Warning: Explicit content. Reader discretion advised.

It was the dress.

There was usually a flood of dresses at a wedding party, but Brandon had eyes for only one. It was a simple cream dress in satin, but the way the sleek silhouette flowed down the svelte form enhanced each of the feminine contours that he had come to cherish- from the narrow shoulders to the ample bosom to the tight waist that curved into shapely hips and a firm, full derriere. Contrasting the pale dress were long, raven curls that stood out against the rosy, luminous skin, the smile gracing that breathtaking face like the first sip of a perfectly poured pint- warm and intoxicating.

He stared from across the hall, unconcerned about who saw him gawking shamelessly at the unassuming bridesmaid. It was his oldest sister Yvonne’s wedding, and he had first caught sight of her while driving the bride to the church. He had failed to look away since. It was not without reason that he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world, different from Irish girls, more graceful and alluring. As small as she was, she had the uncanny ability to draw all attention when she walked into a room. He often felt a pang of guilt for the whispers that followed her, the curious, sometimes pitiful glances. Yet, she remained unshaken, her glow almost blinding as she stood beside the bride.

He hoped returning to London for university would make things easier for her. And give them more time together, without having to fight for every stolen second.

Across the crowded reception hall, their eyes met and remained locked for a long minute.

He recognised that look. Like a wolf staring at a cute sheep.

It was too much to take anymore.

“Hi, girls.” Three women in identical dresses looked up at him when he walked over to the table. Denise and Mairead each held a glass of champagne. “Seeing as I don’t have much time here, I hope you won’t mind if I…” His hand found Isabel’s. “…steal this lovely lady for a dance.”

“It took you only the whole evening to catch up with her,” Denise chirped before giggling with her younger sister. Brandon smiled when Isabel’s cheeks flushed.

“I’m trying to not upstage Yvonne,” he said, tugging at his girlfriend’s hand. He slid an arm around her waist when she stood. “But now it’s my moment.”

Without another word, he led her to the dance floor, her sweet, floral scent filling his nostrils. He held her close, his hands running down the long sleeves of the dress until their fingers entwined. The tension in her body mimicked the raging passion he felt for her.

“I missed you,” Isabel tried to speak over the music but her voice was still a murmur. One arm coiled around her midriff, the other holding up her hand. Their bodies pressed together, his breath on her face, their feet moving to the rhythm. He saw her in dresses all the time but that evening she was delicious. There was no other way to describe her. He wanted to eat her alive.

“If I said I missed you too, it would be an understatement.” His feet abruptly halted in the middle of the hall, his eyes blazing into hers. “You have no idea.”

Her pulse quickened. Finding a modicum of privacy in that small town had always been hard, and Pentoniac’s fame and success had only made it harder for them to find a quiet moment together. They had done it only a few times so far, each encounter hurried and cautious, lest they were discovered. The last time was at his horse stables, after his brothers had gone for the day. The quick fuck against the wall in an empty enclosure had been urgent and precarious, but taking each other without care or preparation had excited her beyond her wildest imagination.

Moving back to London was not very appealing to her save for one prospect- being on her own with independence and privacy, and having her superstar boyfriend the way Sligo barely allowed them.

He lifted her face, a silent plea in his eyes. Before she knew it, he was dragging her away from the hall and into the alcove. She bunched up her dress to keep from tripping.

“Right.” He pressed her against the wall in a corner and searched her face. “You have to do something. I’m going insane here.”

“There are people everywhere.” She nervously looked around them. Brandon’s fame had ensured that the fans and the press were lurking outside, turning a family occasion into a spectacle. He had been assigned two minders to escort him from the car to the venue and back to prevent any trouble. “We cannot…”

“Please.” He swallowed hard. “I’m flying back tonight. And I need you right now.”

“I don’t want us to get caught.”

“We won’t.” After a quick glance upstairs, he started to lead her towards the stairway. All the action was on the main floor. The second level was unoccupied and they had no trouble finding an empty room at the end of the narrow hallway.

“This is risky,” she hissed as the door locked, shutting them from the world. “Brandy—”

The words were swallowed by a hard, insistent, ravenous kiss, She sagged against the wall, holding onto his shoulders for support as she gave in to his ferocious hunger. When she instinctively hooked a thigh around his leg, he parted on a low groan.

“I know the bride is my sister,” he said on a breathless murmur, his hips pressing her to the wall. “But you are the most stunning girl at this party. I can’t explain what this dress has been doing to me all day.”

