Two-Step Temptation Read Online Free PDF

bridesmaids on the balcony overlooking the wedding venue as the strains of a Vivaldi piece floated through the room. Eric and his fellow groomsmen flanked Jared at the altar. Damn, Eric looked fine in a tux, his broad shoulders accented by the jacket that skimmed his lean form. Something about the silk cravat made her want to rip it off and bare the muscled chest beneath.
    As she expected, a smirk played on his lips, but something else burned in his eyes. God help her, she knew that look, and it sent a heat through her own body, a remembered pulse of desire that made her stumble, just a bit, in her high heels. The glint of humor in his eyes told her he knew what she was thinking.
    Damn him. Her panties were damp from one glance.
    Sure her cheeks were pink, she looked away. She aimed a smile at Christine’s mom and moved up to take her place at the altar. Good. Eric was out of view. She turned to watch the rest of the procession, and though she had seen Christine in her regalia upstairs, she still caught her breath when her friend descended the stairs, white beaded dress billowing about her. Unlike Haven, the bride met the eyes of her love directly.
    What would it be like to love someone with all one’s being, to trust so completely, to give as big a part of herself to someone? She doubted she could ever give up that much control to find out. She certainly hadn’t with Eric, even though she’d shared more with him than with any other man.
    Jared brought Christine to the altar with him, as the two exchanged vows. Her heart, already swelling with romantic notions, kicked hard against her ribs when she met Eric for the recessional, as she looked into his ice-blue eyes. Her emotions were too close to the surface, and she certainly couldn’t allow him to see them, so she averted her gaze as she tucked her arm through his. She found herself grateful for the layers of clothing, clinging to that to keep their distance, though he had to be able to feel her stuttering pulse.
    She kept her focus ahead as they strolled down the aisle, and the moment they reached the foyer, she dropped his arm and moved to congratulate her friends with hugs.
    She managed to keep her distance from Eric through the endless photographs, but remained on the edges of conversations, focusing on where he was so he wouldn’t sneak up on her.
    Jill waylaid her to talk about the cake-cutting duties, and Haven lost her Eric-antenna.
    By the time Jill walked away to boss someone else around, he came up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder, plucking at the slender strap of her dress. “What’d you do to piss Christine off?”
    She’d forgotten her defenses and laughed despite herself, leaning toward him, her body following its own agenda.
    “I’ve been asking myself that for weeks.”
    He stroked a finger down the silky fabric and the way his gaze followed the caress made her nipples hard.
    “Don’t.” She gritted her teeth, using all her control not to move away. “Not here.”
    Frustration darkened his eyes, but he nodded and stepped back to offer his arm to guide her into the reception hall.
    The wedding party was seated at the front of the room at a long table, windows at their backs looking out over the Pedernales River, the paired bridesmaids and groomsmen seated together. Something niggled at the back of Haven’s mind, and she cast a questioning glance at Christine as Eric held her chair. Her friend smiled and waved, then turned her attention to her new husband. Of course. She didn’t have time to play matchmaker while planning her wedding. None of this was deliberate. Still, Haven didn’t know how she could keep up her façade of nonchalance while in such close proximity to Eric.
    As Jared’s oldest friend, Eric was called to give a toast to the couple. He rose and affected a casual stance that had to have every woman in the place sighing.
    “Marriage for love is a recent development in the course of human history,” he said, and