“Their teeth, huh?” Sasha asked, and then she remembered her conversation with Bridget earlier. “You’re a dentist.”
“Yes.” Vince grinned. “A pediatric dentist.”
“Oh.” Sasha covered her mouth with her hand, wondering if he’d already inspected her teeth.
“Don’t worry. You have a nice set of teeth.” It was as if he’d read her mind. “I’ve already checked them out.”
“You are...something else.” Sasha smiled and shook her head. She found herself more engaged than she wanted to be.
She raised her glass to alert Jake that she needed another Brown Russian, and before long she’d polished off three. Suddenly Vince’s jokes became outrageously funny, and Sasha found herself laughing long and hard—and loudly. Vince pulled his chair around closer to Sasha, until she could feel his breath on her neck. His cologne crept its way into her nostrils.
“You smell wonderful,” she whispered.
His lips pressed themselves against hers, and his tongue teased the inside of her mouth. Whatever good sense she had was out the window as Vince took her to a new level of delight. His huge hand palmed her head and pulled her closer, and she wondered what that hand would feel like on her breast and even between her thighs. It had been a very long time since she’d even been kissed by a man. With his gentle touch, Vince had awakened every sensation in her and she got lost in the moment. She simply got lost.
* * *
As the bright sunshine beamed through her window and crept across her face, Sasha slowly and reluctantly opened her eyes. Her head was pounding—the alcohol had proved to be a more powerful force than she thought. She groaned, regretting every Brown Russian that she’d indulged in with a man whom she barely knew. It was her sister’s wedding day, and she knew she wouldn’t have the luxury of recovering from her awful hangover. She needed to meet the other girls for hair and makeup at eleven. And the nuptials were scheduled to take place at noon. As much as it pained her, she needed to know what time it was, and she slowly turned her aching head to look at the digital clock on the nightstand.
With a loud shriek, she jumped out of bed.
“What are you doing here?” she asked Vince, who was nestled beneath the crisp white sheets in her bed. She grabbed her thick bathrobe from the chair and wrapped it around her naked body. “Oh, my God! Did you...did we?”
“Did we make love?” Vince was calm and didn’t move.
“Did we have sex?”
“Having sex sounds so cheap and lustful. Making love sounds so much more passionate.” Vince smiled and sat up in bed.
“Oh, no, this is bad. This is so bad. I never sleep with guys on the first date. Was this even a date?”
“I’d say it was a date,” he mused.
“This isn’t funny, Vince. We barely even know each other.” Sasha plopped down into the chair. Her hands covered her face as she contemplated her predicament.
A loud knock on the door shook her from her thoughts.
“Sasha!” Her mother’s voice wasn’t one that she needed to hear at the moment. “Sasha, honey, open up! It’s Mom.”
“Shh,” Sasha mouthed to Vince as she pressed her index finger against her lips.
Charlotte knocked again. “Sasha, are you in there? You have hair and makeup in thirty minutes.”
Sasha’s heart pounded while her mother knocked two more times. She hoped Charlotte hadn’t talked housekeeping into giving her a spare key to the room. Vince stood and slipped his jeans on and buckled his belt. Sasha took in the curve of his bare chest and arms. She wondered if those arms had held her hips steady in the middle of the night or if they’d wrapped themselves around her naked body just hours before.
Sasha sighed with relief when her mother stopped knocking. She was gone.
“You have to go,” she told Vince. “If I know Charlotte Winters, she’ll be back. And she won’t knock next time.”
Vince buttoned his silk shirt and slipped his loafers on his feet. He walked over to Sasha, pulled her up from the chair and wrapped his strong arms around her. When he pressed his lips against hers, she didn’t pull away. Her open mouth welcomed his tongue. He stopped in midkiss, leaving her longing for more.
“See you at the altar,” he said and then exited her condo.
Chapter 4
With fingers intertwined, Sasha held on tightly to the small bouquet of mandarin-colored lilies. The small hotel conference room had been transformed into a quaint little wedding chapel. Although the couple was supposed to exchange vows on the beach, the wedding had unexpectedly been moved inside because of a few little sprinkles of rain. Her sister looked as if she’d just stepped out of the pages of Black Bride & Groom magazine, with her chic and stylish strapless Vera Wang gown and its flowing train. Bridget was a picture of beauty as their father escorted her down the aisle, delivering her to her husband-to-be. Her hair flowing against her shoulders and her makeup flawless, she looked happier than Sasha had ever seen her. Derrick looked proud as he awaited her arrival.
Sasha stole a glance at the best man, and he gave her a sly grin and a wink. The night before had been a blur, and she struggled with the thought that she’d slept with a man whom she barely knew. She wondered what it had been like. She didn’t know. All she remembered after four Brown Russians was a romantic walk along the beach before ultimately passing out. Vince must’ve carried her to her condo, because she couldn’t for the life of her remember walking there. He’d obviously undressed her and took advantage of her limp and helpless body.
She glared at him. He looked confused as to why she looked at him that way. He offered an apologetic smile. She rolled her eyes and directed her attention to the bride and groom and the gray-haired Bahamian minister who read Scriptures from a tattered Bible. She would simply ignore him for the remainder of the afternoon, and soon she’d be on a plane headed for Savannah. She would never have to see Vince again if she played her cards right. She could successfully avoid him for the rest of her life, except for those awkward moments when they both would be invited to Derrick and Bridget’s home at the same time. She’d cross that bridge when she got to it, but for now, Vince Sullivan did not exist in her world.
Avoiding him wasn’t as easy as she expected, especially when he decided to unexpectedly grab her by the waist and whisk her onto the dance floor at the reception.
“Are you avoiding me, Sasha Winters?” he asked as they slow-danced to Beyonce’s version of Etta James’s “At Last.”
“Yes,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because you’re a predator,” she growled. “You took advantage of me while I was in a vulnerable state.”
“You were drunk, girl. Plain and simple,” he said. “And I’ll have you know, you tried to take advantage of me!”
“What? You’re insane.” Sasha lowered her voice and then looked around the room. The bride and groom danced cheek to cheek just a few feet away.
“Am I?”
“Yes!” she shouted and then looked around at the questioning eyes in the room—namely Bridget, who gave her a look that said what’s going on with you two? She lowered her voice. “Yes, you are insane if you think that I took advantage of you.”
“You’re right. It was the other way around,” he whispered in her ear, his breath warm and gentle against her earlobe. “I took you back to your room, slowly undressed you. I stood there for a moment...took in the beauty of your sexy naked body. Your breasts were so round and firm and plump. And your nipples...they were so hard. I placed them between my lips one