“The… dress?” She could not help glancing down at her outfit. It was a modest gown, barely exposing any more skin than what she normally did. “But… you’ve seen me in dresses… and without them too.”

“You’re different today.” His thumb brushed her bottom lip. “I don’t know what it is… Maybe you’re just happy. Maybe you’re finally moving on.”

“Or maybe I just love having you here.” Arching into him, she sought his lips again while fumbling with his belt. Once the buckle came undone, she reached for the placket of his trousers, his erection evident against her hands as she pulled down the zipper. Brandon let his own hands drift past her hips until he was bunching up her dress to get access to her legs. 

“Every inch of you is sheer perfection.” His hot breath ghosted her face. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”

“I have no clue why you call me perfect,” she laughed, her eyes closing when he captured her lips again. “I’m far from perfect.”

“We are not having that argument again.” He sealed them in a kiss, their hips grinding involuntarily. Isabel whimpered into his mouth, aching for him as heat pooled in her gut.

“Take off your shirt.” Tugging at his necktie, she loosened it. “You don’t want to get makeup on it.”

While he let his coat, waist coat and shirt fall to the floor, she reached for the zipper of her dress. He held her hand.

“Leave it on,” he said, his hand crawling under the skirt. “Let me shag you in it.”

When his fingers found her wetness, she gasped.

“I like how you’re always ready for me.” Taking her hand, he guided it to his heavy scrotum. Her breath hitched. “Do you feel how full I am? So ready for you…”

“We have to be quick,” she warned as he slipped off her panties.

“We will.” He stepped out of his pants and fished out his wallet from the pocket of his jacket. With a condom in hand, he sank onto the floor in the corner of the room. “Sit on me. Come on.”

Isabel’s gaze shifted between his outstretched hand and his sheathed erection. They did not have much time. She cautiously glanced at the door, praying they could be quiet.

“I love you,” he breathed, watching her face as she hiked up her dress and straddled him. Reaching down, she gripped his erection with one hand, the other holding his shoulder for balance as she slowly impaled herself on him.

“I love you too.” With a soft grunt, she pushed down on him, her mouth falling open on a noiseless wail as the thick bell-end found its way in. Brandon hissed, her tightness squeezing him like a velvet fist. He held her hips to ease her through it, his breath catching with every inch that filled her up. His head dropped back against the wall, chest heaving with tenuous control.

“Are you okay?” he asked when her head bowed on a cry. She nodded, shaking the fallen hair out of her face.

“You’re so big and we haven’t done it in a while.” She gulped hard, shifting her legs to be comfortable. “I never want to forget how good you feel…”

“You’re never going to forget,” he promised, slowly thrusting up into her. “Not in this life. Ride me… please, ride me…”

Holding his shoulders, she raised herself carefully before sinking in a swift move. Brandon’s face flushed and sweat dotted his brow as she fell into a rhythm. The sight of that small woman taking control made him swell to a painful extent inside her. Pushing up her dress, he caressed the smooth skin of her thighs while thrusting up into her. He had always been weak for a woman’s shapely legs, but did not know how much until he saw Isabel’s legs. His body grew hot and hard from her quickening pace, every muscle in his body taut with drugging ecstasy.

“I need to come,” she murmured, bringing her legs closer to push herself onto her haunches. “You’re hitting me so deep… it’s tingling inside me…”

She resumed the punishing rhythm, and he had to bite his lip to prevent a startled groan. He was not going to last if she kept up that pace.

“So close… Oh, Brandy…” Her moan made his sac tighten, pushing him to the brink. He kneaded her buttocks, gritting his teeth as panicked urgency spread across her face.

“Yes,” he coaxed impatiently, watching her on the edge of release. “That’s it, that’s it… Come all over me… Let it go…”

Burying her face in his shoulder to muffle a scream, Isabel reached the extremity of her passion, writhing and twisting in his arms. Brandon gently laid them down while her muscles continued to clench around him, grabbing her hips to thrust mercilessly.

“Right on the edge…” he growled under his breath, pressing his lips to her cheek. “There it goes… Oh, god…”

He exploded violently, his fingers unconsciously clutching at her dress, not caring if the delicate fabric tore. With a hoarse oath, he continued slamming into her through the release, his thighs shaking as his heated seed filled the sheath. Beneath him, Isabel sobbed, her legs shaking, stomach quivering.

“I’m still hard…” he gasped, manoeuvring her body to flip her over without slipping out.

“What are you doing?” she asked on a shaky breath.

