After the reception is over, Jade and I go to the outdoor bar at the resort with our friends. We crowd around two tables. Funny how a night watching two people get married has all the couples snuggled up and looking even cozier than usual.
Scarlett sits on Leo’s lap and his head is buried in her neck. Piper and Tyler are in separate chairs, but his hands are all over her. And Mav and Dakota? Let’s just say, I walked into the men’s room during the reception and saw more than I wanted.
The only other single guys are Jack and Ash. I guess I’m not technically single anymore. Weird.
Jack is kicked back smoking a cigar, and Ash is wearing Jade’s garter like a bracelet.
My wife—holy shit, I have a wife—sits in the chair next to me. She’s been distant, quieter, since we left the reception. Then again, it’s been a long ass day, and she’s had to be on for most of it.
At last call, only Jack and Ash order another round. The couples stand and start to say their goodnights.
I get to my feet to hug Leo, Tyler, and then Maverick.
“Congrats. Marriage is amazing. Welcome to the club.” Mav slaps my back and pulls me in for a second hug, before turning with Dakota and heading to their room.
When I begin to take my seat, Jade stands. “Are you ready?”
I stare at her, unblinking.
For a man who thinks about sex an average amount of time per day (read: a lot), it’s just now hitting me that we’re going to be sharing a hotel room. Should I have booked my own room?
Nah.
Maybe?
Nah.
I clear my throat before attempting to speak. “Yeah.”
Ash snickers as I wave to him and Jack, then fall into step behind Jade. We ride the elevator up to the fifth floor in silence.
I start to sweat and the top button of my shirt feels like it’s trying to strangle me as I follow her down the hall. She pulls a keycard from her purse and swipes it in front of the pad, before pushing the door open.
Pausing in the doorway, I watch as she sets her purse on a table and then sits on the couch and unbuckles the clasp on one shoe, then the other.
“Should I…” My words trail off and I hitch a thumb toward the hallway.
“Relax.” She laughs lightly, then pads barefoot to the middle of the room and opens a door. “It’s a suite. Separate bedroom and the couch folds out.”
“Right.” I walk in and shut the door. My fingers fumble to undo the top two buttons of my shirt, so I can breathe.
Noise next door stops us both in our tracks. It takes a second for me to realize what I’m hearing. Maverick. Maverick talking dirty and making sex noises that have me wanting to pull a pillow over my head.
“Is that…?” Jade asks, taking a step closer to the wall and listening intently.
Dakota lets out a high-pitched squeal that makes Jade’s eyes widen.
I move straight to the mini fridge. Of-fucking-course Maverick would be in the room next door. Grabbing all the liquor bottles in one hand, I hold them up. “Drink?”
An hour later, I’ve figured out how to make this night less awkward. Alcohol. Lots of it. We went through the mini bar in record time and then popped the champagne that apparently came as part of the whole newlywed suite. The newlywed suite! There are freaking rose petals on the bed.
“Oh my gosh. Again?” Jade laughs as Mav and Dakota start up again next door. We’re sitting on the floor in the living room area of the suite. I don’t know why. This is where she sat, and it felt weird to be on the couch or chair with her down here.
She stands and gets the champagne bottle, walking back with it in one hand, her flute in the other. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or worried. Is Dakota going to be able to walk tomorrow?”
“I walked in on them at the reception,” I tell her.
“Really?” Her eyes light up with something like admiration. She stops in front of me and leans down to refill my glass. The movement puts me eye level with her cleavage. I’m too drunk to do the polite thing and look away. Besides, her boobs are really nice.
“I think they’re making up for lost time after the two of them lived apart for a year.”
She nods and sits down in front of me, then crosses one leg over the other. Her toenails are painted a light shade of pink that matches her fingers. She’s still in her dress, but the veil came out and her hair is now loose and hanging over her shoulders.
“Did you know that most couples don’t even have sex on their wedding night?”
“Why not?” I ask, then swallow down another long drink of the sweet, bubbly liquid.
“Most brides said they were too tired or the groom got too drunk.” She eyes the near-empty glass in my hand.
I set it down on the floor next to me. My jacket is long gone and my shirt is untucked. I’d like to kick off these shoes, but that feels…I don’t know, more intimate somehow. This whole thing is a trip.
