“You’re probably not going to think this is good news, but she also blabbed to Julie, who probably told Ryan.”

He glanced at her. “Your grandmother told your sister we had sex?”

“Oh, yeah. I had a couple of very shouty e-mails from Julie. She’s afraid she’s missing out.”

And he wanted a family why?

“What did you tell her?” he asked.

“That I’d share all the details when she got back.” She smiled at him. “We’re very close.”

He had a feeling she was kidding. Or maybe that was wishful thinking on his part. Women did talk and he had no idea what they said to each other. Like every other normal guy on the planet, he didn’t want to know.

“I’m sorry Ruth is being a pain,” he said. “Can you ignore her or should I say something?”

“As I’m not the one she’s calling, ignoring works for me. Are you going to have problems ignoring her?”

“No.” He loved Ruth, but she didn’t get to tell him what to do. He knew she wanted him married and that wasn’t happening.

“That sex thing was probably a mistake,” Marina said quietly. “It’s good we’re never doing it again.”

He thought about how great they’d been together. How much he’d enjoyed pleasing her, tasting her and touching her. How easily they’d talked and laughed. How much he still wanted her.

“I couldn’t agree more,” he said firmly.

The hotel was like something out of a movie, Marina thought as she and Todd strolled down wide, well decorated hallways to the ballroom overlooking the private garden.

They managed to slip inside without anyone asking them questions or accusing them of being there without an invitation, although she felt as if everyone in the room knew they were imposter guests.

“Relax,” Todd said as he slipped an arm around her waist. “There have to be at least three hundred people here. No one will notice us.”

“Okay, but no eating or drinking. We probably shouldn’t even sit down and take a real guest’s place.”

He smiled a her. “You’re not much of a rule-breaker, are you?”

“Only under very specific circumstances. Like the no more than four items in a dressing room rule. That one I’m good to break.”

They circled the ballroom, avoiding the tables clustered at one end and staying toward the dance floor. A waiter came by and offered some kind of puff pastry treat. Todd reached for it, but she pushed his hand away.

“We’re not supposed to eat,” she told him, her voice low and insistent.

He chuckled. “You’re making this too much fun.”

“We’re not here to have fun. This is serious. Okay, they’re setting up to play. This is good. We can listen, then leave.”

“Coward.”

“I’m ignoring you.” She watched the small orchestra seat themselves. “You’re right—there aren’t too many of them. So what are you thinking? The alcove in Grandma Ruth’s ballroom?”

“Or that space between the pillars. The sound would be better coming from there.”

“Good point. I just wish they’d start.”

A well-dressed older couple moved toward them.

“Kitty and Jason Sampson,” the woman said as she reached for Marina’s hand. “How good of you to come.”

Marina froze. They were caught!

But Todd smiled smoothly and responded. “Everything is lovely. Very impressive. Such a happy day.”

Kitty beamed. “Isn’t it? We’re so delighted.”

“Of course you are,” Todd told her.

Jason leaned down and kissed Marina’s cheek, then slapped Todd on the shoulder. “Thanks so much for joining us today. It means a lot.”

“We wouldn’t have missed this for anything.”

The Sampsons left.

Marina waited until they were out of earshot, then covered her face. “We’re going to hell. I can hear them etching our names on our chairs.”

“We get chairs in hell?”

She glared at him. “You know what I mean.”

“Nothing happened. We were polite and gracious. In five minutes, Kitty and Jason won’t remember us. Come on. You can handle this. Look, the orchestra is about to start.”

“Maybe. It’s not that I want to feel guilty,” she began.

“Then don’t. Come on. We’ll lurk in the corner and stay out of trouble.”

As he spoke, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side of the room. While his touch was totally casual, her body responded as if he’d just ripped off her dress and thrown her down on a table. Make that a bed…in a very private place, because her reaction was anything but outrage.

She melted from the inside out. The need to be with him nearly overwhelmed her, which was five kinds of crazy. They’d only been together that one night. Even though it had been a great time, it shouldn’t have made that much of an impact on her.

Still, she found herself wanting to be with him, but not just in a sexual way. She wanted to be in his arms, talking and laughing. Watching him smile, listening to his voice and hearing his unique perspective on the world. She wanted…more.

“Better?” he asked as they stopped in a corner of the room, close to the orchestra but out of the flow of guest traffic. “We’re practically acting like spies, hiding behind this potted tree.” He fingered a leaf. “Do you know what this is?”

“Not a clue. That’s Willow’s area of expertise. It looks real, though.” She allowed herself to relax. “Yes, this is much better. I can feel my guilt easing.”

“Excellent.”

He smiled at her. The answering quiver deep inside had something to do about his proximity, but not totally. Some of her reaction was just about him.

What was up with that?

Before she could figure out an answer, a waiter stopped by and offered them each a glass of champagne.

“The bride and groom will be here in a few minutes,” he said. “This is for the toast.”

Marina pulled free of Todd and tucked both her hands behind her back. “We can’t,” she whispered.

Todd took the two glasses and thanked the waiter. When the two of them were alone again, he offered one of the glasses.

“We have to,” he told her. “Not toasting the bride and groom would be tacky and rude.”

She bit her lower lip. “This is a very slippery slope. Okay, we’ll raise our glasses, but we can’t drink.”

He grinned. “Right, because after we put the glasses down, someone else will gladly finish off the contents? Face it, kid. You’re in this for a glass of champagne.”

Marina sighed. “Maybe we can find out Kitty and Jason’s favorite charity and make a donation.”

“You’re such a lightweight,” he told her as he put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “I like that about you.”

