Mr. Right-Now Read online

  Kate looked at her in surprise. “This weekend?”

  Rachel nodded. “No time like the present. And you know what they say, ‘what happens on San Juan Island, stays on San Juan Island.’”

  Kate gave her a wry look. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that.”

  “Well, they should. Besides, I have the perfect guy for you to have a fling with. Bob’s best man, Dawson McKenna.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Kate asked. “I’ve never even met him.”

  “Which is why he’s the perfect guy to have a no-strings-attached fling with. After this weekend, you won’t ever have to see him again, which means you can be as wild and uninhibited in bed as you want.”

  Kate shook her head. “You can’t honestly expect me to sleep with some guy I don’t even know.”

  “Did I mention he’s handsome, smart, and has an absolutely gorgeous body?” her friend asked.

  “You left that part out,” Kate said dryly. “But if he’s handsome, smart and has an absolutely gorgeous body, then why is he still single?”

  Rachel shrugged. “I don’t know and I don’t care. Neither should you. You’re not looking to marry the guy, remember? You’re just looking to have a good time with him.”

  “I don’t know, Rachel…” Kate began.

  “Honey, believe me, if I wasn’t already so in love with Bob, I’d be all over Dawson and his six-pack abs,” Rachel told her.

  “God, yes,” Melanie agreed.

  “Same here,” Briana said.

  “I’d do him,” Heather chimed in.

  “Me, too,” Kristen added, then sighed. “But since we’re all married, or about to be, we’ll just have to live vicariously through you.”

  Kate narrowed her eyes at the other girl. “So, by doing the best man, I’d be doing all of you a huge favor, is that what you’re saying?”

  Kristen grinned. “Exactly. As a matter of fact, I think it might be one of your duties as maid of honor.”

  “Uh-huh.” Kate sighed. “Look, I know you all mean well, but I’m just not the kind of girl who has a weekend fling with a guy.”

  “Even if he is as ridiculously hot as Dawson McKenna?” Kristen asked.

  “Even then,” Kate insisted.

  Beside her, Rachel exchanged looks with the other girls, then nodded. “Okay, okay, we won’t push you. But you might want to change your mind after you meet Dawson.”

  Kate didn’t think so and would have told her friend as much, but Bob and the rest of the men were already on their way over to the table, which effectively put an end to the girl talk. Curious to get a glimpse of this hunk her friends thought was so droolworthy, she was casually trying to get a look at him when she recognized the gorgeous guy from the ferry in their midst. He had exchanged the jeans and T-shirt for a pair of khaki pants and a button-up shirt, but there was there was no mistaking those ruggedly handsome features. She blinked in surprise. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Perfect was the best man?

  She glanced at Rachel curiously, hoping her friend would give her a conspiratorial wink to let her know if he was the best man or not, but the other girl was smiling up at her fiancé. “We were beginning to think we’d have to send out a search party.”

  Bob chuckled as he handed her a glass of white wine. “We were watching the game. We figured you’d be so busy talking that you wouldn’t notice we were missing.”

  Rachel gave Kate and the other girls a knowing look. “What did I tell you? Good thing the Mariners aren’t playing this weekend or we’d be getting married in front of a big-screen TV.”

  Although Kate laughed along with everyone else, she couldn’t keep her gaze from going back to Dawson McKenna. He was even more gorgeous up close. On the ferry, she hadn’t been able to tell what color his eyes were, but now she saw they were the most intriguing shade of golden brown and fringed with dark, sooty lashes. This guy was so good-looking, it should be illegal.

  Beside Kate, Rachel glanced her way. “Kate, this is Dawson McKenna, the best man. I think I might have mentioned him to you. Dawson, my maid of honor, Kate Gentry.”

  He flashed her a smile. “The maid of honor. Then this must be for you.” He held out a glass of wine. “Bob mentioned you’d come outside while we were at the bar, so we figured we should get you something, too. Hope white wine is okay?”

