Bailey blinked her eyes open in the darkening twilight. She had never had angry sex before and she would definitely not be adverse to trying it again. Hunter had completely overwhelmed her, possessed her in a way no other man had, not even Nick. She’d thought that what she had with Nick was the pinnacle, but now she knew it was barely scratching the surface. The feelings she’d had towards Nick couldn’t hold a candle to the way she felt about Hunter.
It should scare her. She should be fucking petrified at the way he was invading every part of her life, but she wasn’t. For the first time in her life, she felt free from the pressures of expectation. When she was with him, she could just be. Simple. No pressure. No expectation.
So much of Bailey’s life had revolved around proving people wrong. Her parents had never had any high expectations of her, encouraging her to only aim for mediocre, not to get her hopes up. It had become her mission to prove them wrong. She was more than mediocre and she wanted them to finally see it and admit it.
Being with Nick was the same. He had given her limited opportunities to prove herself worthy of him and she had fallen short. Their regular sex arrangement had scratched an itch for him, and that was all. He had never seen her as wife material. She was never good enough for him to lay the rest of his life down for her.
Being with Hunter was different. Being with Hunter meant she didn’t have to prove anything to him, she didn’t have to try and change his mind about her. He wanted her just as she was. Yes, he pushed her boundaries, but in a good way, in a way that lit her up. He wasn’t trying to drag her down or keep her in a box, he wanted her to be the very best version of herself that she could be and he was willing to help her get there.
She snuggled into his warm chest, running her hand over his beard, threading her hand through his hair. Hunter was a man who knew what he wanted and didn’t hesitate to go out and grab it. And he’d wanted her. It was a heady thing. No one had wanted her or pursued her like Hunter had and he’d proved to her time and again that she was worth more than just a one-weekend-a-month arrangement.
And she had fallen head over heels for him.
His eyes opened and their dark green depths speared her. He opened his mouth to say something, but she pressed a finger to his lips.
“Shh,” she said softly.
His eyes searched hers and she let him look, let him see the depth of her feelings for him. She couldn’t hide from this man, she couldn’t deny any longer the affect he had on her.
His eyes softened and he leaned forward to kiss her tenderly.
“Blue,” he whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“No,” she whispered back, “I don’t want you to be.”
“I was a bastard,” he said, his eyes closing in shame.
She kissed his lips and then smiled.
“You were perfect,” she replied.
“But, I didn’t even stop for a condom or to ask permission…”
“I’m a big girl, Irish,” she said lightly. “I know how to say no. And I’m on the pill and I’m clean.”
He sighed, leaning his head against hers. “I’m clean too,” he said, “but I still feel like a prick for not asking, for forcing myself…”
“No,” she said, stopping his self-deprecating spiral. “You didn’t force yourself on me. It was angry sex, but it was un-fucking-believably good angry sex.”
He smiled and kissed her. “You’re really good for my ego,” he said against her lips.
They lay in each other’s arms, content. Her hands touched him lightly, relishing in the heat and silkiness of his skin under her fingertips.
“God,” he sighed. “I don’t want to move. I never want to leave this bed.”
“Me either,” she replied softly.
It was dark now, the room lit only by the ambient light from outside. They were high enough up so that the traffic noise was minimal and the murmur of the waves breaking on the beach was soothing. They dozed, not really sleeping, not really awake, simply luxuriating in each other.
Hunter started awake, sitting up suddenly. “Shit. What time is it?”
Bailey scrambled up and reached for her phone. “Just after seven,” she said.
“Fuck,” Hunter swore. “We need to get going.”
“Dammit,” Bailey groused, “I don’t want to go.”
He kissed her, hard, before pulling away. “Me either,” he said, “but I promised mum I’d keep an eye on Nick and the boys so that they don’t do anything too stupid.”
Bailey sat on her knees in the middle of the bed, watching Hunter walk around the room, gathering his clothes for the evening. She loved watching the play of muscles under skin as he stalked about stark naked.
