Melt With You

1. Max

Chapter One

Max

Somehow, while attending a wedding almost in the middle-of-nowhere Alaska, I’d ended up handling taxi duties. Go figure. According to the latest update sent to me via frantic text from the bride, there was only one straggler left. Within minutes, I was rolling to a stop in front of the hotel, and my phone buzzed in my pocket. Sliding it out, I glanced down.

Harlow May is her name. Find her!

This text came from Ivy Nash—the bride, and the woman Owen Manning had fallen so hard and fast for, I was still questioning his sanity. Ivy was perfect for Owen. I considered teasing her and telling her Harlow was gone. But no. It was Ivy’s day, so I’d behave.

On it. She’ll be delivered to the wedding shortly.

I’d expected this last guest, who seemed quite important to Ivy, to be waiting outside. Not so. Harlow May was late.

I thought I’d recognized Harlow’s name. She was the daughter of an investor for Owen’s company, and I happened to be familiar with her father through business connections. Owen and I had met at MIT some years back, and he’d remained one of my closest friends. Off the Grid was his baby, his world-class multimillion-dollar engineering firm, situated in the middle-of-f*****g-nowhere Alaska.

After another few beats of waiting, I strolled into the lobby. The wedding was taking place on top of a mountain, at Last Frontier Lodge. Since the wilderness resort was booked out so far in advance, there wasn’t enough room there for all the wedding guests, so this hotel served as overflow. Just as I was about to go to the desk and ask for Harlow to be called, a woman came hurrying out of the elevators.

Inside of a millisecond, I was completely distracted, enchanted, and then some. She had straight, glossy brown hair that hung almost to her waist, and dark brown eyes. Aside from the fact she was flat-out beautiful, she wore a cream silk dress, the outfit as out of place as a giraffe in the midst of a room full of dogs, what with most of the guests around here dressed for the outdoors.

I watched as she hurried through the front entrance, then followed after her. My stride closed the distance between us, my eyes locked on the swing of her hips. She had curves for days, filling out the silk dress. The material swung just above her knees in a ruffle, hugged her hips like a lover, and dipped in at her waist, only to flare out again to cup her breasts.

Stepping through the doors, I walked directly to her, my body tightening the moment I reached her. “Harlow May?”

Her espresso gaze swung to mine. “Yes. Are you the driver?”

I bit back a laugh. “I presume you’re attending Owen and Ivy’s wedding?”

Harlow twirled a long lock around her finger, and the motion made me want to tangle a hand in her hair and muss it. I didn’t, though it took an act of will. At her nod, I gestured to the car. It wasn’t my vehicle, it was Owen’s decked-out black SUV, with every tech feature you could imagine, and entirely electric. It felt as if I were temporarily living a borrowed life.

“Am I late?” Harlow asked as she stepped over to the SUV.

Her scent drifted up to me, a hint of honey and vanilla. “I don’t know if you’re late, but you’re the last one,” I said. She’d missed the first three scheduled trips, but I no longer cared.

I opened the door for her, glancing down to see a flush crest on her cheeks. She slipped into the front seat and buckled her seatbelt. Once we were en route to the lodge, my eyes flicked sideways, landing on the curve of her thigh. My hand itched to slide over the silk, to feel the heat of her skin penetrating through it. I didn’t know what it was about her, but I hadn’t been this curious about a woman in, well, longer than I could remember.

“So, Harlow, how do you know the bride and groom?”

I thought I knew the answer to my question, but I figured I’d ask anyway.

“I met Ivy and Owen through my father because he’s an investor in their company. I’m here for the wedding because Ivy’s become a friend. Alaska was on my bucket list too.”

“Alaska is quite beautiful, definitely bucket list-worthy.”

I rolled to a stop at an intersection, glancing over to find Harlow’s gaze on me. “I don’t think I caught your name,” she said.

She crossed and uncrossed her legs, tempting me to touch her again. Forcing my gaze forward, I turned onto the road that wound up into the mountains.

“Max. Max Channing,” I replied.

“Are you just a driver, or here for the wedding?”

“I’m a friend, and driving as a favor,” I replied.

I didn’t know why, but I preferred Harlow didn’t know how our worlds might intersect. Within minutes, we were pulling up in front of Last Frontier Lodge, the spectacular setting for Owen and Ivy’s wedding. Diamond Creek, Alaska was one of Alaska’s coastal jewels, with the mountains dipping their toes in the sea here.

As I opened the door for Harlow to step out, I caught a glimpse of blue silk between her thighs. I was a gentleman, and wasn’t prone to trying to catch sneak shots of women’s panties. But sweet hell, Harlow was a magnet for me, and my eyes had a will of their own.

Of all the factors I had considered in coming to this wedding, encountering a woman so delectable I could hardly keep my body in check wasn’t on the list. Not to mention, I wasn’t on the best terms with her father. In fact, the last time we’d crossed paths, I’d told him he was a f*****g asshole. Because he was.