“I’m going to take you from behind.”

“But we’ve never—”

“I know, I know.” He swallowed, licking his lips. “Do as I say, please. We don’t have time to waste.”

Isabel scrambled to do his bidding, getting on all fours and presenting her derriere to him. He pushed into her again, and she yelped when he filled her impossibly deep.

“Oh, my god…” Her eyelids drooped when he started to thrust again, the tension gathering inside her once more. Brandon moved viciously, giddy from the mounting pleasure. 

“That’s it…” he slurred. “Here I come again… Shit…”

With a low groan, he spilled again, thick ropes of semen squirting out of him in an almost painful release. Isabel slumped onto the floor, legs thrashing for purchase as his climax triggered her own. Brandon’s heaving body collapsed on top of her, and they remained locked in the throbbing heat, shuddering together.

“That was…” She tried to speak and catch her breath at the same time. “That was incredible. I now know why this is such a popular position.”

“We’re just getting started, love,” Brandon chuckled behind her. “We have all life to try different things.”

“Did anyone hear us?”

“I hope not. Here, let me…” He held her hips again with trembling fingers, slowly withdrawing from her soaked womanhood. “I came so much.”

She turned her head to look at him. “You saved it all for me. Just as you promised.”

Leaning in, he kissed her forehead. “I’m a man of my word. Come here.”

He helped her roll onto her back and then pulled her against him. She languorously fell into his arms, his perfume blending with his damp skin to cook up a heady cocktail inside her head. Their hearts danced together in a frantic beat as they clung to each other, drunk on the intoxicating satiety.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. We should get out of here.”

“I don’t want to.” When he looked at her, his face was sad. “I’m not sure when I will see you again. I wish you could come with me.”

“You lads aren’t singing live at every gig, are you?” she asked. 

“No, just the major ones,” he answered. “For the smaller gigs, it’s still playback.” 

“Good. You don’t want to overwork your voices.” Her eyes sparkled. “I’m excited about your first ever concert tour. It’s next year, right?”

“Yeah.” He laughed quietly, shaking his head. “We are starting to get the hang of the business side of things. But you know what surprises me? That every time I talk to you about the band and how things work, you understand everything way better than I did when we started out.” 

“I’m an old woman,” she teased. Brandon smiled.

“When you go back to London for university,” he said. “Will you travel with me when you have the time?”

“If you’d like me to,” she answered.

“Of course I’d like you to. I cannot wait to actually share a room, a bed with you. Watching you sleep, waking up next to you… taking my time exploring your body, making love to you through the night… God…”

His hand went to his chest. “Just thinking about it gets my heart racing.”

“I don’t like sneaking around either,” she rued. “But that’s the best we can do here in Sligo.”

“Only a few weeks,” Brandon said with assurance. “Then you’re all mine.”

“I am all yours,” Isabel smiled, kissing him again. Brandon breathed her in, wishing the night would not be over so soon.

“Thank you for this,” he said. “I was so pent up.”

“Me too.” She sat up. “But we really should go downstairs now. It’s getting close to dinner.”

“Fine,” he nodded, picking up his shirt from the floor. They dressed quickly, doing their best to tidy up and be presentable. Isabel smoothed out her tresses and reached a hand out to wipe a lipstick stain from the corner of his lips. Undaunted, Brandon dipped his head for another kiss, laughing in amusement when she pushed him away. He put the ruined condom inside his coat and unlocked the door. Peering through the crack, he was relieved to find the coast clear.

“You go first,” he said to her. “I’ll pop into the jacks and then come and find you. And after dinner, I want us to finish that dance, okay?”

Isabel stood on tiptoe to peck his lips before turning around to quietly return to the party.

#

“What are you staring at?” 

The low voice of her husband shook Emily out of her observation. It was the fourth Folan wedding they had been part of – starting with Mae and Peadar thirty-five years ago – and catching up with old friends had been delightful. She lifted a finger to point in the distance.

“Those two,” she answered, as Thomas examined the sumptuous buffet. He lifted his eyes for only a second to see what was hogging his wife’s attention.

“Isabel and Brandon?” he asked, scooping some of the roasted asparagus onto his plate. “What about them?”

Emily helped herself to the beef stroganoff, waiting until they were alone again. “They are having sex,” she announced quietly.

“Good for them.” The professor loaded his plate with some smoked trout and garden salad. “How did you find out?”

“Just look at them, Tom,” she smirked. “His messy hair, her faded lipstick, the hastily tucked shirt, the missing sash. And that glow on their smiling faces.”