“Are you sure I can’t convince you to come back to bed?” she asked, twirling a tendril of hair around her finger.
He stopped and turned towards her, his eyes raking over her, his desire apparent.
“As much as I would like to take you up on that offer,” he growled, prowling towards her, “I promised my mum.” His lips captured hers in a hot, wet kiss. “But I promise to make it up to you later tonight.”
Bailey pouted. “Where are you guys going anyway? We’re going to some stupid wine bar or something.”
Hunter laughed. “I’d much prefer that to where we’re going. The boys are taking Nick to a strip club.”
Bailey bit her lip, an idea forming in her mind. She really should let Ainsley know what she was getting into with Nick, it was the right thing to do. But she didn’t want to have to expose her own part in the whole tawdry deal. Maybe if she saw Nick ‘in the wild’ so to speak, she might get an idea about what he was really like.
“Which one?” she asked.
Hunter watched as Nick and his mates drank more beer than they ate. It was a good meal – steak, potatoes, gravy, crusty bread, all good things for soaking up excess alcohol and lining the stomach in preparation for a big night on the town. But the stupid fuckers barely even touched it. They were intent on wiping themselves out and had started before Hunter had even gotten there. They were now well on their way to hangover central with no hope of salvaging the night.
Hunter ate methodically. He’d rather be anywhere but here. He’d rather be in his bed with his delectable red-head draped over him, her naked skin sliding deliciously against his. He’d much rather that then being here with these morons. They were all relatively the same age, but for whatever reason, Nick and his mates acted like they were eighteen and on their first night out legally drinking. It was kind of pathetic, especially since Hunter knew Nick had no intention of taking his upcoming vows seriously.
But he was here because of his mother. He was here because, for some fucked up reason, he felt an obligation to ensure that Nick made it out alive, although he was very close to killing the shithead himself.
The boys had been regaling each other with stories of their conquests, the numbers surely inflated by alcohol and an unhealthy need to one-up each other. So far Nick had been careful enough to leave Bailey’s name off his list and Hunter was prepared to do damage to the asshole if he even mentioned her. Nick seemed to know that he was in danger if he crossed that line and although one of his idiot friends had point blank asked him about his piece of arse in Melbourne, Nick had deflected the question without incriminating himself.
Hunter took a sip of his scotch and watched the imbecile antics of the rest of the men around the table. They had been rude and belligerent to their waiter and crude and misogynistic to their waitress. Hunter had apologised to her, to them both, on his stepbrother’s behalf, but he wouldn’t be surprised if they were asked to leave soon. The boys were getting rowdy and their antics were starting to impact on the other diners.
It was at times like this when Hunter wondered what Bailey had ever seen in Nick. Had she never seen this entitled, immature, fuckwit side of him? Maybe she hadn’t, he had kept her pretty much at arm’s length – metaphorically speaking. From what he had gathered, they didn’t have any other contact apart from their one-week-a-month dalliances. No texting or emailing or phone calls in between. Maybe Nick was smarter than Hunter gave him credit for. He would have to be to have kept Bailey on the hook for so long.
Nick signalled for another round of drinks and Hunter stood to his feet.
“Why don’t we take this party somewhere else,” he said to a chorus of boos.
“No, he’s right,” Nick said, weaving dangerously as he stood. “Let’s go somewhere where the service is better.”
“Yeah,” one of his dipshit mates added with a slur, “and where the drinks aren’t watered down.”
Hunter rolled his eyes and ushered them out to the waiting limo. He paid the bill, tipping generously and apologising for their behaviour and then he joined them in the car. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long before he could slip away. He was just about fed up with Nick and his buddies.
But he’d promised his mother he would keep an eye on them. Shit. He really didn’t want to spend any more time associated with them. Maybe he would sit in a nice dark corner of the strip club where he could still see them, but not be associated with them.
