Wed for Their One Night Baby
highlight_author
Karin Baine
highlight_reads
17,6K
highlight_chapters
13
CHAPTER ONE
ONE OF THESE girls is not like the others... The words sing-songed in Emmy’s head as the wedding guests focused on her and her sisters, Lorna and Lisa, at the top table. She knew they were studying the three of them and seeing the physical differences.
The need to deflect their stares was as necessary to her as breathing. A defence mechanism developed from childhood to pre-empt any insults thrown her way, having received many over the years. She had never seemed to fit in anywhere. A legacy of being bounced around the care system at a young age, she supposed. Given up by her parents at the tender age of three and moved between foster homes until she was adopted at five, she remembered too much of it.
It was difficult enough being big sister to identical twins who were not related to her by blood, but she could not have looked more different. They were slim with porcelain skin and long blond hair. She was curvy, with caramel-coloured skin and dark corkscrew curls. A product of a mixed-race partnership, which she unfortunately knew nothing about because she had not had any contact with her birth parents since they had given her up. Thankfully, the Jennings family had adopted her, and she was lucky enough to have David as her big brother who treated her just the same as his two biological sisters. Unfortunately, it also meant being part of the bridal party on display today.
‘I’ve known Dave for pretty much my whole life and, Bryony, you couldn’t ask for a better husband.’ Sam Goodwin’s best man’s speech drew a chorus of ‘Aws,’ along with Emmy’s attention. Not only had he been sincere and funny in all the right places, but he looked damn hot in his grey, silk morning suit, and baby pink cravat.
Emmy had harboured a crush on her brother’s best friend for as long as she could remember. Even when he had not looked this hot. During their teenage years he would frequently turn up on their doorstep splattered with mud, holding a football under his arm, looking for his mate. To her dismay he had treated her like his little sister too. Someone to tease, someone to confide in when needed and someone he looked out for. Unfortunately, that also meant Emmy being rendered invisible where Sam’s love life was concerned.
Nothing romantic had ever happened between them but with a never-ending supply of new girlfriends, he never had reason to look at the chubby, frizzy-haired kid with a crush on him. Emmy wondered who was lined up tonight to occupy his bed as he had not brought a plus one with him to the reception.
‘I want to take this chance to say thanks to the beautiful bridesmaids who’ve been taking excellent care of the bride today. To the beautiful bridesmaids,’ he said, lifting his glass to encourage the rest of the guests to repeat the toast. Emmy shifted uncomfortably in her seat as all eyes were directed towards her again.
‘Hey! Don’t forget about me too,’ she shouted from the far end of the table, raising the laughs she was aiming for. Except from Sam, who was trying to burn a hole through her with a pointed look. Clearly unamused by the interruption. Too bad. It was his own fault. He should know her well enough to expect her to open her big gob and spoil the moment when she was under pressure.
She stuck her tongue out at him in another fit of pique, so he would get back to the job at hand. Which he did.
‘Anyway, we all wish you good health and happiness, Dave and Bryony.’ He lifted his glass again. ‘To the bride and groom.’
This time Emmy was happy to join in with the toast. However, she did not miss Sam’s glance at her or the shake of his head.
‘What?’ she mouthed in response and shrugged, feigning innocence.
At least now the dinner and speeches were over Emmy could climb down off this stage and fade back into the crowd. Bryony had likely only included her in the bridal party to save her from sitting on her own. Honestly, she could have done without the spotlight. Not to mention the humiliation of the dresses when she was at least double the size of the other bridesmaids. The strapless pink silk ensembles hugged her sisters’ slim bodies beautifully, but Emmy had spent the entire day hoisting hers up, trying to avoid flashing her bountiful assets at the congregation.
The wedding pictures had been mortifying, getting shifted around until the photographer had given up trying to hide her curves between the willowy blondes. As usual, she looked completely out of place next to them.
The chunky five-year-old the Jenningses had taken in had not really changed. For the first few years of her new life, she had had her big brother to adore. Just the two of them playing and sharing adventures and bonding together. Then the miracle twins had been born. The biological baby girls her adoptive parents thought they were too old to conceive.
With their hands full looking after two babies, they had left a lot of Emmy-sitting to David, though he was still a child himself. She was no longer the youngest and Emmy supposed it was around that time she had become the joker in the family. Fooling around for laughs and attention from their parents, believing she had become the unwanted houseguest once the twins arrived. The treats and special outings she had revelled in as the latest addition to the Jennings clan had promptly stopped until she felt like more of a nuisance. As though looking after an adopted mixed-race child was more hassle on top of twin babies.