She glanced up at him. “That is the glow of having done it.”

“How long have you known?”

“About ten minutes. They should win some kind of award for being so discreet about this.”

“Well…” Thomas smiled, watching his adorable niece and her handsome boyfriend hold hands at the table and failing to ignore Isabel’s growing resemblance to a young Emily. “Izzi is the most sensible girl I’ve ever met. If you’re worried about them doing something reckless–”

“I’m not. Although the fear has crossed my mind.” She sighed, taking two scoops of salad onto her plate. “Maybe I should talk to her.”

“I think we decided that you were not going to play therapist with Izzi.”

“But they’re so young and I’m worried if they are protected, since they can’t keep their hands off each other.”

“She’s a private person,” her husband reminded her. “If you ask her directly, she’ll never say a word. Maybe you need to find a workaround without making it awkward.”

“You make it awkward,” Emily gently retorted. “Remember what you told Ben when he first started dating? ‘As long as it’s consensual and you don’t knock her up, you’re safe’. Poor lad couldn’t look you in the eye for a week.”

When Thomas chuckled, she smiled, looking at the loved-up couple. Brandon was laughing hysterically over something, the sound rising above the music. “Doing it at a wedding party wasn’t the wisest move, though. There are too many people here.”

“They hardly get to see each other,” Thomas said. “The impatience is understandable.”

He touched her shoulder. “What you’re seeing is a sign of healing. She’s a woman now, Em. And she has the most doting man by her side. He’ll never let her fall.”

Emily nodded. “Can I be honest? When Brandon showed interest in Izzi from the start, I couldn’t help worrying that he was only treating her as a learning experience. That he was going to move on soon enough and leave her stranded.”

“You thought Brandon was flaky?” Thomas chuckled again. “Our Brandy? We have known him all his life. The Folans are value-based people.”

“But he was going out with those cheerleading girls before Izzi came.” She stepped away from the buffet to let others access the food. “Let’s face it, Izzi is brilliant, articulate, and sophisticated. And Brandy… he’s a pretty face with a golden voice. He doesn’t have her background, her education, or her refinement. Remember him in high school? He used to have a new arm candy every week.”

“Ah, that’s how many kids are like in high school. He may not have her education or her polish but he has something many of us spend our lives searching for— a big heart and an even bigger conscience. He hasn’t looked at another girl since he first met her. That’s how unwavering his dedication is, as if he’s intent on giving her all the love she’s been denied in the past.”

“Yes, but I did think at the time that he had no depth.”

“Has he earned your trust now?”

She stared in the distance again, her gaze passing between the bridesmaid and the youngest brother of the bride. Brandon’s laid-back, lighthearted, uncomplicated personality seemed the perfect foil for Isabel’s quiet, measured demeanour. They made an attractive couple, his beaming comeliness and infectious exuberance a complement to her rosy beauty and quiet grace. When she caught Brandon’s eye, he raised a hand in an enthusiastic wave. Emily waved back with a smile.

“Being the mother of a young daughter is always fraught with worries,” she said. “And when the daughter is someone like Isabel… you keep wondering if she’s going to get hurt again all the time.”

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Thomas replied. “And she’s a very strong girl to have survived so much and turned into a healthy, capable, rational person. She’s been to hell and back, and if there’s anyone who deserves a taste of heaven, it’s her.”

He slid a hand across her waist as they walked to their table. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Across the hall, Brandon was leading Isabel to the dance floor, the young couple laughing as the newlyweds egged them on. Their disarming happiness made Emily smile, reminding her that sometimes, it was the simplicity of genuine connection that fostered the deepest growth. They had never seen Isabel so alive and at ease. And that was what they had wanted for her- to be able to love, to trust, to laugh again.

“The proof is in the pudding, Tom. He can handle her at her worst and she’s comfortable being vulnerable with him- dropping her guard and quite possibly her clothes too.” Emily shook her head with a chuckle. “How can I not trust the lad who made her bloom again?”

“That’s reassuring.” Thomas pulled out a chair for her. “So he has the Emily Barrett seal of approval?”

She laughed with him, watching the couple on the dance floor. Later that night, she intended to talk to Isabel and assure her that they did not need to hide from them. That it was alright to be in love and give into their passion. That they were not the kind of parents to make it awkward or burden them with lectures about right and wrong.

And then she saw them stare into each other’s eyes as if they were the only people in the world, and realised they did not need anyone else.