She’d arrived late and sat to the side behind tall urns filled with lilies during the ceremony. She’d run to the bathroom when the band struck the first note in the ballroom in the old house. Not until she was sure everyone was deep into their drinks had she started to mingle, always with an eye for where Cutter was.

When she’d seen him and Wade head out the door, glowering at each other and rolling up their sleeves, she hadn’t been able to resist joining the throng pushing through the doors to watch the fight.

She’d kept behind everyone, standing on tiptoe to catch a glimpse.

Cutter’s back had been to her for most of the fight and she’d drunk in the sight of his broad shoulders and thick arms and thighs as his muscles tensed. Watching the two men go at it like latter-day gladiators had sent a thrill of heat through her body unlike anything she’d felt in a long, long time.

When Cutter’s glance had panned the porch and honed in on her, she’d taken a step back, hoping he didn’t know it was her because she didn’t want to leave just yet.

Weddings were always roller coasters. Happy, tense times for the participants; poignant reminders to observers. She’d clutched a tissue in her hand throughout the ceremony, envying the smiles the bride and groom and best man had shared.

All the while she couldn’t help thinking that she might have been the one up there, standing exactly where Dani stood, gazing into Cutter’s eyes as he slipped a ring on her finger—if only she hadn’t strayed.

Infidelity wasn’t something Cutter would ever forgive. She couldn’t forgive herself. So she’d been a little tipsy. She’d been more than a little frustrated with how slowly Cutter had taken his courtship. Grown angrier the more she drank that fateful night with the fact he held the reins in their relationship and didn’t seem to notice she wasn’t happy with the pace.

Justin hadn’t had to work all that hard to get into her bed. But even before he’d rolled off her, she’d known she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life.

Katie slipped from the ballroom, and headed down the hallway toward the living room and the front door. She’d tortured herself long enough with regrets. It was time to go home.

Just as she stepped into the living room, an arm reached around the corner, fingers closed around her wrist and whipped her toward a massive chest. The scent of spicy cologne, dust and male sweat assailed her, and she knew who held her inside his tight grip even before she raised her eyes.

Cutter tsked. “Katie Grissom. Funny, I know you weren’t on the list of invitees.”

Reluctantly, Katie lifted her gaze from the open collar of his shirt to meet his cognac-colored gaze. The color had always seemed so warm, so inviting, but now with angry color in his cheeks, his narrowed eyes made her heart kick into a panicked flutter.

She licked her lips. “Maybe I’m a guest.”

“Then where’s your date? Maybe I should return you to his side.” His narrowed gaze and the bruising on his cheek and jaw lent him a sinister air. “Just to make sure you don’t forget who you came with.”

Katie pulled on her hand, attempting to break his hold, but he was stronger, more determined to keep her captive than she was to escape. One side of his mouth drew up in a nasty smirk.

She stopped fighting and blew out a frustrated breath. “All right, so I crashed your party alone. I was just on my way out.”

Cutter’s face hardened and his thighs crowded against hers. “Why are you here, Katie? Did you miss Justin?”

Her body betrayed her, heat softening her core. Could he feel her belly quivering against his? She shook her head. “No, I’m happy for him. Although I really think Dani deserves better.”

He grunted, and then pressed her wrists against her lower back, bringing her closer still.

Katie wished she hadn’t had the wicked urge to go completely commando when she’d dressed. There was no way Cutter missed the fact her nipples were tight and digging into his chest.

“Miss me?” he whispered.

Katie opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell, but the anger in his taut expression halted her. Did she want him mad enough to goose walk her to the door or just mad enough to make him let loose some of the feral tension vibrating through his body?

Isn’t this exactly what she’d wanted when she’d donned the little dress this morning, forgoing every scrap of underwear for a lavish coat of lotion to make sure every curve glided beneath the scrape of a callused palm?

She licked her lips and tilted her hips—just enough to brush her belly against the thickening ridge of his cock. Oh yeah, she’d felt it.

His darkening glance said he had too.

“Guess you did,” he growled. “Or were you being that particular when you got dressed?”

His words stung, but her body trembled from sensory overload. Cutter was too much man for her to make the smart choice and shove away from him.

Katie dropped her gaze and tugged one hand free to slip the buttons of his shirt open, one by one. When the opening exposed his bronzed chest and crisp, brown curls, she slid inside it and smoothed her palm over his hot, sweaty skin. “I’ve always been…particular.”

His chest expanded, and then he dragged her hand away, bringing it behind her back to shackle both inside one large fist. “Looks like you’ve got a choice,” he whispered.

“Doesn’t seem that way to me,” she said just as softly, tugging at her hands—more for show, because she didn’t really want to be free.

His face bent toward hers, and her lips parted. But instead of the kiss she craved, he nuzzled into her hair beside her ear. “You know where the door is. You decide one way—don’t let it slam you in the ass.”

Katie shuddered as he inhaled along her cheek, like an animal scenting prey. “Or?” she managed to force through her tight throat.

He straightened and his glance cut to the stairway leading to the upper floor and the bedrooms.

Her eyes widened. “But you have guests.”

“Who are busy sucking down alcohol at the moment. They won’t miss me.”

Cutter turned her in his arms and jerked her closer, pressing every inch of himself against her backside. His free hand skimmed up the hem of her short dress, sliding up her thigh to the curve of her bare bottom where his hand paused.

She stood still while his body tightened even more against her and his hand slipped forward, over the top of her thigh before gliding right between her legs.

His breath hissed between his teeth even as his fingers slid over her smooth pussy and into moisture.

Katie didn’t care that at any moment someone might walk down the hallway and see them like this, with his hand under her skirt, her pussy exposed. She braced apart her legs and let her back bow around her bound hands to lay her shoulders against his chest.

His strong, thick fingers traced the waxed outer folds, then tucked between them to skim over the sensitive inner lips. A single digit dipped inside her entrance and swirled.

Her legs trembled, her knees nearly buckling beneath her.

His hand withdrew from beneath her skirt, and Cutter loosened his grip on her wrists, freeing her, and stepped back. “Choose,” he said, in an even voice.

Katie glanced over her shoulder, thinking fast. She knew this wasn’t the answer to all their problems, but she wasn’t backing down from the challenge in his rigid face. If she ever hoped for another chance…this was it.

She rubbed her wrists, stiffened her spine, then turned in her high-heeled sandals and sauntered toward the stairs.