Knock! Knock!!
I felt a lurch in my heart when I heard the crisp knocks on my hotel room door. It was as if I was kicked in the chest by an angry horse and for a few seconds, I remained frozen in my bed. However, the knocks came again, I felt the sweat break out all over my palms as I clasped my hands together. I knew who it was, but I didn't want to believe it.
"Who is it?" I asked, my breath was shaky as I pushed myself up to my feet and slowly made my way to the door. "I'm not in the mood for a visitor right now, go away!"
"Open the door, Casey." A deep baritone replied through the door, "Please."
I leaned against the door, pressing my forehead against the warm wood as the chill of the air-conditioned room enveloped me.
No Casey, I warned myself. Don't do this! Kira doesn't deserve this! Don't do this to your best friend!
However, as if my hands were operating of their own accord, I watched as they gently rose up to the bolt and my fingers gripped it, then slid it back. It flipped into place with a loud slap, mirroring how my heart beat in my chest.
I hurriedly stepped away from the door, as if I was terrified of what I had just opened it for. Then, it drew open and he walked in. As I stood there, Jace walked into my hotel room and filled it up. His beautiful face looked forlornly at me as I backed away from him as if he had the plague. He was dressed in an expensive two-piece suit that accentuated his form, he had on a gold wristwatch that seemed to trap all the light in the room.
As I stared at him, my heart turned to mush and the butterflies in my stomach began their dance. I looked at the gorgeous angel before me and realized that I was too far gone. I was too much in love with him and I was powerless against the strong feelings it was evoking within me. Unfortunately, he wasn't just the man I was in love with, he was also my best friend's fiancé. And even worse, they were both my clients because I had been hired to plan their wedding and charged to make it the wedding of the century!
Now, as I stared at him, I felt all the misgivings fly out the window. I loved Kira with all my heart, but I couldn't help falling in love with her fiancé. I tried so hard to fight it, but it was hard to fight the feelings especially when I knew they both loathed each other.
Jace stepped closer to me and I kept stepping backward until I felt the back of my knees strike the bed.
"Please, stop running from me," Jace said quietly as he stopped before me. "Avoiding me only prolongs the inevitable. Casey, you already know my feelings for you. I love you, and I know you love me. Why then are you making me work so hard for this?"
"Are you kidding me?" I pushed out from between him and the bed and walked to stand somewhere else, "you're engaged to my girlfriend! Your wedding is in a month; a wedding I'm planning!"
"You know how Kira and I feel about each other, this is only a contract marriage! We're only trying to merge our companies, that's all! I don't love anything at all about her! You're the only one I love, Casey."
"Do you think that makes me happy? Contract or not, I can't ruin my best friend's wedding. I know what this marriage means to her, I know what it means to her family. I cannot do this to her! I've already made the mistake of falling in love with her man, I can't hurt her any further."
Jace stopped as he stared at me, "what did you just say?"
"Just leave me alone, okay?"
"You just said you're in love with me!" Jace wasn't going to let it go. "I know I heard you clearly."
"Come on…" I looked away, folding my arms over my chest.
"No…" Jace hurried over to me, "Don't you dare do that. This is the first time you're telling me your true feelings, you have no idea how happy you just made me."
"Jace…" my voice was weak as he slowly cupped my chin.
"Shhh…" he silenced me, running his thumb across my bottom lip. "No, you can't take it back, my love. See, are we in a mess? Fuck yeah, I know that for sure. But the only time I'm ever really happy is when I'm with you. You can't just expect me to let go of that. I'm in love with you, Casey. Do you get that? I'm in love with you!"
"Kira-" I was about to give another reason why we would never work when he crushed his lips against mine, effectively silencing me.
The moment his lips touched mine, I felt electricity surge through my body. It was like the drug I had always wanted but I never knew until I tasted it. My lips parted of their own accord and I felt his tongue clash against mine as he held my face in place, kissing me deeply.
All of a sudden, he pulled away. Breathing hard as he stared at me, he held me at arm's length as if he could trust me to be any closer.
"I'm sorry," he was breathing heavily as he struggled not to look into my eyes. "It's just… it's just that I've been wanting to kiss you for so long. I just couldn't resist. Casey, you have no idea the effect you have on me."
I stared at him in shock, he was the one without an idea of the effect he had on me. Since his lips left mine, I felt a gaping hole and I felt empty. It was so bad and all I could think about was kissing him again. As he let go of my arms, trying to step away, I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back to me.
I knew it was a bad idea and it was one I was most likely going to regret, but in that moment, I didn't care. All I could think about was getting Jace's lips on mine and kissing him all over again.
Our lips met once more, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him as close as I could to my person while our tongues danced with passion within our mouths. I felt his hands run down the length of my back, tracing my spine before resting possessively over my butt and squeezing. This sent darts of pleasure shooting through my body, sending me pressing my body against him.
The more I kissed him, the more I wanted more of him. I could feel his hard chest pressed against my breasts and I just wanted to feel him even closer. I wanted to feel his skin against mine. I grabbed his jacket and without thinking, I yanked it apart, buttons popped as the two-piece spread. His shirt was Velcro, so it was easy to pull apart, exposing his bare skin to me.
Unable to stop myself, I kissed his neck deeply, then sucked on his abs, making him groan uncontrollably. He suddenly grabbed me and lifted me, cupping my butt as he carried me to the bed. All the while, our lips remained locked.
Without a word, he threw me down on the bed and looked down at me, his breath was coming in fast. I could see the lust in his eyes. He climbed in beside me on the bed, running his hand along my side as he cupped my breast, making me shiver as he played with my nipple through the thin material of my blouse. I stifled a gasp as he took hold of my blouse and raised it, revealing my bra.
Ring! Ring!! Ring!!!
The jarring sound of my phone's factory ringtone tore through the passion, forcing my eyes open and clearing the fogs of lust at once. My heart was beating heavily in my chest as I stared at Jace over me.
What the fuck am I doing in bed with him?
"Ignore it!" He ordered as the phone kept ringing, he didn't stop raising my blouse until he took it off and then tossed it to the side. With his fingers on my body, I couldn't think straight. The fog was back, clouding my senses and making me want more of his touch.
When the phone stopped ringing, he expertly reached behind me, searching for the clasp of the bra. His lips lowered once more onto mine, kissing me feverishly. I felt the first clasp go. Then the second one loosened, and the third went as well, making the bra loose over my chest. He slowly withdrew his hand from my back and was about to take the bra off…
Ring! Ring!! Ring!!!
This time around, I didn't listen to him, I pushed away from him and rolled on the bed to the bedside stool where my phone was ringing incessantly. I picked up the phone and stared at the screen, at once it was as if cold water had been poured all over me.
I sat up at once, clutching my bra against my breasts as I slid across the bed, getting as far away from Jace as I could.
"Who is that?" He asked, "talk to me, Casey."
"It's your fiancé," I told him flatly as I showed him the screen. "Kira is calling me!"