Free Kiss Me Twice by Jami Alden

He's a big wine aficionado and got me into it." He paused as the waiter brought his glass. The look of pleasure at his first sip brought Karen's senses sharply to awareness.
    Though he came off as practical and no-nonsense, underneath Mike was a closet sensualist. He savored the pleasures in life. Good food, good wine. Good sex.
    Karen's thighs clenched beneath the table, and she mentally kicked herself. What kind of masochist was she, to be so turned on by a guy who seized every opportunity to insult her?
    They sat in silence for several moments. Tension hummed between them as Karen prepared for another verbal assault. But he said nothing. She relaxed marginally, grateful to have him sitting at her table so she didn't look like such a loser.
    Then everyone was called to stand and welcome the new Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Donovan. Karen clapped as hard as anyone.
    "Jealous?" Mike said softly.
    "Of course," she admitted. "But I'm happy for her."
    "I don't get you. For as long as I've known you, you couldn’t stand Kelly, and now all of a sudden you're supportive big sister?"
    Karen's hackles raised and she started to reply, but was cut off.
    "Michael, what are you doing sitting over here?"
    Karen barely stifled a groan and forced a smile up at Mike’s mother.
    Maria Donovan had a look on her face like she'd just eaten a turd.
    "Mom, you remember Kelly's sister, Karen?" Mike said.
    "Yes, I do." Clearly she remembered everything anyone had ever said about Karen.
    "You must be very happy for Nick," Karen said in her most charming voice.
    "Kelly is a wonderful young woman. Any mother would be happy to have her become part of the family."
    Unlike you, you little tramp. Karen heard her loud and clear but kept her smile pasted on her face. Their past aside, if there ever was a reason she and Mike could never be together, Maria Donovan was it.
    "Kelly's very lucky too, to have found Nick.” Maria turned to Mike, clearly having maxed out her ability to be civil to a woman who had messed with one of her sons. "Mike, why don’t you go sit with Tony and Lauren? Your father and I are just at the next table over." She indicated a table near the buffet, clear on the opposite side of the deck.
    Karen stared at her glass of champagne, hoping her humiliation didn't show. His fucking mommy was escorting him away. She shouldn't have bothered coming. She could change all she wanted, but everyone's attitude would stay the same.
    She nearly fell off her chair when Mike said, "I'm okay here, Mom. Don't worry."
    Maria looked like she wanted to argue, but Mike's expression was firm, warning her not to make a scene.
    "You don't have to babysit me, Mike." Karen said.
    But he stayed, and Karen took that as a positive sign. She grabbed another glass of champagne and gulped it down for liquid courage. The time had come to tell him the truth.
     
     
    What the hell was he doing? He should be avoiding her like the plague, not sitting there making chitchat while his dick got so hard it practically thumped against the table.
    But she'd looked so sad, sitting by herself. Vulnerable. Yeah right, he snorted silently to himself. She was about as vulnerable as a barracuda.
    Yet he couldn't leave her alone. She drew him as surely as if she had a leash around his balls. Arousal had exploded in his veins the moment he touched the silky skin of her shoulder during the picture. Thank God his tux jacket was long enough to cover his crotch.
    Now, with the breeze teasing her soft curls and bringing her sweet, sexy scent to his nostrils, he was afraid he was going to do something inappropriate. He watched her sip her champagne and lick her lips nervously. He couldn't remember ever seeing her so ill at ease.
    A drop of champagne beaded on her glossy lower lip and he didn’t even think, just reached out and brushed it off with the pad of his thumb. Her lips parted in surprise, and the sight of his blunt, thick thumb against her plump bottom lip brought a sudden, painfully