The quiver intensified.

A man who was probably the best man walked up to the microphone in front of the orchestra. “Ladies and gentlemen, will you please join me in welcoming Mr. and Mrs. Alex Sampson.”

Everyone cheered as the bride and groom entered the room.

“A toast,” the best man continued. “To a couple who defines love. May each day be better than the one before.”

He raised his glass. The guests all did the same. Marina winced, then raised hers and took a tiny sip of the illicit champagne.

Todd leaned close. “Dom Pérignon.”

“Really?” She took another sip. It was really nice. And honestly, if the families could afford that high-end champagne for the crowd, then maybe two stolen drinks weren’t that big a deal.

“I’ll accept the champagne,” she murmured, “but we’re not staying for dinner.”

“Absolutely not. Just for one dance.”

The orchestra began to play. The bride and groom stepped onto the dance floor and moved together.

Marina ignored them and instead focused on the smooth music. It was definitely more elegant than a DJ, but not really stuffy.

“Good choice,” she told him. “I like the orchestra. Now let’s go.”

“Not so fast.” He took her glass from her and set it on a small table next to them. Then he led her toward the dance floor.

“What?” She tried digging in her heels, but it was a hardwood floor and that was not going to happen. “We can’t dance.”

“Why not? Everyone else is.”

Sure enough several of the guests had moved into the center of the room and had joined the bride and groom. Marina decided that one dance wouldn’t hurt. It wasn’t as if they were eating anything. So she relaxed into Todd’s arms and found out that he had yet another talent she’d never considered. This was even better than their spin around the bridal shop dressing rooms.

“You’re good,” she said after he’d twirled her around and then neatly caught her. “Lessons?”

“Years of them.”

He pulled her close as the music slowed in tempo.

She rested her head on his shoulder. He had one of his hands on the small of her back. They pressed together in a way that was both sensual and enticing.

“We’ll leave after this song,” he said, speaking directly into her ear.

“Okay.”

“You want to get something to eat?”

“Sure.”

“Takeout?”

She raised her head and stared at him. Passion turned his eyes to the color of night.

He touched a finger to her mouth. “I know what you’re going to say,” he told her softly. “That we agreed we couldn’t do this again. That it would be a mistake for a lot of reasons. If that’s what you want, I won’t ask again. I’ve spent the past week telling myself why I have to let this go, but I can’t. I want you, Marina.”

They were words that would have cracked a wall a whole lot tougher than hers. “You had me at ‘takeout,’” she whispered. “Let’s go.”

They went to his place because it was closer. The seventeen-minute drive seem to last forever, possibly because Todd spent much of the time nibbling on her fingers. The combination of teeth and tongue and lips was amazingly arousing. More than once she’d been tempted to tell him to pull over and they could just do it in the car.

She held back because it was daylight, she wasn’t into being an exhibitionist and because a night in jail wasn’t on her to-do list for that day. Of course Todd hadn’t been, either, but she did try to be flexible when offered a wonderful opportunity.

They reached his house and piled out of the car. He opened the front door, pulled her inside, slammed the door shut behind her, flipped the lock and dragged her into his arms.

She went willingly, already anticipating the heat of his kiss.

He didn’t disappoint. His mouth was firm and hungry and he tasted like great champagne. Even as they touched and strained and did everything they could to climb inside each other, he swept his tongue into her mouth and began that passionate dance.

He circled her, teasing, exciting. She met him with moves of her own and then closed her lips around his tongue and sucked gently. He groaned. She felt his hardness press against her belly. She was already wet and swollen. Her br**sts ached. Deep inside she clenched in anticipation of what was to come.

He pulled back slightly and nudged her backward. “Bed,” he murmured against her neck. “Up. Go.”

The instructions would have been funny if she hadn’t been so eager. She forced herself to break free of his erotic kisses and hurried toward the stairs.

Before climbing, she kicked off her shoes. He did the same.

Halfway up, they stopped and kissed again. As he stirred her soul, he reached for her zipper and pulled. She pushed off his suit jacket, then began to loosen his tie. He pulled his shirt free.

While she wasn’t usually overly aggressive in bed, Marina didn’t think of herself as shy. So she took a step back, shrugged out of the dress and let it fall to her feet.

Underneath she wore a lavender lace bra and matching panties. Todd’s breath caught audibly. She reached behind herself, unfastened her bra, let that fall, as well, then turned and ran up the stairs.

It took him a second to follow, but when he did, he caught up quickly. At the second-floor landing, he lunged for her, grabbing her and pulling her to a stop. She laughed and spun toward him.

He was standing a step lower. He tore off his tie, unfastened his shirt and tossed it down, then leaned in and took her right nipple into his mouth.

He sucked and licked and circled until she could barely keep standing. She had to hold on to his shoulders and even so, her legs shook. The deep tugs caused an answering response low in her belly.

When he moved to her other breast, she felt herself starting to lose her balance. He must have sensed it, too, because he put his arms around her waist and lowered her to the top of the carpeted stairs.

She went willingly, wrapping her arms around him and enjoying the feel of his hot skin.

He raised his head. “We will make it to bed,” he told her.

“I’m in favor of that plan.”

He smiled. “But first…”

He reached for her panties and pulled them off in one quick movement. Then he shifted down a couple of stairs, urged her to part her legs and kissed her between them.

The intimate caress took her breath away. She had to brace herself on her arms to keep from falling over and even that wasn’t enough. Not with her already shaking in need.

He was as good as she remembered. Exploring, circling, stroking, licking, driving her to the edge, only to back off just enough to make her whimper.