She snorted.

“You had an interesting way of showing it.” She moved closer to him and waved as Josh and Molly left the room. He started to walk away, but the photographer spun in their direction and told them to do “something spontaneous.” Amy put her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. He grinned for the camera and hoped it didn’t look too much like he was gritting his teeth. He jumped when he felt Amy’s hand on his ass.

“I put my room key in your pocket,” Amy whispered in his ear. “In case you want to escape that date of yours and compare sisters later. I can promise I’ll beat out Molly. I’ve always been the wild one.”

That was a new development. He and Alexa had joked about Amy either wanting to kill him or fuck him, but he hadn’t really believed it. Apparently, she wanted to do both?

Now he was even more grateful that Alexa was there. Because he knew himself, and he knew that if he hadn’t met Alexa in that elevator, at this point in the wedding he would be just drunk and impulsive enough to make yet another bad decision.

He stepped away from her, and her hand fell.

“No, thanks, Amy. You have a great night.” He backed away from her and the rest of the wedding party, and turned to find Alexa.

She was sitting on one of the couches in the corner with Lauren and Dan . . . and Bill. That big, fake smile was back, and her legs were crossed tightly.

“You’re in my seat,” he said to Bill with a shooing motion. When Bill didn’t get up, he wanted to punch him in the face, but Dan caught his eye. Instead, he reached out a hand for Alexa. She took it and stood up.

“I think it’s time for us to call it a night, don’t you?” he said. He pulled her close, maybe a little closer than necessary. Dan and Lauren stood up, too, and all four of them walked out of the ballroom without another word to Bill.

“Did he bother you?” he said to Alexa as soon as they were out of earshot.

She shook her head. “He was probably about to, but I had a drink in my hand, and I was not afraid to use it.”

They’d been speaking quietly, but Lauren turned around at that.

“That guy is an ASSHOLE.”

Dan waited for them to catch up, then whispered to Drew, “Did you tell her what he said?” But his “whisper” was more like a shout. Dan had never been a quiet drunk.

“No, but she figured it out,” Alexa said.

“He tried to talk to me in Japanese!” Lauren said. “I’m Korean. Come on.”

As they waited for the elevator, Drew stood behind Alexa and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back against him and set one of her hands against his. Every time she touched him seemed like a secret message reminding him of their kiss and what was to come.

When an elevator finally came, they stood against the back wall, his arms still around her. Her hair tickled his chin when he bent down to whisper in her ear.

“I think this is our elevator.”

He kissed her softly when she turned her head toward him.

“I think so, too.” She smiled. “I hope we don’t get stuck again, no offense to Dan and Lauren.”

When the elevator stopped on Drew’s floor, Lauren and Alexa hugged.

“I don’t know what I would have done without you,” Alexa said to Lauren. “Especially during the bouquet toss.” The women waved good-bye as he and Alexa got off the elevator. Drew could still hear Dan’s laughter echoing in the elevator as they entered his hotel room.

“I really liked Lauren,” Alexa said as the room door closed behind them. He didn’t give her a chance to say more before his mouth descended on hers. He pushed her up against the door and boxed her in with his arms. Her hands tangled in his hair and pulled him closer. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders, ripped his shirt out of his pants, and slid her hands up and down his chest.

He moved down to her neck, licking and sucking until she wrapped one leg around his waist and pulled him flush against her body. Just kissing this woman was the best thing he’d done all month.

He pushed one strap of her dress off her shoulder and bent down to kiss the curve of her breast.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” he said.

“I’ve been wanting you to do that all night,” she said. Her head was back against the door, and her eyes were closed. She stroked his hair, scraping his scalp with her fingernails in a way that made him shiver. He pushed the other strap down and the dress with it until it hung to her waist.

“Good Lord.” He stared at the red lace of her bra, and what was underneath it.

“That’s a nice reaction.” Her hands drifted to his waist, and her fingers moved against his skin. As he stared, unmoving, she reached up to unbutton his shirt. After she’d unfastened two buttons, he growled and pulled the whole thing off over his head.

She tried to reach for him again, but he pinned her arms against the wall, holding both of her wrists with one hand.

“Tell me,” he said to her. “Tell me what you want.”

She hesitated, her eyes half lidded and hazy.

“Do you want this, Alexa?” he asked, his free hand moving up and down her torso.

“You know I do,” she said, her eyes closed. She pushed her chest against him, but he kept his touch gentle. He could sense her frustration. He loved it.

“Then tell me what you want me to do to you.”

Finally, she opened her eyes wide and smiled at him.

“Kiss me.”

She didn’t specify exactly where she wanted him to kiss her.

“Oh my God, Drew.”

But she hadn’t seemed to mind the place he chose.

“We’ve got to get you on that bed.” He picked her up by the waist, took three steps across the room, and tossed her on the bed. She laughed as she landed on the pile of pillows. He took a flying leap and landed next to her. He rolled on top of her as they laughed together. He tickled her, and she giggled as she tickled him back.

“This dress has to come off,” he said, tugging at the hem.

“These pants first.” She reached for his waistband. He sat back and watched her unbutton and unzip him. The sight of her, dress half off, lips swollen and bitten, hands on him, made him grin at his own good fortune.

She grinned back at him, grabbed him by the hair, pulled him down to her, and kissed him. He relished the feel of her body under him, her softness against his hardness, her hands in his hair and rubbing up and down his back. After a long while, he pulled back again and looked down at her half-naked body.

“I really need to get this dress off you,” he said.

She pushed the dress off her hips and threw it onto the floor. He saw a flash of red underwear as she lay back against the pillows.

Drew rolled her underneath him and moved his hands to her breasts. Alexa let her eyes flutter closed, enjoying the sensation as his fingers caressed the underside of her breasts and moved upward. But then his hands stopped moving. She opened her eyes, and he looked straight back at her, that small smile on his face.

“Tell me,” he said again.

She wiggled underneath him, willing him to start moving again, but it didn’t work. He seemed to enjoy frustrating her. Luckily, he was really hot while he was doing it.

“Alexa.” He ran his hands through her hair, then down the sides of her face once, twice. “Tell me. You know I want to hear you say it.”

She took a deep breath and reminded herself that it was just one night, that she didn’t need to be embarrassed. She took his hand in hers and moved it to where she wanted it.

“Kiss me?” It had worked so well the first time.

He smiled and bent down to her.

“That’s a start,” he said.

Oh wow. Making out with him in bed was even better than it had been against the door. Now he knew what she liked, the moves that made her moan and gasp and sink her fingers into his shoulders.

He sat up and smiled down at her, his eyes on her bright red panties. She mentally thanked Maddie for ordering her to wear a matching bra and panty set. Then all thoughts of Maddie and anyone else left her mind. He moved like a flash down her body, pulling those panties off as he went and throwing them across the room. And then he set about doing things to her with his fingers and his mouth that almost made her black out.