Slow Hands

beg again. Jake lifted her legs completely until her calves rested on his huge, bare shoulders. Holding her hips and lifting her wet, tender core toward him, he plunged into her with sudden, shocking force.
    Maddy screamed at the power of it, so filled by him she didn’t think she’d ever feel whole again if he stopped making love to her.
    He froze. “Maddy? You okay?”
    One hand moved to her face, his thumb tracing her parted lips. She bit it lightly, already rocking up toward him, greedily demanding more as he began to pull away. “As long as you’re not stopping, I am just fine.”
    “Then I guess I’m not stopping.”
    He pulled out, thrust again, the firmness of the floor beneath his feet giving him incredible control. Maddy was helpless to do anything but love every stroke, to gasp when he went fast, to whimper when he slowed down.
    And finally, when he reached between their bodies and caressed her swollen clit, to cry out her release moments before he attained his.
    Only then did he scoot her back and fall on top of her, both of them falling into a sudden and unexpected sleep, still joined in every single way.

11
    T HEY WERE LATE . Quite a bit late, considering they’d fallen asleep and hadn’t awoken until twenty minutes before the rehearsal start time. Jake had made up as much time as he could behind the wheel of Maddy’s car, but they still pulled into the church parking lot not a minute before seven forty-five.
    “Oh, damn,” Maddy whispered, seeing all the cars. Then, in a hopeful tone, she added, “I don’t see Tabby’s convertible. Maybe she’s not here yet.”
    Or maybe she’d ridden with her father, her fiancé, or any other member of the bridal party, he thought. Not that he said so aloud.
    When they got inside and saw Maddy’s very anxious father rushing toward them with an expectant expression, he figured Maddy had been right.
    “Is Tabitha with you?”
    “No, she’s not.” Maddy glanced toward the group of people clustered at the front of the church, then back at the closed doors through which they’d just come.
    “Please tell me your sister isn’t going to do this again.”
    “Again?” Jake whispered before remembering the previous wedding, and the previous broken engagement. Or engagement s ?
    “Have you called her?” Maddy asked.
    “I have. Everybody has.”
    “Where’s Bradley?”
    “He was late, too,” Jason Turner said. Finally noticing Jake’s presence, the man offered him a friendly smile, appearing pleased to see Maddy on his arm, despite his anxiety. “He arrived fifteen minutes ago and went right into the minister’s office without talking to anyone, not even his parents.”
    Sounded unusual. Jake’s senses went on alert. But when he heard the door behind them open, and saw the relieved look on Jason Turner’s face—and on Maddy’s—he figured maybe his instincts were slightly off. This time.
    “I’m so sorry!” exclaimed the bride, a tall, slim blonde, who looked about as much like Maddy as he resembled George of the Jungle—the cartoon one. “There was an issue with the lobster for tomorrow, then I had to deal with some problems with the fountains and the fireworks.”
    Yeesh. Lobster, fountains and fireworks. Was this a wedding or a state dinner?
    “Bradley is here?” she asked, her tone hardening.
    “Yes, of course,” her father said, taking her arm to lead her to the front of the church. “Don’t worry, he was late, too.”
    “I know,” the woman said.
    Seeing the way Tabitha’s spine stiffened, her shoulders squared and her head came up, as if she was preparing herself for an ordeal, he couldn’t help wondering at the not-so-happy bride’s mood. It seemed to be more than simply annoyance.
    Neither her father nor her sister, who both appeared relieved, even noticed. Especially not when the bride swept toward the front of the church, expecting—and getting—the small crowd to part in front of her.
    Yeah. About what he’d anticipated, from all Maddy had said. Tabby seemed to be exactly the self-absorbed woman he’d pictured. She’d probably kept everyone waiting intentionally, just so she could make her grand entrance.
    Throughout the brief rehearsal, though, as he watched from the back of the church, he began to wonder about those strained undercurrents he couldn’t help noticing. Not from everyone. Maddy seemed fine—more than fine, in fact. She was beautiful, still flushed from the love they’d made, as he’d