  Though Kate was vaguely aware of the glass in Dawson’s hand, she was so mesmerized by his voice, she couldn’t seem to make herself reach out to take it. When Rachel and the other girls were going on about how hot the best man was, they forgot to mention his voice was as sexy as the rest of him. She couldn’t remember ever feeling heat pool between her thighs at the sound of a man’s voice. Damn, with a voice as deep and velvety as his, Dawson could probably read to her from the dictionary and her pussy would be purring like she was a cat in heat.

  Kate absently wondered if the only reason she was so hot and bothered by this guy was because her friends had gone on and on about how beddable he was. Had they planted a subliminal suggestion?

  She didn’t realize how long she’d been sitting there gazing up at Dawson until Rachel nudged her foot underneath the table. Abruptly aware of the amusement on the other girls’ faces, Kate blushed. Well, what did they expect? They were the ones who made a big thing about what a hunk Dawson was in the first place. It wasn’t her fault they’d been right.

  Ignoring them, Kate returned Dawson’s smile and reached out to take the glass. “White wine is perfect. Thank you.”

  Rachel said, “I was just reminding the girls we’re playing croquet tomorrow. We’re going to be in teams of two, so I thought maybe you and Kate could pair up, Dawson. Is that okay with you?”

  Kate stifled a groan. So much for Rachel not pushing Dawson on her. She couldn’t be angry with her friend, though. Like Kristen said, Dawson was ridiculously hot. Maybe having a fling with him wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Good heavens, how could she even be thinking of doing that? Weekend flings were not her style.

  “Fine by me.” He lifted a brow. “Kate?”

  For some reason, her name sounded provocative on his tongue, and between her thighs, her pussy quivered. She barely managed to resist sliding her hand between her legs to touch herself as she gave him a nod. “Sounds good.” She looked up at him from beneath lowered lashes. “Though I do have to warn you, I’ve never played croquet before.”

  He gave her a sexy smile. “I have. I can show you a few things, if you want.”

  Kate’s pulse quickened at the suggestive words. While she kept trying to convince herself she didn’t do casual sex, her mind was telling her something completely different. Right now, she was imagining all the wicked things she wanted Dawson to show her and none of them had anything to do with croquet.

  Underneath the table, Rachel nudged her foot again. Kate pretended not to notice as she sipped her wine.

  As if apparently satisfied with her efforts to get Operation Get-Kate-Laid in motion, Rachel changed the subject, talking about the rest of the events she had planned for the weekend. Though Kate joined in the conversation, her gaze kept straying to Dawson. Every time it did, she caught him looking her way and their eyes would inevitably meet, sending little shivers of sexual excitement through her body. She didn’t know why Dawson was having such an effect on her. It wasn’t like she’d never been around a good-looking guy before. She just usually didn’t spend the time mentally undressing them and fantasizing about all the ways she’d like to have sex with them, like she was doing now. Again, it must be all that talk with her girlfriends about having a weekend fling. It was making her think all kind of lusty thoughts.

  As she took another sip of wine, Kate studied Dawson from underneath her lashes, letting her gaze wander over his wide shoulders and broad chest. Regardless of her earlier protests, the thought of having a fling with him was definitely tempting. But could she really let herself go enough to have a fun-filled weekend of meaningless sex if a long-term relationship wasn’t even on the table?
She wasn’t sure.

  Kate felt her resolve slip a little more when Dawson’s leg brushed hers as he sat down next to her at the table in the hotel restaurant a little while later. Just feeling the heat of his body that close to her was enough to make her knees weak. She could only imagine what it would be like for their naked bodies to be intertwined.

  Maybe her girlfriends had the right approach after all. Maybe she did need to stop looking for Mr. Right and have fun with Mr. Right-Now. At least for this weekend. Trouble was, she didn’t know how to go about it. How did one proposition a guy for a weekend of meaningless sex anyway? She was better at twenty questions and checklists than come-on lines and sexual innuendos.