As I walked behind her up the entrance stairs, I idly wondered what she did, but now wasn’t the time for chitchat. We only had a half an hour before the wedding started. As we strolled through the door, I rested my hand on her back, guiding her inside and savoring the heat of the silk against her skin.

If Harlow noticed my touch, she didn’t react. We walked through the crowded lobby and restaurant, and onto the back deck. Guests were milling about, yet Owen and Ivy were nowhere in sight. I glanced down to Harlow. “Seating’s over there. Check with Delia,” I said, gesturing to a woman who ran the restaurant at the lodge and was also a wedding guest.

When Harlow glanced at me, I noticed how her dark lashes curled against her cheeks. I couldn’t have looked away if I tried as a slow smile stretched across her face, and I had a sudden urge to kiss her.

“Actually, I’m a bridesmaid. Thank you for the ride,” she said softly before turning away. She paused beside Delia, her dark hair a contrast to Delia’s honey blonde. They briefly conferred, and then Harlow slipped through a side door back into the lodge.

As much as I wanted to linger, I had duties to attend to. I walked back into the lodge to hunt down Owen and found him, with Derek Bridges, in one of the rooms set aside for dressing. Along with Owen, Derek was one of my closest friends from our days at MIT.

Owen was leaning against the dresser, ready in his suit and tie, while he laughed at something Derek said. He glanced my way. “Did you round up everybody?”

“Of course I did. Just ferried the last guest. Harlow May. She’s Howard May’s daughter, right?”

Owen nodded, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he grinned. “Yes. Harlow and Ivy are close.”

Derek stood from where he was seated by the windows. “Aren’t we all relieved Howard couldn’t make it to the wedding?” he asked with a wry grin.

“I gather his daughter is nicer than he is if she’s one of Ivy’s bridesmaids,” I replied.

Owen chuckled. “Ivy adores her, and she’s nothing like her father. In fact, he’s cranky because she’s refusing to work for him.”

Just as I was about to counter with a question—because I was that curious about Harlow—there was a knock at the door, and Garrett Hamilton poked his head inside, flashing a grin when he saw us. “I’ve been ordered to come fetch you boys.”

In the short time I’d been here, I’d met the Hamilton family in a whirlwind. They owned this ski resort, which was primarily run by the eldest brother, Gage. Garrett was a former corporate lawyer who still practiced law, but he’d said goodbye to his high-flying career in Seattle and moved up here to marry Delia.

Glancing at Owen, I asked, “You ready for this?”

Owen, with his jet-black hair, ice blue eyes, and calm demeanor, actually looked a tad apprehensive. His shoulders rose and fell with a breath as he pushed away from the dresser. Adjusting his tie, he met me at the door with Derek behind him. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Garrett had already started to walk down the hallway. “Let’s do this,” Derek added, clapping Owen on the shoulder. “Now would be the time to speak up if you have any doubts.”

We had started to file out when Owen came to a complete stop, turning back to face us. “I have no doubts. If you’re wondering, I’m half-terrified Ivy might suddenly come to her senses. If she does, I don’t know what I’ll do,” he said flatly.

His eyes met mine, the depth of emotion contained there almost startling. “I don’t think you need to worry about that,” I heard myself saying.

Barely a hint of relief entered his gaze as he turned around.

We filed down the hall and onto the back deck of the lodge, which had been transformed into an outdoor wedding chapel. As I took my place beside Derek at the front, I contemplated how Owen had once been just as unlikely as me to settle down. Yet, here he was, head over heels in love with Ivy.

He had his reasons for keeping to himself, as did I. I still couldn’t quite imagine caring that deeply for someone. I’d all but written the idea of love out of my life. As the pastor began the ceremony, I scanned the crowd. My eyes made their way to Harlow, who stood with two other women beside Ivy. The moment I saw her, l**t washed over me. I could most certainly imagine a night between the sheets with Harlow.

I couldn’t quite get a bead on her. She was quiet and gave off an air of steely strength. I wanted to know more.

Forcing my gaze from her, I took a moment to scan the horizon. Mountain peaks rose all around us, and Kachemak Bay was visible in the distance, the sun striking sparks on its surface. On the heels of a breath, savoring the crisp and cool mountain air, I turned back and watched one of my closest friends get married.

I wasn’t usually one for weddings. Yet, this wasn’t a typical wedding—outdoors, on the back deck of a beautiful lodge, with the mountains and the ocean serving as the cathedral for the ceremony. My eyes were again drawn to Harlow, as if she were my own personal magnet.

With a forceful mental shake, I tore my gaze free. Relationships were another part of business for me; a way to meet my needs, and nothing more. Love—the flash in the pan, crazy love that Owen had stumbled into with Ivy—well, that wasn’t for me.