Still, the Jenningses were her family. The only ones willing to put up with her. Her birth parents had not been so inclined...
‘Why did you do that?’ The sound of Sam’s voice startled her into almost spilling her champagne.
The hotel staff were clearing the tables away to get ready for the evening celebrations and Emmy had taken herself to the bar to avoid any more photographs or attention. She was not in the mood to socialise.
‘Why did I do what?’ she asked, leaning back against the bar. The best way to survive this night was probably to drink enough to forget she was here on her own and not care what people thought about her. As if there was sufficient alcohol in the world to do that. Constantly worrying about being liked and accepted was the permanent hangover she carried from her unstable early years.
Sam ordered himself a whisky before he answered. He was standing so close to her, that woody aftershave of his was doing strange things to her insides. The scent alone an aphrodisiac she did not need when she was probably the only single thirty-something here. Apart from Sam, who had never looked twice at her.
With his gaze fixed on the bartender, Emmy took the opportunity to study him up close. It had been a while since she had last seen him. They only met at these occasional family get-togethers which he was always invited to, but where he was usually occupied with his female companion of the moment. He had clearly made an effort with his appearance for the occasion. Not that he had to work too hard to get female attention. His usually mussed dark brown hair had been clipped short and the scruff of beard around his full lips shorn away. He looked like the boy next door, except with sexy come-to-bed grey-blue eyes and pretty, long dark lashes. More like the naughty neighbour who would pop round for a roll in bed when your parents were out.
Nope. She still was not over her childhood crush.
‘Why did you put yourself down like that?’ he asked, tossing back the golden liquor handed over to him. A grimace, then he slammed the empty glass back on the counter. Apparently the responsibility of his role today had been stressful for him too.
‘Sorry if I ruined your deeply heartfelt platitudes.’ Emmy washed her sarcasm down with a sip of champagne, the bubbles tickling her throat on the way down. Adding to that fizzing sensation already going on inside her.
Sam gave her his trademark half-smile that perfectly displayed the deep dimple in his cheek. ‘You know that’s not what I’m talking about.’
‘No? I thought you were mad at me for interrupting your sensitive best friend act. I assumed you were advertising for a wedding night sex buddy since you came unattached today.’ She was attempting the sassy banter she was known for but there was jealousy at play behind the teasing. Sam appeared to have hooked up with every woman who had ever crossed his path. Except her. It was only natural she should wonder what was wrong with her when it was a question she had been asking herself her whole life.
What was wrong with her that her birth parents gave her away after three years of raising her? That her adoptive parents wanted more children even after taking her on? Why didn’t her ex-boyfriends see her as a long-term prospect?
‘Ouch!’ With a hand clutching his chest, Sam staggered backwards. ‘So cynical.’
‘Uh-huh. I know you, remember? So, who have you got your eye on?’ She glanced around the room. ‘Is it the redhead wearing the scrap of ice-blue lace or...the mother of the bride? Do you go for the sexy older woman? Do you even have a type?’ Whatever it was, it clearly was not her.
‘Believe it or not, Emmy-Lou, I am here for your brother’s sake, not my libido.’
She raised an eyebrow, waiting for the punchline.
‘Besides, if I brought a woman to a wedding, she might get romantic notions I have no intention of being party to.’ Sam caught the attention of the barman and shook his empty glass.
‘What is your aversion to commitment, Sam Goodwin? One of these days your looks will fade, and you’ll be forced to rely on your personality alone to hook women. I’m not sure that’s gonna cut it. You could end up a sad, lonely man.’ She sucked a breath in through her teeth, not believing it any more than he would. There had been a steady queue of women waiting for his attention since they were teenagers.
Emmy was not even in the queue. Merely on the sidelines watching as he made his way along it.
‘I’m married to the job. You know that.’ It was true, he was a dedicated consultant paediatrician, popular with staff and patients alike by all accounts. However, she was sure Sam’s father being absent for most of his childhood had something to do with his inability to settle down. Sam had spent a lot of time over at the Jennings house and seemed to live independently from his family at a young age. Emmy supposed he had got too used to it.
‘Anyway, you can talk, Emmy-Lou Jennings. Shouldn’t you be married with a load of kids by now? Your sisters seem keen to get those rings on their fingers.’ He nodded towards the twins and their appropriately handsome, financially stable boyfriends. At least they were taken. If Sam had designs on either of them, she did not think she would have made it through the night without breaking down.