  Figuring she should at least say something to him so he wouldn’t think she was a wallflower, Kate glanced at Dawson as she placed her napkin on her lap. “So, how do you and Bob know each other?”

  Not exactly a sexy come-on line, but it was the best she could do at the moment.

  Dawson took the menu the waitress handed him before answering. “We went to college together.”

  “Oh. Are you an architect too, then?”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m a civil engineer for the city of Seattle.”

  She nodded. “Which means you build roads and bridges and things, right?”

  The corner of his mouth edged up. “I don’t actually build them, I just design them. I leave the hard work to someone else.”

  She laughed. “I don’t know about that. Using all that complicated math seems pretty hard to me. I’m lucky I can balance my checkbook.”

  He chuckled, the sound a deep, sexy rumble that made her feel warm all over. “What about you? What kind of work do you do?”

  “I work for an advertising agency in Seattle,” she said.

  “You live in Seattle, too? Small world. Are you in the marketing side of advertising or do you work in the art department?”

  “Marketing.”

  “Do you like it?”

  Her lips curved into a smile. “Most days.”

  Kate supposed talking about their respective careers wasn’t very high up on the list of ways to seduce a man, but as Dawson told her about the current project he was working on while they had dinner, she discovered she liked listening to his voice too much to care. Besides, she still found plenty of ways to flirt with him while they talked, like lightly touching his arm or brushing her leg against his underneath the table.

  It was then that Kate realized she was no longer thinking in the abstract about having sex with Dawson. Damn, she really wanted to get him into bed. After the initial shock of that stunner wore off, another thought occurred to her. If she was trying to let Dawson know she wanted to sleep with him, she was doing a really crappy job of it. While he certainly seemed to enjoy talking to her, she didn’t think he was picking up on any of her come-get-me signals. If she was serious about wanting this guy to take her to bed, then she was going to have to be a little bit more obvious with her desires.

  Taking a deep breath, she slipped her hand underneath the table and rested it lightly on his upper thigh. Then she licked her lips seductively and gave him her best sultry look as she told him about the latest ad campaign she was working on. From the way his eyebrow rose, she could tell Dawson had finally picked up on what she was trying to tell him. He leaned in a little closer and slipped his own hand under the table to run his fingers up and down her bare thigh. His touch immediately sent electric sparks dancing along her leg. She smiled. Now we’re talking.

  By the time Rachel and Bob announced they were going to call it a night, Kate was getting a lot more forward than she ever had in her life. As they talked, she let her fingers trail all the way up Dawson’s leg until they were dangerously close to his cock before moving back down to his knee and doing it all over again. From the look in his eye, she had no doubt he was enjoying their foreplay just as much as she was.

  “And remember,” Rachel added as she pushed in her chair. “Croquet starts promptly at noon tomorrow on the back lawn, so don’t be late.”

  Around the table, the other couples began pushing their chairs back and getting to their feet as well. Kate reluctantly did the same. She would have rather stayed there at the table with Dawson and seen where their wandering hands would lead. Their friends were all leaving to go to their rooms, though, and it would look odd if she and Dawson sat there alone. So if she wanted to continue getting frisky with him, she was going to have to find another place to do it.

  She was reaching for her purse as Rachel came up to her.

  “You and Dawson certainly hit it off,” the other girl said. “I knew you would.”

  Kate looked around for Dawson, worried he might overhear and think Rachel was trying to set them up, but he was standing a few feet away talking to Bob. “You were right,” she told Rachel, trying to make her voice sound as casual as possible. “He’s very nice.”

  “Nice. Uh-huh. Don’t think I didn’t see where your hand was going during dessert. You are so busted, girl.” Rachel reached into her purse and dug around. A moment later, she pressed something into Kate’s hand. “Here. You might need this.”

  Kate looked down to find a condom packet in her hand. Afraid Dawson might see it, she quickly closed her fingers around it. She gave her friend an incredulous look. “You carry these around in your purse?”

  Rachel grinned. “I’m like the boy scouts, I’m always prepared. And now you are, too.”

