Page 58 of Heat Advisory

“Did you just call my brother soft?” Morgan said and then laughed. “Jay is about as soft as a cactus. That man is prickly about everything.”

I laughed because I had definitely seen him that way with Morgan, especially growing up. But with me, he seemed…different.

The other women chimed in about their husbands or boyfriends and whether they were prickly or soft-natured, and we all had a great time.

A few hours later, we were all dressed and ready to head down for the ceremony.

I walked into the private room where the bridal party would be waiting until it was time to go out to the central courtyard at the hotel for the ceremony itself.

Brianna was there in full wedding planner mode, directing all the bridesmaids and groomsmen on where to be and handing us our bouquets. I was heading to my spot when I heard a low voice behind me.

“You look so serious, future wife.”

I sighed and turned to face Jay.

“You look so fucking beautiful,” he said with so much heat that I was surprised I didn’t spontaneously combust. “I thought you were pretty back in high school, but damn, Cora, you’ve grown up to be one hell of a stunning woman.”

I moved my own gaze up and down his body, admiring how good he looked in his black tux. His crisp white shirt underneath clung to him in all the right places, and he had a fuchsia bowtie to match our bridesmaids’ dresses. He looked absolutely delicious.

My mind floated back to seeing him in only a towel yesterday, and my mouth salivated at the potential of seeing it again tonight.

I know I’d teased him, but I really did want to see it again. I wanted to see all of him. I knew it was a risky move to sleep with him, but my body craved his.

There were worse mistakes to be made, right?

“I like where your mind is right now,” he said, his eyes intensely fixated on mine, “but let’s table those thoughts for now since we can’t do anything about it just yet.”

He took two small steps closer to me—close enough for me to feel his body heat without actually touching him. “After the wedding…all bets are off, sweetheart. I’m going to let you have your merry way with me.”

“You’re going to let me, eh?” I mocked.

“Yep,” he said, his lips mere millimeters from mine. “And then I’m going to kiss every square inch of your tantalizing body.”

A wild riot of sensations rippled from my head to my belly to the now very wet space between my thighs.

His hands moved to my hips, and they seared into my skin through my dress. It felt like I was being branded by his touch, and my core temperature shot up.

“Everyone, line up!” Brianna shouted.

He leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before walking back over to the rest of the groomsmen.

I sighed deeply.

Dear God.

That man lit a fire in me like I had never felt before.

I fluffed my dress, brushed the loose hair on my forehead back, and tried to calm my thoughts and my heart rate.

The music began to play, and I made the mistake of looking up. The men were all going first, followed by the women. Jay was directly in front of me, and I watched in slow motion as he glanced over his shoulder, a wicked grin on his lips, and winked at me.

I was both equally excited and terrified about what was in store for me after the wedding was over. Excited because…well, it was Jay and I’d wanted this forever. Terrified because I had a feeling sex with Jay would complicate matters even more and make it that much more difficult if we ended things down the road.

He’d said he wanted to keep this going and had no intention of this not working, but you couldn’t know these things so far in advance, could you?

I was a math girl, and statistically, roughly half of marriages failed, including my own parents’. That rate was even higher for quickie marriages.

How was he so confident that this was meant to be forever?