‘It’s not for want of trying,’ she muttered, thankful that Sam was too busy getting a whisky refill to hear her. She sounded pathetic. Desperate. She had never managed to hold down a long-term relationship but not through choice. When she had brought up the subject of a future with her last boyfriend, he had literally laughed in her face.
‘No offence, Em, but I’m with you for a good time, not a long time.’
Who would not have taken offence at that? Worse than that, most of her exes had gone on to marry and have children so it was not the idea of settling down they had an issue with, just the idea of doing it with her. She was still getting passed around like an unwanted gift, never finding the right fit. Apparently she was okay to sleep with but not wife material. Whatever that was. Not that she was in any rush to get down the aisle whatever the cost, but it would be nice to have someone in her life she could see herself having a future with. Despite her troubled upbringing, or perhaps because of it, she wanted babies of her own. A family she truly belonged to.
‘Maybe I’m married to my job too.’ It was an attempt to deflect the sad truth of her love life. As a paediatric nurse she worked equally unsociable hours and could therefore use it as an excuse for still living on her own just as he had.
Sam raised his glass in a toast. ‘To the job.’
Emmy clinked what was left of her champagne to it.
‘You still haven’t answered my question though, Emmy-Lou.’
‘Emmy. I don’t know why you insist on using that name. It makes me sound eight years old.’ Emma-Louise was her given name, but David had always shortened it to Emmy-Lou to tease her. When Sam called her that, it made her feel like his kid sister. No woman wanted that from the man she had had a lifelong crush on.
‘Stop trying to change the subject, Emmy. Why did you make that joke? You’re always putting yourself down in front of others.’ He spoke as though she was someone to be pitied, making her defences spring up twice as fast.
‘Cheap laughs? Your speech was getting kinda soppy and I thought it needed lightening up.’
‘You don’t fool me. We practically grew up together and I know you always make yourself the butt of your own jokes.’
‘Well, it is quite a butt.’ She fluttered her eyelashes and patted her ample behind to a roll of Sam’s grey-blue eyes.
‘Just stop it,’ he said, so forcefully and with such authority that Emmy immediately stopped fooling around.
‘I only say what everyone else is thinking. It’s not an insult if I get in there first.’ It was unnerving that he had seen right through her jolly façade to the imposter child who was on the verge of tears at being found out.
‘There’s no need for it,’ he said, much softer now. ‘Just because you look different to your sisters, it doesn’t make you any less beautiful.’
He reached out and let his fingers brush against her cheek.
Emmy momentarily stopped breathing. Was Sam actually showing an interest in her beyond their usual back and forth banter?
There was no time to analyse what was happening or how intensely Sam was looking at her as the DJ announced the first dance.
‘We should, uh, probably go and...’ Uncharacteristically flustered by the interaction, Emmy struggled to find any coherent words. The idea that her long-term unrequited love might actually be reciprocated had totally thrown her off form.
‘Yes. I suppose we should.’ After setting their glasses down, Sam took her hand and led her towards the dance floor.
In all the years she had known Sam he had never once flirted with her, not even in jest. Perhaps now they were both grown up she was considered fair game and they did not come much gamer than her tonight.
Everyone applauded the newlyweds as they twirled around the floor, wrapped up in each other and the beauty of the moment. Emmy had to swallow the ache of emotion welling in her throat to see her big brother so happy. She had always been grateful to David for accepting her as family even when his real sisters came along and loved him unconditionally. To see him smiling as though he had won life’s lottery made her truly happy for him.
‘Can we have the rest of the bridal party on the floor, please?’ the DJ requested, with David and Bryony beckoning to them.
‘Looks like we’re up,’ Sam said, leading Emmy out to meet them. He slid his hands around her waist, Emmy circled her arms around his neck and they swayed together to the slow beat. Oblivious to the crowd watching, or the other couples who joined them. Her inner teenager’s heart was full to bursting as Sam held her close.
‘This is a first,’ she said with a nervous giggle. ‘I don’t think we’ve ever danced together.’
‘There are a whole lot of things we’ve never done together.’ Sam’s voice was low in her ear, full of innuendo and promise. Emmy had no idea what had brought about this sudden change in their usually platonic relationship, but she was enjoying it. It was the perfect balm to soothe the rawness of her recent break-up. To know she might be wanted and by someone she had fancied ever since those first teenage hormones had kicked in.
‘Are you coming on to me, Mr Goodwin?’ She clutched at the gold ‘Bridesmaid’ necklace Bryony had presented her with this morning, in fake horror.