“Tell us about the hot red-head,” one of the assholes said, and Hunter’s Bailey radar snapped to attention.
“Yeah,” said another one of the imbeciles, “how’d you get her to agree to keep fucking you after the wedding?”
Hunter gritted his teeth, wanting to hear the answer, but not wanting to know if Bailey was going to betray his trust in her.
“She hasn’t yet,” Nick slurred. “I’m still working on her.”
Hunter exhaled, clenching his fists and desperately wanting to plough them through Nick’s sloppily grinning face.
“She’s fucking hot,” someone else said. “How come you’re such a lucky bastard, Nick? Have you got a magic cock or something?”
“You know it,” Nick replied, fist bumping the other guys and Hunter just rolled his eyes. If Bailey’s response to him had been any indication, Nick’s penis wasn’t nearly as magic as he thought.
“Have you sampled the goods yet?” someone asked.
“Yeah, has angelic Ainsley put out yet?”
“Fucking bitch won’t let me anywhere near her,” Nick groused. “Anytime I get close, she calls a halt and I’m left with a case of blue balls.”
“Lucky you’re getting action elsewhere,” one of his groomsmen said.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Nick replied, fist bumping again. “I can’t wait to get the frigid cocktease into bed on our wedding night. She won’t be able to walk by the time we get back from the honeymoon.”
The other guys wolf-whistled and hooted at Nick’s bravado, and Hunter felt sorry for Ainsley. She really did have a right to know what her soon-to-be-husband was like. Maybe he would slip her a can of Mace as she left the reception just in case Nick got too rough with her.
The limousine pulled to a stop and Hunter looked out the window to see the pink neon sign flashing it’s welcome. The last thing he wanted to do was sit in a strip club with these wankers, but he climbed out of the car with the rest of them and followed them into the dive.
The music was loud, but thankfully the club was dark. The stage had various poles and platforms, each of which contained a may-as-well-have-been-naked woman gyrating to the beat. He’d never seen so many fake tits at once before and he grimaced. Nick and his party found seats near the front and immediately ordered more booze. Hunter hung back, choosing a table near the wall. There was no way he was going to be part of their fun.
He ordered a soda from the topless waitress, looking at her eyes instead of her bedazzled nipples and then pulled out his phone as a distraction. He tapped out a text to Bailey.
“Kill me now.”
Bailey pulled out her phone and read Hunter’s text with a smile. She had been waiting for him to let her know they had arrived at the club before springing her surprise on the girls.
They’d had a lovely, quiet dinner at a nice restaurant and then moved on to a wine bar that overlooked the river. None of the other bridesmaids had gone to any effort to make this a real hen’s party. There were no funny t-shirts or embarrassing fake tiaras and veil. Nothing to let anybody know that they were celebrating Ainsley’s upcoming loss of freedom. It was kind of pathetic. She had kept the chocolate cocks in her bag. They would be wasted on this crowd.
Bailey had made it her mission to get Ainsley and Number One drunk, buying them drinks and filling their glasses without permission. Numbers Two and Three had picked up on her game and were helping her by distracting the other two whenever a new round of drinks appeared. Bailey, herself, stuck to soda.
“Hang in there” she texted back to Hunter and then cleared her throat, garnering the attention of the table.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said.
“Where’re we going?” Number One asked, slurring her words slightly and looking like she couldn’t understand why they sounded funny.
“Somewhere fun, I promise,” Bailey replied. The other woman had given her the third degree about the present opening debacle, but she had pled innocence and the fact that there had been other cards on wrong gifts had made her deception more believable. She patted herself on the back for her quick thinking.
Bailey ushered everyone out to the car and paid their bill. She sat up front with the driver, instructing him to park around the back of the strip club so that the girls wouldn’t be tipped off to where they were going. She led them out of the car and through the back entrance. The thumping music assaulted them as they walked down the dingy hallway towards the lights of the club.
