Page 3 of Cocky Brutal Sinner

But I don’t want to be careful. I want to get under that dress more than I want my next breath.

Which is exactly the kind of attitude that gets you caught. I fucking know better.

Fortunately, once the speeches are over, the photographer prompts us to separate. The groomsmen are brought over to the bar to pose together for the photographer, while the bride and bridesmaids pose with their bouquets near a large display of flowers. Brinley and I are on opposite sides of the large reception hall.

So why do I keep trying to catch her eye?

Every time I have a few seconds between camera flashes, I glance her way. Brinley throws her head back in laughter, emphasizing the long line of her neck. It makes my eyes trail down to where the blush-colored fabric clings to her small waist and the generous curve of her hips. Fuck, Brinley in that bridesmaid’s dress makes it very hard for me to function.

I’ve been staring for too long and I know it. I blame the champagne, or the way the golden light gilds her skin. It’s definitely not a failing of my iron fucking will. Absolutely not. I’m a pillar of control.

Then her head shifts, and she catches me watching her. Her warm brown eyes meet mine. Neither of us looks away fast enough.

Maybe Brinley’s willpower is just as gone as mine because another long moment passes, and she’s still sneaking looks at me.

This is the tension we live in. Never able to touch where people can see. Never able to stop wishing we could.

My senses blare that it’s past time to turn away, so reluctantly, I look back at the guys. They’re laughing at something, so I laugh with them.

“Nate, it’s time to get on the dance floor for your first dance,” the event planner prompts. Cat and Nate make their way to the center of the room, and we join the ring of people around them as someone starts plucking a guitar. An elegant woman in her forties makes her way to a microphone and sings something in French. I remember enough to translate the first line—Quelqu’un m’a dit.

The bride and groom sway together, their eyes fixed on each other, their faces glowing with happiness. The world seems to fade until they’re the only real things in the room. Pure, rich love radiates from them, warming my chest. I’m so happy for him—for them. I don’t realize how tightly I’m gripping my glass until a small brush of fingers at my side snags my attention and makes my jaw snap tight. Brinley snuck over to stand next to me. She barely comes up to my shoulder, even in her heels.

“Meet me in the coat closet in ten minutes,” she murmurs.

With everyone’s attention still on Nate and Cat, I glance down.

My brows pull together when I see she’s dead serious.

There’s no way.

We couldn’t…

Of course we could. We've gotten away with worse than this—the Easter brunch quickie, the intermission of the Leaf’s game, the bathroom at her own goddamn birthday dinner. There's nobody on this planet better at this than me.

Her lips quirk up in that mischievous way they always do when she’s about to do something she shouldn’t.

Don’t say it…

Don’t say it, Brin.

Her eyes spark.

“I dare you.”

Fuck.

She walks away without waiting for me to answer. She doesn’t need one—she knows I’ll come.

I always do.

It's our oldest trick. Five years of rules and code words and locked doors, and all she ever has to do is say those three words. I dare you. It's the only sentence in the world I'll never tell her no to. She knows it. She wields it like a key she shouldn't have to a door she shouldn't open. And every time, I let her.

I don’t walk away from the crowd right away, but I sure as hell stop paying attention to Cat and Nate and the French woman singing. Instead, I count the minutes. They seem to go by torturously slow. Knowing she’s there, waiting for me.

The event planner invites all other “couples in love” to join the happy couple on the dance floor as the singer shifts into another La Vie En Rose. With three of my four best friends occupied by their dance partners, now’s probably the best time to slip away unnoticed.

Automatically, I glance around to find Luke. He’s chatting with a gorgeous blonde in the corner, which means he’ll be occupied for a while. I sneak out the door while nobody’s watching me and rush off toward the entrance.