Sam chuckled. ‘Would that be such a terrible idea?’
‘Probably.’ The confirmation made her a tad breathless.
‘We’ve always enjoyed one another’s company and we’re both single...’
‘Why now?’ Despite the euphoria there was a niggle of doubt refusing to let her get too carried away by the idea he wanted her.
‘I don’t know. Right time, right place, and I have a feeling you and I would have a really good time together. On our own.’
Emmy’s good mood deflated as quickly as a burst balloon. She dropped her arms from around his neck. ‘I see. I’m convenient. You won’t have to work too hard with me.’
Tears were burning the backs of her eyes as she refused to let them fall. Sam was just another man who saw her as a good-time girl. Someone to kill time with until a better prospect came along. It hurt more from him because he had known her for most of her life. She guessed that did not mean as much to him as it did to her when he was willing to forget their shared past for the sake of a quick hook-up.
‘I think you have the wrong girl,’ she said quietly before fleeing the room just as the song ended.
Sam could only watch helplessly as Emmy took off. He did not want to cause a scene and draw attention by calling her or running after her when all eyes were still on the bride and groom. A round of applause accompanied the couple as they left the floor and came to join him.
‘Where did Emmy disappear to?’ Dave asked on his way towards the bar.
‘I, er, think she got a bit emotional. Needed some fresh air.’ Sam had played it completely wrong with her and stuffed everything up. Emmy had looked so beautiful tonight he could not stop himself from flirting with her. Forgetting she was not someone he could simply walk away from the next day. Not that he would have wanted to, he was sure. He had always had a soft spot for her when she was so easy to talk to. Unlike the spoiled, superficial girls who had chased after him in high school, only interested in being popular and showing off. Emmy was thoughtful, funny and adorable. Unfortunately, she was also his best friend’s little sister and Dave would have pulverised him if he had ever made a move on her. He still might.
Perhaps it was the shot of Scottish courage or seeing her again for the first in a long time that had made him act so recklessly. More than likely it was actually having her in his arms, holding her so close, that had prompted his proposition. Usually the rest of the Jennings clan were in attendance, preventing any private time, but tonight they were all otherwise engaged.
‘Can I get you a drink?’ Dave slapped him on the back.
‘I’m fine, thanks. I should be the one buying drinks to celebrate you being a married man.’
‘Don’t worry, Bryony’s dad is paying,’ he said, ordering a bottle of lager.
A few more guests appeared to offer their congratulations, and once Dave’s attention was diverted elsewhere, Sam took the opportunity to slip away. He needed to find Emmy and apologise for being so crass. She was more sensitive than she pretended to be and he of all people should have remembered that.
When he had frequently used the Jennings house as an escape, Emmy used to join him and Dave to play board games, cards or listen to music. Sometimes, if Dave was out or busy with something else, he and Emmy would have hung out together anyway. As angst-ridden teens they used to confide in each other. Emmy had had her problems with bullying and being made to feel like an outcast, while he had to deal with his father’s frequent absences and the difficulties that left at home. Finding that common ground with someone who understood there were more important issues than having the latest fads or not wearing the right clothes let Sam know he was not alone in the world. It made things a little easier when he had someone who understood life on a deeper emotional level to talk to.
On the outside no one would have known he or Emmy was struggling. She played the clown, often making jokes at her own expense, trying to make friends with everyone. Sam used to put on a façade the same way she did. His reputation as a ladies’ man might have been deserved but it hid what was really going on inside him. Having a string of girlfriends was an attempt to make him feel good, so he was never on his own. The way he had often felt with his father gone and his mother pushing him away because he reminded her too much of her two-timing husband.
Anyone who entered into a relationship with Sam knew from the outset he would not commit to anything long term.
The truth was he was afraid of causing anyone the same pain his father had inflicted on him and his mother. At least Sam was honest in telling prospective partners he would not be there for them. Unlike his dad, who had constantly disappointed and hurt the ones he was supposed to love.
Sam knew all that self-deprecating humour of Emmy’s was a flimsy cover to protect her soft heart. He had simply forgotten in a moment of lust-filled weakness and now he had to make amends or his conscience would plague him for ever.
The lobby of the hotel was filled with guests chatting and drinking but there was no sign of Emmy among them. She tended to stand out in a room because of her huge personality and warmth which drew people towards her. Yet, with a few misjudged words, he had made her disappear. The last thing he had wanted to do was upset Emmy when he had been so looking forward to seeing her again.