“What are we doing here?” Ainsley asked as they stepped into the club proper and took in the practically naked women and the ogling men shoving bills into their sparkly g-strings.
“I thought we’d surprise the guys,” Bailey said innocently. “I had no idea it was a strip club.”
They scanned the tables looking for the groom and his buddies. Number One spied them first and elbowed Ainsley.
“Is that Nick getting a lap dance?” she asked, shocked.
Bailey followed her pointing finger and saw Nick, his eyes alight and hungry as the red-headed woman on his lap jiggled her boobs in his face and rode his erection like a stripper pole. She covered her mouth to smother the giggle that threatened to burst out and scanned the club for Hunter. He wasn’t at the table with the others, but she thought she saw him sitting in a dark corner. He lifted his drink to her in salute and she gave him a wave.
“I can’t believe he’d do this to me,” Ainsley said as she watched Nick reach out and grope the woman dry humping him. The stripper slapped his hand away, wagging her finger at him like he was a naughty school boy and then leant forward to whisper in his ear. He nodded enthusiastically and she climbed off his lap and took his hand, leading him towards a wooden door while the rest of his entourage whistled and cheered.
“Where are they going?” Ainsley asked, her feet seemingly welded in place.
“Private room,” Bailey answered, feeling a slight hitch of sympathy for the woman beside her.
“Private room?” she whispered.
“Yeah,” Bailey said, feeling a bit guilty. “You can pay extra to get…more intimate.”
Ainsley turned to her, her eyes wide with horror. “He’s going to have sex with her?” she asked.
“Probably not,” Bailey answered although she didn’t truthfully know what went on in those private rooms. “But he will get to touch and no doubt she’ll touch him.”
Ainsley spun on her heel and marched back down the dark corridor and out the back door. Bailey followed her, calling out to her as she went.
“Ainsley, stop. Wait up.”
Bailey burst out through the door and found Ainsley leaning with one hand against the brick wall, panting, her head down.
“Why did you bring me here?” she asked accusingly without looking up.
Bailey sighed. “You deserved to know who you were marrying,” she said simply.
“And you thought this was the best way to tell me?”
“Would you have believed me otherwise?” Bailey asked.
“You’re just jealous,” Ainsley snapped, shoving herself away from the wall and advancing on Bailey. “You’ve always wanted Nick and you’re jealous that I got him.”
Bailey snorted in disbelief. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said.
“Nick told me,” Ainsley said. “He told me how you followed him around when you were kids and how you mooned over him. He knew you had a crush on him, he knew you were in love with him but he didn’t want to hurt your feelings by turning you away. He was just trying to be kind to you.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Bailey growled. “And I would shut the hell up right now if I were you.”
“I should’ve known you would try something to break us up. Give it up Bailey, Nick doesn’t want you.” Ainsley spat these last words at her and Bailey fisted her hands at her sides, wanting to slap the stupid woman who thought the sun shined out of Nick’s ass.
“You are a fucking moron if you think…” the words died in her throat as Hunter pulled her into his chest. She clung to him, her body shaking with anger and hurt.
Ainsley stood there panting looking at the two of them and Bailey closed her eyes.
“She was only trying to help,” Hunter said, his voice rumbling through his chest and comforting Bailey. “You really don’t know Nick as well as you think you do and she was just trying to show you what he’s really like so you could go into this marriage with your eyes open.”
Bailey heard Ainsley huff and then begin to pace, her heels clicking on the cement path.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“Then maybe you and Nick need to sit down and talk about it,” Hunter said.
“I’m getting married in two days!” she yelled at Hunter. “I can’t back out now, what would people say?”
Hunter sighed, “It’s your choice Ainsley,” he said kindly, “but you deserve better than that performance in there. I’m taking Bailey home now and I suggest you all do the same.”
“We have a dress fitting tomorrow at nine,” Ainsley mumbled.
“I’ll be there,” Bailey replied.