“Speaking of sex, I know you don’t have an official girlfriend, but are you dating anyone?” she asks, watching me closely for the answer.
Crissy flashes through my mind for the briefest of seconds. “If I were, this probably would have scared them off.”
“Probably,” she says, but keeps staring at me like she’s waiting for more details.
“I don’t really date much. Nothing serious, anyway.”
“Well, that’s good. I don’t have to worry about some chick showing up to kick my ass.”
“What about you and Sam? No chance of reconciliation there?”
“No. That’s definitely over.”
“I’m sorry.”
“He was probably right to bail. We’re so different. I don’t think there’s any scenario that doesn’t have him running out the door eventually. Better that it happened now.”
We fall quiet for a minute, and then I’m the first to speak.
“We should probably talk about how this is going to work. Do we live together? Are we allowed to see other people?”
“Minor details most couples have probably figured out before they walk down the aisle,” she says dryly with a grin, then takes another sip.
“Yeah, probably.”
She laughs lightly and then shrugs. “I have an apartment near Whittaker College that I shared with Sam.”
Damn. That has to suck, living in a place she used to share with her ex.
“You can stay with me. I have three extra bedrooms.”
She nods. “I can pay you for the room and chip in for utilities.”
Another thing we didn’t discuss—finances. And I can tell this is a touchy topic for her. I remember those days all too well.
“Whatever you want,” I say. “But it isn’t necessary.”
Her shoulders sag with what I assume is relief to have that conversation out of the way.
“And other people?” I ask.
She looks apologetic as she says, “I think it could get tricky and they’d have to be someone we trust not to out us.”
“So, no dating other people.”
“Sorry.” She scrunches up her nose.
“It’s fine.”
“Who has time for dating anymore?” she asks and wiggles her pretty pink toes.
I huff a sound of agreement.
Mav and Dakota reach the finale again. The alcohol is flowing through my system and I feel an ease around Jade which might be a result of that or maybe just that we’re getting to know each other better.
“Now that I’m going to miss.”
“Sex?” She arches a brow in question.
“Yep.” I nod and reach over to get the champagne bottle and fill up my glass again. I should have let the guys take me to the strip club last night, or picked up someone at the bar. One last hurrah before I’m confined to porn and my right hand.
She sighs dreamily. “I can’t even remember the last time I had sex. How sad is that?”
“Uh…didn’t your dude just leave town last week?”
“Yeah, but we hadn’t had sex in…” She pauses and thinks. “I still can’t remember.”
How’s a guy live with someone like Jade and not try to get in her pants every freaking day?
“What?” she asks, gathering her hair and pulling it over one shoulder.
“I’m just surprised.”
“What about you? When’s the last time you had sex?”
“Three months ago.”
“That seems like a long time.”
“You’re telling me.” I chuckle and then finish unbuttoning my dress shirt and toss it onto the nearby chair.
Jade’s gaze roams over the snug white T-shirt I wore underneath. “Oh, god. We just signed up for twelve months without sex.”
“Fifteen if you count the last three months.” I swallow the final drop of champagne, then reach for the bottle again, only to find it empty. “And we’re officially out of booze.”
“Now what?” she asks.
“Sleep, I guess.”
Her gaze goes to the wall we share with Mav and Dakota’s room. “They finally passed out, so at least we won’t need ear plugs.”
“Don’t fool yourself. They’re probably just catching their breath.” I get to my feet and then hold out a hand to help her up.
One, or both of us, is unsteady on our feet and she catches herself by placing a hand on my chest.
“Woah. Sorry. Too much champagne.”
“Yeah. Definitely time for bed.” I rest a hand over hers, the ring on my left ring finger rubbing against the diamond on hers. She smells like the sweet alcohol we’ve been downing, and her skin is so soft.
My fingers have a mind of their own, gliding up to her wrist and then to her elbow. Jade’s chest rises and falls quicker as her breathing picks up, but she doesn’t say a word until it’s clear I’m not going to take any more liberties.
“The guys asked me if we were going to consummate the marriage.” I meant it to be funny, but the air is thick with tension.
Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. “A year is a long time, and technically, we are married.”
“True, but it could make things more complicated.”
“Is that even possible?” she asks.
My brain says yes, but my dick says no. I shrug.
“Are you even attracted to me?”
I laugh. Is she for real?
“Seriously.” She does her own exploring, gliding a hand up my arm and squeezing my bicep. “Forget that I’m the only candidate for sex for the next twelve months. Forget you know anything about me. You see me at a bar sitting by myself, are you attracted to me?”
“The first time I saw you was at a bar,” I say. “And yes, of course.”
“You remember the first time we met?”
“We didn’t officially meet that night, but yeah.”
Surprise dances over her face.
“Your hair was a darker shade of red.” I twist a finger around a strand of her strawberry-blonde hair. It had been a bright, Ariel the mermaid, red then. “And you had on a pink skirt and a white top with these tiny little straps.”
“How do you remember all that?” The question comes out just above a whisper.
“I remember because you were the hottest girl in that bar.” She’s the hottest girl in most rooms she walks into. The fact that she doesn’t seem to know it, makes me question the jerk she was engaged to. If I had a girl like Jade, really had her, I’d make sure she knew it.
I don’t know if she lunges first or if I do. My mouth covers hers in a rough kiss and she grabs a fistful of my T-shirt.
I back her up against the nearest wall and press into her. My dick is so hard, I see spots.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask, hoping like hell the answer is yes.
“Positive.” She pulls my shirt up and I lean back and lift my arms to help her. Pleasure zaps through me as she stares at my bare chest. “But we’re only doing this once.”
“Definitely.” I know there are a million really smart reasons why we shouldn’t, but right now, I can’t make my brain work to come up with any.
“Help me out of the dress?” She turns and moves her hair out of the way. About a million little buttons run down her back.
My fingers are too big and my adrenaline is too high. After a minute of me struggling, she says, “Rip it.”
“What?” I ask, certain I didn’t hear her right.
“Rip it off. I’m never going to wear it again anyway.”
“Oh, thank fuck.” Using both hands, I tear the material, and it pools at her feet. Her back is still to me. She’s bare up top and only a pair of lacy, white panties, that I’m going to remember until the day I die, cover her perfect skin.
She glances over her shoulder, but before she can turn around, I place a hand in the middle of her back. She’s warm and soft and my fingers tingle as I let them travel over her lean figure.
“Do you have condoms?”
“Yes,” I answer. “But we’re not going to need them for a while.”
“Why no—”
Her question is cut off as I lightly cup her pussy through the lacy material. She leans against the wall and I drop to my knees. Her body quivers as I kiss the back of her thighs and move my hand from her center to push her legs farther apart.
Jade makes the sexiest noises I’ve ever heard as I place soft kisses on her calves, behind her knees, and just below her ass. I’m torn between wanting to take it slow and drive her wild, and the overwhelming desire to taste her and feel her orgasm on my tongue.
I hook my fingers into the sides of her panties and slide them down. Fuck, she’s perfect.
She steps out of them, and I don’t wait a second more to cover her with my mouth. The moan that comes out of her makes my balls tighten. I hook an arm around one of her legs and shoulder my way closer.
Clinging to the wall for support, she finds her first orgasm so quickly, I haven’t had near enough of her, so I keep going. She whimpers and moans and mutters things I can’t make out.
I need more.
Standing, I spin her around and crash my mouth down onto hers. Her arms wrap around my neck tightly, and she rubs those amazing boobs against me.
“Bed,” I say, scooping her legs up and carrying her into the suite. I lay her on top of the covers and then get rid of my pants and boxers.
She watches me, perched up on her elbows. Her gaze travels over my arms, chest, abs, and then freezes when she sees my dick.
“Did you bedazzle that thing just for tonight?” She sits up and moves closer to where I’m still standing at the end of the bed. I can feel her breath on my skin.
A rough chuckle scrapes up my throat, but the second her delicate fingers runs along the piercing, I suck in a breath through my teeth.
“You are full of surprises,” she says, hand still stroking me. She scoots closer and wraps her lips around the head of my cock.
Blood roars in my ears and then she looks up at me. Fuck me, this girl.
My wife.