She had always seemed to understand him the way no one else ever had. Perhaps because they both had that same sense of abandonment by their parents and were grateful to the Jennings family for welcoming them in. Unlike the younger members of the Jennings siblings, Emmy had made him feel comfortable there. Of course, he and Dave were close, but his best mate would never understand the worry and fear of not belonging or being loved, the way Emmy did.
He had parents who doted on him. Not a father who used to disappear for months on end leaving his family to fend for themselves. Emmy could relate to that kind of loneliness, but it was not always easy to get her on her own to talk to. It became harder once they had all grown up, moved on to college and gone their separate ways. Only meeting up on occasions such as this. Now he had upset her he might never get to see her again. The thought was too depressing to contemplate. He had to make things right.
Sam headed outside. It was dark now, with a nip in the air. Only the hardiest smokers appeared to have ventured beyond the warmth of the hotel, huddled at the main entrance in a cloud of smoke.
Sam squeezed past and walked away from the giddy guests, sure Emmy would have sought privacy elsewhere. There were plenty of places to hide across the vast country estate now that the night was closing in.
He followed the path away from the hotel, past the gazebo and gardens where the wedding photographs were taken earlier. Even then Emmy had joked that it would look like she had eaten the other bridesmaids if she was forced to stand up front and insisted on hiding away at the back of the group. The twins had happily shown off for the cameras while he and Emmy had messed around in the background, pouting like ducks and generally acting the idiots. Having fun together to hide the embarrassment of being in the spotlight. It had felt like old times, when he had escaped to the Jennings house because things were rocky at home. Emmy had always been there with a laugh and a joke to make things better or a listening ear when he needed one. Spending today with her was what he had needed after another stressful break-up.
Despite being honest with Caroline that he did not want anything serious, she had tried to force him into a ‘proper’ relationship. Her constant hints about moving in together or wanting to introduce him to her parents had signalled the end for Sam. They had not been together long, but telling her he did not want to see her any more had brought more tears and anger from Caroline than he had expected. Apparently dating any woman over thirty was leading her on if he had no intention of getting married or having babies. Dating at his age was beginning to get messy.
Perhaps that was why he had propositioned Emmy tonight. She had reminded him of the old days, when they had been able to be themselves with one another without things getting complicated. The time they had spent together today larking about had revived those old feelings he had had for her, and he had acted on them this time without thinking about the consequences.
Sam spotted a figure down by the river sitting on the white wrought-iron swing seat and instantly knew it was her.
‘Emmy? I’m so sorry for upsetting you,’ he said quietly as he approached her.
‘It’s okay.’ She did not look at him, continuing to rock the seat back and forward.
He hopped on beside her, took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and forced her to look at him. Seeing her tears glistening in the moonlight almost broke his heart knowing he had caused them.
‘I was an insensitive prat.’
‘Yes, you were, but what’s new?’ Emmy stuck her tongue out in her usual playful fashion but the tear running down her cheek belied her real feelings.
Sam caught it on the back of his finger and wiped it away, wishing he could erase the hurt he had caused her so easily.
‘I really am sorry. I wouldn’t hurt you for the world, Emmy.’
‘It’s fine. I’m a big girl. I have a hide like a rhinoceros.’
He put his finger to her lips before she could say anything else derogatory about herself.
‘Shh!’ He was all too aware of her soft full lips against his finger and it was easy to let his mind wander about what it would be like to kiss them. Not for the first time.
Emmy was watching him with those big brown eyes and waiting for him to let her speak. Except he did not want the talking to ruin things again. Instead, he did what he had wanted to do for as long as he could remember and leaned in. Gently replacing his finger with his readied lips, to taste her, to marry his mouth to hers and express everything she meant to him in a passionate kiss.
Emmy was afraid to breathe in case the fantasy ended. Sam was kissing her and definitely not in any chaste fashion which could be open to misinterpretation. It was blowing her mind to find he might actually be romantically interested in her. The way she had always thought of him. Yet here he was, cupping her face in his hands, kissing her slowly and gently teasing her tongue with his.
Everything in her wanted to believe him when he said this was not a matter of convenience. That he wanted her, only her, in this moment. It was not as though she was expecting him to declare his undying devotion to her and get down on one knee to propose. Was it? Perhaps in her more whimsical fantasies, where they married and lived happily ever after with their chubby little babies.
In reality, all she wanted was for Sam to notice her the way he noticed every other woman. Let her believe for a while that she was not completely hideous. She had dreamed of his touch, this kiss, and it seemed as though the next logical step was to let nature take its course. Why deny herself the pleasure of Sam Goodwin and let paranoia win?
