“Let me escort you to your table, good sir.” A roguish wink and a waggle of eyebrows had me laughing. “I have to sit with the wedding party for dinner, but you’re close by. I’ll totally be able to turn around and talk to you.”
* * * *
The next few hours passed in a blur of good food, conversation, and laughter, and a few speeches. Mr. Peters gave a speech that made Lincoln cry and get up and hug his father. Monroe’s was, predictably, full of laughter and charm. The Matron of Honor, whom I learned was James’s sister Michelle, was eloquent and thoughtful, and it was clear she loved her brother very much.
All in all, it was perfect. Exactly what a wedding should be. The love was clear and permeated the room, everyone was happy, and the tension that had stiffened Lincoln’s shoulders this afternoon was gone. James and Lincoln took to the floor for their first dance, and I was entranced by the way they literally could not look away from each other. The wedding party joined in for the next song, and laughter sounded as the groomsmen all danced with each other.
With dinner and the first dances finished, James and Lincoln cut the cake and fed each other their first bite. Thankfully there was no face-smashing. I always thought that was a mean thing to do, and I would have been disappointed to see these men do it to each other. But there was nothing but love pouring off them.
Honestly, the whole evening felt like magic.
Monroe appeared beside me again. Damn, he was stealthy. But I grinned when he took my hand and gestured with his head to the side door that led to the terrace. I happily followed along, glad to get a break from all the noise for a minute. I was surprised when he kept walking, down onto the grounds and onto the path that led to the pond.
Elise had hired a groundskeeper once she’d taken over her family’s estate. It had been nothing more than an occasional vacation home for decades until Elise decided to turn it into a resort catering to LGBTQ couples. Dylan Locklear had done wonders over the past two years, turning the once dilapidated and overgrown grounds into breathtaking vistas.
I’d been here a lot over the past couple of years. Elise was one of my biggest customers, both for her own floral arrangements and steering brides and grooms my way. I’d gotten to see the transformation firsthand. But my favorite place on the whole property was the pond, with the benches on the shore and the strategically placed wisteria trees that were finally growing in to provide cover. Dylan had planted allium, hyacinths, and peonies for splashes of color. It was so beautiful that sometimes I snuck over here when I needed down-time.
I could still faintly hear the music from the reception—the pond was only maybe fifty yards from the house—but the trees gave it a private, closed-off feeling, as if we were the only two people in the world. Dusk had given way to night, and a bright moon and stars shone in the sky.
I couldn’t have created a more romantic moment if I’d tried.
But Monroe took it up a notch. With a sweeping bow and a wicked grin, he asked, “Dance with me?”
I nodded and he pulled me into his arms. We swayed to the barely audible music, our bodies pressed together from chest to knees. Monroe was only a couple of inches taller than my five-foot-eight, and we fit together perfectly. I pressed my forehead to the side of his neck, tried to ignore my dick as it got hard in my pants, and just enjoyed slow-dancing with Monroe.
“Damn, West.” Monroe’s voice sounded like tires on gravel, and it sent a shiver through my body. “You’re gorgeous out here, in my arms, in the moonlight.”
“You’re very charming,” I whispered.
Monroe chuckled. “I can be. But I’m also serious. The day we met, I was ready to kiss you senseless. Now I want to do so much more.”
The promise in his tone was enough to be my undoing. I lifted my head and looked straight into his eyes. “Oh, yeah? Then why don’t you?”
He growled out a groan that went straight to my cock, then he shifted his grip, tugging me even tighter against him, and lowered his lips to mine. The instant our mouths touched, fire exploded in my veins. The simmering attraction between us overflowed, and it took everything in me to keep from climbing him.
He commanded the kiss without being overbearing, made me want to give him everything instead of just taking it, and before I realized it, I was grinding on his leg that had somehow pushed its way between my thighs while he devoured my mouth. Lips, teeth, tongue, heat and power, and I was lost to it all.