  Kate shook her head. “I won’t need it.”

  Rachel shrugged. “Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. And trust me, I think you’re going to need it.”

  Kate opened her mouth to reply, but her friend had already turned away. Short of running after the other girl and shoving the condom in her hand, Kate had no choice but to put it in her purse.

  Rachel looped her arm through her fiancé’s. “Ready to go have mad monkey sex?” she asked teasingly.

  Bob’s blue eyes danced with amusement. “Race you to the elevator.”

  Though Kate couldn’t help but laugh as the couple practically ran from the restaurant, her gaze was wistful as she followed them. She’d never been that eager to be alone with any of the men she dated.

  Dawson walked over to stand beside her. “Do you want to go to the bar for a drink?”

  Kate hesitated. The bar was certainly much more intimate than the restaurant, so it would be the perfect place to carry on what they’d been doing underneath the table earlier. That would certainly be fun, but if she was really going to do this, why waste time in the bar? She caught her lower lip between her teeth, then tilted her head a little to the side and gave him what she hoped was a sexy look.

  “Or we could just go up to your room and raid the minibar instead,” she suggested softly.

  Dawson’s golden eyes went molten. “Even better.”

  Holy crap, she’d done it. She’d just propositioned a guy for sex. Okay, maybe it wasn’t quite that blatant, but it was obvious Dawson knew exactly what she meant. She felt so proud of herself she almost did a little cheer right there.

  His room was on the fourth floor just like hers, but because the elevator stopped on every floor in between to let people on and off, it seemed to take forever to get there. Now that Kate had made the decision to sleep with him, she was impatient to get his clothes off and see if he was as well built as she thought. Being in the close confines of the elevator only made her hotter for him. By the time they got to his floor, she was ready to push him up against the wall and get busy right there. She actually might have done it, too, if she wasn’t afraid they’d get arrested for public indecency. She almost laughed. Wow, she was better at being naughty than she’d thought.

  His hotel room was an exact replica of hers, right down to the fireplace and hot tub. It was the king-size bed against the wall that caught and held her attention, however. As she took in the fluffy pillows and white goose down comforter, she pictured herself rolling around on it with Dawson, their nak
ed bodies entwined as they engaged in hot, sweaty sex. Just the idea started a really nice purr between her legs.

  “The minibar is probably pretty limited, but I’m sure we can find something,” Dawson said as he tossed his key card on the dresser. “What can I get you?”

  Images of her and Dawson still running through her head, Kate turned to face him. She couldn’t believe she was actually going to go through with this. Before she could change her mind, she set her purse down on the bedside table and walked over to loop her arms around his neck. She hadn’t realized how tall he was downstairs, but now she had to tilt her head back to look up at him.

  “Maybe we should forget about having a drink and test out the mattress instead,” she suggested softly. “I hear they’re very comfortable.”

  Surprise flickered in his eyes for a moment, but he rested his hands lightly on her hips all the same. “Kate Gentry, are you seducing me?”

  “I might be,” she admitted. “But only if it’s working.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, it’s definitely working.”

  She smiled up at him. “Then in that case, I’m definitely seducing you. I figured since we’re both obviously attracted to each other, we should hook up for the weekend.”

  She tried to make the words sound casual, but inside, her heart was pounding like crazy. She didn’t know if it was from excitement or nerves, though. Maybe it was a little of both. She’d never actually seduced a man like this. And the words “hook up for the weekend” had certainly never, ever come out of her mouth before.

  He lifted a brow. “Hook up? As in casual sex, no strings attached?”

  Clearly he was way more familiar with this type of thing than she was. She nodded. “Exactly. Once the weekend is over, we get on the ferry and go our separate ways. No muss, no fuss.”

  He pulled her closer, his mouth curving into a sexy grin. “That works for me.”

  She should have tried this whole seduction thing long before this. She was better at it than she’d thought. Kate didn’t reply, but instead leaned in and kissed him.