Why should she care what had prompted him to make a move tonight if it was making all of her wildest dreams come true? She would be crazy not to enjoy everything he was offering. This could be her only chance. Next time she saw him he was sure to have hooked up with a new leggy beauty. This was her time. She had skipped to the head of the queue and, rather than feel guilty about those she might have pushed past, she decided to party the rest of the night away.
‘Do you want to come back to my room?’ It was a bold move from someone who had been sobbing only moments ago because no one wanted to be with her for any meaningful kind of relationship. Now Emmy was willing to put the one she did have with Sam on the line for the sake of one night in his bed.
Exactly the type of move he probably made on a regular basis without his conscience bothering him. Emmy decided it was just what she needed after being dumped again. Rebound sex with someone who was well versed in one-night-stand etiquette would give her confidence a much-needed boost.
‘Don’t you think we’ll be missed?’ It was not a ‘no,’ making Emmy all the more determined to see this through.
‘Not for a while. We can always come back down later.’ Doing things this way could make it less awkward than having to face each other in the morning. There would be no confusion about what this was. A hook-up. Not even a full night together. No reason for either of them to stress over it at a later date. They were two consenting, single adults looking for a little company.
‘You’re sure about this?’ Sam was giving her another chance to back out if she wanted. One look at him, so handsome in his suit, with the moonlight highlighting the sparkle in his eyes and that sexy dimple in his cheek, and she had never been more sure of anything in her life. For one night only, Sam was going to be hers and she was not going to miss another minute of it.
Even the thought of finally sharing a bed with him made her shiver. Goosebumps popped over her skin as she anticipated his touch.
‘I’m sure.’
‘Let’s get you somewhere warm.’ He shrugged off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders as he led her back towards the hotel.
She practically floated back to her room, half convinced she must be dreaming. Until they were alone in her room and the air between them was sparking with sexual awareness.
After this, there would be no going back. They could never look at each other the same way again. A shame when this shared, hungry-for-one-another exchange was so hot.
Instead, they proceeded, wordless and breathless, to take off one another’s clothes. This was the point when Emmy usually insisted on turning out the light, sucking in her tummy and trying her best to be someone else in the dark. Here, with Sam, she did not need to do any of that. He knew exactly who he was dealing with and what he was getting. Besides, she had fantasised about this moment long enough that she wished to see Sam in all of his splendour.
He had already loosened his cravat and was in the process of wrenching his shirt off while she was still trying to unzip her dress.
‘Turn around.’ The gruff demand was an instant turn-on and she did as she was told.
The heat of his hands scorched the bare skin of her back as he unzipped her. When she was about to step out of her dress, his fingers deftly undid her strapless bra. Emmy’s pulse quickened at the intimacy, and when he began to kiss the skin at her neck, she almost went into cardiac arrest. She fought to breathe normally despite her release from the restrictions of her bridesmaid’s outfit. It, along with her underwear scaffolding, fell to the floor, leaving her standing in nothing but her panties.
Sam remained behind her, kissing his way along her shoulders, and cupping her breasts in his strong hands. He teased her nipples with his thumbs and forefingers until they were aching with need as much as the rest of her body.
Still, Sam continued the torturous exploration of her body with his hands. Slipping one under the lacy fabric of her remaining underwear to stroke her where she needed him most. She was leaning back against him, relying on his support as he let his fingers ease that ache inside her. Filling her, circling her and driving her to distraction.
Emmy turned her head, searching for his mouth, wanting to feel him everywhere at once. Sam took the cue from her and unbuttoned his trousers, dropping them onto the floor along with his boxers. Of course she looked, and she was not disappointed.
Sam kept in shape—she knew that. He jogged, and he played football, and it showed in every taut, lean muscle. Seeing him turned on looking at her naked body simply made her want him all the more. Before she knew it, he was backing her towards the bed, at the same time kissing and squeezing her tight. They fell down onto the mattress smiling and giggling in between the kisses, gasps and moans.
Emmy wanted to believe that this encounter was the culmination of a lifetime of wanting each other but she was not that naïve. This was just about sex and as long as she remembered that, her heart would survive having Sam for one night, before losing him again.
Primped and preened for her role in the wedding, this was the best she would ever look. Likely the best she would ever feel, with Sam kissing her all over, and not having to pretend to be anyone other than who she was to get him here. The only person she was trying to fool was herself if she thought having him just once could ever be enough.
