another, he wrote something on that one. “The ones I gave you about the wedding? The legal documents? Did you get those all taken care of?”

  Oh, right. I sat back in my chair, smiling that I’d forgotten so quickly about them. “Roxie is taking care of that. I gave them to her.” Picking up the mini basketball on his desk, I aimed to make the shot behind his head.

  “Oh. So everything is cool then? With Roxie?”

  I steadied my hands, gripping the ball to shoot. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?”

  His short chuckle hit the air and he leaned back. “Fabulous, Griff. Fabulous. I was hoping she wouldn’t be one of those stubborn ones when it came to dealing with a prenup.”

  That frown hit my face again, and I lowered the ball to my lap. He couldn’t have said what I thought he had. So I asked him. “Come again? Sorry, Mick. I thought you said something about a prenup.”

  “I did,” he stated matter-of-factly and my eyes widened.